10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

COVER FEATURE - APRIL 2007

FANCY ORIGINAL
Perfect Pete Combines Classic Design with Modern Shine
By Daniel J. Linss - Editor

Frank Pinheiro wasn’t a trucker – he was a dairyman. He never learned how to drive a truck, but he liked them and truly enjoyed going to antique truck shows – so much so, he bought an old Peterbilt and had it restored so he had a reason to go to them. He’d quietly sit in his folding lawn chair, near the truck, and watch the people’s reaction to his rig and listen to all the talk, rarely ever saying a word. He loved it. Unfortunately, he was only able to attend a few shows before passing away from heart failure in 2005. Now, his son-in-law and longtime business partner Steve Milanesio is the proud owner of what he describes as a “fancy original” old show truck.

Frank and Steve were partners in Pinheiro & Milanesio Farms in Strathmore, California (near Tulare). Frank’s background was in the dairy business, while Steve’s was farming. When Steve married Frank’s daughter Gina in 1982, the two men pooled their land and equipment together and became partners. Frank remained in charge of the dairy operation, and Steve continued to farm, mostly growing feed products to sustain the dairy. The dairy operation milks 2,000 cows, twice a day, and the farm operation covers about 1,800 acres of land. In total, the business encompasses almost 3,000 acres and has 28 full-time employees. It takes 9-1/2 hours to milk all the cows, and then they take a half hour break, change crews, and start again – 7 days a week – 365 days a year.

Steve’s family moved to the central valley in 1956 from La Puente, CA. Frank and his wife Arlene came to the valley in 1976 from Cerritos, CA. In 1989, Frank and Arlene lost their son, grandson and a nephew (that they had raised as their own) in a terrible auto accident. Later, Frank lost his brother-in-law Alden in a truck wreck, and his wife Arlene had to fight off two bouts of cancer. With all this tragedy in his life, Frank focused all of his attention on running the dairy and became very consumed by it, letting any and all hobbies fall to the wayside. When he came to Steve and told him that he wanted to buy and build a truck for the shows, Steve figured it would be good for Frank to have a hobby again – something fun and relaxing for him to do and something that would take his mind off of everything else.

Frank called his longtime friend and truck restoration specialist Jack “Yahpy” VanderFeer and told him to start looking for an old truck to buy and rebuild. Yahpy (which is Dutch for Jack) found the old 1964 Model 351 Peterbilt in Gustine, CA but it was in pretty bad shape. At that time, it was a 3-axle tractor with a 235” wheelbase, and it had been used to pull an end dump for many years. The truck had a nice butterfly hood, a 335 Cummins that ran fairly well, a 4x4 (two stick) transmission and 4:11 rear-ends. Because it was in such poor condition, Yahpy took it all the way down to the bare frame rails and went from there. The restoration was slow and expensive. After over a year of not seeing much progress, Frank began to lose interest in the project and told Yahpy that he wanted to sell it. Yahpy didn’t think selling it was a good idea, so Frank handed the project over to Steve.

Originally, the truck was just going to be a 3-axle tractor with no trailer, but when Steve was given the project, he decided that a hay truck would be better and make more sense (since they were in the dairy business). And Steve wanted to do more than just “restore” the old rig; he wanted to trick it out some. He told Yahpy to make it “fancy original” – meaning, keep it old school, but slam it (lower it) and add some chrome. Later, when Frank and Arlene came to pick out the colors and materials for the interior, Arlene asked, “Where’s the trailer?” Yahpy replied, “We don’t have one.” Arlene pointed her finger at Yahpy and then Steve saying, “You and you find a trailer and,” pointing at Frank, “you write the check.” So a trailer was added to the project. The entire job took almost three years. The truck and trailer were completed one week before the ATHS National Convention and Antique Truck Show was held in Fontana, CA in May of 2004. Driving to this event in Southern California was the truck’s maiden voyage – and it ran perfectly.

When it was all said and done, the frame was stretched seven feet and the cross-members were replaced to accommodate the 24’ bed that Viking Trailer in Cotton Center, CA built for the truck. Yahpy installed a car hauler front axle and smaller tires and wheels to get the truck lower to the ground. The entire cab was completely refurbished and every corner was reinforced with new gussets (special thanks to Bruce Greer at E.M. Tharp Peterbilt in Porterville, CA) and the SQHD rear-ends were switched out with a set of SQHPs. The engine’s camshaft and bearings were replaced and then it was painted in the original “Cummins Gold” color. The exterior was painted Pearl Metallic White (which looks like a cream color) and the fenders, air cleaners and accent stripes were painted Pearl Metallic Red by Viking Trailer (thanks go out to Bob Gordon for all his help).

