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01/30/26: I spent a few frigid hours today finishing up the door hardware on our truck. Started out at a balmy 23° — yep, inside the garage — and after cranking my propane heater , I managed to eke it up to a cozy 38°. Progress! Though most of my progress came in the form of me huddling in front of the heater, rubbing my hands together like I was trying to start a fire.

But despite the cold, I actually got some good work done! Finally reversed the door relays so the rods sit flush in that recessed track like they’re supposed to. Swapped the driver’s side to the passenger side and vice versa — made way more sense that way. I had to shorten the rods by about half an inch to make it all work, but with the milling attachment on the lathe, it was a quick fix. Cut the new slot, tested it, trimmed up the ends for a clean look… and bam! Handles now face upward and operate perfectly.

Finished it off by installing the door panels and now they don’t bulge out like they did before. I got to say, I hate the color of the door panels against the blue, so they will need to be changed.

Called it a day a bit early, though — let’s be honest, I was just too darn cold to keep going.