Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Moderators: rickf, raymond, Mr. Recovery
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Yup, You bought it.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
we shall see
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Well, I have truly been to see the elephant. Frank the Wizard had been in contact with a former employee who lived in California and he had been invited to visit and Frank would be shown around SoCal for his trouble. Frank doesn't want to fly commercial and he thought it might be nice to have a co-driver/co-conspirator in order to make the trip.
I thought it might make the trip ever so much more interesting if there were two of us so that when we went through the many checkpoints along the way, we would agree to tell different lies which would set off all sorts of alarm bells and as a result, we would get free tours of the places where America's war on drugs and against people who don't belong in this country begins. Alas, we were always waved through by Uncle Sam's droogs as we slow-rolled past their air conditioned booths. We couldn't even get so much as a narrowed gaze from them as they scoped us out through their Oakleys. It appeared that Frank the Wizard had pulled an Obi Wan.
We were not the droids they were looking for.
I found out several things along the way.
1. Texas was significantly hotter than Arizona (at least while we were there).
B. Pecan groves are an awesome sight when all the rest of the vegetation looks like it's about to die.
3. Pistacio groves aren't nearly as nice a pecan groves and, at some point an entire pistacio grove will be cut down all at once. It's a pistacio grove massacre!
42. Texas Canyon, AZ (so named for some westward Texans who stopped there and said, enough is enough) looked like a weird, funhouse rocks kinda place that needed closer examination (we blazed right past it because we were on a 'Get There' mission).
3.14. There are some really wonderful sand dunes at the Arizona/California border (Imperial Dunes Recreation Area) and YUP!..people can drive on them. Awesome.
4. Despite what you may think you know, California has at least some water just laying around. More than Texas, I might add.
5. If you crush two gigantic tectonic plates together you get some very mountainy mountains AND you get many mountains made of gigantic piles of boulders. A mountain made into rubble the size of houses, and much much bigger. The real misfortune there is that cameras cannot begin to document how ridiculously huge everything is because the area is so vast that there's nothing else around to give it some scale.
I regret that I cannot be a good tour guide using only words. What I didn't know at the time was, all this was leading up to days and days of more,
More,
MORE...
of EVERYTHING!
I thought it might make the trip ever so much more interesting if there were two of us so that when we went through the many checkpoints along the way, we would agree to tell different lies which would set off all sorts of alarm bells and as a result, we would get free tours of the places where America's war on drugs and against people who don't belong in this country begins. Alas, we were always waved through by Uncle Sam's droogs as we slow-rolled past their air conditioned booths. We couldn't even get so much as a narrowed gaze from them as they scoped us out through their Oakleys. It appeared that Frank the Wizard had pulled an Obi Wan.
We were not the droids they were looking for.
I found out several things along the way.
1. Texas was significantly hotter than Arizona (at least while we were there).
B. Pecan groves are an awesome sight when all the rest of the vegetation looks like it's about to die.
3. Pistacio groves aren't nearly as nice a pecan groves and, at some point an entire pistacio grove will be cut down all at once. It's a pistacio grove massacre!
42. Texas Canyon, AZ (so named for some westward Texans who stopped there and said, enough is enough) looked like a weird, funhouse rocks kinda place that needed closer examination (we blazed right past it because we were on a 'Get There' mission).
3.14. There are some really wonderful sand dunes at the Arizona/California border (Imperial Dunes Recreation Area) and YUP!..people can drive on them. Awesome.
4. Despite what you may think you know, California has at least some water just laying around. More than Texas, I might add.
5. If you crush two gigantic tectonic plates together you get some very mountainy mountains AND you get many mountains made of gigantic piles of boulders. A mountain made into rubble the size of houses, and much much bigger. The real misfortune there is that cameras cannot begin to document how ridiculously huge everything is because the area is so vast that there's nothing else around to give it some scale.
I regret that I cannot be a good tour guide using only words. What I didn't know at the time was, all this was leading up to days and days of more,
More,
MORE...
of EVERYTHING!
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
More of EVERYTHING, you ask? Well, along the way we stopped at Pima Air Museum and the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum and it took us most of TWO DAYS to get through all that. The air museum in particular is a place I'd rate at a fat four jalapeños. All they'd have to do to achieve FIVE jalapeños is get their air conditioning kept just a bit lower. I spent a lot of time juggling my camera phone and a sweat rag (even when indoors) which, quite frankly, detracted from the experience.
