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You will be surprised when I tell you how I spent my afternoon! Several days ago, I got a phone call from a good friend in Hialeah, Florida. His name is Bill Barlow, who owns Barlow's Auto Service Company there. Bill and his wife, Alice were on the way from Florida to California.... In an overhauled, re-vamped green 1966 Chevy C10 pick up truck, with A/C.... towing on a tandem trailer, a 1948 DIV Milk Truck!!!! They left on Tuesday, and got here about 4pm this yesterday afternoon, causing quite a stir all along IH-10 from Florida to San Antonio! Every time they stopped, people would ask to take pictures of the truck and the milk truck, or talk with them about it.
This milk truck is one that Bill has owned for many years, having driven it 1,500 miles to Florida. Then overhauling it. They should make a movie of Bill's life! Bill has done many things in his life. He was, at one time, a stock car racer, who probably should not be on this earth still, considering some of the crashes he has had. He gave up stock car racing to building them, modifying them, modifying cars, trucks, you name it. For about 15 years or so, he was the guy the movie makers called to build, work on, maintain, or repair their cars for the movies, and he often provided the cars. He said he got tired of doing this because he and his crew would be hanging around for weeks or months with nothing to do, until they got to the crash scenes, or had to re-shoot them. Then it was a hectic time to get the cars fixed so they could re-shoot and wreck them again. He finally told them enough was enough, and turned that all over to his nephew in California to do. He has about 28 cars, Bill said.
Up until W. came in office, when the President of the US came to Florida, it was Bill they used as the driver because he knew the cities inside and out. He has a Presidential Chauffeurs license and drove a good number of our Presidents around town when they came in for meetings or to make speeches. He built the old truck that was used in the Beverly Hillbillys show on TV, and I have personally seen that truck. He used it for years in parades. He is very well known for his vehicles in parades in the Miami area. He also built the truck that was used in Ghost Busters movies. Then he restored the milk truck!
This milk truck has the "walking gear" in it! Many years ago, in the horse and buggy days, milk wagon horses were trained to "step" or "walk" to the next house and stop while the milkman was delivering milk to the doorstep of one house. He would go back to the wagon and it would be at the next house. He would check his order, grab his products, run up to that house, while the horse walked the wagon to the next house and stopped! When they started building milk trucks, someone got the idea of putting in a "walking gear!" The same thing happened. The truck "walked" to the next house and stopped, waiting for the milkman to catch up. Bill had driven this truck in many parades, walking besides it as it drives itself down the street, to the amazement of the crowd. They even have a big plastic cow in the back of the truck, a milk stool, and a milk container they use when the truck is on display. I saw the cow in the back of the milk truck when they were here.
There are a lot more things that he has done in his life, but he is really known for his car building, repairing, parades and showings. It is the restoration that he did on the 1959 Caddy for his wife Alice that got me looking for that '59 Tbird after I found out that a '59 Caddy would have three feet of tail fins sticking out my garage if I bought one. I did the power show for Alice that they use when they show the car, and that thrilled them. That car has won many trophies in shows now. When I was in Florida a number of years ago, I visited his shop, which is a standard or not so standard, auto repair shop. Not so standard because when you walked in, you saw the Beverly Hillbilly truck, Herby the VW, the Milk Truck, his own rat rod, and anything else special he might have been working on at the time.
His nephew convinced him to sell the Milk Truck. Bill told him that he would make him a package deal. The Milk Truck, the trailer and the '66 Chevy C10 all together. They made a deal, and Bill and Alice are driving it to California and will fly back. They are great people, a real pleasure to know, and he has more stories than you can shake a stick at about his life. The truck has been giving them a bit of trouble on the trip from Florida to here. Mainly, if he gets it up over 65mph, it starts heating up on him. After all, he is pulling a heavy duty quad wheel trailer, and a heavy milk truck! If he drops the speed down around 55-60mph, it cools down. He has a replacement thermostat, gaskets and tools with him to change it out if needed.
Now this has been happening mostly in the afternoons, when the temps between here and Florida have been over 100 degrees and then some. They drove longer into the afternoon and heat, wanting to get to my place on this leg and did, about 4pm yesterday. So what they have been doing is going to bed early, getting up around 5am, and get on the road early in the morning and drive until the early afternoon. Then find a place to rest for the night and start again. They wanted to make it in here yesterday, spend some time with me and hit the road again, leaving out of San Antonio before dark, but stop not far up the road for rest. You do not want to drive the Hill Country at night or you are liable to have a deer on your hood!
His nephew is going to meet them in Phoenix with a heavy duty flatbed wrecker truck. They will put the Milk Truck and maybe the trailer on it and just let the pickup truck putt-putt behind them with no load as they go over the mountains into California. So they were trying to get to Phoenix sometime over the weekend. At this pace, they should be there about noon tomorrow. They really don't have a schedule that they have to maintain. When I talked with them a few hours ago, they were out in west Texas, past Sonoma and trucking on. It is cooler and the truck was doing fine.
