perich toy shop - 1989

I found a couple boxes of pictures the other day,

and man did it bring back some memories.

Now that I've figured out how to use our scanner,

you guys are gonna get all kindsa throwbacks from the predigital age!

uncle steve's garage - 1989

This one will be a quickee,

but it is chock full of goodies.

Take a breather and gather it all in.

This is my Uncle Steve's garage around 1989.

Yeah I still call him Uncle Steve even though I'm in my 40's!

Here we've got my old '64 VW baja bug,

an early cut down not a fiberglass kit.

Than there is the most perfect '30/31 ford coupe project.

Check out the gasser chromed front axle.

Wonder if that's on the road now?

Last but not least is the stripped down shovelhead.

That was a family friends bagger bike,

that turned into a cool semi-chopper,

then ended up as a pile of melted steel and aluminum.

I'll tell that story when I find the better picture!

Anyway expect some periodic blasts from the past!

TP

transformation of the pat lash roadster

One of the guys I was really bummed not to be able to meet up with
on the venture north was an old friend Pat Lash.
It's been a couple years since I've seen him,
but it's been at least 5 years since I've seen his roadster and other projects.

Pat Lash & friends

Here's the early version of the contraption that he built.
Super channeled,  inline-6 engine,  hallock style windshield...
One of the first bare metal super slammed hot rods of this current era,
the San Jose style.

pat lash roadster - 2007 - last antique nationals - palmdale

Here's a good comparison shot.
The Red Dot II was channeled but super high compared to his.
Same body style, totally different car.

Red Dot II - 29 ford roadster w/ Hallock windshield

What the heck.
I'm gonna throw more pictures in here,
as this was a fun time.
This was the last Antique Nationals in Palmdale - 2007.
Pat brought his silver bullet down,
and Luke/Pigpen and I had the old Red Dot II and Chief.
Good times...
You can see my tendency for hot rods that can also go off-roading!

Chief - 1929 roadster pickup with hallock windshield

Here's another cool shot.
This is the last Asphalt Invitational 2007 up in San Jose.
We've got Pat's roadster, Sloppy's RPU, Red Dot II, and the June Bug 40.
More good times...

Asphalt Invitational - 2007

Pat's attention to detail is most likely the reason he doesn't have a hot rod shop.
He really should.
The problem is finding someone who could afford all the hours he invests.
He has no ability to half-a$$ and cut corners!

Pat Lash Roadster

Everyone loved the earlier version of his roadster,
a big spread in the Rodder's Journal.
I remember when I first met him,
he would say how he wanted to un-channel it.
After all the work he put in,
I thought he was crazy.
Might as well build another car!

track nose

If you study this picture,
you'll see the relocation scar of the side steer mount,
at least 4 inches higher now.
What an awesome start to that track nose!

proper

The amount of modification he's done is ridiculous.
Before the rear of the engine was cut into the top of the cowl.
Now it looks like that's all patched up,
with a new firewall and this bitchin relief bubble.

nicson - chevy 6

Even with all this insane aluminum work,
I bet Pat's most excited about that rubber radiator hose.
Now that the engine is even with the cowl,
he was able to remove his old hood ornament!

sweet

Looking at these pictures I'm super bummed to have missed seeing this in person.
Check out the little latches and fan surround.

welded

Here's some cool progress shots.
Each piece hammered or rolled,
than welded and blended.
He's probably still using his ancient Linde Tig machine.
The street lights flicker when he turns that thing on!

smooth

These are early shots before the hood bubble.
I'm guessing the intake or carbs were removed at this point.

rollers

Here's the most recent shots.
It is the exact opposite of my hacked hood I threw on in one night!

fit

They took it up to Billetproof last week,
and I'm curious how much it's changed on the road.
He's had no floors this whole time,
and I know that it's a much warmer drive even with a partial hood,
especially with a belly-pan.
Dang it check out that belly-pan!

pat lash roadster - 2013

I'm sure he's got a modified windshield plan,
and maybe some dark green paint.
I gotta get up there!
Thanks for the pics Sharon & Pat!

