Hot Rods The Uncertain T saga and some FACTS

I build hot rods. I am trusted by a close group of friends and all of my clients.
I am not a writer, I simply want to separate the bullshit from reality.
There is a fairly simply backstory of how I met Steve Scott before he was on Facebook, before he made his return to communicating with the masses.
I have known Beau Bockman for 25ish years. I have known Dave Shuten for 15-ish years.
I have been a member of the HAMB for 10 12 15 I don’t know how many years.
Oh yeah, the Uncertain T.

A month or so ago Dave called me to tell me the Uncertain T had been found.
The owner Dick Nickerson had reached out to them, and it seemed to be legitimate.
Dave and Beau went to inspect the car and verify it was the real deal.
I like everyone else it seems had made some pretty solid attempts to find the car over the years and got nothing. Dave told me they were going to video the discovery. Dave ask me to come with for the unveiling, and if I would be interested in helping restore the car.

There were conditions, of course publish no photos, no public acknowledgment of anything until the official GALPIN press release. EVERYONE ( buyers, sellers) signed Non Disclosure Agreements. That means you don’t talk, you don’t share photos you keep it to yourself.
On the morning of the pick up, I met Dick the owner and his partner/real estate agent/ friend Phil. Yes, Phil the HAMBs newest member.
I spent two or three hours talking to Dick and Phil while we waited to start filming.

Long story short, we pick up the car. It’s the real deal. We all know that now.
Dave and I take tons of pictures. And guess what, we did not share them with anyone. Because that was the agreement. What we didn’t know is that Phil took pictures.
That evening, or the next day, a new HAMB member signs up as Certain T. And we all know that new member was Phil, on day one breaking the nondisclosure agreement and spamming and spilling a story that was not his to tell.

What you don’t know is that Phil also shared pictures of the Uncertain T as found, and Dave and I loading it onto a flatbed. Phil shared those pictures with a contractor who happened to be doing work for a well-known hot rod builder. Another breach of the non-disclosure agreement.

Fast forward, the press release and Phil taking control of the HAMB narrative and self appointed spokesman for all involved.

To set the record straight Phil, aka Certain T has absolutely nothing to do with a documentary, any sort of press or PR, has no involvement or permission to speak on the behalf of Galpin, Beau Bockman, or Dave Shuten.

The car is awesome, we brought it to the grand national roadster show today. Go see it, enjoy it, and see if you can have Phil arrange a picture with himself Dave, Beau, and The Uncertain T. That will never happen.

There is more to come, and it will not come from an uninvolved real estate agent.

Not interested in drama, but after hearing so many people today on move in day ask what Phil’s involvement was, I’m setting the record straight.

 

So much fuss over a car. Just don't get it. Non disclosure paper work? Jeez
And real estate agents are just like insurance salesman.

 

You made channel 5 news and his morning.

 

Thanks for the correct info. Many here will appreciate it. Man, I wish I could be in Pamona to see it for real.
It seems "Phantastic Phil" has gone quiet on the other thread. What you have told us would possibly expain that....

 

I knew something smelled like rotten fish!

 

Man I love that car, always have. Built the model, have more that are unbuilt, bought a few that were built years ago by someone else, I have the Hotrod magazine that has the for sale ad, I have the other magazines that had pictures of it, I've talked to Steve Scott, Steve Scott sent me the pictures of the naked girl with the car, and told me how that came about, and also asked me not to post or share those pictures. I have pictures of me with Martin Bennett's Uncertain "T" when it was in Kansas City. Martin Bennett gave me the UK magazine that his is in. Did I mention that I love that car? I always thought it would be cool to find it, even before it became main stream social media stuff. I'm glad it has been found by someone that can restore it. I wish I was able to go to Pomona to see it. I'm closer to Detroit, so maybe I can go there. Lots of family stuff that might make that impossible, maybe.