Fully half their collection is out of doors and those aircraft are all pickled to some degree, with canopies painted to guard against the relentless sun and heat. The indoors stuff is just as pretty as the day it was made. The museum provides (for a modest fee) a tour guide and a tram which hits the high points outdoors and if one wants to get up close and spend some quality time with their favorite warbird, one has to wait till the tram returns to base and then hoof it... and dash between patches of shade beneath wings or risk being reduced to ash. I did the outside aircraft a bit at a time, returning to the main building for cool-downs.
A recent addition to the collection, the Philippine Mars flying boat could be seen in the back lot. I was told (by many employees) that it is slated to remain outdoors which is an obvious and absolute mistake considering what sun does to things there in Tucson. Its sister, a Mars Mariner, IS indoors and is in stunningly good condition. Seeing two of them indoors and side by side would be a noteworthy experience of a lifetime. I hope they somehow find a way to make it happen.
In the midst of all this goodness (literally, in the middle) is another museum; the 390th Bomb Group. It is also amazing with a surprising amount of intimate history of the 390th was on display. Naturally, they have a lovely B-17, among other things. I managed to catch a guest speaker who didn't have a lot to say about the time he spent flying in a B-17; instead a brief discussion of what it was like to get shot down... before he ever reached double digits in the mission count. He ended up being trucked, railroaded and marched all over Germany and finally ended up in the famous Stalag 17 where he did kriegie stuff for several years.
Thirty minutes out of Tucson there is a Titan missile silo (complete with a real Titan missile) which we wisely decided to save for some future visit. I didn't think Frank wanted to march up and down 55 steps....which becomes 110 steps in total. Neither did I after sitting in a car for days.
Yes, I took pictures. In fact, I literally took thousands of pictures. My phone didn't like the extra activity, OR the heat. Rick would be riding me hard if I posted them all here. I am naming these places so that you can look them up online and perhaps be compelled to visit them yourself in the future.
Having had our fill of Tucson we headed west to California and got ourselves a suite in Huntington Beach next to what had been the facility where Skylab had been constructed. No doubt many of the visiting engineers stayed right where were were camping out. I imagined these guys after work, still in white, short sleeve shirts with pocket pen protectors, their ties loosened, sitting around in these rooms playing cards, wreathed in clouds of cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke.
How times change. Interesting bits of history on this trip, no matter where one turned.
Frank the Wizard's friend and former employee (many years past) has a business that designs, creates and brings into reality, custom wheels and assorted geegaws and gimcracks for cars...most all of these products are created from forged aluminum and yes, we would also visit the very facility that did the forging. With the right equipment, the process of making custom wheels seems oddly simple but, the right equipment is more expen$ive than you might imagine. So, when we finally got to Huntington Beach, the very first thing we got was a tour of the production facility which is small with no conveyor belts or chains running on tracks overhead with bits and pieces hanging from hooks. Instead it was just one station after another, each manned by a guy who was a master at doing one particular thing. Naturally, the polisher had his own room where beautiful shiny objects were created. The room looked like hell but the finishes he created looked like heaven.
I followed Frank around with a mop and a bucket so as to clean up all the drool because Frank was slobbering over all the automated gadgets and the smattering of trusty old lathes, all of which were thoughtfully located in a clean, well organized, well lit, well ventilated shop that ran with the doors open because of all the stupidly mild weather SoCal gets. Afterwards we got to see all this fella's many toys and personal custom car projects as well as some SEMA trucks which (truth be told) aren't personal projects but rather the result of one whole helluva lot of collaboration.
All of this goodness was located in an industrial park consisting of concrete, tilt-wall buildings all fitted together like a Jenga game with common walls and sometimes a rabbit's warren of passageways, steel doors, gates and chain link fences fitted with privacy screens between the backs of the buildings. Frank's buddy lived on the property in a palatial diesel pusher worth a handsome sum because (a) Divorce and (b) why buy a house, have to drive to work AND pay property taxes when a cozy bungalow on wheels can solve all those problems at once! And did I say industrial park? Fellas, based upon what I saw, most of the area south of Los Angeles is one industrial park after another.
I was not prepared for how routinely amazed I soon would be.
Now, because Frank's buddy is in the 'custom business', he is connected with just about everybody who loves cars...and by extension, everybody who loves aircraft, because of the overarching love of machines that looked good and performed well. So, in the following few days we drove all over with him calling guys and getting us 'inside track' visits with all sorts of big names (names you've heard and some you haven't) all having anything to do with one-off builds, resto-mods, hot rods, salt flat racers and anything else having to do with racing, from midget racers to top fuel dragsters (and many of them were still being raced) and things with wings. Older racing machines had been restored to their former glory (probably better than their former glory, actually) and those machines were now passing their days in museums (some in private museums or in CLUBS, if you can believe that). If the He Man Wimmen Haters Club had a penchant for cars, they'd probably be set up in a building in an industrial park in southern Cali.
