Tondeleo: It seems like there are common interests that run deep in many rural Americans. Things like guns, “hot rods” and music. Some of these people are working jobs that pay very little, and are renting small bungalows, but they may have thousands of dollars tied up in their gun collection, musical instruments and their hot rods. It’s all about values; what’s important in life.
Of course none of these people have investments in the stock market and don’t have money in the bank or even a retirement or pension fund. All they have are their cars, guns and instruments.
Building a hot rod is not cheap. Some of these work two or more jobs so they can buy the parts to build a hot rod. And some of these cars, trucks and race cars are well worth more than the homes they live in.
How do they achieve this? First, by bartering goods and services with each other, maybe trading welding expertise for painting or bodywork, or for electrical or interior work, or mechanical work. Doc’s friends say that this is how the early car clubs got started. There would be 5 or 6 guys who wanted to build hot rods but didn’t have the money they needed or the skills. So different ones would each make his contribution to then others, so all could get their cars built. If you didn’t have a needed skill, you couldn’t join the club.
Some people may sell or trade drugs, from illegal street drugs, to selling their prescription pain killers for speed equipment, engine and body modifications and custom paint, wheels and high performance tires. When a person is addicted to building a hot rod or race cars, he would rather be in physical pain than to do without the parts he needs to go fast.
Doc’s truck didn’t need to be financed in any illegal ways because he doesn’t have much money in it, according to him. The body is nearly perfect because for much of it’s life it has sat in a barn, so it never got rusted out.
Also, it has been in his family for many, many years and did not get the rough life of a vehicle used commercially by drivers who didn’t care about it.
As for the mechanical work, he and his friends did all it themselves, so it did not involve much actual cash. Doc already had the engine, which is a 406 cubic inch Chevy engine. It was a 400 “small block” that has been “punched out to a 406.” It came out of what is called a “pro street” car. Doc traded an old car that he had for it.
His friend Pat Stone did a lot of the mechanical work on it, and his friend Bruce Williams did work on the frame and other welding that Doc wasn’t sure he could do and still have it be safe. “Bruce is a real welder, like for a living. I ‘m not. All I know how to do is stick two pieces of metal together,” Doc said.
Doc has put his 1951 Chevy panel van (or panel truck as they call it in the US) back on the road after having it torn apart in his shop for a few years. It has been in his family since the late 1950’s or early 60’s, he can’t remember. It’s been driven, parked, stored, painted, sign written and used in different ways throughout it’s life.
During his more recent modifications, he has put it on a newer Chevrolet chassis, installed the powerful V-8 engine, a different transmission that has been modified, a new rear axle and other mechanical mods, most of which I don’t understand.
He has kept the old paint on it. and the old signwriting which is not quite so old as the paint. I don’t know much about hot rods, but I can appreciate it as a piece of Americana. Inside and out it is like a time capsule to days gone by.
Doc: Well, right now, Tondy, the panel truck is back on the road because we are getting’ more indoor gigs and I’m usin’ it to carry our guitars and amps instead of my pickup truck which is what I been usin’ to play local. I need to get someone to take some more pictures of it for you to put on that interweb.
A panel truck to me is better than a pickup truck, cause you can carry your stuff in it if it’s rainin’ and it won’t get wet. Like a deer what you just shot, and you ain’t want to leave it in the bed of your pickup truck overnight ‘cause vultures might get into it by mornin’. But you ain’t gotta worry about it with a panel truck.
Also, for me it is a place to sleep when I’m travelin’. I got a [guerney] out of a old ambulance a long time ago and I keep that in the back to sleep on. I can pull it out in warm weather and sleep under the stars. Or pull it out when we got all our ‘quipment in it and need he room.
We got our letterin’ on the side of it what lets people know who we are and that we are playin. I can park it out in front of where we’re playin’ and it makes it easy for people to find us. It’s part of the show, so to speak. You gotta have somethin’ to make you stand out.
We got the phone number on it, too so people can write it down an’ call us if they want us to play for them. We got on the hood, “We don’t play bluegrass, so do not ask.” People always is askin’ if we play bluegrass. We don’t.
We play downhome blues, roots and gospel music. We got that wrote on the side, too. And some other stuff, so people ain’t got to ask too many questions. They can just write it down.
That truck gets a pretty good amount of attention, and the hot rod guys like it real well.
It may be ugly but it is well put together. When they first walk up to it, they think it is a junker, but then when they get up close they can see that it ain’t no junker. The body is perfect – no dents, no rust, nothin’. And if I let ‘em look under the hood, they can see how much work has been put into it.
I like my trucks sittin’ low, so we lowered the body over the frame six inches. It still has a good ride, because we didn’t cut the springs. It’s still got the full springs but it sits low.
You can’t tell that til you look under the hood and see how it looks like the engine is sittin’ higher than regular. A lot of guys ask about that.”Why does the engine sit high?” “It don’t. The truck sits low!” We had to raise the floor up six inches in the back part of the truck to get it to sit this low! But we used the same old floor what came from the factory so you can’t really tell it. I mean, it DOES still look like an old junker – but it aint.
