“Really it’s like nothing you have ever seen.” With those intriguing words, my gym buddy Chris lit a fire under my curiosity. He told me of a skilled and, some night say, eccentric car fabricator with tastes that blended Batman, Mad Max and George Barris. Residing on a rural spread of land, he brought to life blown, big block monster executions born of a wild imagination.

His name is Gary.

Hot Rod Missionary and his monster machines

Dragon Express

Gary

Any doubts about Gary giving an “interesting” interview quickly dissipated when he prepared to speak by pulling on a leather biker’s helmet with a fake black pony tail. No question, for creativity and passion, Gary, by far more than anyone I have ever encountered in my life, embodies the defining qualities of Doc Brown of “Back to the Future” fame.

Bedecked in helmet and ponytail Gary unleashed an uninterrupted and interwoven torrent of one-off car descriptions, mind bending technical “how to” and personal philosophy. He projected a firm determination to create the most content rich and complex sentences. He succeeded.

I use Gary’s first name only because he prefers the anonymity that his backwoods location affords. He says, “I like to be a good neighbor so I maintain my property with vehicles neatly arranged amongst the concrete and steel life size statues of horses and angels. That being said, I know it makes for an attention grabbing display. Locating my place on a map would flood the neighborhood with Japanese tour busses and throngs of camera happy tourists. Like I said, I want to be a good neighbor.”

Pretty much a self-made man, Gary retired young after a successful career in home building and real estate. Possessing a natural gift for fabrication skills, he mastered a full palette of capabilities that equipped him to bring to life the fruits of his wild imagination.

The well tended grounds containing Dave’s assemblage of Monster machines presents a fascinating landscape of coordinated chaos.  It is populated with open barns stocked with wild gothic themed engineering marvels, sheds stocked high with power equipment, tools of all stripes, parts and pieces and more, much more.

When asked where he finds the materials and power train components for his projects, Gary points to two brand new refrigerators in the rear of a shed to illustrate his answer. He says, “For decades I have bought good things when they were on sale or cheap, not when I needed them.” He has always possessed total confidence in knowing what he would need someday. Big block engines, whole power trains, name it and he has stockpiled it. He says, “If I don’t use it, it’s still here. It’s not bothering anybody. So in the end I don’t have to go looking for something. I already have pretty much whatever I need here.”

The answer to what has motivated Gary’s 40-year obsession to construct a sprawling farm yard populated by thundering high performance beasts catches one by surprise. Gary possesses strong religious beliefs and has constructed his eye-popping array of Monster Muscle as a means for attracting people with whom he can share his religious beliefs. As the self proclaimed “Hot Rod Missionary,” he has dedicated himself to connecting with people that might not regularly find themselves in a house of worship.

Alien

Showmanship leavened by a sense of humor complements Gary’s strong religious leanings as evidenced by his space ship themed hot rod “the Alien.” By the way, all of Gary’s Monster Machines have names. Alien, fully fabricated by Gary from scratch, sports a 400 plus horsepower 455 cu. in. V8 big block. It is street legal as are almost all of his creations.

When first built, Alien took first prize for Special Interest Automobiles at a World of Wheels Auto Show. Gary, when interviewed at the time, explained that his intention called for adding booster rockets to facilitate possible future space travel. In reflecting on Alien’s present earthbound limitations, Gary acknowledged that, “Its primary use now is taking it to town to buy pizza.”

For night time events Gary mounted equipment on Alien that would shoot large plumes

Gary likes to use swords as design elements

of flame out the back. It proved to be a big fan favorite when the Sun went down. However, when an inattentive parent asked Gary to fire up the flames and Gary realized the fan’s child was standing behind the Alien a shaken Gary literally cooled the Alien’s jets for good.

Housed in bays, barns, containers or simply exposed to the elements, Gary’s hand fabricated Monster menagerie truly inspires fascination of the eye-popping variety.

An open stable building teases the imagination with a glimpse of four Model Ts. Three of them boast enormous rear tires clearly made a necessity by the mammoth engines that provide the giddy up.

The stable structure opening to a courtyard reveals the spectrum of Gary’s passion. The first bay houses a pretty much bone stock 1915 Model T Touring car. Interestingly Gary’s taste in vehicles in large part involves either totally stock or radically modified Model Ts. To that point, despite his collection of otherworldly monster modifieds, Gary’s favorite may well be his totally stock Model T convertible pickup truck.