For the next few days, the world was our oyster. Doors were thrown open for us and we received the VIP treatment. Often times we ended up having a casual conversation with an owner, or a founder, or a local legend who would happily share the nuts-n-bolts details of what it takes to have and sometimes enjoy all the glory. Not bad for a couple of bums from Texas. Those doors that were opened to us were almost all located in industrial parks. Often there were no signs, nor was there anything to provide anyone with a clue to what was inside and Frank's buddy wouldn't tell us what we were about to see. EVERY time a door or a gate opened, we walked into some form of automotive or aviation Valhalla.
Several times we were welcomed into the Sanctum Sanctorum at the home of a guy who was told he couldn't...and did anyway. You will find one good example on the cover of the most current Hot Rod Magazine. We visited those great guys in their tiny garage and they welcomed us in. We were offered a beer; we sat and chatted like old friends amidst funny car pieces and parts. Pointed at things. Asked questions. Received answers. Elsewhere, at another residence, artfully created bucks upon which hand formed panels would come together to create a one-of-one automobile that looked like it was moving while sitting still. Metal shaping sorcerers.
Very cool.
Fully half their collection is out of doors and those aircraft are all pickled to some degree, with canopies painted to guard against the relentless sun and heat. The indoors stuff is just as pretty as the day it was made. The museum provides (for a modest fee) a tour guide and a tram which hits the high points outdoors and if one wants to get up close and spend some quality time with their favorite warbird, one has to wait till the tram returns to base and then hoof it... and dash between patches of shade beneath wings or risk being reduced to ash. I did the outside aircraft a bit at a time, returning to the main building for cool-downs.
A recent addition to the collection, the Philippine Mars flying boat could be seen in the back lot. I was told (by many employees) that it is slated to remain outdoors which is an obvious and absolute mistake considering what sun does to things there in Tucson. Its sister, a Mars Mariner, IS indoors and is in stunningly good condition. Seeing two of them indoors and side by side would be a noteworthy experience of a lifetime. I hope they somehow find a way to make it happen.
In the midst of all this goodness (literally, in the middle) is another museum; the 390th Bomb Group. It is also amazing with a surprising amount of intimate history of the 390th was on display. Naturally, they have a lovely B-17, among other things. I managed to catch a guest speaker who didn't have a lot to say about the time he spent flying in a B-17; instead a brief discussion of what it was like to get shot down... before he ever reached double digits in the mission count. He ended up being trucked, railroaded and marched all over Germany and finally ended up in the famous Stalag 17 where he did kriegie stuff for several years.
Thirty minutes out of Tucson there is a Titan missile silo (complete with a real Titan missile) which we wisely decided to save for some future visit. I didn't think Frank wanted to march up and down 55 steps....which becomes 110 steps in total. Neither did I after sitting in a car for days.
Yes, I took pictures. In fact, I literally took thousands of pictures. My phone didn't like the extra activity, OR the heat. Rick would be riding me hard if I posted them all here. I am naming these places so that you can look them up online and perhaps be compelled to visit them yourself in the future.
Having had our fill of Tucson we headed west to California and got ourselves a suite in Huntington Beach next to what had been the facility where Skylab had been constructed. No doubt many of the visiting engineers stayed right where were were camping out. I imagined these guys after work, still in white, short sleeve shirts with pocket pen protectors, their ties loosened, sitting around in these rooms playing cards, wreathed in clouds of cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke.
How times change. Interesting bits of history on this trip, no matter where one turned.
Frank the Wizard's friend and former employee (many years past) has a business that designs, creates and brings into reality, custom wheels and assorted geegaws and gimcracks for cars...most all of these products are created from forged aluminum and yes, we would also visit the very facility that did the forging. With the right equipment, the process of making custom wheels seems oddly simple but, the right equipment is more expen$ive than you might imagine. So, when we finally got to Huntington Beach, the very first thing we got was a tour of the production facility which is small with no conveyor belts or chains running on tracks overhead with bits and pieces hanging from hooks. Instead it was just one station after another, each manned by a guy who was a master at doing one particular thing. Naturally, the polisher had his own room where beautiful shiny objects were created. The room looked like hell but the finishes he created looked like heaven.
I followed Frank around with a mop and a bucket so as to clean up all the drool because Frank was slobbering over all the automated gadgets and the smattering of trusty old lathes, all of which were thoughtfully located in a clean, well organized, well lit, well ventilated shop that ran with the doors open because of all the stupidly mild weather SoCal gets. Afterwards we got to see all this fella's many toys and personal custom car projects as well as some SEMA trucks which (truth be told) aren't personal projects but rather the result of one whole helluva lot of collaboration.
