My mechanic is awesome. I mentioned earlier that the panel truck had blown a power steering hose. Being new to LA I contacted the only hotrod person in the area I knew, which led me to Morgan Auto Service. It’s within 2 miles of my house. I took the truck in, they replaced the hose, gave it a much needed oil change, and got it back to me within the day. Much better than the epically bad service I received in Vegas.

While in the shop, Dave pointed out that it looked like the shifter was about to break. I told him that it actually had broken and he was looking at the repair. I didn’t have time to fix it then. About a month later the headlights went out (the electrical system is the weakest part of this build). I took the truck in and had them fix the lights and investigate the shifter linkage. The whole column would have to be replaced… or we could convert it to floor shift. I went the floor shift route. It’s an automatic so I chose a short shifter and had them put it as far forward as possible. I think it turned out really well and they even recut the custom floor mats to fit perfectly.

The panel truck maybe problematic, but it’s a huge relief to finally have competent mechanic close by.