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.

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.

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.