Retro Restoration! Helms Truck restored and 1955 Rod & Reel Trailer restored! David Stark owner of Critical Car Care in Lancaster tells us about how he started these two retro passion projects from his past. The story of where he found the Helms truck is amazing and the Rod & Reel trailer is straight out of his childhood.
We want to thank Dave for loaning us his Helms Truck to shoot some of the location footage for our "Best of California Lost and Found " Episode.
“The Best of California with Pat Pattison” is a fast-paced half hour TV show that explores the natural wonder, people, history and mysteries of the California Lifestyle. California native and TV Host Pat Pattison explores the state’s nooks and crannies from the historic backlots of Hollywood, famous California Cuisine all the way to the mansions of the Gold Rush and Silicon Valley. T
Watch us in: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria on the Central Coast CW 5 Sundays 12:30pm Palm Spring on the CW5 Sundays 12:30pm Bakersfield FOX58 Saturdays 5:30pm Fresno CW 59 Saturdays at 7:30am
Watch us in 31 markets! Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Philadelphia, Orlando and more on Fun Roads TV. Check local listings at:
Hi, it's Pat Patterson with the Best of California Award,
and I'm here in Lancaster
with this incredible Helms truck that this guy made.
I'm here with David Shelby,
critical car care out in Lancaster.
And David, tell me about this truck.
How did you find it?
Well, I found it just driving down the local street
about almost 30 years ago.
I just found it on the side and I seen it
and I just had to buy it.
Yeah, and they haven't done it.
Yeah, so I bought it and restored it
and this is where I'm at today.
And it's a beautiful project.
I mean, we'll show you around,
but David has left a lot of the original stuff
and there was even, you're gonna show me
some of the materials were still left on the side
and I can't believe the coin changer.
Oh yeah, the coin changer was still left in it.
It was broken, but I left the wood in the back,
all the same, and in fact, you could still smell donuts
if you open it up, the good old glazed donut smell
and bread pies and cakes.
And this is one of the wrappers for the bread.
And I remember the story that the Helms Bakery
was part of the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
That was their big claim to fame.
And this is just incredible.
And show us the money changer.
Where's the money changer?
Oh, the money changer is down here.
This actually came with it.
The driver would have this wrapped around on his belt.
He had it on the side.
Yeah.
Everything was less than a dollar.
Yeah, buddy.
Yeah.
And what is this up here?
Now, that there was, that's where they put their specials,
but when I purchased it, that's where it came.
I never erased it.
It had cold drinks, candy, tortillas, cookies, cakes.
Wow.
And you said this had been,
somebody had taken house paint and painted over it.
They rolled over the whole car, the whole entire truck,
and you could read it from the side.
You could still see Belfast.
Wow.
Yeah.
So that was your detective mission,
to dig into the archeological dig of this truck.
Exactly.
Plus on the windows were the licensing.
And some of them say Southgate, San Gabriel.
And my favorites, Linwood, California,
because I'm born there, you know.
And that had to be one of the trucks.
Tell me about this trailer, David.
Well, this trailer is a 1955 rod and reel
made in Cypress, California.
And I've owned it for a while.
And I restored the inside.
The wood was rotted, the floor and the back,
and the sidings were, they punched holes in it.
And I did a lot of cool stuff.
Wow.
And so, and you mentioned it had been picked
and you'd restored it.
Oh, and I picked the sides.
I put new sides on it from here down.
And I even made the paint look like it was weathered.
And then I put satin clear over it.
And rust.
And rusty paint in the front, yes.
On the propane tank and all that good stuff.
And so now, do you take this to shows?
Do you live in it?
No, hopefully not.
But yeah, we take it to shows.
And it's a hit when you go anywhere.
Back in the COVID days, we would go to the restaurants
because they were closed.
And they would deliver food to us in the mall parking lot.
And we were the only one there eating dinner in this thing.
So now what draws you to these older vehicles
and trailers and whatnot?
Is it nostalgia from your childhood?
Yeah, you know, believe it or not,
my family traveled almost every weekend
to the High Sierras.
And it was in one of these.
And I can tell you stories and a half about it.
And that's just me right now.
And my son is the same.
He's grown up in the same area.
So you like the outdoors, obviously.
Oh yeah, for sure.
Yeah, you love to get out there.
Well, we're gonna show you a little bit of the interior
of this incredible rod and reel trailer from 1955.
Yeah, 1955.
It's almost as old as I am.
Let's take a look.
David, this is your living room and your kitchen.
What kind of shape was this in when you?
It was ugly.
I have pictures before.
And in fact, some of the, the sink is original.
The stove is still original.
Okay.
And Dixie stove.
Yeah.
Man.
That was in the fifties.
That's the kind.
And then the Marvel refrigerator still works.
I plugged it in first and that was all, it still works.
Wow.
And we left the, everything is original that we had.
The only thing I had to do was the wood.
Okay.
It was all dry rotted.
Okay.
And.
Is this new?
I did this.
It's the same table, but.
This looks old.
I did a design back.
Some marbling.
If you was to do that, yeah.
Yeah, wow.
And we did the flooring.
I stained the wood cause it's new to match the old wood.
Okay.
So there's not a big variance of the difference.
Yeah.
Wow, here we are in David Shelby's rod
and reeler 1955 trailer.
Well, thank you, David Shelby,
critical car care here in Lancaster, Helms truck,
rod and reel trailer.
You're a mid-century modern maven.
Well, I appreciate it.
Thanks for coming down and look, checking us out.
You bet.
