COOPSTRIPES: November 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

YOU WANT ME TO PUT STRIPES WHERE??

Got busy right off the bat.They were waiting!!

Beth was there to help watch the tables and serenade us with Hawaiian uke tunes..UKE UKE!!

Kenny knocked out a couple toilet seats. Was he really pissed and broke??

Did some stripes and flames on this one . It turned out great .To bad it was dark and the pic doesn't really show it

Buzz and wife Gwen showed up. what a laugh fest that was. Buzz started out at the Daytona speedway years ago ,as the resident sign painter,but he is a walking encyclopedia of NASCAR facts,and he ended up the historian for them. He is now the curator of the new NASCAR hall of fame in Charlotte. Way to go buzz man...can I have another bowl of fudge ripple???

OH ,BROTHER

Back to work.On Thursday we didn't get done till after 6. We went to the Holiday house in Deland to have turkey dinner.It's kind of a family style buffet. A little different. Definately a blue hair place ,but great food. We ended up going back again!

A fan.... Nice hat!!

Not sure which one is pissed and which is broke........here I am Moe.....

yet another happy hot rod goes out the booth.... I've been working on a lot of satin black cars lately.

One of floridas finest works my corner. Every day he hauls me down to Dutches' place for hot dogs and ice cream... Yummmm

Thats Dutch... being threatened by Kenny and his frozen weiner

Kenny consumes said weiner...after diping it in hot sauce... now cut that out!!

We worked untill dark again on Friday,then went to Kennys favorite mexican place, Monkey Jeeters, to celebrate his big 5-0

Double fisted good!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY YA OLD FART!!! And thanks for the movies......I'm here Moe!!!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Well, It was more fun than naked Crockett. The Michigan game was a Buckeye beat down. After all those years under coach Cooper, It is sweet to finally do the same to those Wolverweenies.

Linda, Tom, and Richard cooking at the tailgate. Man it was cold. 18 degrees when we got there..

Script Ohio,and the son. We haven't missed a Michigan game Since he was old enough to go to one.

Hey Joe. I can't read those numbers... Whats that say???

check out those first quarter stats!!!! GO DEFENSE !!!!!
The next day It was off to the warm south. Got halfway to Florida and got a flat... well , a long story short, a new tire in Gorgia and back on the road.

I made it to my buddy Jim Bag's,and picked up my tarps and stuff that I leave down there ,and went to the Daytona speedway for the Turkey Run.

Its been awhile since I had to set this up.. My good bud Ken Mitchroney.came to Fla for the holiday and is working with me all weekend. He came out to help set this thing up.. HERE I AM MOE!!!

Never been to the -eat more chikin- place before. Not an IN-N-OUT Burger,but quite good... Let the paint slopin begin!!!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Last weekend was my birthday. I want to thank everyone for the cards, greetings and cool presents. even got some BBQ and cake!! The kids, neighbors and friends were over for awhile and we watched movies. After they left I didn't feel like working so I watched some movies myself, but that's like going through the forest alone.... push play
always makes me think of that van from kansas....OK, back to the garage. I have a trailer to load Ill be on a work break for a while. more later from florida!!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

There never seems to be a limit to the kinds of things I'm asked to paint. This customer has a Jaguar and wanted a picture of her 2 birds painted on the back.. that's a first for me..

Well, I've made quick work of this one. When things get to be to much,I take out my frustrations on something like this. The bodywork is finished and I got several coats of primer on it. A little wet sanding and its ready to start painting. but first I've got to build the frame and install the axles and figure out the configuration for the drive gears. the "boys" took the rear axle to stretch it 6".Its too narrow for the body and needs to fit just beyond the wheel wells. now that I've got it this far I want to get it finished .

This is the week all Ohio State fans live for . That dreaded school up north . Sat. is the big game and then its off to the Turkey Run and the usual trek to Fla. followed by the Mooneyes, and Brush Off party. A lot of fun and work but I wouldn't miss it. but that means the van project is going to have to wait a couple weeks.

sanding is good for the soul, but its hell on the joints.

oh. I don't work in my Ohio State sweat shirts..

sanding is done.. lets primer this Ferd !

Monday, November 10, 2008

The Ford needed some glass work. There are 2 window holes in the rear to fill if I'm to paint the eagle designs on it.and a large hole to fill in the roof. There also is a place cut out of the hood someone cut for who knows what. For the larger holes I laid out some wax paper on a board and glassed up some cloth the size of the hole ,so I would have a nice flat piece to go in it. that makes it a lot easier. I got all the glass finished in a day and its ready for filler and sanding.....O boy! sore arms.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Its been awhile

MY LIFE HAS BEEN UPSIDE DOWN LATELY WITH ALL THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON HERE. WORK HAS BEEN OFF A LITTLE, BUT I'VE BEEN KEEPING BUSY WITH PROJECTS AROUND HERE FROM STRIPPING WALL PAPER AND PAINTING TO PAINTING A BUNCH MORE CANS. I ALSO HAVE A PEDAL VAN PROJECT THAT I'LL SHOW YOU AS IT GOES ALONG . IT WILL BE TIME TO GO TO THE TURKEY RUN IN FLA. SHORTLY. THIS YEAR I WILL BE JOINED BY KENNY AND THE RED HEAD. WHAT A HOOT THAT SHOULD BE. THEN A COUPLE WEEKS LATER, ITS OFF TO MOON'S PARTY AND THE BRUSH OFF,AGAIN. I REALLY NEED TO GET MY PROJECT STARTED FOR THAT ONE. FOOTBALL SEASON IS ALMOST OVER. ITS BEEN A FUN ONE BUT IT HAS FLOWN BY. WE HAD AN IMPROMPTU TRIP TO THE OSU/ NORTHWESTERN GAME YESTERDAY. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.THEIR STADIUM IS THE SMALLEST IN THE BIG TEN BUT IT IS A GREAT PLACE TO SEE A GAME. BUT BEING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF CHICAGO IT WAS WINDY AND COLD!

