Paul's '29 Ford Roadster Pickup in April 2011 Issue of Rod & Custom

There is a very nice article about Paul Bos' roadster pickup in the April issue of Rod & Custom. Have you seen it yet? Click on the '29 roadster pickup label for full story on this build. Thank you Chris Shelton and Rod & Custom.

A True Professional Hot Rod Journalist Came To Town

Last Friday hot rod journalist Chris Shelton came over from the Seattle area to shoot Paul Bo's '29 roadster pickup and other Spokane-Northern Idaho area cars. Dustin said, "for a big time professional dude, he's a hell of a nice guy, who really knows his stuff. It was a pleasure hanging around him." We all agree, Chris was great to work with. We look forward to seeing the story in an upcoming issue of Street Rodder. Chris decided to use the same location that we used last fall.

Paul's Roadster Wins Award At Spokane Auto Show

Dustin was as happy as we have ever seen him Sunday night when he got the news Paul Bos' '29 roadster pickup won the ISCA cash award for Outstanding Altered Rod at the Spokane Auto Boat Speed Show.

Spokane Car Builder

Bos and '29 Ford At Bob Hardee Photo Shoot 1961

The skirt may have mentioned, at some point on this blog, that this spring friend and customer Paul Bos and his wife Sallie are packing up their stuff to get the hell out of Idaho for warmer climes. In doing the packing, Paul came across these professional photographs of himself and his roadster taken in 1961 by Bob Hardee, a popular California freelance hot rod photographer. Paul told us he was tooling around in his roadster, "making the scene" in southern California when this bus driver pulled up alongside of him and said, "Hey kid, you want your car in a hot rod magazine?" This guy told Paul to do the shoot he had to, "get a hair cut and buy some white slacks." "I really wanted to be in the magazines, so I did what I was told even though I wasn't sure who he was and I only wore jeans and a dirty tee shirts. The barber cut my pompadour and I went to Sears for my first pair of dress pants," said Paul. He soon learned this white-pants-loving bus driver was hot rod photographer Bob Hardee. Paul's story made Hot Rod magazine. Cover of Hot Rod magazine, August 1961. Paul and the red roadster are near the bottom of the picture.

The car also made the first volume of Hot Rod Yearbook which show cased the finest hot rods on the planet in 1961.
(I know it's not a very good scan of the Yearbook page, but I didn't want to risk breaking the binding.)

Here's what it reads - At 21 years, Paul Bos is an old timer. This is his sixth road rod. Chassis refinement list: '32 front suspension, '40 brakes, '56 pickup steering box and '40 rear end with 4.44:1 gears, all FoMoCo branded. Born in Hawaii, Bos drew from nine years experience in hot rodding, wisely selecting '29 Ford-Chevy V8 combo as not only a good running team but shrewd investment as well. Stock body was wisely retained, enhanced by Jeep lights, Ford wheels; 15x5.90's, 8.20's.

This was just the first of many magazine articles written about Paul and his hot rods.

Graduation Portrait - '29 Ford Roadster Pickup

Last Saturday we trailered Paul Bos' '29 roadster pickup to a friend's old barn for a photo shoot. We were on location from two in the afternoon until past sunset. Professional photographers are right, twilight is the "magic hour" to shoot. The Skirt took the artsy shots below, the others we set aside to see if anyone wants to use them in a magazine.

Joy Ride

Paul's '29 roadster pickup is done.

After debuting the Ford at this year's Goodguys Great Northwest Nationals, the guys got down to work finishing it, constructing and upholstering a seat, installing the windshield and sewing up a tight, little tonneau cover. Dustin assembled the bed, mounted the headers, finished up the wiring and a bunch of other stuff that still needed doing. Hot rod photographer and writer, Chris Shelton talked to Paul about coming over to Spokane from Seattle to do a photo shoot, but it now looks like that's not going to happen this year. (That's show business for ya.) Next week, if the sun's still shining we'll do our own photo shoot. Yesterday Dustin took The Skirt and our candy striper Chuck out for a spin around our "test track" . Check it out. In the video below I mention driving the truck to Vantage. Vantage is the finish line for the Washington State Reliability Run next year.

