Sunday,
26 June 1999:
I came to Santa Cruz to do some minor work on the van and to give Lazlo Hakon,
the chief engine mechanic, a chance to run his paws over it. Anyway, The first
thing I had to do that morning was to meet up with Garry-Owen and pick up
HIS new (that is, old) ride, a 1954 Chevy pickup truck (right). Love
those runningboards!
This
is Garry-Owen, driving his new Advance Design home for the first time. You
can see in his face the intense concentration it takes to drive an unrestored
vehicle, what with the distracting ping-ping-ping of small parts falling
off. On the ride back from Corralitos to Aptos we discussed what kind of work
his '54 is going to need (a lot). It's pure serendipity that he has an old
truck to work on too, and I'm very happy for him-- apparently, it's been something
he's wanted for quite a while. You see, he's from the East Coast, and out
there old trucks are scarce, long since rusted away by snow, rain, and road
salt. Ah, the Golden State...
That
afternoon, we got the Panel Van to it's scheduled date at Pagan Auto, a small
garage owned by Lazlo Hakon. That's him to the right, warmly illuminated by
Pagan Auto's Holy Droplight. He burned some incense, rubbed his hands together
happily, and dove in. We spend a few solid hours checking out the van's general
condition, and I racked up a list of parts and supplies I need to order.
His understanding of auto mechanics is deep, his tool chest is well-stocked,
and what's most important, he has respect for the mysterious Car Gods. He
knows to appease them with blood sacrifice. He protects his work and vehicles
in his charge (cars with names like The Great White Weasel, Frankenbeamer,
and Bubbles) from malign forces with talismans (resting on left
arm) and sacred symbols (both arms).
He'll start on it in the next few weeks, or when the Forces Primeval align
correctly. Whicever occurs first.
He
did, however, take the emblems off the beast, revealing the original paint
color. It was GM Granite Gray. The vehicle is gray, all right, but more of
an ugly-rust-primer-fungus-weathered gray. Surprise, surprise. Pictured (left)
is the left front fender, sans emblem-- you can just make out a ghostly
3100.
The
chrome stuff is in general kinda crummy, but here's a close-up look at it
(right). Pitted, all the paint detail evaporated, it's just gonna cost
to get these looking decent again.
This
week's super fun game quiz contest: NAME THE PART! I took this off the
vehicle because it's broken (yes, it's broken). Still, any Classic Chevy aficionado
can recognize this essential component. Shoot me a guess-- I'll sign over
the pink slip to the first correct guesser! I provide a can of 3-In-One for
scale.
Wednesday,
30 June 1999: I took the emblems and hood ornament to Oakland for
replating estimates. Met with little success-- and a few too many men who
have inhaled far too much dilute cyanide over the years. I also found out
through some research in old records that the engine has only 33,000 or so
miiles on it. Whew!
