1966 Ford Nearly Restored

“B-Unit” #83 is a tribute to Brian Storer. The lean, mean, Ford racing machine is being restored for one reason: It was Brian Storer’s dream to revive this this truck and make it his own.

Mark Storer, CEO and founder of Airport Towing started collecting antique tow trucks in 1997. Since then he has built up a collection of 13 classic trucks. One of them is a 1966 Ford F-350.

Shortly after purchasing the truck, Mark’s youngest son and employee Brian (driver #83) made known his interest in the truck. He immediately saw the potential, and he loved that the truck would rumble and roar when he stepped on the gas pedal. The truck had custom chrome exhaust stacks (though they were heavily rusted and in desperate need of replacement).

Its frame supported a Holmes 460 wrecker: One of the most celebrated tow units of it’s time; popular for it’s twin boom feature that would allow one side of the truck to anchor to a stable object and the other side to swing out and recover a vehicle. Even today, Holmes is known for producing some of the most unique towing equipment on the planet.

The company’s founder, Ernest Holmes, is famous for his most popular invention: The world’s first tow truck! Holmes originally mounted a chain and pulley to the frame of a 1913 Cadillac and went to work as the first ever tow truck operator in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Nearly 100 years later, Brian Storer found himself inspired by a beat up old Holmes unit. He loved everything about the truck and vowed to restore it. He even collected a few parts along the way. The find he was most proud of was a red bench seat in near perfect condition, brought in to replace the previous upholstery which was torn and tattered. A couple of years went by as the truck sat in Mark’s warehouse awaiting restoration and eventually, the unthinkable happened. Mark and Brian died in a sudden plane crash. One of Brian’s dreams would never come true. He would not get the opportunity to tear the Ford truck to the ground and build it back up again in all the glory of it’s hay-day.

The Storer family has spent the past year-and-a-half recovering from the tremendous loss in their family. As the days continue to go by, family members have come up with ways to pay homage to their loved one’s who have moved on into eternity. The greatest of which was most likely an idea that was produced by Lynette Storer, Brian’s mother and Mark’s wife. Lynette is now the President/CEO of Airport Towing and has been helping run the day-to-day operations of the company for nearly 22 years.

As you may have guessed, her vision was to restore the 66 Ford, exactly as Brian would have wanted it done. Even though it has proven to be an expensive and time consuming project, Lynette has pressed forward with the restoration. Despite a depressed economy, the love she has for her son is far beyond any monetary value. With the help of Lynette’s staff, she is determined to complete this project.

With the help of several employees and antique specialist Rocky Willis, the project has moved forward with great success. The truck was stripped down and sandblasted earlier this year.

Shortly after, individual pieces of the truck were sent to Huddleson’s Auto Color World to be painted red and white. Finally, the cab and chassis were sprayed and returned to be refitted with the original parts. Fresh paint on the old truck in traditional Airport Towing red and white have made it look better than ever. Meanwhile, custom chrome exhaust stacks were special ordered and the motor was removed for steam-cleaning and repainting.

The paint is now dry and piece by piece, the truck is being meticulously reassembled. Nearly every part on the truck needs to be reinstalled; from the hood to the fenders, the bumper, wheels and rims, doors, windshield, seat, motor, exhaust stacks, lugs, lights, mirrors, and much more. One challenge that complicates the project more than the average pickup restoration is the assembly of the Holmes tow unit on the back end. The unit requires technical expertise because it operates off of a power take off system that utilizes the transmission to engage and enable the boom and winch cables to operate. The old gear driven technology has been replaced with hydraulics in more modern equipment. The wrecker must be assembled accurately to maintain structural integrity if it is ever to be used as a working tow truck. To date, each piece has been sanded, painted, and some are awaiting reassembly. Some of the electrical wiring throughout the truck is still being completed.

The headers have been chrome dipped, enhancing the popular “Powered by Ford” slogan stamped into the metal. Afterward, the freshly painted motor was placed back into the truck.

The motor was repainted factory Ford blue and the tips of the fan have been painted red. The cab was also remounted onto the frame.

Much of the detail work is now being finished. The truck has been refitted with its hood, grille, bumper, beacon, marker lights, headlights, and windshield. After several months of work, it is starting to look like a truck again.

Most recently, the Holmes tow unit was reinstalled and there are now wheels under the frame.

Although the project may look as though it is near completion, there is still a great amount of work to be done. The truck is still awaiting doors and several other interior parts along with wiring and other detail work. Custom lettering and final striping will be added after the truck has reacquired all of it’s necessary mechanical parts. Completion of the 1966 Ford F-350 tow truck is most likely Spring of 2010. Work being done on the truck is ongoing though it is not being rushed so mistakes can be minimized. Once the 66 Ford is completed, it will be one of the most popular and definitely the most powerful tow truck in the Storer Antique Tow Truck Collection and no one will be happier to see its final completion than Lynette.