TP

sleeping monster

Any long time readers may see a pattern in my obsessions.
Get into something and charge as cheap and hard as possible,
usually using vintage tools, equipment or techniques.
Bikes, stereos, hot rods, dental work, kids...
Last weekend we woke up the sleeping monster.

perich brothers paddle session

Twenty plus years ago I popped my wrist in a lame biking fall,
marking a huge change in my life's sequence of events.
After a half summer of healing,
paddling was a great way to regain strength.
I lived and breathed kayaking for 15 years.
There was always a boat setup on or in my VW or Ford vans,
and I'd paddle almost every day or night,
the worse conditions the better.

merv larson paddleboard/surf ski

During this time I had moved up to Ventura.
Living the life of a kayak bum with a space in the back of a shop.
Looking back on some paddling escapades I wonder what I was thinking.
Paddling offshore in snotty conditions takes 100% of your focus.
It can get crazy.
There's no safety net,
nobody else is out there.
It's just me and a boat and paddle that's been repaired countless times.
Maybe that is why I liked it so much.

merv larson paddleboard/surf-ski

So what happened?
Well besides meeting my wife and having a bunch of kids...
In 2000 and every summer after,
Ventura had a phenomenon called red tide.
It's an algae or plankton bloom that suffocates the harbor and coast.
The water turns a murky brownish red,
and it's similar to being in an unflushed toilet bowl.
The only benefit is night paddling,
as every disturbance of the water creates a phosphorescent glow.
Each year the red tide seemed to grow in area and duration.

early merv larson logo

Unfortunately I'm a thin skinned guy.

I'll get poison oak just by looking at it.

I'd go out in the red tide water,

and come back with little 50-cent patches of bug-bite-like rash,

usually in high chafe areas like under arms,

maybe chest and legs.

Super uncomfortable but after a shower it would mellow out.

For years I was that test monkey that would grab the banana,

only to get shocked,

and do it again and again.

Over time I became a seasonal paddler,

only going out in the winter time,

big swells and good stiff winds.

But my obsession slowly dwindled.

waveski stash

Fast forward a couple years,
and I had turned into a landlubber.
Even moving to San Diego didn't help,
maybe going in the water a couple times in the past 5 years.

la playa

This summer things are changing,
as the kids have been taking swimming lessons.
Now I feel confident that they'll be comfortable stranded in the water.
Time to dust off the old kayaks!

paddle time

I've got a quiver of kayaks,
surf, workout and longer surf-ski's.
The kids had gone out in the user-friendly plastic sit-on-tops,
but never on semi-performance boats.

jaxon with merv larson kayak

It was like those surf movies,

when the crusty surfer dude takes the newbies out on ancient boards.

We picked some way old paddleboard style kayaks built by Merv Larson.

These are probably from the late 60's or early 70's,

from when he was building lifeguard rescue boards.

jaxon with another merv larson kayak

We picked out a local flatwater spot.

The boys caught on really quick.

We started on simple hand paddling techniques,

and then moved on to the paddles.

Within the hour they were out of sight.

me and jakob

We had a great time,
and it made me wonder why it took so long.
Whatever we're doing it now and that's all that matters!

Me and macey

Macey even took a ride on a little waveski.
I need to get a couple more paddles.

macey perich - 2013

Don't be surprised if you see more kayak related posts...

TP

planets and comets

An event happened last week.
An occurrence most similar to a comet,
crossing paths with planets gravitating around an invisible sun.

LC & TP

In this case,

one of my oldest friends from way back in 3rd grade came into town.

A lucky guy that is in the beginning stretch of a trip around the world.

Something not even in my realm of imagination,

especially with the gravitational pull of a wife and kids!

gogol & pixies

Now based out of New Zealand,
it had been a couple years since his last visit.
Fortunately for him there are many old friends in the area,
as it was virtually impossible to pry me out of my comfort zone.
After all these years,
it was good to hear about recent festivities that rival our high school days.

are we there yet?

As  I get older,

living vicariously through friends and family is more real.

Instead of sleeping through a slide show dinner party,

or slogging through an intricate scrapbook,

we now can get daily or weekly online updates at our own convenience.
Hey that's what you guys get on here!
One of his concurrent missions is to document his travels.
It will be just like being there,
only without all the spilled beer and epic tales of woe.

sojourniac.com — Perspective from abroad—one sojourn at a time

A good read - he's got a knack for writing.

huh?

Before the sendoff to his next stop in Iceland,
he got a chance to pop his eardrums with a little hot rod cruise.
Nothing like open pipes and raspy exhaust to clear out the head.

Travis Perich, John Anderson, Lindsay Maw

To top it off,
another friend showed up to wave goodbye.
It's hard to believe that the three of us were in the same 3rd grade class.
From the looks of our uniforms we've all grown up huh!?

Anyway good times...

TP

Jaxon's Treceñera or how to - clean drains

After over 3 long years,
we all finally bid adieu to an entity unlike no other,
Jaxon's HAIR!

Jaxon Perich - age 13 - 2013

In preparation for the big event,
I had to sport my traditional barbershop uniform.

Jaxon hair cut - 2006

The pic above is the top picture in that doorway in the below pic,
way back back in 2006 up in Ventura.
(Thanks Pigpen!)
Yeah I can keep T-shirts til there in tatters!
7 years is nothing...

butchering Jaxon's hair

Back in 4th grade,
the idea was to grow the boys hair out over the summer,
and at the 10 inch mark we'd cut it and send it to "locks of love",
the wig program for (usually) chemo patients.
That was 3 years ago now he's going into 8th grade!



