Now on to the interior...

 

...that takes me back....all warm and fuzzy-like

Glad to see you treat it with respect. My hat's off to you: patience is a virtue, and virtue is its own reward. But dang, that gorgeous piece of nostalgia is even better!

 

Made a hood lock today.

Couldn't really find anything on the net that locked the hood or even anything that anyone else had done specific to this hood/grill/latch configuration, so I designed something of my own.

I used an L-bracket and a 2.5'' hasp.





Finished product on bench. Attached the L-bracket piece using the bolt that is used to secure the latch to the truck. In this configuration, the latch can't be moved at all.



Took it apart and painted everything black and reinstalled on truck. Considered getting a smaller, less obvious lock; but after looking at it, it seems like a good way to say "don't touch."