Daunting

I find as I am working on the 54 Chevy truck restoration project, each stage of the process conjures up a name as if it was a campaign in a war, for example Desert Storm or Overlord. By now I was hoping I would be through the Baboon Phase, you remember, the one where you are out in the hot Alabama sun cleaning your parts, but I am resigned to the fact that this stage is more of a permanent affliction then a passing phase.

The current stage of the restoration is the body work. This entails preparing the body panels for painting and the name for this campaign is “Daunting”. It is not the individual fender or tailgate that defines the name but rather it is the sheer number of parts. No one could stop Attila the Hun’s Asian hoard.

I enjoy the English language for its richness and abundance of words available to convey a subtly meaning or idea. Miriam-Webster defines Daunting as: tending to overwhelm or intimidate as in, a daunting task. This is the perfect word for the body panel preparation stage. I freely admit to being intimidated by it all.

Each body panel in and of its self is manageable, albeit a boat load of work - between bumping out the dents, dinging on the dolly, removing the rust and priming the part, each one consumes more time than any sane person would allocate to project. But still, each one seems somehow manageable, within reach. It is the quantity that makes it daunting.

After working several weeks on the front fenders, they are mostly done, y’all know this is mechanic speak for – not really done. The dings are bumped out, the rust has been chemically blasted off or encapsulated and the fenders are even primed. However the one task that remains is to block sand each fender. This is where you put body filler on the body panels and sand to remove the imperfections. I call this the Oil of Olay technique and am thinking of starting a line of beauty products called ‘Le Daunted’.

The number of body parts in a 54 Chevy truck is close to the number of bones in a person’s foot – don’t bother to search for it on the internet, it is 26. There are the front fenders, the rear fenders, the bed sides, the doors, the running boards – for the record, there are two of each of these. Next are the bed front panel, the front splash apron, the hood, and the mother of all body parts – the cab. For the HGTV crowd, the cab is like the kitchen. When you are remodeling a house you spend 90% of your money and time on the kitchen. I am thinking the cab will have its own campaign name by the time I get through it.

The running boards and rear fenders were in such a sorry state that I executed a very advanced auto body technique – I ordered replacement parts. Then I donated the old parts to charity so I could get the tax deduction. I carry pictures of these new parts in my wallet so I can show my friends that I am in fact making progress.

Another trait I love about the English language is its continual evolution. If Webster is to Old School for you, Urban Dictionary will give you a more current definition of old words and new phrases. The rebranding of daunting is - Impressive or favorable, "cool," often modified by the addition of "mad" to indicate a great degree of these qualities.” To wit: “Dude, that 54 Chevy truck project is mad daunting.”

When I enlisted for this campaign I did sign up for a full tour of duty and yes learning how to repair the body panels is extremely daunting. But like the language the truck will evolve into one Mad Daunting Masterpiece.