Some might say, what on earth are two guys from Colorado doing taking a luxurious vacation to Stockton, CA for? No, it wasn't the loud hotel neighbors or alarm clocks going off at midnight, or even the homeless folks sleeping on the stoop at the market across the street. It was for a Harpoon, of course!
First of all, on behalf of my twin brother and myself (known now as the Colorado gang apparently!), we first have to thank Taigh and Ken for being so welcoming of two warbird novices coming in to tinker on their aircraft for a week. These two men, in addition to Larry, Vincent, Ricky, and Cade really made this trip one to share with the grandkids down the road. Without them, this trip would not have been nearly as enjoyable as it was. Second, and not far behind, and what really made this trip possible, was WIX and this great forum! Without it, I never would have been able to contact Taigh months ago asking him if we could come turn wrenches on his airplane. Through WIX we were able to get this trip organized, and it turned out to be a great week working on the old gal.
I'm sure you are sick of my rambling, so let's have some pictures!
As Taigh mentioned above, the majority of the work that we did were repairing old window frames in order to fit new windows. When 062 was converted to a firebomber, the aft windows were glazed over as they were not needed. To get her back to her fighting stance, the windows must go back in!
The frames were actually in good enough shape that we were able to get them refinished to accept new glass. This process involved inspecting the old frames, and then bead blasting them to remove old paint, corrosion, and general grime. While blasting, old production and inspection stamps were located, in addition to layers of paint hinting at her past. In the end, the frames were miraculously in great shape and could all be reused! Taigh was right, Lockheed and the Navy really did a bang up job with corrosion control way back when. After they were stripped, they were primed with yellow zinc chromate, and then shot with green zinc chromate. For a guy who builds model airplanes, it was really a special treat to be able to put these two colors on an actual aircraft!
In addition to the window frames, we were able to repair and refinish two camera hatches from the aircraft. PV-2's carried an aerial camera, and 062 had her camera removed a long time ago. The mount still sits in the aircraft, and two hatches were refitted with new glass and fresh paint. It was refreshing to put something back onto the aircraft! The most satisfying part for me was completing the lower camera hatch, and hearing Taigh say, "Wow, that looks great! That's probably the first time that hatch has been fitted since 1956." Here's the lower hatch:
And the side hatch:
And the two hatches in place:
The other task tackled was removing the sludge "nipples" from the side of the aircraft. These last two vestiges of Tanker 101 just gotta go if 062 is going to return to her former Navy glory. They are a bit unsightly, aren't they?
The caps were removed from the outside, and then they were cranked on a bit. Finding that they simply did not want to budge, the grinder came out, and the locking nut was cut from the threaded nipple. Once this was removed, a little more elbow grease and the nipples popped off the aircraft. Once those were removed, the rivets were drilled out, the steel angle irons used to reinforce the nipples were removed, and the reinforcing skins were removed, revealing the old skin beneath:
Once these were removed, the skins were polished, and treated to receive a layer of primer paint. Unfortunately, the original skins had that unsightly hole drilled in them to receive the filler nipples, but she was converted for the job at hand, much like we are doing now. Once primed, new skins can be applied to cover the holes for now until the entire skin can be replaced in the future.
The new skins were treated as well so that we can ensure that they don't corrode in the future:
Well, that's all folks! It may not seem like much, but a good, strong week's work results in a few small steps forward. It's not like building a model airplane, but it takes time, patience, and dedication to slowly move towards 062 returning to her intended attire.
Thanks again to Taigh, Ken and the gang for an amazing week, and if you guys get the chance, go see the gal, see the guys, and make a donation to a restoration that will really make a difference. I wasn't quite sure how much of a difference it makes until I had the opportunity to take two groups of folks on tours through the bird while I was there... an older gentleman who served on an F-105 during Vietnam, and a woman whose husband trained at Stockton Field during WWII. When you see their reactions to such a dedicated and detailed restoration, you remember why we all do what we do, and why we love these old airplanes.
See you guys again soon Taigh and Ken! This trip was worth every penny spent to get there and spend a week in great company. And no, I haven't been propping the chair underneath the door at night
- Dennis and Daniel S.
Westminster, CO
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to this in 3 months: 
Help us get her all the way back 
And I think it's great that the kids are getting in and helping. The first "warbird" I ever got to see is sitting seemingly unloved at the the Hampton Roads Executive Airport, the Loadstar that was for sale on Courtesy not to long ago. But again you are doing great work and I am a growing Harpoon Fan.
And when I saw Ken's face in the one window I was reminded of the little kid locked inside whil all his friends got to play outside in the snow. Poor little Kenny. 
AND the "nipple" photo, well all I can say is "Yup, Ken's like that and THAT'S why we all get along so well together". 
And thanks again Dennis and Daniel! You guys ROCK!