It’s been awhile since I’ve worked on the Fast and Furious Dodge. It's been hot and smokey here for quite some time. It’ s the hottest summer I can remember, I’ve been here for 45 years. The smoke from the fires in the central Sierras is pooling.into Reno, the Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe. It’s been like this for at least a month and a half. We all need to give a big hand to the firefighters and first responders. It's long hours and hard work. Anyway, on to the build. In Pack 22, we will work on the right front fender, the hood and the trunk lid. It’s 9:00 in the morning and it’s getting dark and an orange color outside. The smoke is coming in from a different direction. Another fire southwest of us. We did get fans into the windows for a couple of hours to somewhat cool the house off. Air conditioning is kind of unheard of up here.

Pack 22, Stages 96-100

Stage 96, Right front fender

Insert the colored lens into the frame, there is a tab to be positioned on the frame. Place it into the slot in the fender and secure with the mount bracket and CM screws. I’ve forgotten how heavy this build is to handle. Place the fender on the front clip and secure it with FM screws. I used a micro cloth and makeup wedges to get the body into a better position to work on the fender. I’ve used makeup wedges for years to balance and secure projects. They’re very handy.

Stage 97, Windshield wipers

The wiper blades are different, so maintain orientation. Carefully press the wipers onto the wiper arms. Press each wiper assembly into the wiper motor posts.on part 70A. Insert the hood pins into the front hood panel, part 97I. Mount the front panel to the front clip as shown with RM screws. You may need to spread the front clip to get the front panel to fit properly. Put the extra parts aside and we’ll next assemble the hood.

Stage 98, Hood assembly

Remember the hood that was put together in Pack 1. Find it and take the reinforcing panel off. Place the hood lock,97D onto the reinforcing plate 1B. Put the two hood pieces, 1A and 1B back together. Install the cross member, 97C and secure with AM screws. Mount the two hood indicators, 97A and B as shown. The parts are different and only fit one way. Be careful handling the clear parts. They’re hard to find if misplaced or dropped. Dropped them did ya, I sure did. And yes, they are hard to find. Put the trunk lid and hood aside for now.

Stage 99, Trunk lid and hinges

The hinges, parts 98B and C are marked with an L and an R. Orient part 99A, the left hinge and stack a washer, spring and a washer onto the post of part 99A. The spring will only seat in one direction. Secure the left hinge with an IM screw. Mount the left hinge as shown with AM screws.

Build the right hinge and mount it as shown. Now mount the trunk lid to the hinges. Loosen the screws on the hinges if needed to secure the trunk lid to the hinges. Retighten and check the fit and alignment of the trunk lid. If the alignment and fit is off, loosen the screws realign and tighten again. I had to loosen all eight screws, tape the trunk lid in place and carefully retighten screws several times to get the trunk lid aligned properly and looking correct. I spent about 25 minutes to get the trunk lid right. Be patient and work the problem, it will all work.The last thing I did in this stage was to Insert the two hinge reinforcements, 99B and D. Between the guide photos and the build photos, the location of these pins should be a little more clear. Again, the parts are different and require correct orientation.

Stage 100, The inner trunk panel

Insert the trunk lid posts, 100B into the inner panel so that they will go thru the holes in the back of the trunk lid. Secure the lock housing, 99F to the inner panel with OP screws. Mount the completed inner panel to the trunk lid with 9AM screws as shown. Place parts, 100D at the corners as shown. Add the ring seals,100C, wire locks for the trunk lid, to the trunk lid lock pins.

Pack 22 is complete.