Tom Culbertson's shop - Chuck gave you a preview and I have to agree, the guy is a master metal worker and engineer. We also met Jerseygirl and VonDust of the HAMB so it was a really good day all around. Tom took the time to show us around and we really enjoyed and appreciated it. Here's some additional pics to give you more of the look and feel for his work from mild to wild, works in progress, etc. BTW, he fired that 6 in the Bantam - what a powerful sounding 300 CI motor ...
Day 21 - today we traveled to Dayton, OH and the Air Force Museum - what an absolutely huge and amazing place! We were there 3 hours and only did about 1/4 of it ... sorry for the dark pics but it was pretty dark in there. We did get some rain on the way from Dayton to Cinci - so we got some underside wash from teh salt. I have been under there and it looks pretty good and we have gently washed it a couple times ... Once done there, we headed for Cincinnatti, OH where Chuck picks up his new car. Tomorrow we will perform some maintenance on the roadster, go to a cruise night, and there I then make my way home on Sat while Chuck waits until Monday to complete his purchase. Any good shops to visit in Cinci? We ned to do some maintenance on the roadster tomorrow AM and we will stop by Zakira's garage on Rt 50. We will also go to the cruise night at the Kroger/Wendy/Steak and Shake shop center on state rt 28. We hope to hook up with other HAMBers there - stop by tomorrow night if you can ....
We did the Wagon Wheel before the new owners took over.So bad it was funny.Hope you went to Missouri Hicks BBQ next door for dinner.
Hey Guys! It was really great to meet you and I am so glad that you stopped by the shop... You never know what you'll see at our place You guys really got some fantastic photos, of everything and everywhere, thank you so very much for not only sharing your adventure with us on the HAMB, but allowing us to be a part of it as well! Should you ever find yourself in Indianapolis again, know that our door is always open at Culbertson's! Safe travels!
tom, just got caught up to daet on all your post. looks like you are still having a blast. i was glad to see you stoped at the old station in spencer mo. on rt 66 it is owned by a good friend of mine that lives in salina kansas. he has been restoring it for a couple of years now and plans on retiring there soon. he is also good friends with marvin that drove the black 32 roadster with us to bonneville. i will have to pass your photos on to him his name is Francis Ryan. I don't think he does the HAMB he will be glad to nsee you stoped and took photos in Spencer. Don't forget to send some photos mof the lunch at my shop if you get time. Mayor Dennis Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
This is one of the most interesting and entertaining threads on the H.A.M.B. Thank you for composing all, words and photos. For those of us who could not travel to B'ville, your thread is darn near the same as being there...and going to and from. Thanks!!
Tom, was a pleasure meeting you and Chuck and having you part of the traveling circus! Hope Chuck's scalp is healed as only those of us similarly follically(sp?) challenged can really understand. All the best and hope to you see you again next year. Larry
Day 22 the LAST day we thought this would be an easy and rather quiet day. Nothing could have been further from the truth! In the AM we did some roadster maintenance change of oil, swap out of plugs, adjusted the brakes, glued part of my top back together where the material had pulled away, and just checked it over in general for my near 600 mile trip home on the next day, Sat. We then visited a shop called Zakira that the fellow Chuck is buying his car from said would be a cool place to visit. Was it ever! This is the shop that is re-creating and restoring Henry Millers race cars - there was a thread on this a while back. What a place! They now have every buck, every drawing, blueprints, many having changes in pencil right on them in short, they have EVERYTHING with regard to Millers creative genius. In one word WOW! They are having the original bucks made into molds and then cast into the parts. They have found a few older gents who love doing this kind of stuff after hours but I dont know how Miller did it back in the day. Castings are their biggest issue they have to work two weeks on a casting sometimes only to find out its no good. Tolerances were extremely close - frustrating to say the least, but extremely rewarding when things go well. Dave, who works the office, met us and turned us on to Josh who is a HAMBer and we got the top shelf tour, let me tell you. They have so much cool Miller stuff that on the one hand its great that they have it all in one place but on the other, its a shame its not out there in a museum or something to see. I was thinking you could have multiple displays, showing the cars construction, with all of the original bucks, tooling, and even some of the machines, until there is a completed car. We met Jack, their ace on all things Miller, and Mike who does a lot of the machine work. In the office are they have a whole, complete library of stuff that we didnt even get to see - but it's there. While we were out looking at things, Dave was looking at my car and mentioned one of our front shock mounts had worked its way loose. They all said to roll the car in and gave us free rein to whatever in order to fix it. We did fix it and as we were doing it we thought of something. Now, this shop only caters to high, high end restorations so my little baby was in high cotton to be sure! Josh said it took about 2 years for a Miller restoration/recreation at a cost of over $1M sounds astronomical but one just sold recently for over $3M - not a bad profit margin in my book! They are also re-creating another beautiful art-deco styled roadster that they have complete blueprints for only 1 and ½ of these cars were ever built. They have 2 going right now and these will be even more money than the race cars to build! We had a great time touring their facility and it was an honor to have seen all that we saw, we got to hang out with them at lunch hearing all of their stories thanks guys for a great time! As we were talking to Josh, he gave us the address to his Dads place and told us to go over and visit and that he was expecting us. Another great surprise what a shop! Dan Shaw is a pinstriper and collector of signs, gas pumps, and memorabilia of all kinds. In his shop he has several Hilborn injected 327s ready to go, a midget Josh built for him as a present, a very clean 63 Belair 409 425 car thats presently a 350 but the 409 motor is ready to go in, another midget in the process, and so much more happening. Since I owned a 62 409/409 car a while back, we had much in common. Finally, his 32 p-up, a perfect driver hot rod anyone would be proud to own we had a great time together and Dan is a super, super nice guy. As if this was not enough, Dan took us over to Chucks place who is also a collector of signs and memorabilia, but hes more in to big trucks check out his ramp truck a really cool piece. He also had two other big trucks in his shop one a gas truck, another a stake bodied unit. Talk about big iron! Everyone we met on this last day was just super nice, friendly folks just a pleasure to e with. As a topper, we went to a cruise night that night where there were at least 500+ cars, more than most car show I go to. Josh was there with his family and to show you the kind of guy he is, came over to us before he left and made sure to say if we needed anything, to wish us good luck, and it was a pleasure meeting us. Today was the HAMB at its best and definitely what it is all about .
