Page 78 - Demo

HOW WE ROLL
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Tim, that little red pickup is quite a looker! It must have been a unique ride for a 16-year-old high school student?
When my father gave it to me as I started high school, I was thrilled. My very own wheels! The pickup has become kind of a family heirloom now; even my ve-year-old grandson, Reese, thinks it’s cool! So may- be there is a fourth generation who will love this truck as much as Josh and I do! My dad is now in his 80s, and he is still into cars, but he spends his time building a wooden steamboat for one of his grand- kids. The truck is so special to our family, it even played a role in my daughter’s wed- ding recently.
Josh, it looks like the family gearhead tradition continues with you. What has that been like?
It has been a way of life for us, and the pickup has been a major part of it. I have
always hung out in the garage with my dad, then I began working with him after high school. We are building things, we solve problems, and gure out how to make a car, or the pickup, run better or faster. I have learned, and am still learning, so much from my dad. He is better at ev- erything, compared to me; I’ve never seen any problem that he couldn’t solve, or anything he couldn’t x. I am so lucky to have him as my dad. I get to learn from the best and have tons of fun along the way!
Who does what when you work togeth- er, or do you share all projects and work evenly?
Josh: We usually work together on every- thing.Idoalotofthebodyworkon - berglass or the steel bodies. I especially like setting up ride height and suspension, basically the way a car sits and looks. I also select the engine setup on cams, cranks,
heads, and intakes.
Tim: I do all of the wiring, as that is Josh’s least favorite things to do. And I do all the painting and welding and whatever else comes along.
The pickup truck is over 80 years old. How much of it remains original?
Tim: The all-steel frame and body, dash and grill are original, as well as the wood oor in the truck bed. But we’ve restored various parts of the truck in some form or fashion two or three times over the 50- plus years it has been a part of the family. But it is the look of it that appeals to me; it’s not big and bulky like trucks of that era, it’s small. And the fenders are rolled like a coupe’s fenders. Its pro le is low. We often are asked if it has been chopped. It hasn’t. It is simply a “low cab” model, rath- er than the high cab model also available at the time.
78 • May - June 2018 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com