What's wrong with this picture?

The truck looks great right? But there's still sooooomething missing.. hmm... what is it?

HEAD LIGHTS!!!

We haven't been able to install the front headlights because we're missing one important part that attaches the headlight bulbs to the front fender openings.

This is the part we're missing.. It's called a Headlight "Sub-body". Each sub-body holds two headlights (1958 - 1959 Apache 3100's have 2 headlights on each side "high/low" beams). The part basically protects the back side of the headlights from road debris and gives us something to mount the headlights to. I currently have one sub-body but need to find another before we can finish the truck.

The part is universal, so it doesn't matter which side of the truck a replacement part comes from. The major remanufacturers (LMC and Classic) don't stock these and don't even refer to them in their documentation. (if you're reading this and know where I can find one, please contact me ASAP).

This is what the part looks like with the headlights installed in it.

There is also a part that goes between the headlights and the sub-body called a headlight bucket. This secures the headlight in place and makes it possible to adjust the direction of the beam. As you can see, without the sub-body there is no way to mount the headlights to the fender.

I have the buckets, headlights and bezels for both sides of the truck.. I just need to find one more sub-body part.

The headlight bezel is the last part that fits over the bulbs and is what finishes off the headlight assembly with a nice chrome accent.

Check out how nice this will look once we find a headlight sub-body to finish the install!

I've scoured the internet looking for someone selling these "new" or parting out an old clunker, but so far, not much luck.. I may have to try a few other sources.. maybe posting an add on a few Chevy Forums, or adds in newpaper or craigslists'. Wish me luck!

!!!UPDATE!!!
4/26/11

We found the part! Dad went out to the old salvage yard he used to go get parts for Thunderpig when we lived in Colorado and some of the same trucks were still there! Wouldn't you know it.. they had the part!!! Dad said he's been going there for 30 years and he's always came back a happy customer.. Well I completely agree.

I've tried almost every classic chevy parts dealer I could find on the internet and have combed through dozens of local and not so local classifieds looking for people parting out 1958 or 1959 Chevy pickups.. and was coming up empty handed.

As soon as it arrives Joe will have it sand blasted then it will be good as new!

Thanks Dad!

Easter Weekend Updates!

Well first off.. just to get it off of my chest... HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!! Ok, now that I have that out of the way.. Check out what the Easter Bunny brought us this year!!

Fenders permanently installed, power antenna installed, brake lights installed (with power) and chrome bumper and hood ornament installed and polished! And thats just the beginning! There are a whole bunch of other goodies in the basket not even mentioned.

The truck is now sporting a finished set of fenders! They are now permanently installed on the bed. You can just barely see the black fender welt bead along the edge of the fender where it attaches to the bedsides. And on the inside of the bed you can see the stainless bolts connecting the drivers side fender to the bed.

Ooooh! Look at those snazzy exhaust tips that are now attached as well! All we need to do to finish the exhaust system is to connect the exhaust pipes to the exhaust tips.

Check out the LED tail lights! They're now installed and look great!

Zach had fun watching them blink.. and blink.. and blink..

Joe has been working on the stainless steel angle strips that will attach to the outside bed walls and around the inner wheel wells. This is no easy job working with stainless steel, but Joe is a great welder and has made great progress.. He almost has the drivers side completely finished.. Then he'll start on the passenger side.

Here I am with Zach and Logan.. The new chrome bumper and grill look awesome..

The hood emblem is original, but has been re-chromed.. Later we'll paint the bow tie to match the color of the truck.. It's gonna look awesome.

The power antenna is now installed in its new home (behind the passenger door of the cab).. Originally it was on the passenger side front fender and was not powered.

This is the power antenna from our 4-runner.. I was in an accident earlier this year and the insurance company replaced it.. Turns out, the only thing we needed to do was buy a new mast for it.. The motor unit was still good and works out great for Thunderpig!

Seat modifications (update)

The new seat brackets are complete and should work out perfectly. Next up is the upholstery!

Seat modifications

The seats are almost ready to be upholstered.. Joe is working on some brackets which will allow us to properly mount the seat to the new cab floor.. Since these are Ford Ranger seats, the cab floor is completely different than our Chevy, so the old seat brackets won't work.

This is the drivers side seat.. All four mounting points need to modified to fit the cab floor.

This is one of the new rear seat brackets.

The two front mounts had to be straightened to mount properly.

Zach says.. I don't know why you need to modify anything, this recliner seat is perfect for watching cartoons on.. Lets take it home and test it out!!

I love it when something gets painted!

The interior and tailgate received a little love this week.. Another layer of paint was applied to the interior of the cab and the first coat has now been sprayed on the tailgate which means we now have a fully painted truck!

Here is the dash after it was hand sanded with high grit sand paper.

The rear window and ceiling was also hand sanded and is now ready for the second layer of paint.

The tailgate at this point has only had primer applied to it.. There was a small dent in the face of the tailgate that was tough to get out, so it didn't get painted earlier.

The dash looks awesome with a fresh coat of paint applied. It really brings out the depth and gloss of the candy apple paint with all the contours in the dash.

Check out that tailgate! Looks pretty sweet all nice and painted..

The Chevy bowtie looks cool and gives the truck a subtle but not too over the top modern style..