 

So, my take out is that no one will be having beer bought for them? (Which was later ramped up to a meal)

Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight in a level headed way.

 

Which hrm had the for sale ad in it?

 

I recall speaking with you on the day of the pick-up. It was great to observe it all. I don't want to add any more drama; I think I have inadvertently done enough of that. But I have to respond to a few of your claims for fairness and clarity sake.

What I wrote last December was posted after the sale was done, but prior the formal announcement. In my post, I teased the fact there was some big news coming early in 2024, but disclosed nothing of who or what (other than it would be related to the UT). My intent was to start dialogue on different sites to build anticipation for an undisclosed announcement from an unnamed source. I didn't give away any details because of the agreement to keep the details secret. Many members of HAMB were upset that I really said nothing other than tease. It was a far cry from what you describe "spamming and spilling a story..." You seem to be upset that I said too much. But I do not believe I gave away any information that was supposed to be kept confidential. I shared more after the announcement when it became ok to do so. If sharing the fact that some future undescribed announcement would be soon forthcoming from an unnamed source is a breach of the agreement, that would seem to be a stretch, but if that was your understanding, I understand why you are upset. But you were not involved in those discussions; I was. So was Richard. And I assisted in the final agreement, and it states nothing about keeping secret that at a unknown future time, a big announcement will be made by someone.

There were only 3 people on the seller side that helped put this together, and after initially speaking with Beau and Dave, I spoke with just one other Galpin person regarding negotiations. Maybe you are privy to those discussions/offer/counters. I have no problem them sharing them with you, but I think you have it wrong about the confidentially agreement prohibiting what I wrote here in December. as it disclosed nothing about who or what. At worst it was a ill-advised attempt at getting people talking again about the UT.

The confidentiality agreement was intended to keep the media or a wide audience from knowing about the re-discovery of the UT. It did not intend to prevent Beau and Dave, or the seller or I from sharing what was going on with those in their own circles or need to know people. If it comes to light that they shared elements of the event with close friends of family, we would not go on-line and claim they were in violation of the agreement, even if someone they shared it with was a plumber, and he in turn shared it with a fellow hot rod enthusiast. That would be far too petty and disrespectful.

What I wrote in December was irritating to many HAMB members as it lacked any disclosure of any meaningful information. That cannot be construed as a violation of any confidentiality agreement. If that were true, your being present at the pick-up itself would be a violation as someone told you about a very confidential event. But that would be silly to conclude. Team Galpin wanted you there, and that was good enough for us. We had many friends who would have loved to had been there, but none were told about it, so it was just me and the seller present from the sellers side. We were fine with all the other folks there, and enjoyed meeting them, including you. But we had no idea who you were or who you were with until being introduced. All we know is that we did not invite you, but someone who agreed to keep this confidential did. But it would be petty and foolish for us to claim "a breach of the non-disclosure agreement" due to someone inviting you. There was a high level of trust amongst the parties. They trusted you and wanted you there, and that was good enough for us, and we were happy for you to be there.

Most everyone on the "big day" took some photos, myself included. And I have a few photos of the loading of the car on the truck. But I am not sure what you are referring to regarding my sharing the pictures with a contractor who does work for a well known hot rod builder. There was a plumber (he may be a contractor, not sure) in my town who loves classic cars that I told about the car pick-up about a week after the event. I told my wife. And my brother in AZ. Of those 3, only the plumber possibly fits your description of a contractor. I have no idea about him doing work for a well-known hot rod builder. If a photo of the car being loaded went from me to the local plumber to a client of his that is a hot rod builder, then that would be an unintentional technical breach, but a breach none-the-less. It really is a small world. I had no idea sharing a pic with a plumber would lead to a "leak." I will reach out to the plumber to see if your theory is correct.

