The "BUBBA" Shop story...... By Bill (Tierod) Jakacky We were having breakfast this morning, and this guy heard us talking about old cars and stopped by our table and threw this old picture down and asked if we knew about this old guy on main street, that used to fix 'T''s and such..... He went on to tell us he thought he was from somewhere in Tennessee, cause they called him "Bubba". He went on to elaborate that everyone from all around would bring him their old cars to fix, cause he had the Knack...or something called "Bubba Vision" (which I did not fully understand...) He went on to tell us he always wore this shop apron, and when you drove up, and he came out and took a listen, and he could just open the hood, reach in his shop apron, pull out some wire or part, and bingo, you were on you were running smooth again... He would then invite you in, offer you some fresh popcorn,,while he told you some story of his youth....It was almost like a barber shop, guys hanging out, talking politics, or about the next big dance...sipping cold coke-a-cola from a cooler in the corner... Well he continued to tell us that his father just left him a 27 Roadster Pickup, and he never drove a 'T' and did not know if it even ran... Everyone he talked to told him go find "Bubba"...he was the best...but nobody knew where the shop was, apparently the road is gone now, unless you know the alleys to get to the old shop, you can hardly find it... Someone had given the picture he threw on the table, and I was able to scan a copy... Can you help this guy out...??? Do you recognize this shop? ???? And.....Does this "Bubba" really exist....? To be continued ......
And he's a little south and one street over from turn one at Indy, right? I've had some of that SPAM! Gary
bump up....cause if you've every ate spam with an over 80 years young un......you don't forget the fun !
So..The Story Continues, We continue talking.." I have couple more old photos that may help" he spits out......then throws this one down, and tells us more.... He said the guys around here told him, he always drove this stripped down jalopy, "a white one" he told us....."used it to chase parts and stuff",,, pretty darn fast they said.... the sheriff was always watching him 'cause .."he was always racing around up and down those darn alleys, scaring the daylights out of folk.." All this time were trying to finish our breakfast and enjoy a cup a' Joe...we figure if we listen long enough, we'll go find this shop...and see for our self... So, another picture flies out on the table..."here's this white jalopy they told me about" he says,,, "does it ring a bell?" he asks, getting frustrated, cause by now were grinnin' like Cheshire cats..Trying not to spit out our coffee all over the place.. He say's he has one more picture that may help...he's said "I've been showing this all over town..." and all I get is the same answer.. "That's Bubba....he's over there on Main street..".. "But you can't get there any more" They would laugh, and walk away..."I don't understand" he says, taking off his hat, scratching what is left of his hair....I got a picture of him, doesen't anyone know this guy? "I gota' get this Model T to him, or I'm in big trouble.." We look at the picture, take a big gulp of our coffee, and tell the stranger, "yep, that's Bubba..." We started laughing..and tell him, "OK, were sorry, we were just enjoying your story and pictures,,,that we needed to hear the whole thing",,,Follow us, he's right up the street,,,and Yep, Ya can't get there from here.... The stranger first looked a little upset, then I guess he understood , that he was a bit wound up, and it might of sounded kinda funny... He snatched up his pictures, stuffed them in his shirt pocket, popped his hat back on , and followed us over the Bubba's... We introduced him to Jim, and told him of the great story we just got told,,,and of the "Old Pictures" they guy had.... As we were telling Bubba the story, the stranger was looking around, and lo-and-behold, there's a "White Jalopy" sitting next to the Garage....I thought the guy would faint...of course , that got us laughing again.... After a couple cold Cokes in these great little glass bottles "from the cooler in the corner" , we topped off our breakfast with a fist full of fresh popcorn, unloaded the T, and watched the Master dive in.... We had other things to do, but we knew, He was in good hands... So..If you ever in that neck of the woods, be careful, because you never know what may come flying out of one of those allies...... And, if someone shows you a "old" picture of some guy that fix's cars...Be careful, you could be in for a surprise... Well, We went to breakfast this morning and our same old spot and guess who we met up with, Yep... that's right, as we were finishing up and getting ready to leave, in comes the stranger and this time he has a young'in in tow, a cute 8 year old freckled face boy...looking like he was hungry enough to eat everything on the menu.... The stranger spotted us a, and immediately came over with his hand extended, shaking our hand like a water pump.... just babbling about what a find this "Bubba" was and thanking us for taking him over there..he said the T was all set, and what a story getting it running.. He said he had taken a couple pictures, so he could show his family back home.. This one he said "when it was in the garage".. He said Bubba was waiting for us to come over this morning, so he could "get 'er fired up and road test her" .... "...But first we will check all the settings, making sure everything was ready.." He said Bubba just jumped right in and started looking things over, he said "Don't want problems when this ole girl fires up...you told me it's been sitting a while..." Next thing we know that old T was wizzin and a popping. Then all of a sudden, she fires right up...of course it fills the garage up with the smell of old gas and mystery oil. Pretty soon the smoke clears, and Bubba is twisting this and moving that, and she starts purring like a kitten over a bowl of warm milk... Then Bubba hollers to me , "Get in, let's go for a ride...".. "I hopped in" the stranger say's, "But I'm not sure what to expect..". He tells his young'in to "sit tight why we test this out...". He continues his story, "Out the garage he goes, pushing peddles and twisting this knob on the dash board, and off we go," "As we go shooting off down the alley, in comes the Postman with his basket of his bike stuffed full of packages and letters,,,he goes a scurrying off to the side, while Bubba laughs and cranks the throttle lever down, scarring him even more...He downright seemed to enjoy that I thought..." "Down this alley we go, in a puff of smoke..." Well now the strangers son is tugging on his arm, asking to get fed.. we all laugh a bit, and say our goodby's.. And tell him were glad that Bubba lived up to his reputation and got his long lost T running in good order... Oh, we had to stop by, just in time to see the stranger, his young'in in the back, and Bubba, just back from the road test.. how cool is that..... Oh ya... I case you want to know what Bubba charges for a tune up... :-0
FYI: The story is made up., but the people are real >>> LOL..... The "T" in the story has been redone by Tom Culbertson of Culbertson's in Indy, on of the best traditional builders in the country, with paint by Cooper Bodyworks. The little guy in the back of the "T" is now over 6' tall and has his own hotrod....a bitchin "A" bone with a flatty.. And of course... BUBBA is as real as it gets.... Hope you enjoyed the story.... TIEROD.....
The Jalopy Journal