Next to the Touring car resides the decidedly non-stock “Wild Man” which Gary fired up and, accompanied by ground shaking exhaust notes, pulled out into the court yard. With enormous tires on the rear and brutally wild metal adornments punctuating its hot rod T

Model Ts

character, Wild Man just screams and thunders FUN! Gary who does sell some of his creations says, “Wild Man is special and I won’t sell it because it is special. You sell the stuff that isn’t fun. You drive the stuff that’s fun. This is fun.”

Across the courtyard a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon, like no other, menaces the nearby street. The wagon named “Dragon Express” with its cobra nose and Adam’s family visual treatment features a worked small block with two-fours and an 871 blower. Street legal, the tubbed out rear and racing tires tells you all you need to know about available performance.

Starfighter

“Star fighter”, another denizen of Gary’s Gothic Garage, started out as what he describes as a Rustang(Badly rusted Mustang).

Laughing he says, “Enough daylight passed through its panels that you could get a tan.” Undeterred Gary fabricated a complete frame, installed a power tilt stainless steel cobra nose and ’57 Chevy front fenders. Chassis-wise Gary created a split Model T independent front suspension with disc brakes. Starfighter’s visual presence bears the signature Gary look with the ever popular skeleton forearm trim pieces and machined stainless steel flame shaped attachments.

Rocky with extending nose

With the look of a fuelie dragster from hell, Rocky, features a 426 Hemi, airbag suspension and a split Model T front axle with disc brakes. However, Rocky has much more to offer. Amazingly Gary designed and engineered the long dragster nose to extend an addition fully functional eight feet significantly increasing the wheelbase. Yes, brake lines, steering mechanism everything needed for a totally operational and drivable vehicle extends an additional eight feet out front.

Why? From Gary’s point of view, why not?

Creating a media frenzy over thirty years ago, it could have destroyed a globally respected brand. To recall just what happened, I interviewed retired Volvo PR Manager Bob Austin, a key player in what proved to be a template for effectively managing a potential corporate crisis.

The monster truck that nearly crushed Volvo

Inspired by car punishing monster truck events exploding on the scene in the late 1980s, Volvo in October of 1990 released a compelling TV commercial intended to promote its legendary rugged construction. Once broadcast, the ad would instead plunge Volvo into crisis.

On what should have been one of life’s better days, Volvo PR Manager Bob Austin’s honeymoon was interrupted by a phone call from Volvo Corporate Counsel, Bob Mercer. Mercer quickly popped Austin’s bubble of bliss and cut to the chase saying, “Can you be in the office tomorrow?” “What’s up?” asked Austin. “Better you should come in,” Mercer replied. Thus began what Austin, decades later, would recall as three of the most stressful months of his life.

At Volvo headquarters, sitting across from Mercer, Austin learned that the office of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox would be charging Volvo with knowingly creating a fraudulent and misleading television commercial.

Looming as exhibit 1 supporting Mattox’s startling accusation stood the Volvo television and print campaign that would forever be known as “Monster Truck.”

Concerned to say the least, Mercer asked Austin if he knew anything that could account for this accusation. Austin stated that he was unaware of any problem. Mercer quickly changed that by dumping it squarely in Austin’s lap.

“Monster Truck” as a concept found its inspiration in an actual monster truck event held on September 11th 1988 in Essex Junction, Vermont.

By happenstance a person associated with Volvo’s ad agency at the time, Scali, McCabe and Sloves, while on vacation had attended that Essex Junction event. On that September day in a dynamic flurry of flying dirt, waving flags, and bleachers filled with screaming fans an airborne monster truck set out to crush a row of cars. After a few passes by the massive monster truck the agency employee realized that, unlike the other vehicles in the row of sacrificial cars, a lone Volvo had stood up to the pounding with its roof remaining defiantly upright. Inspired by what he witnessed, the vacationing employee acquired video of the event. Back home, he shared it with the agency’s Volvo account staff and quickly set creative wheels in motion.

Historic Volvo ad touting roof strength

When Scali, McCabe & Sloves pitched the “Monster Truck” idea, a very interested Volvo responded by first reaching out to its engineers in Sweden to confirm that a Volvo 240 could indeed withstand such punishment.