Goodguys 2009 Great Northwest Nationals

We had a great time checking out all the cars, visiting with old friends and meeting new people at the Goodguys show in Spokane this past weekend. Snapped this as Tonja DiCenzo and the Napa gal rolled by the beer garden in her and her husband Tom's latest project - a '26 Ford Model T rat rod. The car's engine purrs like a kitten. I shot some video. Dustin and Paul's wife Sallie tooled around the grounds in the roadster pickup. People and press seemed to really like it. Now we need to finish it.Kayla went straight to Harold Z.'s Chevy to check out how Eric's interior looked in the bright light of day. What do you think? I'm slipping in this shot I took in the shop to better show the console and cool inset.Here's a closer look at Tom & Tonja's rigs, the rat rod, '29 Ford Truck and '64 Falcon Sprint. One word pretty much sums up Tom's work - meticulous. There was an drooling crowd around all three rides all weekend. I bet there are lots of Flickr photos if you went looking for them.

Chuck sent in photos of this wicked cool Salt Lake Flat Flattie. The owner rolled into Spokane fresh from Bonneville. You can see the salt on the floor pan! Chuck said it was the most powerful flattie he had ever seen. You could hear it running from the other side of the fairgrounds.

4" thick aluminum heads?
The owner trailered the car of course, the salt came from his shoes. Chuck can't recall the owners name, but he was headed back home to his shop in Wenatchee. What a great vacation adventure he's been on. Among other things, The Skirt liked this Ford wagon too, and Dave Kelly's '60 Caddy. It's for sale.
Kayla liked the Caddy too (video) and this champagne-colored Studebaker. Well, you can't show it all. Until next time.

Paul Bos' Roadster Pickup Debuts at Spokane Goodguys

Paul's '29 pickup is running on her own, short distances anyway. Dustin loaded it on the trailer this morning and we met Paul at the gate of Spokane Goodguys Show. The video shows it all. We were a bit disappointed, we needed more time than we had to mount the windshield. That's how it goes.

Everyone pitched in to get the car running. That's Little Z, our summer intern, in the center of the picture. That's also his Mach I in the background. Pretty cool, uh? He's doing the finish work on the '69 mustang under the tutelage of the RBI crew. Paul brought in a couple of Mexican blankets he picked up in his homestate of California. The guys draped them over foam padding to make a temporary seat for this weekend's Goodguys show.

Hot Rod Pickup In Final Assembly

Dustin painted Paul Bos' '29 Ford truck on his time off this past spring and early summer. It's back in the shop where he's doing the final assembly. We hope to take it to the Goodguys Great Northwest Nationals next month. It may be in the "under construction" lot, but it will be there. It's looking good, Dustin.

Paul's Truck in

We've written before about Paul and his '29 Model A. Two weeks ago before the guys took the truck apart for paint we pushed it outside for a photo shoot. Paul sent his good friend Morty a picture. You'll find the picture he sent by scrolling down the linked page of Morty's e-zine. We had forgotten how much we enjoy reading HOP UP. We'll make it a regular read from now on, you should too.

Punching Louvers In Hood of '29 - Pictorial & Video

The Latest On Paul Bos' '29 Model A Pickup

Paul dropped off the wheels and axles this morning. Thought we'd push it outside this afternoon for a little photo session. Fabricator Dustin Reichel is doing a great job.
Here's an interior shot of Dustin's handiwork.

Paul's '29 Model A Pickup

Paul is a member of the gang of original So. Cal. hot rodders and speed racers. He and his wife live in Idaho now. Because he's old and stiff (his words, not ours) he asked Rod Builders to help him through some tricky stuff on his build of a '28 Model A hot rod pickup. The guys have been loving it. Pictures below. Here's a story on Paul from blog A.D.D. Garage. We want Paul to write his own life story some day. What do you think, Paul?

More to come next week!