Chapter 24:
Asleep at the Wheel's Wheels
Stanley Foster in Los Angeles has checked in again with his panel. I'd say all his effort has yelded excellent results. |
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9 July 2001 The Near-Mystical Brotherhood of Old Truck Owners strikes yet again!
As reported last week, I scored an incredible deal on hard-to-find 16" six-lug rims and tires from the swap meet at the last Good Guys auto show. Since they're just perfect as is, I no longer have a direct need for the set of rims procured at considerable effort by David Miller's Dad which I had to drive to Southern California to collect, nor do I need to restore the two I found at a used tire place in Stockton. I offered David Miller first shot at them if he needed them. Just a few weeks ago, he responded: He could use some backups in case the rims he has get bent or something. Asleep at the Wheel is coming through California in early July; just set the date and we could do like we did last year: Meet up after a gig and this time I'll give him some old steel. Arrangements were made, the date was set.
The date rolled around, and the wife and I took a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge (A first for me in The Beast; It barely fits into the narrow bridge lanes). Our destination: Rancho Nicasio, A sort of bar/restaurant/BBQ pit/nightclub situated in Nicasio, a little town that's basically a thick spot in the road between Novato and Point Reyes Station in beautiful Marin County. George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch is just over the ridge.
I parked the panel (still primered from the body shop, but complete with matching primered bumpers) on the main road and went to the main gate, seeking our comps. The band hadn't arrived yet. Ergo, no comps. The gatekeeper gave me the hard look he probably reserved for deadbeats.
Eventually, the tour bus did pull into the main parking lot. After an amusing interlude of searching, we linked up with the tour manager. All I had to say was "I'm the guy with the panel van" and he said "ohh, yeah" and someone was affixing a blue "gets-in-for-free" bracelet to my wrist. David Miller himself appeared soon afterwards, and we hiked over to the Panel Van. He was very impressed by it's current near-complete state. He suggested we move it right next to the tour bus (!). I jingled the keys in front of him said "Do the honors?" So he got his chance to take it once around the Nicasio town square and park it in it's place of honor.
All I can say is Asleep at the Wheel put on a show even better than last year-- even considering they were plating on a porch-turned-stage so small The Beast wouldn't fit on it. It was probably the fact they weren't opening for anyone; or maybe it was the intimate venue and the nearby Texas-style BBQ. Good food, good music, nice crowd. As opposed to the Silicon Valley dot-com exec types at Villa Montalvo last year, there was a good mix of independently wealthy West Marin types, Trustafarians (rich kids playing at being hippies), Country music fanatics, camp followers, and a sprinkling of local types, many of these last type apparently slightly off thier rockers.
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| David Miller's 1955 Chevrolet Panel Delivery. It apparently doesn't look like this anymore. It's towing a rather rare vintage speedboat. |
Afterwards, we met up with David again for the wheel rim hand-off. We were treated afterwards to a pleasant visit-- inside the tour bus (quirkily decorated with mirrors on the ceiling and a picture of Richard Nixon making a face). I learned something very valuable: how the sign panels were factory painted on Panel Deliveries. For those who want to know: The demarcation follows the innermost crease on the sign panel area, cutting 30 degrees in just past the door posts. David found out about this in a publication that chronicled the 1955 Autorama. This same publication also gave the first documentation I've ever heard of of the gas filler door scratch guard.
Before we departed, David gave me something I've been looking forward to seeing for a year or so: a picture of his 1955 Panel Delivery. When he's done with it, it's going to look a lot like mine: Green with a white sign panel stripe. He's going a little further and painting his hubcaps matching colors. Me, I want a little chrome to show, and since the hood emblem is like five times bigger on the '56 than a '55 I need the balance.
We took off at around dusk, having once more been thouroughly entertained and once more immersed in all things Old Truck. A pleasant buzz.
| Rick, a reader in Ohio, is also on the restoration trail. He has a 1956 Panel delivery as well, and judging by the pictures he sent along it doesn't seem to need much work. It's got a 307 from a late 70s Monte Carlo and an automatic transmission. I really dig these pictures: I don't know if it was intentional or not, but they have a dreamy, surreal look. | ||||
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