By Al Cook
In first installment of the continuing saga of transforming a Bone Stocker into a Killer Koupe, I briefly mentioned the person from whom I bought the coupe (koupe?). There are some people you meet at car shows that you forget as soon as you meet them. Then there are those who leave an indelible impression on you. Ray Schuler is in the latter category.
I met Ray at a Goodguys show in Columbus, Ohio a couple of years ago. I traveled there in my '35 Silver Bullet with one of my daughters. I'm not sure how Ray and I crossed paths but I knew he and I shared a common interest; hot rods and, in particular, '35 and '36 Fords. He is a real joker -always laughing, smiling and having a darn good time, anywhere, and anyplace.
What fascinated me about Ray was his love for hot rods and his collection of cars. He usually has an inventory of about 16 cars. Some never get driven, some are driven often and some get sold before they are driven. One of his rods is a well-known '37 Minotti. Painted yellow with red steelies and wide whites, it is a real attention grabber. As a matter of fact, Rod & Custom chose it as one of the Top 100 streetrods in 2000. I jokingly tell Ray that he has to leave this car to me in his will. It's a killer on airbags!
What really drew Ray and I closer together though was Windsor, Ontario. You see, as it turns out, Ray's wife Phyllis was born in Windsor as was I. What is even more freaky is her maiden name was Cook!! Although no relation, we immediately hit it off. You couldn't meet nicer and more down to earth people than Ray and Phyllis.
Anyway, about Ray's collection of cars, off the top of my head he has a '36 Ford 3w coupe, a '47 Merc convertible, a '51 Ford custom rod, a '35 Slantback, a '40 Ford sedan, a couple of Harleys a very rare Vincent motorcycle, the '37 Minotti and an in-the-works '40 Ford 3w coupe (yes, a 3 window!!). This car will be a twin to the Minotti. There are numerous others as well.
Ray's '36 3-window
As soon as I sold my roadster, I made a call to Ray to see what he had that I could afford. He immediately said he had a '36 5w since he knew I have a love affair with '35's and '36's. A deal was made and a road trip was planned.
My traveling companion was a fellow Roadmate, Stuart Mitchel l- more commonly known as "Mitch". Picking a car up in the US requires some substantial planning. More specifically, ensuring the title for the car is at the US Customs office at your port of exit at least 72 hours prior to bringing the car across the border. In this case, Ray Fed-Ex'd the title to the appropriate person at the US Customs office at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. To ensure everything was in place, I called the US Customs office in Detroit to make sure all the paper work was in order. Yes, indeed it was. Or, so I thought.
The trip down to Elkhart, Indiana was enjoyable with Mitch. We told stories of our car escapades, exchanged a few lies and generally got to know each other better. We arrived at Ray's place without incident. The first order of business on Ray's agenda was to get us on a private tour of a friend's automotive museum in Elkhart. A few phone calls were made and before we knew it, we were on a private tour of one of the most amazing automotive and memorabilia exhibits I have ever seen! See pictures below.
(Editor's note: Al's still smiling at this point)
Did you know that early in the 1900's there were over 2300 automakers?? This museum had some of the most obscure and rare collections known to man. The collection ranged from an original 1903 Model T to a concourse Dusenberg valued at well in excess of $1 million dollars. Mitch and I were in awe. We could have spent 2 days in this museum and still would have missed some of the memorabilia!
After lunch, in a steady sprinkle, we headed off, trailer in tow, to Ray's storage warehouse. This was another treat for Mitch and I since Ray gave us a quick tour of his collection of cars and motorcycles. Ray's 1947 Vincent particularly entranced Mitch. A rare motorcycle that once held the land speed record ridden by a rider with nothing on but a skimpy bathing suite while lying flat on the seat with his legs stretched out. This couldn't have been a better day for 3 car-crazy guys!
The steady sprinkle now became a steady downpour. For those of you who have experienced this, there is nothing more challenging than loading and tying down a car on a trailer in the cold rain. But, the '36 was soon on its way to its new home; my garage.
After leaving at 4am that morning, Mitch and I were beginning to feel the effects of driving and yaking. Nonetheless, we arrived at the US Customs in Detroit (a word of wisdom, don't rely on street signs to get you there) at 8pm, Friday evening. All we had to do now was walk into the Customs office, have an officer accompany us out to the coupe to compare the VIN on the title and the VIN tag on the car and we would be on our way! Easy right? Wrong!
After searching for 15 minutes, the Customs officer said he couldn't find the title. I assured him with proof that it was sent 72 hours in advance AND I had called the day prior to ensure all the paper work was in order. This attracted the attention of the Customs Supervisor who had an attitude with a capital A. Don't ask me what the letters after the first A are… I assured the Supervisor that one of his staff told me the day before that everything was in order. His response? "That's unreliable". What?? He then threatened to fine me $250 if I left. Sometimes restraint is in order and this is one of those times. Three hours later they found the title and Mitch and I were on our way. God Bless America.
For the next few weeks I tooled around in the bone stocker. It was fun and it sure drew attention. The most amazing part is that I could look drivers of SUV's right in the eyes. That felt weird.
After enjoying the car for a few weeks, I drove it to the Roadmates clubhouse where it will have its transformation performed. Within 4 hours, the front sheetmetal was removed and stored. Now the fun starts.
Kookie Killer logo by Jeff Norwell