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I went to Barrett-Jackson car auction last month. Without a doubt, my favorite vehicle for sale is this 1941 Ford COE (Cab Over Engine) truck. Although it looks like a big rig, the truck is about the size of a modern day Ford F-250. I tucked a photo of my ’54 Chevy into the gallery because I think the two vehicles would look perfect next to one another in my garage.

This is what the builder had to say about his truck:

The ’41 cab has a 2″ chop, custom firewall and floor pan. Shaved door handles. Interior has custom dash and over head console with stereo CD and radio. Frame shortened 15″ and complete boxed with ’79 3/4 Chevy front end with 3″ drop spindles on disc brakes, air bags and shocks. Rear end is Ford dually Dana 40 narrowed 6″ with 4.10 gears. Drum brakes triangular 4-bar. Five gallon air storage tanks with two air ride compressors with 3/8 air lines. Engine is a 1995 Lincoln 4.6L Fuel Injection with Ford AOD transmission. 400 miles since built. Autometer gauges. Vintage air. Pirate Jack power brake system. Lokar shifter. Custom built 15 gallon gas tank. The flat bed is 9 1/2′ x 5’3″ custom built with oak bed and aluminum strips. Bed tilts back for access to engine, storage compartments and gas tank, which is all custom built.

More photos from the day…

This morning the Smiths and Berghoffs spent our morning in downtown San Diego. We had breakfast at Cafe 222 to try what Bobby Flay called the best French toast he’s ever had. Next we walked around the Gaslamp District and then explored the auto shop of a Mercedes restorer. Fun stuff.

This was the first sunny day we’ve had since we got out here to California. Although I’ve enjoyed the moodiness of the rain, I have enjoyed the sunshine.

We’re out in California for a family vacation before my life gets substantially more complicated later this week when I start grad school again.  We forgot our cell phone chargers, so I am powering-up my phone at the Verizon store while I sip coffee here at Starbucks.

I’m just going to write. Let’s see what happens.

• I have a hard time stomaching hipster music. For ten years I’ve read a gazillion music reviews of indie bands and I’ve tracked down the most promising bands. After a few listens online, I can’t find the fortitude to keep listening. It seems to me that the gushing fans that surround a lot of these hipster bands are often so in love with the image of the band that they somehow overlook the fact that their songs kinda suck. What good is a song if it’s not catchy?  But what they play here at Starbucks is different enough to be unfit for popular radio, but it’s still pleasant to my ears.
• Trucker Hats. They’ve lasted a lot longer than I would’ve imagined. When I filmed the Road Rules Challenge in 2003, I wasn’t sure if I should wear one because I might look behind the times. Here we are seven years later, and people still like them and they look cool wearing them. The guy sitting on the other side of the window on the patio is perfectly confident rocking his trucker hat. By my rough estimation, they’ve been cool now longer than they used to be uncool/whitetrash.
• Cargo Shorts. I’ve read no less than a dozen fashion experts proclaim that cargo shorts are out dated. Unfortunately, those declarations were all made over a course of the last 15 years. So apparently they were all wrong. Have you ever actually gone to a store and try to buy regular khaki shorts? It’s harder than you think. Me? I don’t like cargos because they’re too hot and floppy. Yet I still wear them.
• Flip Flops. There are a lot of pretentious fashion editors that despise casual footwear. I share their concern that people wear flip flops to way too many places–weddings, funerals, baptisms—but you will lose credibility if you wholly dismiss flip flops all together. Why? Because they’re casual, affordable, and freeing. That’s why bazillions of people wear them around the world. I’m one of them and I like it.
• Classic Cars: My father-in-law asked me what I imagine car collectors will look like in another 20 years. Who will they be and what will they be collecting? This paragraph could turn into a book, so I’ll keep this quick. There will never again be a car culture that we saw between 1944 and 1972. That was a rare time in America with a “youth culture” was formed and shared amongst Baby Boomers through some very good years for cars: hot rods, 1950s Mercys and Chevys, and of course the late 1960s Pony Cars & Muscle Cars. I know this because I’ve been to many car auctions, and all I see is a bunch of aging Baby Boomers trying to recapture their youth. By the time any of my generation gets super-loaded with cash, I doubt we’ll be fighting over a Hemi Cuda that was first enjoyed before our birth. Dudes will always like cars and try to collect them, but it’s not going to be as focused on a handful of American cars. It’s going to be more niche: Classic VWs, Kustoms / Sleds, Rat Rods, New Muscle Cars, Donks, Trucks, Vintage Luxury German, Supercars, etc.
• In two months I will be holding a newborn girl. Becoming a dad has been the most defining experience of my life. Although it’s hard being a parent, I’ve yet to find a life experience that’s as rewarding and affirming as parenthood. I’m eager to see Norah interact with a little sister. Norah has a lot of love. She takes care of her baby dolls like you would not believe. Whenever she can’t find one of them, she’s an absolute mess. Every Sunday at Mass, Norah looks up a the crucifix and opens her arms wide and says, “hug me.”  There’s just so much love beaming out of that 2-year old.
• There are many adults who work at this Starbucks. Seriously, I’ve seen several well put together people in their 30s serve coffee here this afternoon.
• Mom blogs. Candyce is addicted to blogs run by hip housewives and mothers.  Every time I get on the computer, I see a dozen open tabs in the browser, each featuring a different beautiful mom writing about her life experiences. After a year of this, it’s become easy for me to believe that moms rule the Internet.
• Twilight. I don’t care about these movies at all. Perhaps I’ve reached that point of adulthood where I am not expected to understand why these movies are popular. I suppose I could watch them and see what the fuss is all about, but again, I don’t care about these movies at all.
• Amusement. Last weekend I rode roller coasters in San Antonio and then played in a water park in Phoenix. Lots of fun. I will say that 1 out of every 5 adults at the resort’s water park had a tattoo. The wave pool looked like a flooded biker rally.

Alright, my coffee is all sipped-up. Time to pick up my phone and ride my bike home.

What’s not to like about this custom Honda Element woody? Life would be so much more interesting rolling through life in one of these.

Gorgeous

I caught a glimpse of Pharell’s kustom motorcycle in Rides magazine. The article explained that Pharell wanted the bike to inspire, not WOW. His thinking best summarizes my disapointment with most modern kustom cars: they’re built to announce to everyone around you that you’ve “made it.” It’s about a garish display of wealth. When you flip through these baller magazines, you see the same thing over and over. Just another car from another new rich guy trying to look like the other rich guys. Utterly boring.

Pharell’s bike, on the other hand, is a fresh take on a vintage bike. Not another tough guy chopper. All executed with thoughtful, subtle details. Well done!