Bad Bow Mechanic and Body Specialist

Donny Finger (left) is a professional auto body specialist.

Robert Chairez (right) is my brother and mechanic. Yes, I do pay him for his work. He is also responsible for most of the custom work ideas.

"BAD BOW" restoration to a daily driver

First priority after buying "BAD BOW" was to work on the drive train to make it a daily driver. The rearend and transmission were the first priority. The rearend was damaged probably because it was run with little or no oil. You could hear the shearing of the gears while driving. First attempt was to change the oil but it did not help so I decided to look for a posi-trac or lower gears. Before I could find a differential replacement the transmission gave out. Buying a rebuilt 700R4 is not cheap. I could not  find a lhop to sell me one over the counter. They all wanted to install it just for the $$$$$. Finally I found one over the counter for a reasonable price. The original transmission was taken out by Robert and replaced with the rebuilt. Now that I've had the truck for almost two years, I can kick myself for out right not buying a street/strip version. Advice  - if you ever start a project always think ahead before you buy any major components. The current transmission will under a TranGo shift improvement kit installation. The modification should make the transmission work hard enough until I complete the body and engine changes.

After calling several salage yards, I found a 12 bolt 3.08 rearend replacement that orginially may have come from a 3/4 ton due to all the leaf springs on the unit.  The rearend was first cleaned then installed. A good oil change, drum turn, brake cylinder change and new brake pad installation the unit was ready for a new road life. The miles per gallon changed a little but I'm still getting 17 MPG!!! Some new trucks don't even get that much!! Guess it's all on how you set up your truck!!