Sweden responded with a resounding “Ya Sure.”. Engineers confirmed that each of a Volvo 240’s roof pillars had been designed to support the total weight of the entire vehicle, roughly 3,000 pounds. Doing the math, a Volvo 240 wagon with its 8 pillars should support about 24,000 pounds. Confidently, Volvo engineers concluded that the Volvo roof could easily support a typical monster truck weighing roughly 12,000 pounds.

Armed with those assurances Volvo gave its approval. “Monster Truck” would be produced as a cleaner, clearer re-enactment of the original 1988 Vermont event.

According to Austin, Scali, McCabe and Sloves awarded the project to a production company which while relatively new enjoyed a high level of confidence with the agency as it was populated with trusted past employees of the agency. It also came in with the low bid.

With concept and team in place, attention turned to location. It had to have a dirt floor. Flying dirt would dial up the drama of the monster truck making rampaging bull charges at a stationary line of cars. Another “must” was bleacher seating to accommodate the wildly screaming fans cheering the mayhem. With slim pickings in the New York metropolitan area, an expanded search located an ideal venue. A rodeo arena in Austin, Texas fit the bill perfectly.

Vehicles gathered for the shoot included the monster truck, over a dozen random used cars and three used Volvo station wagons. The need for more sacrificial vehicles than would ultimately appear in the ad was necessitated by the nature of film making. Multiple takes of the same scene often occur in order to get the best shot. When the repeated action requires a monster truck to punish a car, wear and tear can take a serious toll on the cars.

AdWeek front cover

To fill the bleachers with screaming fans, ads appeared in the local newspaper inviting people to participate in the filming of a Volvo commercial. Many people came. They fulfilled their role as rabid monster truck fans admirably. As directed, they wildly cheered for the destruction of helpless vehicles only to dissolve into a disbelieving cohort when confronted with a defiant crush resistant Volvo.

Once completed, Volvo management understood the filming to be uneventful and highly successful with the result being an attention grabbing television commercial dramatically and humorously promoting the signature strength and durability of Volvo cars. In other words, “Monster Truck” would add yet one more classic Scali, McCabe and Sloves execution to their Volvo commercial reel. Alas, it would not be so. Volvo, the company, now faced the even more punishing slow turning wheels of the Texas State Department of Justice.

With the threat of legal action looming over Volvo, Austin and Mercer, after speaking with agency management, sat down with members of the production team. They asked pointedly, did anything unusual happen during the production. Interviews with the production team affirmed that nothing of note was done to the cars. With due diligence completed, Austin, Mercer and the agency felt quite comfortable with their understanding of what had happened.

As Austin says, “We concluded that some of the extras who had been hired to be the audience had expected to see an actual “Monster Truck” event, one that takes place in real time. If an audience member had no experience in film production, he or she might have been confused by seeing the filming of one shot multiple times and the order of shots filmed in a non-sequential fashion.”

Volvo’s team confidently believed that surely this must be the cause of any misunderstanding.Creating a media frenzy over thirty years ago, it could have destroyed a globally respected brand. To recall just what happened, I interviewed retired Volvo PR Manager Bob Austin, a key player in what proved to be a template for properly managing a corporate crisis.

“Back then it was understood that being contacted by Texas AG Jim Mattox was a serious matter. That said, we felt pretty good,” says Austin. We were confident that we could explain that it was just a misunderstanding. Volvo’s team comprised of Austin, Mercer, Volvo’s Ad Manager and agency representatives prepared to fly to Texas to meet with Mattox. Actually, the Volvo team would be meeting with a member of the Attorney General’s staff William Goodman.

Austin recalls being greeted by a pleasant woman behind a desk who, upon welcoming the Volvo team, turned over her shoulder and with the signature regionalism of a Texas native called through an open door, “Bill, the boys from New York are here.”

With that auspicious welcome, Austin’s first thought was “Oh s%*t, we are in trouble.”

Image taken at filming

As the group turned to the open door, a man behind a large desk motioned them in with a distinctive Texas flair. Austin recalls, “He was dressed in a classic western style shirt with the snap flap pockets, he invited us to take a seat.” Three rows of chairs faced Goodman’s desk. Mercer and Austin, who would be representing Volvo, sat in the first row, the others retreated to the rear.