Going for that “classic” look, Yahpy left off the hubcaps and lug nut covers, opting instead to paint the brake drums and chrome the actual lug nuts. They mounted a modern air conditioner (that looks like an old one) on the roof of the cab and added various pieces of stainless and chrome. The original mirrors and grille were polished out, including the “Cadillac” shutters that actually open and close as needed. They purchased a new bumper and then proceeded to cut it up and customize it (it isn’t easy to find a big bumper for those old trucks). The bumper had to be re-chromed three times before it finally came out right.

Wiring is Yahpy’s specialty, so he rewired the entire vehicle. “If you can find a wire connector anywhere on that truck, I’ll eat it – because there aren’t any,” said Yahpy. Every connection was soldered together. Old Pete conventionals like this one are notorious for burning out switches on the dash, so to fix the problem Yahpy mounted a box under the dash and wired in 14 relays and 14 circuit breakers for all of the switches. Every switch is a simple ground – when activated, the switch simply energizes the relay, which solves the problem. Even the ignition switch runs through this box. Because of this slick wiring job, he’s never had to pull the dash since the truck was completed because he’s never burned a switch.

The interior of this truck is absolutely flawless. Sid’s Upholstery in Tulare, CA did the seats, headliner and door panels, while Cliff Patterson, using a cut-up potato for a brush, painted the metal dash to look like Rosewood. The steering column and various other pieces were chromed, including the twin sticks, which are capped off by two original Peterbilt logo shifter knobs that just happened to be the same colors as the truck (thanks to Art Van Beek, who found them on an old Autocar he bought).

Viking Trailer also built and painted the 28.5’ trailer, which started out as a 1951 Utility, but was totally rebuilt. It would be fair to call this trailer new, but it is (legally) registered as a 1951 unit. Only one piece of this trailer is from the original 1951 trailer they started out with, but that was enough to get it registered as a refurbished 1951 (even though most of it was built after the truck was completed, in 2005). To give it that nostalgic look, they gave the trailer a set of tandem axles in the back.

The truck is stored in a climate-controlled shop in Tipton, CA with two other antique trucks (both of which have graced our cover in the past). Arlene told Yahpy that he can take the truck to any show he wants to attend and then send the bill to Steve. Running his own repair and restoration shop in Tulare, Yahpy has not been able to take it out very often. When he does drive it places, he usually runs with other antique trucks, and the group always gets a lot of attention. The only problem Yahpy ever has is trying to keep up with fellow old truck nut Dennis Chan – the Pete is only geared to run at 68 mph, and Dennis likes to run a tad faster than that!

Frank passed away October 24, 2005. He only rode in the truck with Yahpy one time, but he sure did love it. In 2006, the Tulare Chapter of the American Truck Historical Society, which Yahpy is the president of, held their second annual show in honor of Frank’s memory. Arlene was presented with a special plaque at the awards ceremony and Frank’s Pete was parked in the center of everything as a special showcase.

Now 65, Arlene is looking to retire and move to the coast, where she just completed building a new home. When Frank died, Steve had to step up and learn how to run the dairy, but, thankfully, one of Steve’s sons might be interested in taking over the operation in the future. He is currently attending Cal Poly, studying Dairy Science and Ag Business (sounds like he’ll be qualified). Yahpy, among other things, is restoring a 1952 GMC for Williem DeBoer that should be really sweet when it is completed in a year or so.

Some special thanks need to go out to Machado Hay Company of Tulare, CA for delivering, hand loading, and then unloading the “old school” 3-wire bales of hay for the photo shoot. All of the pictures were taken on Steve’s property – some in his Walnut orchard, and some in one of his alfalfa fields. Also, thanks go out to Darryl DeLeeuw, who is the mobile detailer that always keeps the truck clean and got it ready for the shoot.

Steve believes that 2007 is going to be a great year because many exciting milestones are being reached: he is turning 50; he and his wife will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary; his kids are turning 21, 18 and 16; and now his Pete just made the cover of 10-4 Magazine! Well, five out of six ain’t bad (we’re not sure how “great” it is to be turning 50).

We never got the chance to meet Frank Pinheiro, but we did get to spend some time with his truck, his family and his friends. It seems that Frank was a blessed man who is missed by all those who knew him and loved him. And for that, this article is dedicated to his memory.