Unconventional

What a nightmare come true! Back in January, a sudden smack to the right side of my beloved cabover sent it out of control, into a solid wall of concrete, before sliding lifelessly to a halt. I was relatively unhurt, as was the driver of the car that took me to the wall, but my sad old Freightliner didn’t fare so well. The right side of the cab was torn up from the headlights all the way to the stacks, and from the bottom of the door down to the ground. The fuel tank and battery box were toast, as was the right quarter fender and much more. The impact even shattered the transmission bell housing and the flywheel housing on the rig’s Big Cam Cummins. As I said, what a nightmare! Fortunately, no human fatalities – thank God. A quick call to Kevin Pickett at Pickett Repair in Arlington, Washington eased my fears of losing my truck forever. It takes a very special kind of person to professionally restore a vintage semi, and Kevin is just that kind of person. With the help of his high school friend Casey DeBeau of Casey’s Body Shop in Lake Stevens, Washington and “Razzy” the young wrench-turner, my old cabover was treated to a careful and beautiful restoration that had me back on the road in two months (which is pretty good considering the vast amount of obsolete and hard-to-find parts on these old relics). I’d like to send out special thanks to Kevin Pickett at Pickett Repair (425-754-1831), Casey DeBeau of Casey’s Body Shop (360-657-1987), and everyone else who was involved for taking such great care of my ride – and for treating me like a friend instead of a paycheck.

TWIST OF FATE

It was Mid January and I was headed back home,
North bound Seattle, I was mindin my own.
Traffic wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best,
That’s just the start, let me tell you the rest.

Goin’ 50 miles an hour in the number two lane,
Five lanes wide, it was startin to rain.
I had just emptied out at the end of my haul,
When a BANG to the right, sent my truck to the wall.

I thought I blew a steer when I got out to look,
I found a car was the cause for the hit that it took.
No blood and guts, just a few cuts and scrapes,
But my poor little ‘Shaker was in horrible shape.

She took a good hit in the right front side,
Which was only made worse by the concrete slide.
The cab skins, the fuel tank, the battery box,
The air-ride steer axle busted the shocks.

After a couple days of swimmin’ in a pit of despair,
I made a quick call up to Pickett Repair.
Kevin Pickett told me, it was no big deal,
And in a few short weeks I’d be back at the wheel.

He made a few arrangements for my rig to be towed,
To the custom body shop, owned by Casey DeBeau.
What a blessing it was knowing it was in good hands,
Where I could be involved in the rebuild plans.

A custom classic rebuild ain’t no simple fix,
But guys like Kev and Casey, they know all the tricks.
With the damaged parts removed and new ones in,
She sure was lookin purty in her brand new skin.

Blue with white stripes was the factory tone,
But I chose black and green for a look of my own.
Casey shot the paint and it looks so slick,
The thought of getting dirty now, just makes me sick.

That January wreck could have changed my course,
But thanks to Kevin Pickett, now I’m back on the horse.
It sure looked good in that old Petty Blue,
But now my little cabover is better than new!