Mercer led off by reviewing the charges and Austin followed-up confidently explaining Volvo’s belief that it all was a misunderstanding based on some audience members’ unfamiliarity with the process of film making.

Seeking to clarify or some might say to firmly set the hook, the Goodman restated Volvo’s position that it was simply a misunderstanding. Austin confirmed that that was correct.

Like a fast hand gunslinger in a barroom shoot out, the attorney pulled out a stack of photos and said, “Then perhaps you can explain these.”

Image taken at filming

A tense silence filled the room as Austin slowly silently reviewed each photo before passing it to Mercer on his left. First came an image of the open tailgate of a Volvo 240 wagon with three 2-inch diameter tubes running from the floor to a cross member positioned horizontally under the roof. Next photo showed a man standing behind the side of a non-Volvo sedan with his shoulder raised as if he held a heavy object. A large ribbon of sparks shot out from the car past him. The next photos proved to be no less disturbing.

Accepting each from Austin, Mercer inspected each photo slowly in silence for what, Austin says, “Seemed like an eternity.”

Mercer broke the spell. He pushed back against the Texas attorney’s assumptions, saying, as Austin recalls, “I know you would like me to believe that these three tubes are there to support the roof. However, for all I know these three tubes could be a camera mount.” Mercer went on to suggest that the ribbon of sparks rather than caused by an effort to compromise the non-Volvo could be caused by the removal of a badge or other recognizable feature so that the car could not be identified.

While Mercer blunted the initial attack, the embarrassment and disbelief caused by these disturbing photos hung heavy in the room for the Volvo faithful. Agency members in the room sat mute and terrified. They too thought it had been audience misinterpretation.

As Austin recalls Mercer continued asserting that the two parties stood at an impasse. Mercer suggested that having the cars to view would certainly be a help. “No problem” fired back Attorney Goodman with a speed and finality not unlike a triggered leg trap. He continued, “We have them in storage close by. When do you want to look at them?”

All parties agreed to reconvene at the storage facility with Austin and Mercer alone representing Volvo.

After lunch the group assembled at the storage area where three battered Volvos awaited them. Two had not been altered in any way, but the third clearly displayed marks where pipes had been welded in. “As we left the facility,” Austin says, “Mercer and I agreed there was sufficient reason for someone who attended the shoot to question Volvo.”

This latest and disturbing turn of events demanded that Austin and Mercer confer with the passionate and fiery President of Volvo Cars of North America Joseph L. Nicolato. Austin says, “Cut Joe Nicolato and he bled Volvo blue. Take an action to hurt Volvo and Joe would defend the brand like a pit bull.”

A true old school, skilled and colorful leader, Nicolato, a former marine, once, at a WWII USO themed Volvo national sales meeting, arrived in a helicopter accompanied by Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” wearing George C. Scott’s uniform from the movie “Patton.”

While Austin enjoyed Nicolato’s respect and confidence, Austin’s thick skin helped facilitate their good relationship. Austin understood that the possibility always existed for the messenger to take the initial heat for the message.

Joining Nicolato on the Volvo headquarters end of the conference call would be Executive Vice-President of Marketing William Hoover. Cool and controlled compared to Nicolato’s passionate and direct approach, Hoover shared Nicolato’s unwavering dedication to the Volvo brand.

“Neither Nicolato nor Hoover spoke as we debriefed them for the first third of the call,” recalls Austin. Both Nicolato and Hoover had dedicated their working lives to building the Volvo brand in North America. Now, what they heard had the potential to destroy much of what they had accomplished and seriously compromise one of the world’s most respected marques.

Television coverage

Horrified best described Nicolato’s and Hoover’s reactions. Infuriated and deeply concerned, Nicolato was not so much angered by the actions of the Texas AG as by this needless self inflicted wound. He was incensed by the apparent and unnecessary buttressing of a Volvo car by people who should have known better. Austin says, “Joe being Joe, the first moments of the second third of the call basically blistered the paint off the phone.”

However, Nicolato’s passion never interfered with his ability to get down to business. His storm quickly subsided. Nicolato knew important decisions needed to be made and make quickly. For Nicolato traditional corporate responses held no appeal.

