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For those of you wondering how that can even be possible (or what it even means to begin with!), let me explain. Those of our readers with higher personal odometers (the older folk!) may very well remember when Bailon first introduced his version of an Australian Ute: the 1949 Ford "custom conversion truck" built for Horace Davi back in 1954. Being as Davi commissioned the build to also serve as a work vehicle, its doors were adorned to promote accordingly, and thus the Shoebox became known as the Shampoo Truck in reference to the Betty Elizabeth Shampoo hand-lettered logos. Candy Apple Bailon's original customizing of Horace's once-convertible Ford definitely left a lasting first impression on many. So how then can the same car, six decades after the fact, make first impressions all over again? Well

Over the years, the Shampoo Truck, and all its original custom glory, succumbed to the toils of time, eventually being relinquished to a life of storage. But in that lonely state it would not meet its maker (or however you refer to a vehicle's demise!), and come 2009 what remained of Bailon's handiwork—from the 5-inch sectioning to sedan roof-skinned 3-inch chop, with bits and pieces in-between in varying degrees of decay—resurfaced (for sale no less) at the Sacramento Autorama in 2009 not too far from where it originally debuted at the Oakland Roadster Show 63 years earlier. That event may well have provided first impressions on showgoers who'd never before seen the Ford, but that's not the exception to the rule in question. Let's continue

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As it turned out, "has-been Harley dealer" Bob Dron stumbled across a classifieds ad for the Shampoo Truck in Hemmings Motor News—and unbeknownst to him prior to contacting the seller, was merely 10 miles from his house in Isleton, California, just south of Sacramento and west of Lodi (the latter of which will factor in shortly). Deal was made, the rolling relic hauled home, and then the realization began to set in—not of what Bob had just acquired but what little was left beneath the surface. Suffice it to say, the Shampoo Truck needed a total restoration, but one a bit more extensive than originally anticipated, as much of the underlying remnants needed substantial work, if not completely replaced.

East from Bob's Delta Diamond Farms over in city of Lodi is where much of this extensive resto would take place—at Jeff Nickell's shop, Nickell's Customs. First and foremost, the chassis needed to be addressed, as it was insufficient no matter how you looked at it. Bob opted to forgo its use altogether and had Nickell fab up a custom box-tube chassis (with MII and four-link) to better support the shoebox, not to mention afford a better ride as well. However, the 1957 Cad motor was retained, though it now mounts a newer 700-R4 overdrive trans. Further inner structure rehab entailed strengthening up and in some cases creating new supports for the rear bed section, along with the sheetmetal repair expected on a vehicle of this age.

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Then came the exterior—the preservation of Joe Bailon's decades-old original customizing: 3-inch chopped top (based on a convertible header with removable sedan-skinned top), 5-inch section, 6-inch channel, frenched 1953 Merc headlights and 1954 Pontiac taillights, re-radiused wheel openings, custom grille surround, and so on. Once the bodywork phase had completed (all the while Bob was busy chasing down correct-year/period-correct incidentals), Stockton's Kandyman Ramirez (Ramirez Auto Body) aptly handled the truck's PPG red and black paintjob that gets complemented by the 1946 Olds bumpers, 1953 Cad hubcaps, and Appleton spots brightened up by Sherm's Custom Plating.

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Prior to Bob debuting the Shampoo Truck, where it would provide a whole new venue in which to offer first impressions for those never before having seen the custom, he sent the Ford down to SoCal for an individual whom Bob simply refers to as "the best"—that being Ron Mangus—to recreate the two-seater's two-tone vinyl interior. A Crestliner steering from Quality Restorations and revamped vintage gauges courtesy of Classic Instruments were added before it was off to what many consider the biggest custom show of them all, West Coast Kustoms' Cruisin' Nationals in Santa Maria, for its 2016 reveal and subsequent impression sessions.

For me, regardless of how many times I've seen old customs in print, there's nothing quite like seeing them up close and personal—not to base opinions off, rather, to simply be in its presence, an experience that really can't be expressed in words or pictures. Truly a first and lasting impression.