Travels with BillyBob Log

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS is the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I can accomplish without a garage.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

2. Pompano Beach Elks 5^th Annual Car Show

SITREP

The Pompano Beach Elks Lodge BPOE 1989 has been hosting a car show for the last few years and it has gotten bigger every year. The location is only a few miles from the Krash Pad and I thought this year would be a good opportunity to expose BillyBob to his first show as a "Work-in-Progress" entry, if they have such a category.

PRE Check


1.	Date and Time	January 15, 2005 8:05 AM
2.	Odometer	9,192
3.	Emergency Supplies	Cellphone, AAA+ Membership, Reading Glasses, rain pouncho
4.	Prep	Clean Windshield, Make up BillyBob information boards

Engage

There's another cold front rolling thru South Florida and the weather forecast is not good. When I left the Krash Lab, the temp was 66 and the sky was overcast. 50% chance of rain was predicted. When I arrived at the show site, I was the first to register. The organizers told me I could park anywhere I wanted. I drove out into the middle and got situated under some trees near the picnic tables. This was near the center of the shows I had visited in years past as a spectator.

Sat on a picnic table and waited for other vehicles to trickle in. By the start of the show at 10 AM, the view wasn't very encouraging. The only car near me was a Mustang at about thirty yards and the rest of the cars were clustered on the paved parking lot at the entrance to this field. Oh yeah, and it was raining lightly. The Chrysler products to the right in the pic were not in the show. They were a dealer display.

The show would have been pretty much of a bust if these guys hadn't shown up. They were a group of old-style rodders from a club called The Asphalt Angels out of West Palm Beach, Florida. They were also the source of the only other stovebolt engine in the show.

It became evident by late morning that most of the cars that were coming had arrived. Only one couple, a nice young guy and gal from Sweden, bothered to walk out to where BillyBob was, by hisself, in the middle of the field. The guy had restored a '65 Barracuda 273 and she had a restored mini-truck back in Sweden. After they hiked back to where the other cars were, I moved BillyBob to the parking lot with the rest of them. So did the guy with the Mustang. The '67 Chevelle across from me is a Pro Street fast mover that the guys only finished the previous night. It has a big block 632 CI with heads based on a Pontiac design and double NOS tanks in the trunk. The owner estimates 1200 HP. This car won best engine trophy. One of the crew guys that I talked to for some time is building a rodded '55 1st Series with a 427 in it. I may buy some parts from him down the road.

Then it began to rain harder. The rain became pretty steady throughout the late morning and early afternoon. We never saw the sun all day. A lot of time was spent in the food/trophy shelter looking out at the cars. That's where this pic was shot.

This is the only other stovebolt at the show. The owner told me it was a 261. It powers an old-school '50 Chevy chopped custom coupe. It's beautifully done. There is a plate in the engine compartment stating that some engine work was by Don Garlits.

The car has lake pipes but, unfortunately, they aren't connected to the Fentons at this time. There is a curious blend of the new and the old in this engine compartment. This car got the best custom trophy.

I was commenting to one of the other Asphalt Angels about how well the chopped top was done and he told me that this car was originally built by George Barris. The yellow '55 Ford Pickup in the background won the Best Truck Trophy.

Around 2 PM, the judges started making their rounds. They didn't spend much time with BillyBob. I wuz afraid that the guy judging the paint might cut his fingers on the rust-thru's in BillyBob's fenders. We all gathered in the food/trophy shelter for the results and to get in out of the rain again. People's choice and best-of-show winner was an immaculate mopar, a '69 Dodge 440 6-Pack SuperBee. This thing was spotless and the owner drove it to the show. I didn't get pics of this car but it does have a webpage here. This car deserved all the awards it got.

The last award of the show was a real surprise. 3rd Place Truck Award was given to BillyBob! The Judge/announcer said lots of nice things about wanting to be out in the parking lot helping me with the work as I accepted the ribbon but I knew that by some odd coincidence of foul weather, only three trucks were entered in the show. No matter. BillyBob will wear his award proudly despite the circumstances of his victory.

POST Check


1.	Date and Time	January 16, 2005 7:10 AM
2.	Odometer	9,212
3.	Mileage	20
4.	Elapsed Time	23 hrs, 5 min

Drove home to the Krash Pad in the rain instead of going back up to the Krash Lab since it was along the route. They had less than thirty vehicles today and it was a real shame because in the past they've had upwards of 175 cars. The Irony is that this show had been postponed once in September because of the hurricanes criss-crossing over Florida. Oh well, if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.

UPDATE 4/5/5 The young couple from Sweden I met above found the BillyBob website after they returned home and they e-mailed me some photos. Here are two pics of Anders' Barracuda (front back) looking better than when it left the factory. Our family's next door neighbor, Bill McCorkle, was a Chrysler sales rep when this car was new and he had one of these at his disposal for a few months. I remember it well. Petra sent a picture of her original Austin Mini Cooper pickup truck. I'd never seen one of these before and this beautiful example sent me off on a Internet search to learn a little more about it. Many thanx, Anders and Petra.

You can email me at webmaster@laroke.com