Nicolato made it crystal clear that there was no way Volvo would retreat into the black hole of denial without closure. He believed such a “gutless” response could suck the life out of the proud Volvo name and it plain and simple did not represent the character of the Volvo brand or its people. All agreed.

A second traditional response felt equally distasteful. Volvo could accept the allegations, pay a hefty fine and be left to slink off in disgrace while dragging Volvo’s good name behind it. Such an approach stood especially galling as the accusation of a willful intent to deceive was not true.

Nicolato wanted offense. Austin and Mercer delivered it with a proposal that defied tradition. Their approach took AG Jim Mattox by surprise. Volvo would acknowledge that mistakes had been made in the production of the commercial and take full responsibility. Crucially, Volvo’s position would be that the mistakes made did not alter what would have been the outcome had the mistakes not taken place.

Furthermore, to Mattox’s disbelief, Volvo executives volunteered to stand at the attorney general’s side and acknowledge those mistakes at a press conference. In addition Volvo would voluntarily produce advertising acknowledging the mistakes for both Texas and national markets.

Volvo also made clear that it would not admit guilt to intentionally producing a misleading ad. As such, no fine should be levied. Attorney General Mattox agreed, though he noted a considerable sum had been spent in pursuing the investigation. Volvo agreed to reimburse the AG for those expenses, a sum of $350,000.

At the subsequent AG’s press conference Executive Vice President Hoover stated, “A mistake was made in the production of a Volvo commercial,” “Do not confuse this with the fact that Volvos are strong and rugged. This commercial may have issues, but our cars do not.”

Today, in looking back, Austin, now retired, believes that the alterations initiated by the production company resulted from panic born of a confluence of difficulties unforeseen by the production company. One of the three Volvos sustained visual, but not structural, damage very early in the filming making it unusable. Additionally, as a new production company highly desirous of getting such a plum job, they bid the project with a sharp pencil and little room for error. Above all, they had to go home with a commercial using what they had and the clock was ticking, quickly. Discipline suffered. The production company reverted to the less restrictive set of requirements used in making a theatrical movie rather than those required for an authentic recreation of an actual event. In other words, movie magic. In this case magic spelled trouble.

“I don’t even know if the reinforced Volvo actually appeared in the finished commercial,” Austin says. It didn’t matter. “The new production company’s lack of faith in the strength of our car, combined with the fear of failing to complete the shoot with the resources they had on hand, compelled them to make some unfortunate choices.”

Volvo defies monster truck

In the wake of “Monster Truck,” Volvo adopted a strict policy stating “not a single foot of film for a Volvo commercial could be shot without a senior member of the Volvo advertising staff present.” No such staff member had been on location for the entirety of the “Monster Truck” shoot.

While Volvo would survive “Monster Truck” its storied relationship with Scali, McCabe, Sloves would not. On November 12, 1990, Scali, McCabe and Sloves resigned the $40 million Volvo account after producing 24-years of award-winning advertising.

Broken Monster Truck removed from defiant Volvo

Counter intuitively, Volvo 240 monthly sales increased 19 percent that November; sales increased another 38 percent the following month. It would seem that customers still believed in Volvo and said so with their checkbooks.

Beyond the media buzz, there was great irony in the “Monster Truck” saga. In the months after the story broke, the United States Hot Rod Association, the sanctioning body for monster truck events, embraced the global media frenzy. Around the nation the USHRA scheduled “Crush a Volvo” events as a headline grabber. However, the crushing didn’t go as planned. Even without that movie magic, and just as the Swedish engineers foresaw, Volvos really could withstand a monster truck’s abuses. As reported in the Pittsburgh Press after one such event, “Volvo was grudgingly declared the winner this morning after a monster truck trying to crush it ended up with a broken drive shaft.”

It appeared that not only could Volvos withstand brutal punishment, Volvos could even fight back.

In covering the event, USA Today reported that Volvo Spokesman Robert Austin stated, “Volvos really are tough. In fact we wouldn’t mind if they featured “new” Volvos for these events.”

LINK TO VOLVO MONSTER TRUCK COMMERCIAL

While driving north along Virginia Route 29 I spotted a forest richly populated with orphaned trucks from the 1950s. I quickly pulled over to a clean white two-bay shop that resided on the high ground above the forest. A hand lettered sign identified the business as Melvin’s Used Cars. I drove up in the hope of finding Melvin and asking, “What’s your story?”