Final trip comments - I could not and would not have had as much fun on this trip if it was not for Chuck. We worked together well, laughed a whole bunch, and he was really pretty easy going. Not too bad considering we really only met each other in person only once before. A huge thanks to the Rolling Bones for organizing the run out and back - I highly recommend traveling with them - it's an adventure that truly is a circus! To all who were on this year's tour, please PM your email address to me at your earliest convenience .... We've met so many great HAMB and Fordbarn folks that I'm blown away by it all but I should have expected no less form the folks here on these forums. The car - it took a pounding but there were no major breakdowns of any kind. I think my t-out bearing is toast but I'm home now and can fix it "at my leisure" since I'm now retired. Not bad considering this was my first 32 build. I did have quite a few problems with the car after it was first on the road 4 years ago but most of them were engine issues not of my making. Since I built and installed the flattie that's in it now, I've had no issues - so, there's much to say about doing it yourself. For those who like to hear about the numbers, here are a few trivia items for ya: 1 - we stopped for gas a total of 56 times for a total of $1400 2 - average fill up cost $24.50 3 - we did about 80-125 miles between fillups depending on conditions 4 - using 100 miles per fillup as an average, we went between 54-5600 miles total 5 - ave price per gallon of gas - $3.55 +/- $.05 6 - highest price per gallon paid - $3.99 but only twice 7 - ave hotel/B&B cost was right around $100/night with taxes and fees - but, the 8 nights in Wendover were the most expensive @ $150/night (all inclusive) because we could not get into the Nugget - they were full 8 - we spent around $35/day each on food - 35 x 23= $805 9 - we hit rain only twice on our trip - the second day and the next tot he last day - and only for a short period of time each time 10 - the weather was mostly cool - temps rarely reaching 90 but usually a lot cooler 11 - the friendships - PRICELESS ..... 12 - the memories - PRICELESS .... Final - $2300 for hotel/2 = $1150 Food $ 800 Gas $ 700 Misc memorabilia,extras $ 500 Total/person $3150 (my guess before starting was $3-3500 each) Chuck of course spent more money as he bought a car and is still out in Cinnci (where the owner resides) until Monday when the deal should be done. Not too shabby in my book - thanks to all who responded to the thread. It's been a pleasure hearing your comments .... For Chuck and I, we would do it all over again ... and again ..... and again ..... in a heartbeat!
Thank you for your kind words - we just try and give you a "day in the life" look each and every day .....
Larry - the pleasure was all ours, really - fortunately for Chuck, he has a hard head - I did not have to worry since I'm so short, follically (sp?) challenged or not! We hope to make it up to the RB open house in Feb - see you there!
Thanks so much for taking the time to show us around - it was a real treat to see the work y'all are doing. We felt like we were seeing creations in the making of the caliber seen at the Starbird Museum! Really super work - we were very glad Bubba's told us about your shop ...
tom it was nice meeting you and chuck, glad enjoyed your tour of our best shops here in cincy. hope to catch up with you again some day. when i left chuck this morning he was all smiles after i handed him the keys to the sedan.
Whoo hoo - I talked with him this AM as he was heading down the road with all smiles! All the best to you and we'll see you down the road I'm sure ....
Thanks for the post. It makes me want to plan a major trip long distance trip in the next year or two.
I made it to Hazelton, PA. Down for the night. That little sedan didn't skip a beat. I will say the interstates in Ohio leave a lot to be desired. The bridge approaches are real bad. I'll be spending a day underneath to tighten everything.
Tom, Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound and with the old blue roadster all together. All the guys and gals that followed along on your trip sounds like they enjoyed it to the fullest. But they need to get in a hot rod and make it to bonneville them selfs to really know what it is like, as it does'nt get any better...I am sure you will back me up on this. I hope to see you in Feb. at garage night. Your friend, Mayor Dennis
Yes - we really did. I gotta tell ya, it was an experience I may never repeat but I would certainly try. I know I've been bad in getting to b-fast but I hope to be there a bit more now that i'm retired.
It was great meeting you guys! Glad you got to see my Brother-in-law Chucks big trucks!! All Hot Rodders are always welcome around here. Take care, and good luck! Joshua Shaw
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