Cutting his hair was a surreal experience,
compounded with the voodoo Fela Kuti '84 tunes in the background!

good times - jaxon and travis perich

This was such a big event even his grandparents came over to watch.
I'll dig up  pics from the multiple cellphones that were in action.
Look at all those years of troublemaking push-ups and sit-ups...
perich brothers (and sister): how to punish your kids

chop chop

Not sure if it was the spectacle or my master barber techniques,
but something scared the bejeezus out of Jakob,
as he decided to keep his long.

Nana and Jaxon Perich - 2013

Right after we took a walk up to his Great Grandmother - Nana,
and the reaction was well memorable!
She had been waiting for this moment since the 50's!
Wish we took a video of her and my uncle...

Jaxon Perich - 2013

For a couple days,
it was like - "whose this guy living with us?"
But now it's hard to believe he had grown his hair out for that long.
No more getting blamed for hairballs in the drains and floor.

macey, dad, and jaxon's hair

So now we wait to see what Jakob's gonna do...

TP

end of the line

What could be so important about a pile of bricks.

brick pile

Over the past 30 years this pile has slowly reduced to what you see here.
These were pulled from a building downtown,
about the time I was my kids age.
There was a huge stack back then,
and I remember it was home to the most huge centipedes.

the pit

The majority were spread in the parents back yard during high school,
and they're still there.
I should edit a pic in here later on.
The dwindling pile has been periodically moved from open spot to open spot.

Scowling Jakob

It looks like this is the end of the line.
The final resting place.
Somehow Jakob got tricked into helping the move,
we were only supposed to drop by and say "Hi!"
Little did he know the special memory was passing to the next generation!

TP

Mud Therapy II

Ready for round two of Mud Therapy?
perich brothers (and sister): mud therapy

1940 ford coupe chopped channeled & sectioned

It seems like I'm a little obsessed here and maybe I am,
but sometimes that's the only way to get stuff done.

stool time!

Finally buckled down and finished the welding on the patch panels.
Not the most fun thing to do,
and it came out just ok.
Lotsa jockeying back and forth with the hammer and dolly.
Really I should have taken the door off,
which may be the way to finish it later on.

welded!

This was another part that was screaming to be fixed.
A good size bowl was created earlier with lazy welding and fitting.
The decklid hinge mount is right under this seam,
in addition to blind cross-hand hammering,
this was one of those good as it could results.

triple clamp

There was a need for some immediate gratification,
and the easiest way to do that was to fill up those corner pieces.

Macey James Perich & Tres Huevos 1940 ford coupe

If you look closely to the left of Maceys face,
you'll see the little corner pieces are finally filled in.

Team Perich Brothers & Sister

Now it was time to flip the car around.
Enlisting the help of Team PB&S,
we slid it around with the jack.
Right into the telephone pole.

Macey & Jakob surveying damage

What could we do.
At least the lights weren't installed.
Time to crack open a beer.

winter hook in summer

After a bunch of sanding and hammering,
some ospho rust converter was set on certain spots.

prepped

And by saturday night a thick coat of epoxy was rolled on.

rounded

The next day was supposed to be a big day.
The plan was to cut up the hood and really make some noise.
Nope.
Decided to jumpstart by tackling the last little hole.

holey chit

The little swap meet anvil was ready for duty.

anvil patch panel

As usual this took a little longer than expected.
Probably why I never fixed it.

patch panel

This was a tricky one as it lipped around the door jamb.
Now the worst spot was like the best spot.

tools of the trade

A stiff breeze instigated some bondo work.
Out came the can of Evercoat.

bondo picasso

This was in between sandings.
Just enough plastique to soften up the seams.
It is still rough,
but acceptable to the total condition of the rest of the sheetmetal.

mud therapy II

Spots that were held back on the earlier Mud Therapy were smoothed out.
The Evercoat sands so smooth and quick this took maybe an hour.

chopped, channeled and sectioned 1940 ford coupe

This may look like the same old shot on your little cell phone,
but it is a night and day difference in person since last week.
I can't believe it's at this point after all these years.
Check out a couple years ago all those gaps.
It's crazy how much work this has involved.
No wonder guys build motorcycles!

team perich brothers & sister

Sure there are some nasty spots still,
but nothing screams at me.
Okay except the hood.
Really I'd be happy to drive it around just like this,
but I am a bit of a hack!

1940 ford chop top

Now it's time for a ton of small stuff,
mainly in the interior around the window frames.
That's the stuff that really takes forever!

TP