All of this goodness was located in an industrial park consisting of concrete, tilt-wall buildings all fitted together like a Jenga game with common walls and sometimes a rabbit's warren of passageways, steel doors, gates and chain link fences fitted with privacy screens between the backs of the buildings. Frank's buddy lived on the property in a palatial diesel pusher worth a handsome sum because (a) Divorce and (b) why buy a house, have to drive to work AND pay property taxes when a cozy bungalow on wheels can solve all those problems at once! And did I say industrial park? Fellas, based upon what I saw, most of the area south of Los Angeles is one industrial park after another.
I was not prepared for how routinely amazed I soon would be.
Now, because Frank's buddy is in the 'custom business', he is connected with just about everybody who loves cars...and by extension, everybody who loves aircraft, because of the overarching love of machines that looked good and performed well. So, in the following few days we drove all over with him calling guys and getting us 'inside track' visits with all sorts of big names (names you've heard and some you haven't) all having anything to do with one-off builds, resto-mods, hot rods, salt flat racers and anything else having to do with racing, from midget racers to top fuel dragsters (and many of them were still being raced) and things with wings. Older racing machines had been restored to their former glory (probably better than their former glory, actually) and those machines were now passing their days in museums (some in private museums or in CLUBS, if you can believe that). If the He Man Wimmen Haters Club had a penchant for cars, they'd probably be set up in a building in an industrial park in southern Cali.
For the next few days, the world was our oyster. Doors were thrown open for us and we received the VIP treatment. Often times we ended up having a casual conversation with an owner, or a founder, or a local legend who would happily share the nuts-n-bolts details of what it takes to have and sometimes enjoy all the glory. Not bad for a couple of bums from Texas. Those doors that were opened to us were almost all located in industrial parks. Often there were no signs, nor was there anything to provide anyone with a clue to what was inside and Frank's buddy wouldn't tell us what we were about to see. EVERY time a door or a gate opened, we walked into some form of automotive or aviation Valhalla.
Several times we were welcomed into the Sanctum Sanctorum at the home of a guy who was told he couldn't...and did anyway. You will find one good example on the cover of the most current Hot Rod Magazine. We visited those great guys in their tiny garage and they welcomed us in. We were offered a beer; we sat and chatted like old friends amidst funny car pieces and parts. Pointed at things. Asked questions. Received answers. Elsewhere, at another residence, artfully created bucks upon which hand formed panels would come together to create a one-of-one automobile that looked like it was moving while sitting still. Metal shaping sorcerers.
Very cool.
Last edited by m3a1 on September 3rd, 2025, 9:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Well surely you had to visit with Jay "the chin" Leno right? I have met Jay at a couple of off road races and he is actually a very affable guy. Loves to talk about anything mechanical. And given his income and status he still enjoys getting his hands dirty.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
We tried. Didn't get it done. More to follow.
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
You've been wanting pictures.
I know you have.
How about Tim Miller's Handguns & Hot Rods; a private club for people who like...well, for people who probably don't collect stamps. He has two places in industrial buildings, located across the street from one another. Probably others that I don't know about. His collection has only things HE likes. I asked about the maintenance schedule for his stable. His answer was, "I drive a different car every day."
It's Miller time....ALL the time!
As for the motorcycles, they are also on a strict schedule. Each one gets out once a month. And the neon signs are simply amazing.
The club has a private burger joint (always staffed) and a private restaurant (also, always staffed). Two indoor firing ranges, completely enclosed and sound-proofed, upstairs AND downstairs. There are hot rods (naturally) and a nice collection of guitars (Fender manufactures their guitars not too far away). Meeting spaces and...an indoor waterfall. In real life, Mr. Miller makes things. BIG things. Like, 'very-tall-buildings' big. Everything in Hot Rods & Handguns is top shelf. And he's a very nice, very easygoing fellow. When he asked me what I was into I told him and he asked me more about them. "Do you have anything with tracks?" "Mmm Hmm," I responded coyly. Genuinely interested in his fellow man. Pretty good for a guy with so many irons in the fire.
I know you have.
How about Tim Miller's Handguns & Hot Rods; a private club for people who like...well, for people who probably don't collect stamps. He has two places in industrial buildings, located across the street from one another. Probably others that I don't know about. His collection has only things HE likes. I asked about the maintenance schedule for his stable. His answer was, "I drive a different car every day."
It's Miller time....ALL the time!
As for the motorcycles, they are also on a strict schedule. Each one gets out once a month. And the neon signs are simply amazing.
