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.

8. Reflections in Glass XXV Show

This show has been held at the Mission Bay Plaza in west Boca Raton for several years now. It's put on by America's Corvette Club and consists of two shows in one: A corvette show and a GM car and truck show. My boss thought this would be a good debut for "Frankie", the '39 Cadillac Series 61 convertible. it's an allday show, but there are plenty of places to get in out of the sun in the shopping center. The icing on the cake is that we designed this place in the mid-eighties and we can brag about that if we get tired of talking cars (not likely).

SITREP

Not 'sposed to rain today 'til towards evening. Last sunday I cleaned BillyBob and polished him up a bit. He's been out in the open area of the Krash Lab parking lot this week where, if the birds want to mark him up, they have to work at it and fly over there. I got to the Krash Lab at dawn to perform a quik-n-durty, ruff-n-redy spiffing up. The show organizers have a "display (non-judged)" category and that's what BillyBob will be registered under this time. Frankie will be registered in the "1900-1940 Original" class. Registration is between 8:30 and 11 am and it's hard to tell when the boss will arrive at the Krash Lab for the drive out there.

PRE Check

1.	Date and Time	January 19, 2008 9:00 AM
2.	Odometer	27,832
3.	Emergency Supplies	Cellphone, AAA+ membership, reading glasses
4.	Prep	Clean bed and interior

Engage

My plan was to go over BillyBob with with Mequiar's Quick Detailer but, after seeing no change with a test patch, abandoned that effort. I cleaned out the truck bed instead. The Quick Detailer actually helped there on the bedsides and floor where it had never been applied before. Then, the cab floor was vacuumed. By that time it was nine o'clock and time to call the boss. I arrived at the boss's house to find the family loading up the support vehicle, Max's M5 Benz. As soon as his parent's gave him the car, Max loaded up the rear end of the thing with boom box audio components and blacked out the taillights. He's not completely lost to us tho'. He has a hankering for vintage Novas and Goats.

Max went a different route and Derek and I formed a two car convoy with Derek in the lead. We haven't solved the problem of the dim six volt taillights on the Caddy yet so I was protecting his six. Derek had convinced me to change my registration so BillyBob would be judged so, when we got to the show, BillyBob ended up in the "original 55-57" classification. That put me up against the tri-five chebbies and there were plenty enuf of 'em here to keep me out of the winner's circle. It wasn't long before Max found us and we set up the cooler and chairs. Derek and Max did some last minute detailing on Frankie.

I only took one pic of Frankie and BillyBob (with Max on the right) because Derek and I never got around to doing a walkabout to view the other cars. We spent the whole day talking up our vehicles to interested passers by. Whenever I saw a young one who was not tall enough to see inside BillyBob's cab but obviously wanted to, I invited his parent to sit him in the cab. Several did and took pics. Derek got into the spirit of the thing and started doing the same with the Caddy.

Early in the day we had a fun exchange with a couple. A radiant gal in her thirties came up between Frankie and BillyBob and said "I like the old ones!". Derek and I both being in our late fifties, I said "We are glad to hear that!". She laughed and Derek pointed to the Caddy and said "You would look great in that." The gal's boyfriend, without hesitation, said his first words "She looks great in anything" and we all laughed again.

When the judge came around, he spent about two minutes with BillyBob and less than twenty seconds with Frankie. When the awards were given out, Derek got first place for his class. BillyBob did not make the cut nor did I expect him to. A couple of beautiful shoeboxes placed 1st and 2nd in the class. I followed Derek most of the way home then turned off towards the Krash Pad to sleep off the sunburn and dehydration. When I got to the Krash Lab sunday morning, it was cool and rainy.

POST Check

1.	Date and Time	January 20, 2008 8:00 AM
2.	Odometer	27,873
3.	Mileage	41
4.	Elapsed Time	23 hrs

You can email me at  webmaster@laroke.com

Issued Sunday January 20, 2008

Updated Tuesday February 28, 2017

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