The appearance of the truck, trailer and milk truck in front of my house caused quite a stir amongst my neighbors! I took some good pictures and I will post them for you to enjoy. You are gonna love the pictures, and I bet, like me, wish I would have had the money to buy that milk truck! I don't know where I would store it, but that would be a blast to have fun with showing it off and in parades!While they were here, they got to look at and ride in Yellow Rose. Bill said that the paint job and interior work on her is fantastic. That is high praise from someone who has done a lot of this himself over so many years. I will also post some pix of a trick fire truck that a friend of his owns, and his Herbie the VW that they show off at times. I will probably have to post the pix in three sets.
This milk truck is one that Bill has owned for many years, having driven it 1,500 miles to Florida. Then overhauling it. They should make a movie of Bill's life! Bill has done many things in his life. He was, at one time, a stock car racer, who probably should not be on this earth still, considering some of the crashes he has had. He gave up stock car racing to building them, modifying them, modifying cars, trucks, you name it. For about 15 years or so, he was the guy the movie makers called to build, work on, maintain, or repair their cars for the movies, and he often provided the cars. He said he got tired of doing this because he and his crew would be hanging around for weeks or months with nothing to do, until they got to the crash scenes, or had to re-shoot them. Then it was a hectic time to get the cars fixed so they could re-shoot and wreck them again. He finally told them enough was enough, and turned that all over to his nephew in California to do. He has about 28 cars, Bill said.
Up until W. came in office, when the President of the US came to Florida, it was Bill they used as the driver because he knew the cities inside and out. He has a Presidential Chauffeurs license and drove a good number of our Presidents around town when they came in for meetings or to make speeches. He built the old truck that was used in the Beverly Hillbillys show on TV, and I have personally seen that truck. He used it for years in parades. He is very well known for his vehicles in parades in the Miami area. He also built the truck that was used in Ghost Busters movies. Then he restored the milk truck!
This milk truck has the "walking gear" in it! Many years ago, in the horse and buggy days, milk wagon horses were trained to "step" or "walk" to the next house and stop while the milkman was delivering milk to the doorstep of one house. He would go back to the wagon and it would be at the next house. He would check his order, grab his products, run up to that house, while the horse walked the wagon to the next house and stopped! When they started building milk trucks, someone got the idea of putting in a "walking gear!" The same thing happened. The truck "walked" to the next house and stopped, waiting for the milkman to catch up. Bill had driven this truck in many parades, walking besides it as it drives itself down the street, to the amazement of the crowd. They even have a big plastic cow in the back of the truck, a milk stool, and a milk container they use when the truck is on display. I saw the cow in the back of the milk truck when they were here.
There are a lot more things that he has done in his life, but he is really known for his car building, repairing, parades and showings. It is the restoration that he did on the 1959 Caddy for his wife Alice that got me looking for that '59 Tbird after I found out that a '59 Caddy would have three feet of tail fins sticking out my garage if I bought one. I did the power show for Alice that they use when they show the car, and that thrilled them. That car has won many trophies in shows now. When I was in Florida a number of years ago, I visited his shop, which is a standard or not so standard, auto repair shop. Not so standard because when you walked in, you saw the Beverly Hillbilly truck, Herby the VW, the Milk Truck, his own rat rod, and anything else special he might have been working on at the time.
His nephew convinced him to sell the Milk Truck. Bill told him that he would make him a package deal. The Milk Truck, the trailer and the '66 Chevy C10 all together. They made a deal, and Bill and Alice are driving it to California and will fly back. They are great people, a real pleasure to know, and he has more stories than you can shake a stick at about his life. The truck has been giving them a bit of trouble on the trip from Florida to here. Mainly, if he gets it up over 65mph, it starts heating up on him. After all, he is pulling a heavy duty quad wheel trailer, and a heavy milk truck! If he drops the speed down around 55-60mph, it cools down. He has a replacement thermostat, gaskets and tools with him to change it out if needed.
Now this has been happening mostly in the afternoons, when the temps between here and Florida have been over 100 degrees and then some. They drove longer into the afternoon and heat, wanting to get to my place on this leg and did, about 4pm yesterday. So what they have been doing is going to bed early, getting up around 5am, and get on the road early in the morning and drive until the early afternoon. Then find a place to rest for the night and start again. They wanted to make it in here yesterday, spend some time with me and hit the road again, leaving out of San Antonio before dark, but stop not far up the road for rest. You do not want to drive the Hill Country at night or you are liable to have a deer on your hood!
His nephew is going to meet them in Phoenix with a heavy duty flatbed wrecker truck. They will put the Milk Truck and maybe the trailer on it and just let the pickup truck putt-putt behind them with no load as they go over the mountains into California. So they were trying to get to Phoenix sometime over the weekend. At this pace, they should be there about noon tomorrow. They really don't have a schedule that they have to maintain. When I talked with them a few hours ago, they were out in west Texas, past Sonoma and trucking on. It is cooler and the truck was doing fine.
The appearance of the truck, trailer and milk truck in front of my house caused quite a stir amongst my neighbors! I took some good pictures and I will post them for you to enjoy. You are gonna love the pictures, and I bet, like me, wish I would have had the money to buy that milk truck! I don't know where I would store it, but that would be a blast to have fun with showing it off and in parades!While they were here, they got to look at and ride in Yellow Rose. Bill said that the paint job and interior work on her is fantastic. That is high praise from someone who has done a lot of this himself over so many years. I will also post some pix of a trick fire truck that a friend of his owns, and his Herbie the VW that they show off at times. I will probably have to post the pix in three sets.
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