The club has a private burger joint (always staffed) and a private restaurant (also, always staffed). Two indoor firing ranges, completely enclosed and sound-proofed, upstairs AND downstairs. There are hot rods (naturally) and a nice collection of guitars (Fender manufactures their guitars not too far away). Meeting spaces and...an indoor waterfall. In real life, Mr. Miller makes things. BIG things. Like, 'very-tall-buildings' big. Everything in Hot Rods & Handguns is top shelf. And he's a very nice, very easygoing fellow. When he asked me what I was into I told him and he asked me more about them. "Do you have anything with tracks?" "Mmm Hmm," I responded coyly. Genuinely interested in his fellow man. Pretty good for a guy with so many irons in the fire.
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Did you ask if he needed any volunteer drivers to help with the exercising??
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
A row of Indian Chiefs minus the dressings and a couple of Harley WL militaries. How many people still know how to ride a foot clutch and tank shifter?
Those two BSA's front and center? I had both of them but nowhere near that condition. The 440 single I had was a Victor with the high exhaust. My 650 was all stock. BSA's and Triumph's you could not keep a chain guard or license plate on them. The vibration would crack any sheet metal.
Those two BSA's front and center? I had both of them but nowhere near that condition. The 440 single I had was a Victor with the high exhaust. My 650 was all stock. BSA's and Triumph's you could not keep a chain guard or license plate on them. The vibration would crack any sheet metal.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Sorry, Rick. He has minions for that.
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
my first bike was a tankshift, foot clutch and i was 16 years old. over the years we had seven hogs, three of which were tankshifts. when i left for the nam, i had a WLA around the side of the house. when i got back, the WLA was gone, and so was my soon to be ex wife. i sure miss that bike. it would be fun to own now.
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Mr. Recovery
- Brigadier General
- Posts: 2994
- Joined: December 5th, 2007, 9:03 pm
- Location: New Port Richey, Fl.
- Contact:
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
My 1st road bike, 1960 XLH Sportster 883. this was 1965 at Fort Carson Colorado. I sold it to another GI when I got out of the Army in 1966. 
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
1960 M151 Run 1
1963 M151 Willys DoD 10-63 in West Virgina.
1989 Alley Cat. "work in Progress"
NRA Life Member
American Legion Post 335 Hudson Fl
US Army 6 years 2nd Armored Cavalry Bindlach Germany
Colorado Army Nat. Guard 5 years
Md Air Guard 15 years active duty on C-130's
1963 M151 Willys DoD 10-63 in West Virgina.
1989 Alley Cat. "work in Progress"
NRA Life Member
American Legion Post 335 Hudson Fl
US Army 6 years 2nd Armored Cavalry Bindlach Germany
Colorado Army Nat. Guard 5 years
Md Air Guard 15 years active duty on C-130's
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
I had a 70 sporty with that very same seat on it. Also an XLH which was the electric start version. All of my previous Harleys were kick. This one had no kicker which was interesting when the battery died.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
-
Mr. Recovery
- Brigadier General
- Posts: 2994
- Joined: December 5th, 2007, 9:03 pm
- Location: New Port Richey, Fl.
- Contact:
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Yes, and if you were carrying a passenger you had to make sure She was stout enough to push the bike with you on it! 
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
1960 M151 Run 1
1963 M151 Willys DoD 10-63 in West Virgina.
1989 Alley Cat. "work in Progress"
NRA Life Member
American Legion Post 335 Hudson Fl
US Army 6 years 2nd Armored Cavalry Bindlach Germany
Colorado Army Nat. Guard 5 years
Md Air Guard 15 years active duty on C-130's
1963 M151 Willys DoD 10-63 in West Virgina.
1989 Alley Cat. "work in Progress"
NRA Life Member
American Legion Post 335 Hudson Fl
US Army 6 years 2nd Armored Cavalry Bindlach Germany
Colorado Army Nat. Guard 5 years
Md Air Guard 15 years active duty on C-130's
Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux
Yes, but you needed third gear and getting past second was about impossible. We both pushed it to the top of the hill ( you know this did not happen at the top right) then I got us both on and rolled down the hill, once I had a fair bit of stem I held the clutch and hit second and it locked the tire for just a second and fired off. We did not shut that bike off again unless II knew there was someone there with jumper cables. Filling a Harley with gas while it is running is very dicey!!! They still had the miniscule little XLCH battery and you only got one shot at it.
I never understood why those clutches stuck so bad but worked perfectly when running. Every Harley I ever had was that way.
I never understood why those clutches stuck so bad but worked perfectly when running. Every Harley I ever had was that way.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
1953 M37 W/W
1953 M37 converted to 12 volt