Just as Team Galpin trusted you to tell you about the UT sale, I trusted that I could share it with my Lakeport plumber without issue. I am not aware of any issue arising from you (or others told by the buyer) being told of the sale of the UT. I am not sure yet what issue was created by my sharing with my plumber (other than the possibility he shared the news with another car guy). We were perfectly fine with the buyers bringing you in to that special day; your presence enhanced the day. But you seem very upset that I shared the event with a plumber, who we didn't even invite to the event. You saw everything. The plumber only saw a photo. Why do you think my sharing what happened with a plumber is bad, but their sharing it with/inviting you is good? To me, both are good. Either they are both good, or both bad. Unless you dislike plumbers. But I think you would like this guy.

And finally, you wrote "There is more to come, and it will not come from an uninvolved real estate agent." Going forward, that is true. But to imply that I was not involved in the marketing, negotiations, and sale is patently false. If someone told you that, they lied to you. Please do not imply that I was uninvolved in those elements as that would be knowingly perpetuating a falsehood. That would be like me saying you were involved in the sale; it would be a lie. Regarding the documentary, I have nothing to do with that, and never implied I did. After the announcement, I shared that there would be documentary, but did not imply I had anything to do with it. I did share my opinion that it would be great, revealing, super awesome, etc. If you don't take my word here, simply go back and look what I wrote. I did get a few seconds of screen time in the release video, which was unexpected. If someone told you "That guy pulling back the cover is sure handsome!", that would be true, and you have my permission to pass that on. If someone says what I have written in these posts was "Gonzo", I plead guilty to that.

It was great meeting you at the pick up site, your passion for the UT rivals that of Beau and Dave. We were all blessed to be there to watch it unfold. It was a glorious day for a historic car. I will be in Pomona with the Seller this weekend. Hopefully I will see you there and we can speak more regarding this if you wish.

My apologies to all HAMBers reading this. Hopefully and future discussions about any concerns related to the non disclosure issues will be contained by the actual parties involved in the transaction in a more private forum. This post shall now be returned to a discussion about the UT itself.

 

I don't know anything about this other than what i've read here. It seems like the buyers really wanted to unveil the finding/purchase of the Uncertain T at the time and manner of their choosing. It is an important car and seemingly lost in time. Certain T..you keep mentioning that why was Badshifter there if they intended to keep the purchase and the car being found, a secret? Even equating his involvement to your plumber? Wtf? He was there because Beau wanted him there..no doubt. That whole point is illogical...since Badshifter didn't post anything about the car, it seems like you did.

 

WOW!!!

 

Kinda' sounds like alot of back pedaling... The kind you hear when someone get busted out on some BS...

 

@badshifter , is a documentary planned or not?

I was hoping to get some answers on stuff brought up in the other thread.

BTW, I checked your profile, not 10, not 12, not 15, but 18 years on the HAMB!!

 

First time reading one of these multiple “UT” threads. Was wondering what was going on. Seems a bit like some high school drama...

 

Why so much drama ? Yes, the car and it's being found again is important to some people, but not to me. I never really like show cars, as I thought they were impractical. A lot of the show cars were "all show, no go".. Who cares who saw it and when? It was on display at the Grand National Show for the world to see. I am happy that it was found and is going to the Galpin Ford collection. At least it will be returned to it's former glory.

 

Might be a stupid question here, but is Galpin Ford a person, or a Ford vehicle related thing?

 

Is that photo of the T wrapped up on the rollback how it left the seller's place and went to Galpin? That is awesome. Can you imagine being someone who knows about the Uncertain-T and randomly seeing a car that shape go past you on the back of a truck like that? You'd lose your mind. Reminds me of the legend about some guy seeing the remains of the Mysterion under a tarp on a trailer at some gas station way back whenever.

 

They’re a Ford main dealer, don’t know how long they’ve been around but at least since the 60s when they sponsored a Galaxie in Nascar. They’ve also got quite the collection of rods, customs, race cars.

 

Jeezus. Disclosure agreements, unauthorized spokesman, leaked secretive info, sneaky plumbers (sounds like Watergate)...this ain't no Holy Grail.

