The photos below show a lot of the work done behind the scenes as well as documentation for reference to ensure parts were oriented correctly during assembly. 

I made the decision to remove the driveline in order to access the motor without removing it so the leaking oil pan gasket could be replaced. So this meant removing the driveshafts, transfer case and transmission. Because I had originally built Responder on a ‘shoestring’ budget, I did not have the luxury of doing many of the things I had wanted. Powder coating being one of the major items on my wish list. Fast forward more than twelve years from the days of working in my out building on a gravel floor and doing what I could to make the truck look as nice as possible. I decided to take the extra steps of making that wish come true. The down side was that it created a lot more work than would have been necessary just to remove and replace these parts for the oil pan gasket replacement. Fortunately I had a large shop and employees willing to help. So down the rabbit hole I went. The transmission and transfer case were disassembled. The drive shafts were disassembled. Some new parts were fabricated and some parts, such as the transmission crossover bracket, were modified and improved. 

Once the parts were ready, I took them out to Gateway Powder Coating. They did it all, sandblasting and powder coating. They did great work too and their prices were very reasonable. Unfortunately they ended up closing their doors sometime during the Covid pandemic. I chose the color of ‘blueberry translucent’ for most of the parts. The transfer case was done in silver and basic parts in satin black. Once the parts were finished, I brought them back to the shop to be reassembled and reinstalled. As I said before, it was a lot of work, but in the end, it made a huge difference in the appearance of the truck. I was even able to upgrade the C6 transmission with a TCI performance aluminum transmission oil pan. It was finally looking the way I had originally intended. It was definitely worth the extra effort. 

Lastly, since my company, Responder Public Safety Equipment, had become a Whelen distributor, I had the opportunity to update most of the lighting on the truck. The older LED were removed and newer, brighter, more stylish lights were installed. I was even able to add separate turn signals with sequentially illuminated LEDs. The finishing touch was adding the 7×9 combination warning / scene lights. Now all that remained was getting the oil pan gasket replaced and putting the truck back together.