Since I'm the only slacker that hasn't posted a blog here yet, I figured I better git 'er done and post something.  Since the past seven weeks of my life have been spent involved in the total body restoration of our Project Fiery Redhead F-150, naturally that's front-and-center on my mind.  Besides, many of you have emailed and written asking what's up with the elusive Redhead.

Back in February we took our F-150 to body guru Erick Wells and the team at Vintage Iron & Design in Monroe, Wisconsin (608/325-5528).  At that time our poor 'ol F-150 was suffering from a gnarly case of Midwest rust (see image 1).  Our goal was simple: Make the rust go away.  But to meet deadline and get the truck in and out of Wells' shop as quickly as possible we needed a foolproof plan for this massive undertaking.  To accomplish this, Wells assembled a Dream Team of body technicians that would donate their time to get our project done correctly and in a timely fashion.  This team of selfless workaholics spent their Saturdays and many weeknights stripping our F-150 of the nauseating rusty panels.  They then bolted (and in some cases, welded) on new LMC Truck front fenders, bedsides, inner bedsides, cab corners, a core support and tailgate and a new Stylin' concepts cowl hood.  The truck was then finished with Keystone Auto refinishing supplies.  Oh yeah, and one of the guys, Jon Wise (815/908-9017) is also a Vortex bedliner dealer, so he lined the bed for us, too. 
So where are we at?  As of this writing the truck is almost finished.  We expect it to boomerang back to our Midwest Bureau in a few days to begin a lengthy process of eye-popping photography that will document the stunning results.  The trucks finish is outstanding!  Look for Part 1 of the body resto story to publish in the August issue of Four Wheeler, followed by Part 2 in the September issue.  We're confident that you'll find it fascinating and informative whether your rig suffers from rot or trail damage.

Photo - Hey, we have to give props to the Vintage Iron & Design Fiery Redhead Dream Team.  Here they are hanging out with the almost-finished Redhead.  They are: (front row l to r) Jon Wise, Craig Schiller, Erick and Summer Wells, Chris Gerrits, Roger Wells (back row l to r) James Wells, Jared Pulver, Adam Reihl