Revised Auction Dates for 2009

Airport Towing & Burien Towing abandoned vehicle auctions will be held on the first Friday of the month through 2009 with the exception of October. Please see the auction schedule below for upcoming auction dates.

• August 7, 2009
• September 4, 2009
• October 9, 2009
• November 6, 2009
• December 4, 2009
• January 8, 2010

Our auctions are held at 301 S Sullivan St in the South Park district of Seattle, WA. All auctions are open to the public. Click here for our auction rules. Vehicles are sold on site to the highest bidder. To get information about the vehicles for sale in the upcoming auction, click here for our current auction listing. For more information, please contact us.

*Auction dates subject to change.

Happy 50th Des Moines!

Excitement stretched as far as the eye could see down Marine View Drive last weekend at the Des Moines Waterland Parade. The Seafair sanctioned event featured hundreds of participants including the Seafair Pirates, Keystone Cops, Mt. Rainier Ramblin Band, and vintage trucks from Airport Towing. The parade is one of several events around the Seattle area leading up to Seafair weekend August 1st & 2nd on Lake Washington.

Covering the event from the back of an Airport Towing flatbed tow truck was Scott Schaefer and the staff from The Waterland Blog. Airport Towing has volunteered to use their flatbeds as parade floats in multiple parades this year, including The Burien 4th of July Parade. On Independence Day 2009 Airport Towing carried The B-Town Blog & it’s crew, along with the B-Town Blogmobile (which looks surprisingly similar to the Waterland Blogmobile) through the parade.

The 2009 Waterland Parade became a reality thanks to the hard work of Anna Bjorneby of Bjornebys Auto Rebuild and many other volunteers. Bjornebys featured their classic Chevrolet pick up truck towing a birthday cake for the city of Des Moines. More photos from the Des Moines Waterland Parade are available thanks to Des Moines City Councilmember Carmen Scott.

Airport Towing’s General Manager Daryl Wilson cruised Marine View Drive Saturday in a crowd favorite, 1935 Ford tow truck nicknamed “The Flame”. Daryl’s truck carried photos of the late Mark Storer and Brian Storer to honor their contributions to the Waterland community. Brian was a resident home owner of Des Moines. Mark lived in South King County his entire life. The family business has been offering quality and affordable towing services to the area since 1988.

Although some of the parade participants were too young to drive in the parade, they enjoyed soaking up plenty of warm sun along the route while smiling and waving to the crowd. Three different generations were represented as passengers and drivers within Airport Towing’s line of trucks. The small children were full of curiosity and affection toward the crowd, which made them a crowd-pleaser from start to finish. Airport Towing’s trucks represented in the parade included a 1925 Ford Model TT tow truck, a 1928 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup Truck, a 1935 Ford tow truck, a 1933 Ford tow truck, a Mitsubishi flatbed truck towing the Waterland Blog, and a heavy duty Peterbilt tow truck. All Airport Towing drivers and participants volunteered their time to support the  2009 Des Moines Waterland Parade & 50th Birthday Celebration.

Burien’s 4th of July Parade is Hot

Downtown Burien was alive with national pride and patriotism early this month as the 2009 Burien Independence Day Parade started with a “bang”. The literal “bang” was probably just the Seafair Pirates firing another shot across the bow from their pirate ship, The Moby Duck, followed by a small plume of residual smoke. The audience was full of excitement fueled by hundreds of parade participants marching, dancing, singing, playing instruments, honking, waving, shouting, and passing out candy.

Just ahead of the ruthless pirates was the crew from Airport Towing strategically positioned at the center of the parade ready to respond to any emergency car trouble encountered along the way. Fortunately for the participants, no such cars were noticed this year (as opposed to previous years). The Airport Towing crew did, however, enjoy driving around their hometown at magnificently slow parade speeds of less than 5 miles per hour while taking their time to admire the new Burien Town Square from the crowded city streets.

Spectators and participants alike enjoyed the benefits of warm 70 degree sunshine in the morning hours leading up to the parade. As the event commenced and continued into the afternoon, temperatures of as high as 87 were recorded causing the route to be dreadfully hot for the volunteers and advertisers who were out in the elements, such as the die-hard staff at The B-Town Blog. To kick off B-Town’s parade debut, they picked one of their favorite and most experienced advertisers to chauffeur them down the parade route while keeping the public informed through live blogging from their laptops using free local wi-fi. Fortunately for Airport Towing employees, modern trucks are equipped with air conditioning which helps keep drivers comfortable and conscious while operating heavy equipment.