HERE'S TOMMY IN HIS NEW SUIT. WE WANTED TO STAY WARM.. SANTA COULD USE THIS ONE..

THIS IS THE BUCKEYES EQUIPMENT TRUCK. I'M WORKING ON GETTING TO STRIPE THE TRACTOR. A BUDDY OF MINE DID THE MURALS, HOPEFULLY I'LL GET TO THROW A FEW LINES ON IT YET THIS YEAR.

THIS IS ONE OF 3 FIBREGLASS VAN BODIES I HAVE ACQUIRED OVER THE YEARS. THEY WERE MADE AS GO CART BODIES,BUT I'M TURNING THEM INTO PEDAL CARS SINCE MOST SHOWS I GO TO WON'T LET YOU HAVE MOTORIZED CARTS. I HAVE A FORD, CHEVY, AND ASTRO BODY ,THAT I'M GOING TO PAINT TO MAKE MINIATURES OF ALL MY VANS... KOOL!

THE OLD FORD BODY NEEDS SOME WORK.. THE ROOF HOLE WHERE YOU SIT TO DRIVE WAS TO FAR FORWARD SO I HAD TO MOVE IT AS WELL AS FILL THE WINDOW HOLES IN THE REAR. THATS FOR TOMORROW

THE EAGLE SAGA

It was 40 years ago and I attended the largest van event that I ever went to. Even tho I had had a van for some 4 years, this was to be only my 3rd van event. The Nationals at Bowling Green, Ky was sensory overload to the van enthusiast. 6300+ vans in one place? It still stirs the emotions. I belonged to a club from Newark, Ohio at the time called, North Fork Vans.

It was hot that weekend. Very hot.. To hot to even move. Got up sat to enter the show & shine. This was to be the first for me. When I got to the check in area we discovered that there were nearly 1000 vans in the line ahead of us. Didn’t do it. After parking back at the club camp we went to look at the vans. The heat was oppressive, and we spent most of the time in the bleachers watching the vans inch their way through the judging lanes,occasionally walking down to take a closer look. There were so many vans it was impossible to see them all. It amazes me to this day how the N.S.V.A. group was able to judge all of them and pick winners in just a few hours. There were a lot of real nice vans. Many were even outstanding. Saw the B.F.G. van, future shock. It was extreme, especially for then. But the one van I kept hearing about was a van from Ohio. Built by Greg of Akron. The van was the Flying Eagle 2. I never saw it. But a number of people said it was the best thing they had ever seen. I the host group must have agreed since the Flying Eagle 2 was awarded top honors at Bowling Green. including best overall paint ,and best interior. I never did see it..until it started showing up in every van publication there was and back then there were a lot of them.

Greg toured the van all over the country that year. Taking top honors at many shows, including Best of Show at the west coast van nationals in King City Calif . Over the next few years I became a fan of Greg's style of paint. He was the “Foose” of his day. His paint was on many of the top winning vans for years. The Superstar, Rocky Mountain High, Hotel California, Rolling thunder, and others were among the elite of the vanning scene. But the Flying Eagle 2 was Greg’s personal van and probably the best one he ever did. What ever became of it.?? Well in 1978 he repainted it. The second paint job was not as elaborate as the first but was still very nice. I know this from pictures I saw in a magazine called small car trends. But I still hadn’t seen it. Then later that year he sold the van to a guy in Louisville,Ohio , Ben Merkle . Merkle Had the van at the 7th. Nats show & shine. in Cortland. Never saw it. Later that day someone told me it was there. Hunted it down but it was locked up and I had to settle for seeing the exterior… after that it was never seen again. Fast forward 24 years to the Nats ,2003, in Kansas City. A long time Vanner friend comes to me with pictures of a van that he just acquired ,and wants to know if I would be interested in helping him restore it. Woaaaa. It’s the Flying Eagle. And it had been on fire! Well, to actually find this van after all these years was real cool ,but the story behind it was even cooler.. Blaino bought the van on ebay. as the story goes, Merkle was driving the van one day and it stalled at a light. Then there was smoke ,then fire. The fire department came and put it out but the van was pretty messed up. The van was insured, and after settling with the ins. company they sold the van at auction. No one wanted it. It had no parts a junk yard could sell and it ended up selling for $100. That person put it on ebay and it sold for a ridiculously low price. That’s when Blaino came to me. Blaino lives in Oregon. The van was in Michigan. And after a year of banter Blaino offered the van to me. I took it. Then Mikie and I took a 12 hour trip to Michigan and I finally got to see the Flying Eagle. Upon inspection and a little detective work , we determined that the fire was caused by a fuel line leak.The rubber hose at the carb, either cracked or wasn’t properly installed and sprayed gas over the engine., That's why it stalled. Then the gas hit the exhaust and fooom. The fire was contained to the intake and above. The paint on the block wasn’t touched.The fire melted the wiring harness, heater box and then came through the fire wall. The front of the cab was burned pretty good, some wood will have to be replaced but most could be saved. The pictures to follow will show the progress of the restoration… oh yes, in 2000 the van was repainted again, supposedly by Greg at least partly. It has his mural work on it. The theme is still the sailing ship, but it is now a futuristic look. Actually I like it. The idea is to eventually restore it to its original paint job, but that will entail striping the van completely as all 3 paint jobs are still on the van, and at least the first 2 are lacquer. If you look just right you can still see the old paint outlines. I am going to fix the van as it was before the fire for the time being. The restoration is pretty much done . Now i'm working on improving it. you know I can't just leave it alone. coop

COOPSTRIPES

Vanning