1941 Chevy Pickup Truck

Just got done doing quite a bit of work over at Zoomers Auto website, added a page for the 1941 Chevy Pickup truck that Lee and company built in 2008. Yeah it was 5 years ago, but given how many cars they build per year, if I update his site with a new page on different cars every week then it is obvious that I'll run out of cars by the end of the year. So I had to go back through his files a few years to start getting pictures of what Zoomers as built. I sure hope that any readers of this blog get a chance to look at the Little Red Truck with a small block Chevy in it.

1951 Ford Tudor Sedan

Sunday night I blogged a little about Billy Reichenberg's 1951 For Sedan built by Zoomers Automotive of Denver Colorado. This car is a work of art, and has just turned out to be a marvel from the guys at Zoomers. I'm so happy that I can write and publish on Lee's website and I have been working very hard on both Saving Dave Dot Com and Zoomers Automotive Dot Com.

The sleeper special – Billy Reichenberg’s 1951 For Tudor Sedan that has been featured in the February 2011 edition of Street Rodder Magazine. Built by Zoomers Automotive in Denver Colorado, with Lee Bumgardner directing the build, and Travis Kling preforming all the hard work necessary to bring this project to life. This car started out as a bone stock restored 1951 Ford Sedan with an original flat head V8 engine.

Billy’s first car was a 1951 Ford, and wanting another car just like his first ride, he bought the car back in 2002 from an owner in Kentucky. Eventually he grew tired of driving it, with the drum brakes, original steering, suspension, and original engine, which left a lot to be desired, as the car was under powered coupled with poor handling and stopping power.

When it came time to redo his vintage car, Billy brought it to Zoomers, and Billy, Lee, and Travis teamed up with other shops in the industry to build one sweet ride.

The details of this car are that the frame and drive line were replaced with an Art Morrison built chassis and suspension complete with Ride Tech air ride suspension, including a four link rear, and independent front suspension. Power train was upgraded to a Ron Zeller built 1957-model 392-cubic-inch hemi engine with a Holley 750-cfm double-pumper carburetor dyno-tuned to the engine for maximum performance. Transmission is a Tremec TKO-600 6-speed manual, and the differential is a Ford 9-inch fitted with 4.11 gears, giving the black Ford the best of both worlds with plenty of power off the line, and over drive for the highway. Climate controls are achieved with a Vintage Air unit fitted under the dash, with the only modification to the dashboard being the Vintage Air controls neatly inserted into the drivers left side, the vents are beautifully hidden, leading all but the most discerning eye, to believe that the dash has been untouched. Rounding out the list of upgrades to the Ford are a set of Halibrand wheels (16x7 and 17x8) shod in Goodyear rubber (215/70R16 and 255/50R17), a set of four Wilwood 11-inch vented rotors with six piston calipers providing the stopping power to all four wheels.

The body was left untouched on the exterior, yet the floor pan, firewall, and rear inner fender wells required extensive modification to fit the frame, engine, transmission, and tires, allowing the car to be lowered to the ground at car shows, but giving a superb ride on the road. Once the sheet metal modifications were complete, the car was sent to Color Works to be painted by Jeff Showalter and crew. Back from paint the detail work began as final assembly got underway with Lee and Travis using a number of services provided by other shops to give the sedan it’s original look. Upholstery was done by Autoweave of Denver with Lee picking the Lizard skin and vinyl fabrics, along with the correct thickness thread giving the Ford a factory original look. Seats although left original were fitted with power controls. Steering wheel was sent to Quality Restorations in Poway California and sized down by three inches, and attached to a Vintage Series Flaming River column keeping in line with the factory original appearance of the car. Hurst shifter was modified as well so that it would work with the bench seat as well as offer a subdued appearance. Included in the long list of upgrades to the Ford are a set of Halibrand wheels (16x7 and 17x8) shod in Goodyear rubber (215/70R16 and 255/50R17), a set of four Wilwood 11-inch vented rotors with six piston calipers providing the stopping power to all four wheels.

Details and photos on the build can be found at Zoomers website as well as Saving Dave Dot Com’s Auto pages.

Joker One

Joker One

Today I paid another tribute to the Marines, and my father. I put up an ad page on my website for the book "Joker One" by Donovan Campbell. Donovan named his book after the call sign of the platoon of Marines he commanded in Ramadi back in 2004. It is good read, as he starts out explaining the structure of a Marine platoon, company, and battalion. His explanation included the details of how short handed his platoon was, and how filling their ranks and training them for combat had to be accomplished in a few months.

