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.

4. 1^st Annual NAPA Auto Parts Super Summer Show

"Rockin Rich", a local promotor was planning a big car show at Crabby Jacks resturant in Deerfield Beach, Florida for sunday, July 3rd. That is two miles from the Krash Pad. BillyBob and I decided to go if the weather held.

SITREP

The day of the event dawned with a forty percent rain forecast. Went up to the Krash Lab and performed some minimal prep. Cleaned BillyBob's windshield and that was it. BillyBob is a faded rustoleum truck. No use tryin' to get gussied up at this point in his re-build.

PRE Check


1.	Date and Time	July 3, 2005 11:00 AM
2.	Odometer	10,855
3.	Emergency Supplies	Cellphone, AAA+ membership, reading glasses
4.	Prep	Clean windshield

Engage

BillyBob and I got there an hour before show start but all the spots with shade were taken (or blocked off for late arriving buddies) by then. This is only my third show so I haven't smartened up enuf to bring folding camp chairs, sun shelter or even water yet. Can't bring too much until I get a bed in BillyBob anyway. I wuz feelin' lazy fer some reason or another and didn't feel much like taking pics. There weren't many trucks and I recognized several vehicles that were at the other shows.

I was on my third walkabout mid-afternoon when I spotted this fellow parked near the rat rod contingent. Went back to get my camera. This stovebolt is a well-done example with lots of subtle details. It has Pennsylvania tags and one of my co-workers thinks it is from his neighborhood in Boca. I looked for the owner but didn't find him. The "red oxide" primer covers lumpy blemishes in places in true rat rod tradition. I didn't get down on all fours to see what suspension surprises might lie underneath.

There are "Von Dutch" type pinstriping accents in several places, the biggest of which surround the headlamps. The "haphazard" beige on the upper radiator baffle is matched by the paint behind the grille bars and lower door panels on the interior. There is "clumsy" overspray except where it comes near the chrome.

Yeah, the engine is a chebby smallblock but . . . it's an old smallblock, a 283 or 327 most likely, and it's got a classic log manifold with six single-barrels! probably spends a lot of time keepin' it in tune for the look. My hat is off to the guy. Firewall is clean of wires but still looks like the Beverly Hillbillies. He's using the original low-pressure radiator too.

There are little bits of rust peeking out from everywhere except for the dashboard which is solid surface rust but smooth and not rusted thru or bubbling up anywhere. Foil insulation for floorboards and southwest blanket for seat covering. This is not everybody's cup of tea but I really like it.

It clouded up and started to rain at 3:30. They hadn't been around to judge the cars yet so I packed it in and went home at that point. I wasn't even going to write this up as a log entry until I came across the rat rod truck. I didn't want to leave it out but it doesn't belong in the other areas of the site so here it is, a show entry about one truck.