View Full Version : Saturday in the Prune Orchard Garage
Officially, Spring is still a couple of weeks off, but it sure felt like Spring in Sonoma County today with good folks showing up at Tardel's to do hot rod stuff. Saturday's the day Vern permits himself to play with his own projects, the current one being a mucho basic Model A roadster, complete with an only slightly modded original engine and drivetrain. He's been at it for several Saturdays now, transforming a rather silly looking effort into a respectable little hot rod. As I understand the deal that brought the car to the Prune Orchard, it was offerred up for some much-needed parts.
I regret that I didn't take some as-is pictures, but I had no interest in even getting close to it. Call me fussy, but bright-red faux gorilla fur upholstery has no place in hot rodding. Suffice to say the little roach looked more like a half-hearted art-car than it did a hot rod, but that was and this is now. The gorilla fur has gone to the landfill, a decent set of wheels and tires are in place, the windshield has been tilted back for some attitude, louvers have been punched into a flat sheet metal decklid to add some surface excitement, and Vern is about done sorting out the mechanicals.
Vern commented. rhetorically, today "What am I doing adjusting valves on a goddam Model A?!" "You're having fun," I offerred. "Yeah," he answered, "And I'll probably have about ten minutes of fun driving it! What was I thinking?" he added and then broke into laughter as he proceeded on with the valve adjustment.
Sorry about the red Xs, folks. I haven't used this form of picture posting in months and apparently have forgotten the drill. Any schooling and help would be much appreciated. I have a couple episodes of Prune Orchard Gargae tales to share.
TIA
Roadsters.com
03-06-2004, 11:39 PM
Mike, I tried calling you twice but couldn't get through, so I'll type it out.
Your images will have to be hosted somewhere else. I viewed the source code of this page to see what you had typed in for the images to appear. I tried those addresses with UBB code rather than the HTML code that you had used, and they didn't work. I then pasted the address of one of the pictures into a new browser window and it just automatically advanced to http://home.hpphoto.com/ because they are probably using a Java script to prevent people from adding images that the company hosts to other Web pages. You might upload the images to this site by adding attachments to another post here.
If I ever find the humor in this, I'll be sure to let you know.
Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/
Why not post them in individual posts?
That works for me, especially if you put a note at the top for the troops to hang in there for a bit before posting.
I understand that after a couple of weeks the photos drop off the server so the bandwidth isn't too affected.
C9 who spent the day tripping over hemi-heads and Deuces....
hotrodladycrusr
03-06-2004, 11:49 PM
Mike, there are quite a few photo hosting sites that do not allow linking. The one you used must be one of them. Why not upload them to your StarPhoto album?
I just saw your email and will answer you there.
For now I'll post pictures one at a time. I just tried to do it with StarPhoto and it's no longer working like it once did.
Here is the second Tardel photo . . .
. . . and the third. More Prune Orchard Garage later Sunday.
With much help from Denise I'm ready to tackle the multiple-picture post idea again.
The Petaluma Pacers roadster that has been undergoing restoration at Tardel's since just after Speed Week '03 was returned from the sign shop on Saturday by Gene Gilmore who has honchoed the project. The car looks as good as it did in its day, and needs only a quartet of fresh 97s, which Vern is building. before we get to hear it run.
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-4-2.jpg
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-4-3.jpg
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-4-4-1080512001.jpg
BTW, that's the original cockpit tonneau cover!
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-4-5.jpg
Gary Camara has been building his roadster at Tardel's for six years and finally has it on the road. The car was built from little more than floor sweepings, beginning with the remnants of a deuce frame that underpinned a long-forgotten drag car. The body began life as a sport coupe which Gary painstakingly massaged into a roadster. It's an altogther clever piece of hot-rod construction that deserves -- and will receive -- magazine feature article attention.
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-5-1.jpg
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-5-2.jpg
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-5-3.jpg
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/5-5-4.jpg
gettingreasy
03-07-2004, 05:39 AM
Nice lil' roadster, the signage on the Pacers drag car is REAL nice(dig the tonnau to.
-Jesse
Brootal
03-07-2004, 05:58 AM
Glad you sorted out the pics Mike. They're a treat. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I can't quite tell from the photos, but is that first roadster channelled at all? The stance looks right on and it looks like a stock frame. How tall is Vern? (I'm just thinking for my future roadster plans).
sodbuster
03-07-2004, 09:39 AM
Great pix Mike. What it the grill shell on the red Model A? I can see that it is layed back, was it an old race car?
Chris Nelson
Kansas
roadstar
03-07-2004, 10:06 AM
Great post Mike. Looks like it was a nice day to play with hotrods.
One of my goals in life is to go to Tardels place and meet you guys.
Jesse -- The sign painter is an old hot rodder who's been lettering NorCal racecars forever. The condition of the tonneu cover is amazing, probably stored inside someone's house rather than a barn all those years.
Boris -- The body on Vern's "new" roadster is channeled the height of the frame rails. The seat back and base are minimal, stealing a little space at the expense of comfort. Vern is 6 foot tall and about 180 pounds.
Chris -- The grille is a '34, I think.
roadstar -- The gate's open Wednesday through Saturday, and Saturday is the best day because there's more time for lunch and general silliness throughout the day.
Fast Elvis
03-07-2004, 11:16 AM
Beauty shots of the roadsters av8!!...what a kool shop!
Really neat stuff! Thanks, Mike.
choprods
03-07-2004, 12:04 PM
All great stuff-AV8-thanks for the peek!
Along with the usual Saturday fun, we made some moore progress on the salt roadster. Gary Camara is reworking the headers so they'll exit directly out the side rather than be folded inside the engine compartment as they were.