His tale of working with his Marines, training them, leading them, and getting to know them is deep and his personal journey difficult to bear at times. His to the point comments about heroism in combat, versus the reality of being there. Images from his book still live with me to this day as I recall the scene from the school, or the accidental death of a Marine at night. The stories of his Marines as they struggled and fought their guts out trying to protect a civilian population that didn't even what them there, are related with incredible realism as Donovan recalls the sparks of bullets skipping off the pavement during combat with the insurgents.

Marines In Iraq 2004

Like many of us, I enjoy fiction, and read it when ever possible, but there's nothing like a true to life story, to jolt each of us out of our comfort zones, and plunge us into the reality of the hardships others in our service have endured. Joker One does that, and more, it will wrench your heart, make you rage, have you standing up walking around to relieve the anxiety, and in the end, you'll be crying in your Wheaties! So keep a box of tissues handy!

Donavan Campbell made the comment in the first few pages of his book that it is hard to tell the truth, because the telling brings up painful memories and open doors that are best left closed. Yet he felt compelled as their leader to tell their story, and as their leader he felt the responsibility had fallen to him. As a Marine and aspiring writer myself, I would have to salute him and tell him, well done Marine, on both counts, as their leader in Iraq, and the teller of their tale.

I thank Donovan Campbell for writing the book Joker One, and I suggest it to read.

Semper Fi

A Sense Of Duty

I just put up my advertisement page for the book "A Sense Of Duty" by Quang X. Pham. He has become a friend of my family, and as my ad page points out, my father rescued his father during the Vietnam War. It is one of those tales that spans generations, and oceans, a great read. I'm proud to brag about my signed copy from Quang, and to be able to relate the things he said during my brief time with him. He and Lt. General Jack Woodmansee were both present at my fathers funeral a year ago.

Quangs book contains a lot of information about the South Vietnamese Air Force, and Squadrons, aircraft models assigned to each. It's obvious he has done his research in writing the book. He also honored my father at his book signing in California with a plaque and picture. Funny thing was that the story of the rescue and so much more, on the web page for Do Xa, my father relays that when he came up on the airplane he had landed on a dirt runway gear down, he got out of the aircraft by himself, and limped over to the helicopter, assisted by the gunner. In a CH-34 the pilot sits up top, and it is difficult for him to get out of the aircraft. My father never left his seat. The Washington Post obituary reads that he pulled Hoa Van Pham from the burning airplane... funny how those kinds of stories get started, I guess that's poetic license on the part of the Washington post journalist that wrote the obituary.

A brief of the story is, Quang’s father Hoa Van Pham served as a pilot in the VNAF. The early part of his career was spent in fighters, and later he served as a transport pilot, earning the rank of Colonel and command of a VNAF Transport Squadron.

Photo above, Quang and Jack Woodmansee at my fathers funeral a year ago.

When Saigon fell in 1975, he put his family on an airplane out of Vietnam, and stayed behind, only to end up in a communist re-education camp, delaying his entry to the US until 1992, when he finally was able to reunite with his family. Quang had asked his father several times over the years since his return about his participation in the Vietnam war, he never really responded to him, until some time before his passing in 2000 when he gave Quang a box of records, pictures, and tapes containing details about his experiences during the war and after. Only after his passing did Quang finally dig into the box, and it was there he found the details of his fathers life as a pilot.

Reviewing the information, Quang discovered that his father had been shot down during a joint Marine, ARVN, Army, and VNAF strike mission on a Vietcong strong hold at Do Xa on April 27th 1964. At the time, part of the Marine Corp tactics is to leave a helicopter circling above the landing zone, with spare parts and supplies, giving them the ability to pull out downed helicopters, crews, and the wounded. When Van Hoa was hit, the pilot flying the CH-34 that day, flew to the rescue of the downed pilot.

The man flying the CH-34 on April 27th 1964 was my father Colonel John R. Braddon.

I grew up knowing the date of April 27th 1964, and the name Do Xa because that was the day my father earned a Silver Star for his bravery in combat, dropping in under fire repeatedly to pull out the crews of downed helicopters and the wounded.

I hope in writing this blog, that those that read it, take the time to go to my web page, and read my more personal article, and possibly even buy and read the book!

Enjoy