The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Completed Journals 1951 Chevy COE Car Hauler on a P30 Chassis

Even without painting color I had my winter dance card full just prepping pieces. Some days I would go out to the shop and look at the pile of pieces needing to get cleaned up and prepped for paint and just couldn't motivated myself to start sanding on those days. I needed to build something.

One of the things bouncing around in my head was skinning the steps. I still wasn't sure how I wanted to cap them, but I knew I was going to cover the risers with sheet metal. I also had to box in where the latches were going that would keep them from opening while driving. When I built the doors for the back deck, I ordered some latches that are like the ones that come on the toolboxes I planned on ordering for under the deck so they would match. In stead of just ordering the two for the doors I got four so I would have two for the steps and they would all be keyed the same.

The next time that the "I don't want to sand today" hit me I built access ladders to get into the doors on the deck. The openings are narrow enough that it's hard to crawl through and my jumping in them days have long passed. I built one for each side, so they were handy when needed. I used 1" tube steel for the ladders and welded a 1/8" plate to the top with a hook in it that would set over the 2"X 6" tube steel that formed the permitter of the back deck. That would keep it from sliding out on you and the bed would still operate inside it. Then I needed somewhere to stow them. I looked at securing them to the deck but wherever I put them they seemed to be in the way. Then I thought about hanging them on the inside of the walls on the back, but I was afraid that they would interfere with the deck when you raised it. So, with the deck all the way up I held the ladders up on the inside of the doors to see if they cleared the deck. As long as the hooks on the ladders where up and high on the doors, because the deck didn't go that high, I had plenty of clearance. So, I made some hooks for the back of the doors that would force the ladder flat against the door and hold them secure when bouncing down the road. Plus, they were always convenient to get to there. Enough putting it off, time to get back to sanding and prepping. At least the pile is getting smaller. COCOE