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.

10. Hutchinson Roadtrip Day 7

SITREP

Got the first day of the show documented and posted to the website. Pressed for time so there are more spelling errors than usual.

Friday, May 23th 2008
Show day 2

Some wind this morning. We might be lucky and not get rain. After a disappointing continental breakfast, I followed Greg Macha over to the fairgrounds with Greg Hill behind me. When we got past the entrance officials, Greg Macha headed off in a direction contrary to where the OldGMCtruck group's coral was. BillyBob and I peeled off and headed for Our new location. Yes, the officials had moved us again! Arlyn had arrived early enuf to see them kicking us out. He hitched up his trailer and moved to the new bivouac behind the GMC exhibit building we were kicked out of yesterday. Then he had to go back and get Bob Dyck's trailer before they towed it away. That's it behind BillyBob in the pic. There's a nice shiny GMC inline six hiding behind that rusty exterior.

I helped Arlyn drag the 302 demo motor out of the trailer and it wasn't long before the engineering discussions were again in full bloom. As you can see, it's almost a religious experience. Arlyn, Rick and Bill bow their heads with reverend Rob in attendence. We got our revenge for being thrown out of the GMC exhibit yesterday. We are right in front of a major exit on the back of the exhibit. Whenever Arlyn fired up the open header engine, guys would come pouring out of the exhibition hall like moths to a flame. Some of the women didn't much understand this, it's a guy thing.

This is the exhibit they were pouring out of. Left to right are a Advance Design Chevrolet Suburban, a Advance Design Chevrolet Canopy Express produce truck, a early Chevrolet "motor home", a early tank truck and a Corvair Rampside truck.

On the other side of the access road Rick, Charlie and Greg lined up their trucks. The '59 Apache was not a member of the OldGMCtrucks group. We were a little concerned letting Greg's Cummings powered Ferd park with the GMC pack. More on that later.

Started taking a couple of walkabouts to see some of the other trucks at the show. This is a vintage Diamond T tractor with a matching vintage trailer. There's a yellow Ferd Econoline pickup in the background.

We have a art deco Chebby stakebed in the foreground. To the left is a International tractor with a stretch cab and a vintage car carrier trailer with a Buick, Pontiac (I think) and Nash car on it. I didn't get close enuf to find out what the car facing backwards was. On the right is a goofy little Dodge mail truck on a trailer. That thing really grew on me.

On the left is a one ton Advance Design Chevy panel truck with the much desired stainless steel trim package. In the center is a Diamond T pickup. On the right is a GMC three-window pickup. It's got the after market fender mounted turn signal indicators.

WWII military trucks were represented by this Dodge pickup (what would become the civilian PowerWagon) and two White (I think) half tracks.

General Motors big iron. Chevrolet Bison in the background and GMC Cannonball (I think) in the foreground.

Quite a few rare pre-war trucks were housed in a separate building.

Party Hearty Show day 2

About 4:30, we started to wrap up operations at the truck show. We retired at the Sun Dome and gathered again for dinner at the Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant. Bob Dyck had set this up for us too. We had our own room. In the photo Bob is across from Arlyn. Warren Foster (wdoftexas) is next to Arlyn. Charlie Hardin (Cletis) is across from Martin and Alice Das. Jerry Van Cleve is next to Alice.

After dinner we retired to the Mi Tierra bar (where the restaurant owner is the bartender). Charlie brought his guitar with him and started pickin' n strumin' n singin'. It had a mellowing effect on us all, even Kook. Before it was over Bill Burch and Rob each took a few turns at the guitar. Noone would play Freebird for me tho'.

It was the calm before the storm . . . literally! The TV in the corner had the weather report on and the locals were watching it closely. Sometime after midnight, the tornado sirens started. Hotel workers went from room-to-room, getting people herded down into the basement. Several of us stood by one of the hotel exits and drank beer and looked for twisters. It was my stupid attack for the day but I wasn't punished for it this time.

When the sirens quit, the immediate threat was over and we went to our rooms. I started working on a dispatch until the power went out. Then I turned in for the night.

You can email me at webmaster@laroke.com