Tag Archives: Paul Bandelier

Ford Bronco

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Six weeks ago I ready to buy a 2003 Honda Element. I was pretty jazzed up about this 23 year old car. On the day I was supposed write the check, the seller called to say he couldn’t find the title and it might take months to get a duplicate (?!) Hmm. 

I dropped by the local Honda dealership to see if they could find one. Nothing int he dealer network for Honda Elements (they stopped making them in 2011) but the salesman found one on Facebook Marketplace. I don’t do FB but friends messaged the seller asking him to get in touch. Nothing.

This was my Fuck It moment. The Universe was clearly telling me it was time to turn the page on old, used vehicles. I decided to do the unthinkable. Buy a new car.

To make a long post a little shorter I decided to buy a Ford Bronco and my buddy Paul Bandelier offered to introduce me to Judy, his favorite sales person at the local Ford dealership.

They didn’t have any two-door Broncos (my only must-have) but a nearby dealer had one in a color that Paul loved so we did the deal. It has some off-road features I didn’t think I needed (huge tires) but Paul and Mr. Wolf insisted on.

As I write this, I’ve had the Bronco for less than 48 hours. Can only describe this as a “life changing” experience. As I’ve done with my other vehicles, I’ll share this adventure here in coming months. But this is clearly a turning of the page in my automotive life. I’m selling the Land Rover but keeping the pickup and the Jeep. But the Bronco will be my daily driver, leaving the pickup for hauling big stuff and the Jeep for warm weather fun. 

My last new vehicle was the Mini Cooper in 2011. Twenty-five years ago. So I’ll be in ATS (automotive technology shock) for a while. Picture a New Guinea native who has never seen a white man taking his first ride on a Boeing 777. I am (delightfully) overwhelmed. Watch this space.

When U.S. Highway 50 was a gravel road

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Regular readers (if such people exist) of this blog know who Paul Bandelier is. I’m usually at his shop a couple of times a week to eat pizza, watch guys work on old Mustangs and pickup trucks, and feed a biscuit to his dog Lily. I usually park on a stretch of gravel road (red arrow) that cuts across one corner of his property.

As I was leaving yesterday Paul’s father (Ron) said, “Where you’re parked used to be Highway 50.” More accurately, the family farm was situated on the main road that once consisted of dirt and gravel, pre-dating U.S. Highway 50.Prior to widespread paving, many major highways—especially cross-state routes like early US highway alignments were often gravel or graded dirt. A notable example is old Route 66, which was entirely gravel or graded dirt until 1938, when it became the first fully paved U.S. Highway. For mid-Missouri roads, gravel surfacing in the 1920s and ’30s was common, and paving often didn’t occur until late 1930s or early 1940s.

1969 Pontiac Catalina

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[Perplexity] “The 1969 Pontiac Catalina was a full-size car produced by Pontiac, a division of General Motors, as part of its long-running Catalina line that spanned from 1950 to 1981. By 1969, the Catalina had established itself as Pontiac’s most popular and accessible full-size model, serving as the entry point to the brand’s big-car lineup. It was available in a wide range of body styles, including sedans, two- and four-door hardtops, convertibles, and both six- and nine-passenger station wagons.” (more below)

Paul’s latest acquisition. Not sure what he has plans for this beauty but to my untrained eye it is in very good condition for a fifty-year-old car. This had to be popular with Mafia button men because you can comfortably fit three bodies in the trunk with room for a spare.

1958 Ford F100 Custom Cab radio

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Paul hasn’t found a home for this pickup and plans to keep it around for now. Check out this radio.

The circular dial is the AM frequency band controlled (I think) by the knob to the right of the dial. The knob to the left controls on-off and volume. There’s a tone control but I’m not sure how that works. Or even if the radio works. I’ll take another look and update this post.

Top Ten Songs in the US in 1958 (I was ten years old):

  1. Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu) – Domenico Modugno
  2. All I Have to Do Is Dream – The Everly Brothers
  3. Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) – Dean Martin
  4. Don’t – Elvis Presley
  5. Witch Doctor – David Seville
  6. Patricia – Pérez Prado
  7. Catch a Falling Star – Perry Como
  8. Tequila – The Champs
  9. It’s All in the Game – Tommy Edwards
  10. Return to Me – Dean Martin

Bandelier history

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I became acquainted with Paul Bandelier and his father Ron in 2018 when I fell in love with the old pickup truck he had for sale. I’ve visited often enough to hear bits and pieces about the rich history of their family (see tag below) and a couple of days ago I noticed a framed newspaper story in Paul’s shop. The headline read, “Bandelier property has coal mining, entertainment legacy.” It’s a pretty interesting history »

1965 Mustang

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This beauty is the latest acquisition by my friend Paul. I think he said this only has 20,000 miles on the odometer (or was it 2,000?) and is in mint –what’s better than “mint”– condition.

I was a junior in high school with these first appeared and we’d never seen anything like them. Best music… best cars… lucky me.

1951 Jeep Station Wagon

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“The Willys Jeep Station Wagon, Jeep Utility Wagon and Jeep Panel Delivery are automobiles produced by Willys and Kaiser Jeep in the United States from 1946 to 1964, with production in Argentina and Brazil continuing until 1970 and 1977, respectively. They were the first mass-market all-steel station wagons designed and built as a passenger vehicle. With over 300,000 wagons and its variants built in the U.S., it was one of Willys’ most successful post-World War II models. For some time after the 1949 introduction of a four-wheel drive option, the 2WD was sold as “Station Wagon”, while the 4WD was marketed as “Utility Wagon”. The 4WD Willys Jeep Wagon is often considered the first production sport utility vehicle.” (Wikipedia)

1961 Ford F100 pickup

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One-minute walk-around of a vintage pickup. Waiting on official word and story (if any) from Paul. Here’s ChatGPT’s best guess:

The Ford F-100 pickup truck in your photo appears to be from the early 1960s, likely between 1961 and 1966. The distinctive styling, particularly the hood and grille design, matches the second-generation F-Series trucks produced during those years.