Despite the Pacific Northwest heat wave that reached it’s peak the afternoon of the parade, B-Town Bloggers had a terrific attitude and loads of enthusiasm. After all, their audience was out in full force. Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown to admire the annual demonstration. The Burien parade has been an opportunity for people to celebrate all the great things that we enjoy in the United States of America for 88 years! This year the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce deserves recognition for coordinating perhaps the most successful parades in the city’s history.

Airport Towing was a proud participant, displaying the national colors on all trucks that drove in the parade. A firm believer in the freedoms of our nation, Airport Towing is a true success story of a family that was able to grow their business through hard work and dedication thanks to the freedoms provided the USA. Now as the trucks roll through the streets of Burien, where Airport Towing began, and wave their flags, the local company is saying thank you to the community that gave them the chance to succeed. Here’s to another 21 years in business and another 233 years of freedom!

Weekend Parades & Car Shows

Perfect summer weather the last week of June helped local parades and community events to be more successful than previous festivities in years past. In South King County the weekend kicked off with the Seatac International Festival and Parade. The event featured international displays, foods, and entertainment at Angle Lake Park located in the city of Seatac.

Airport Towing participated in the parade during the morning hours of the International Festival. Driver/Manager Daryl Wilson and his supportive wife Heather showed off their hot rod tow truck that is stored with the Storer Tow Truck Collection. “The Flame” is a 1935 Ford truck complimented by a Holmes Wrecker Unit and a 305-cubic-inch engine. The Wilson’s proudly displayed large photos of the company’s founder and his son on the sides of the truck as they drove along the parade route. Founder Mark Storer and his son Brian died in an airplane crash nearly one year ago and the classic hot rod was given to Daryl by the Storer family.

Just a few miles away Victory Outreach Church of Seattle hosted their annual hot rod & low rider car show. Hundreds of people gathered to see custom rides, some that were dropped down to just a few inches above the pavement and others with hydraulics that were raised so high their wheels were coming off the ground. Most of the cars on display were large bodied classics that were either dipped, raised, slammed, and dropped with a full working set of hydraulic pumps in the trunk. Other vehicles included a variety of classics and customs, including Airport Towing’s 1933 Ford lowrider tow truck with custom chrome suspension and undercarraige. The Seattle area towing company participated in the show with two hot rods on display and also participated as a sponsor of the event. Upcoming events around the South King County area include the Des Moines Waterland Festival and White Center Jubilee Days.

Burien + Classic Cars = A Fathers Day Hit

Millions of dollars worth of antique cars & trucks lined the streets of Burien last week for the annual Fathers Day Car Show, turning the the city’s downtown into a spectacular parking lot for car lovers of all ages. With a turnout of more than 200 vehicles crowding the city streets, participants proudly unveiled the fruits of their hard labor as onlookers came from all over the Puget Sound area to appreciate their pristinely shined mechanical beauties.

It was chrome and aluminum as far as the eye could see down 152nd street in the shadow of the new Burien Town Square, which includes a new 7 story condominium building, a 20,000 square foot City Hall and an 18 million dollar public library. The long line of displayed classics continued on down 6th Avenue Southwest and also along 4th Ave SW. Some car show guru’s who were unwilling to pay the entry fee participated in the show but were excluded from the competition by parking their project cars in legal street parking spaces around the perimeter of the exhibition. The official portion of the car show was hosted by The Discover Burien Association.

For Airport Towing the event was a tribute to it’s founding father, Mark Storer who birthed the company 21 years ago and remained heavily involved as the CEO until he died 1 year ago. Mark was a committed father of 3 children but also took on a fatheresque role to several towing industry professionals whom he trained throughout his tenure as the company’s owner. Today Airport Towing remains a family owned and operated business and the people employed are adopted as additional members of the extended family.

Mark was responsible for collecting 13 unique trucks that comprise the Storer Tow Truck Collection. Three of the trucks were on display for the annual Fathers Day car show:

• “The Dodge” is a 1937 Dodge Brothers 1 1/2 ton truck with a Holmes tow unit attached.
• “The 29″ is a 1929 Ford Model AA tow truck with a Weaver crane and is said to be the most beautiful and valuable truck in the collection.
• “The T” is a 1925 Ford Model TT flatbed that was turned into a tow truck by Mark as his first antique vehicle project.

All the trucks in the Storer Tow Truck Collection have some historical significance in Airport Towing’s history and are the product of Mark’s passion for unique & beautiful treasures. The three tow trucks drew a steady crowd throughout the day as they were decorated with photos of Mark and his youngest son Brian who died with him in last years airplane crash. Showing the trucks was one of Mark’s earliest and most reliable employees, Rocky Willis, the tow truck driver / mechanic who was responsible for a vast majority of the restoration work to the antique trucks. Rocky began his career with Airport Towing in 1989 and continues to volunteer to drive the tow trucks in local car shows and parades. Next week Rocky will be driving the Model T in the Burien 4th of July Parade. The parade route begins at the Airport Towing / Burien Towing office and continues through downtown Burien.