All this over a goofy car that was built, marketed and promoted for nothing more than commercial gain (ISCA shows, Model cars et) and then relegated to the dustbin of history...with the rest of it's "odd rod" for "show only" brethren.

This car, due to it's reason for even existing, is actually the antithesis of traditional hot rodding.

It's re-dicovery AND all the drama involved hardly deserves a foot note in traditional hot rodding history.

 

I guess the moral of the story is, some people can keep a secret when told to and others can't. Choose those people wisely.

 

Yes, a documentary is being filmed. Every aspect of the find and restoration will be filmed and documented.
I do not know when or in what form the final product will be released.

This.

 

The Stock Car was driven by Ron Hornaday Sr. with engine by Parky Nall.

 

No one was asked to keep mum about the UT in general. We wanted to keep the sale, buyer, and roll out private. Nothing I wrote conveyed any of that information, and to assume my initial post did any of that would be incorrect.

No one has any issue with Badshifter being at the event. But he was not part of the direct negotiations that we (seller and I) were involved with. Someone shared the sale with Badshifter and invited him to the event. Based on Badshifters interpretation, his being told would be a violation of the agreement. I don't agree with that interpretation, but I find it odd that my telling a plumber friend is any different than the buyers sharing with their friend. In neither case did it leak to the general public or media, and that was the goal. At this point, I am not even certain that the plumber is the same as in Badshifters narrative, but I am beginning to think it is.

Badshifter states that he took many pictures, but didn't realize I was also taking pictures. Maybe. But I was standing about 15 feet from them while I took my pictures. But to be fair, I don't recall seeing Badshifter taking any pictures either. If he did, we had no problem with him doing so as he was a guest of Beau and Dave. There was no agreement about not taking pictures, but it was understood that they would not be widely shared until after the announcement. I am not sure why Badshifter thinks it was ok for him to take pictures (at the time he was not involved in the sale at all) but not ok for us to take pictures. At the time, the car was being taken by Team Galpin, but the final part of the sale did not happen until later that day. So my friend still owned the car, and I already had pictures from before that day. If we want to get technical, when Badshifter was taking the pictures, he was taking pictures of someone else's car without the owner's permission. In contrast, I was asked by the owner to take some pictures. To be clear, there was no problem with us that Badshifter was there, or that he took photos without permission from the owner at the time. But it is odd that he would take time to come on this post and attempt to make as though I was wrong to take pictures and accuse me of violating an agreement that he had not seen, but I was part of creating. I know the intent and scope of the non-disclosure as I was in those discussions, whereas Badshifter is guessing or being fed bad intel. Based on his post, I think he may not be aware of the scope of my involvement in the sale, so he may be approaching some of this from a false premise. It is all Most peculiar.

In summary, Badshifter believes it was ok for him to have been told about the sale and be there to take pictures (it was ok), but it was not ok for me to share a picture with my plumber, nor was it ok for me to take pictures. For the life of me I don't know how he has come to these conclusions or why the level of aggression. Maybe if I had invited the plumber to the event, Badshifter would had felt better about it We all got along just fine at the transfer. Maybe he will explain it to me in person in Pomona. My impression of him in person was that he is a really cool guy, so his tone here is the opposite of what we experienced. It's like his account has been hacked or someone is filling his head with confusion or he ate some bad yogart. It is disappointing that the good vibe at the transfer is not being conveyed on this post. But this shall soon pass as the UT gets unveiled to the world, and we all can be happy again.

 

JUST STOP!!!

 

Save the drama for yo mama.

Car is cool, hope this doesn't get deleted, and if it does, hopefully a new restoration thread will be updated.

 

Ah, the internet. I will file this one under HAMB SPAMB

 

This reminds me of those Reality/Build/and Find Shows, where all the drama and dead lines are carefully choreographed to enhance the end game. Enough!