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/6-4-5.jpg
I've started work on the block for the new motor. It's gorgeou 99A from a '41 Mercury, standard bore and no cracks anywhere. Ed Binggeli bored it to 3-5/16 then scribed the ports using the blower manifold for a "template" rather than a gasket.
I cut one port and bowl at Ed's direction and will hold off on the others until he's had a chance to inspect it on Wednesday, then give me the go-ahead, as is or with corrections.
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/6-5-1.jpg
http://photo.starblvd.net/~AV8FORD/6-5-2.jpg
Stovebolt
03-07-2004, 02:40 PM
Mike, the body work on Gary Camara's ex coupe looks great.
For those that are unfamiliar with this type of conversion, the coupe quarter panels are approximately 2 - 2 1/2" taller that the roadster, so the quarters have to be sectioned by cutting them off at the bottom, and redoing the lower edge. The roadster door is 5 or so inches shorter as well, so it makes the seating area smaller.
Nice job
Cheers
Nice pics Mike, I remember Gary's car from when I visited, lots of work, looks great. Neat details not shown are the cowl steering and the trunk lid also includes the lower panel.
Vern's new car looks like a lot of fun. Glad the big names are getting turned on by the "Old Rusty" style of build up. Use what you got, don't sweat the frilly edges, just set it on the right choice of wheels and tyres and it looks great.
I knew one day I'd be a trendsetter.
LOL
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gifMart.
Stovebolt -- I believe Gary worked with the coupe doors so lost no room at all. In fact, the cockpit is considerably longer than that of a roadster. He's a crafty guy and thinks nothing of fabricating pieces that did not exist, like the door caps and cowl finisher. Gary welded in a coved dashboard which makes the cockpit seem even larger. The dash strengthens and stiffens the cowl which carries an old Ross sprint-car steering box, as Mark pointed out. In the dashboard shot you can see the Model T steering planetary box that Gary thought he would need to slow down the super-quick steering. After a couple of weeks of sort-out on the road he discovered that the steering was much too slow so opted to weld up the planetary gears. He says the quick steering ratio takes geeting used to but he likes it very much.
Here's a picture of the left side, showing the pitman arm and drag link. Look real close and you can see a neat shroud on the firweall that houses the steering box.
Stovebolt
03-07-2004, 04:35 PM
Yes Mike, i'd have to agree that Gary does some real neat work, and I like the setup of the car.
I tried the same seup with a roadster cowl and coupe rear quarters, but found the doors too hard to fabricate, as they had to be longer in order to resume the original body length.
Gary's car reminds me of the shortened doors on the Nienkemp/Jacobs AMBR roadster. I like it heaps!
I didn't progress with mine as I wanted to keep within the Street Roadster SCTA rulings, and more importantly - the qrter panels were shot!
phat rat
03-07-2004, 06:07 PM
Lots of neat ideas on Garys car. I took quite a few pics of it when I was there. One idea I liked was the way he put the gas tanks between the frame rails
hotrodladycrusr
03-07-2004, 06:56 PM
Thanks for sharing your photos with us Mike. Your efforts are greatly aprpreciated. I, for one, love sticking my nose into others shops for a glimps of what going on inside.
phat rat -- In addition to the two four-gallon tanks under the seat, there's a full-width tank behind the seatback that specs out to about 15 gallons. We give Gary a hard time about all this fuel capacity and point out that the human backside can endure no more than about 10 gallons worth of travel at one stretch in a light, buggy-spring hot rod. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Denise -- It's time you started making plans for an on-site visit. Remember to pack some grubbies because you'll probably be put to work if you're there for more than an hour.
Brootal
03-15-2004, 05:10 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Boris -- The body on Vern's "new" roadster is channeled the height of the frame rails. The seat back and base are minimal, stealing a little space at the expense of comfort. Vern is 6 foot tall and about 180 pounds.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm.... that's about the same as me. Could make life a lot easier instead of sourcing a Deuce frame. Any more shots of it. I'd like to have them for my "Hot Rod Styling" folder. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
oldandkrusty
03-15-2004, 08:51 AM
Mike, your write-ups and photos are so damn interesting! I almost reach my tolerance for pain before the next installment of The Prune Orchard Garage chronicles arrives to settle my nerves. More, more MORE-please!!!
345window
03-15-2004, 10:21 AM
It's impressive that each post about the goin's on at Tardel's just draws you in. I find myself scanning the background and getin into the carpets on the floor and the homemade unfinished shelves, that the place just drips of pure HotRod. And the history, nice that it's all alive and well. Thanks for sharing...love to see some panaramic shoots of the place. We get out to California about once every three years, definately gotta make this a stop on the next trip. Great stuff!!
hotrodladycrusr
03-15-2004, 02:32 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Denise -- It's time you started making plans for an on-site visit. Remember to pack some grubbies because you'll probably be put to work if you're there for more than an hour.
[/ QUOTE ]
Mike, I would consider it an honor to be "allowed" to help out in the Prune Orchard Garage. How about I pack my grubbies for our August rendezvous, help out in the pits, then you can asses my abilities for our next wrenching get-together. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
phat rat
03-15-2004, 09:05 PM
34 5window and Denise if you have the chance to visit the garage don't pass it up as you'll regret it. The hospitality I experienced was great, couldn't have asked for a better time. And yes the place is all about hot rods
Blast from the past.... I'm doing a quick search and bringing up some older post to reconsider...
Rusty
07-26-2005, 09:36 AM
Cool pics. Thanks for sharing
LIMEY
07-26-2005, 08:03 PM
Blast from the past.... I'm doing a quick search and bringing up some older post to reconsider...
Glad you did because i missed this post first time round!
On the way to Vern's a few months back we went for breakfast & i pulled my 39 in next to Gary's roadster at the diner, i got talking with him an hour later at the Prune Orchard.
Kev.
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.