Museum Update: 1935 Chevrolet Tow Truck

Type: 1 ½ ton towtruck

Nickname: “The Chev”

Color: Blue

Photo: The character in our “Santa Clause” photo is Brian Storer. He was a faithful employee of Burien Towing his entire life, as he was raised in the family business. Brian owned his own Santa Suit and enjoyed posing for this photo to add a Christmas photo to our company calendar. Brian died July 24th, 2008 in an airplane accident. His animated and jolly character is forever remembered at Burien Towing.

Specifications: 6 Cylinder, 3 speed transmission, hydraulic brakes

Tow Unit: Manley Wrecker #107 Crane with Auxiliary Winch

Biography: Originally purchased in 1935 by Benson Chevrolet in Franklin, Hew Hampshire (America’s oldest Chevrolet dealer) the cab and chassis were fitted with a dump bed and sold. One year later, the customer decided he wanted the new 1936 Chevrolet that came with hydraulic brakes as opposed to the mechanical brakes on the 1935. He headed back to the dealership and traded it in. Upon returning to Benson Chevrolet, the dump bed was removed from the truck and it was replaced with a Manley Wrecker unit, making it into a tow truck. It was then used for towing until it retired and went into storage in the 1970’s.

Restoration: Burien Towing found the truck in Maine and purchased it in working condition from a classic car dealer in 1999 to add to its rapidly expanding collection of antique tow trucks. As soon as the truck arrived in Burien it was obvious that the wood deck on the truck needed some work so it was placed in the Burien Towing warehouse to begin restoration. Only minimal restoration was required as the cab and chassis were purchased in good condition.

To bring it up to show quality the tow unit was removed and the bed was dismantled. The lumber was refinished by Burien Towing employees. After the truck was reassembled, custom gold leaf lettering was added to the doors by Dunn Auto Graphics. An original 1935 Washington truck lisence plate was also purchased and restored to look new. Finally, a Weaver Auto Ambulance was added to the bed of the truck just as it may have been used in the era the Chev was operating. The auto amubulance is a dolly system that is placed under the axle of the truck in tow to lift the wheels off the ground. Since the truck was completed, Burien Towing has taken it to several local parades and car shows, including the Burien 4th of July Parade among others.

To view the full version of this page go to our Museum Page and click on 1935 Chevrolet. This is the first museum page to be completed. More updates to our other antique tow truck pages are coming soon!

Hot Rod Season Has Arrived

We are finally starting to see some sunlight in Seattle, which means it’s time to get our hot rod’s outside and around town for some much needed fresh air and warm pavement. After a long and stormy winter we were finally able to open the warehouse door this month and roll out two of our most noticeable classic tow trucks. This pair of trucks that we sent to participate in the weekly car show at Bernie & Boys Market earned plenty of attention from onlookers and collectors alike thanks to their unique body design and custom graphics. Our 1933 Ford truck is a unique orange truck on a lowered chassis with chrome accents and powered by a 383 Stroker. The other truck we displayed is our purple 1935 Ford tow truck with custom hand painted flames, a Holmes wrecker unit, and a 305 small block V8 motor.

Classy Chassis Car Club of Burien is hosting the event every Saturday night from April until October. The car show is open from 4pm - 8pm to all car lovers/spectators and for those of you lucky enough to own our own classic car, custom hot rod, or any other type of show car we would like you to bring it by and be part of the display. There is no entry fee for cars or spectators; just an open parking lot where you won’t get towed for parking your pride and joy for a few hours. The event was formerly held at the Burien Fred Meyer parking lot on Wednesday night, but has now found a home just a few miles north (still on 1st Ave) in Top Hat.

Local grocers Joe and Tom Salle are the owners of Bernie & Boys Market (Home of the Live Butcher) and have always been heavily involved in local community events. They have invited Evergreen High School’s Booster Club to the event who will be on hand to provide food and drinks each night at a reasonable price as they work to raise money for their sports program.

Airport Towing will make an appearance with one or more of our classic trucks as much as possible this summer. Our founder Mark Storer created one of the largest and most unique classic tow truck collections in the world and in his memory we are planning on getting the tow trucks outside this summer for everyone to enjoy. Come join us for great food, music, and beautiful custom cars at the Classy Chassis Car Club of Burien Saturday Night Cruise-Ins. For information on the weekly show stop by Saturdays or call Bob at 206-935-2113 or Joe at 206-248-1916.

Classy Chassis will also be hosting their annual Snow-N-Shine at Bernie & Boys Market Saturday, July 25th. This is an all day event that costs only $15 to enter. All proceeds go to Child Haven of Burien. Call Bob at 206-935-2113 or Arthea at 206-762-3159 for more information.