Well groomed and neatly attired in crisp work clothes, the man I came to know as Mel stood by an open bay. Friendly and engaging, Mel indeed had a story. He had a field of old cars that once numbered almost 500. Interestingly when I expressed my interest in writing his story, Mel repeatedly redirected the conversation to his friend R. J. Pinto who he clearly felt had better stories. As luck would have it, in mid-sentence Mel yelled, “It’s him. It’s Pinto,” as R. J. Pinto pulled in off the highway. In short order it would become evident that Mel’s story would be written another day as I was about to meet Pinto. And, now, so are you.

Drank with Arlo, Dated Alice, Tuned Evel’s motorcycle and much more. They call him Pinto.

Pinto and Mel

Pinto bundles the vigor of a colorful yarn spinner in an 85-year old, burly, gregarious, engaging and earthy package. Pinto still communicates the vitality of a young man who savors grabbing life by the horns. At the same time he reflects on life with a mellowed perspective and insights refined through eight decades of having ones heart and soul polished by the abrading rapids encountered while navigating the river of life.

A brief introduction by Mel tees up what will be a fast moving morning of storytelling. Belying Pinto’s approaching 86^th birthday his memories possess a crispness that brings them to life. Being on the receiving end of Pinto’s rapid fire delivery feels like taking a drink from a fire hose.

Born in Middletown, New York, Pinto, a Korean War Veteran, began a lifelong love for all things motorcycle in the 1950s. It would be an affection that would lead down many paths and involve him in iconic events of the 20^th century American culture.

In the 1960s his passion for motorcycles brought him to a little restaurant called “The Back Room” in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Purchased by the owner in 1966, it could be found around the back “just a half-mile from the railroad track.” In American culture The Back Room is more fondly remembered as “Alice’s Restaurant.”

He and his motorcycle racing buddies knew the owner, Alice Brock, and Pinto says, “As a group we all comprised a family.” That family had celebrated Thanksgiving in 1965 at the de-consecrated Trinity Church in Great Barrington, Massachusetts that Alice had bought for her home in 1964.

Trinity Church 1966

Pinto’s motorcycle family grew out of his very successful racing career on dirt tracks east of the Mississippi. If he ever chose to have a trophy room, Pinto would have had no trouble filling it with the trophies from over 100 wins.

Pinto with a great affection for the Triumph motorcycles with which he competed says, “Scrambling on dirt was in the DNA of Triumph. Back in the 60s Triumph-powered machines dominated.” His is, indeed, a deep affection. He has kept the Triumph he raced for over 50 years. He says, “My Triumph TT (Tourist Trophy model) has been very good to me.”

The paths of Pinto’s dirt track racing and Alice’s Restaurant intersected in the mid-1960s at the Trinity Church.

Pinto says, “I had done a lot of racing in the Schenectady area. One track in particular, a beautiful track with a little chicane and a jump I found especially friendly.” The tracks friendly environment and Pinto’s showmanship bred a family of supporters that became the Trinity Racing Association. Pinto says, “Alice’s, then husband, Ray Brock and I designed the logo for the Trinity Racing Association that consisted of a yellow circle, red triangle and infinity sign representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Away from the track, the epicenter of team member activity centered on the communal environs of Alice Brock’s Trinity Church home.

Life Magazine   Top – Ray Brock    Middle – Pinto    Bottom – Doug Campbell    Standing Jimmy J.

Pinto says, “I made many friends, many of whom I still know till this day.” On one especially big racing day they all decided to come see Pinto race. Pinto says, “I happen to win that day. So I handed Alice the checkered flag and she hopped on the back of the bike for the victory lap.

Husband Ray taught a shop class and Alice was the school librarian at a local boarding school. Pinto says, “They were gifted creative people.” Being who they were, they attracted a number of students who shared their idealism and their creativity. Arlo Guthrie was one of them.”

Son of American folk legend Woody Guthrie, Arlo graduated from high school in Stockbridge in 1965. After a brief stint in  college, Arlo returned to the Berkshires in November of 1965. He stayed with his friends, Ray and Alice, at the church during the Thanksgiving holidays. A holiday celebration that will forever be memorialized in song.

Alice Brock & Arlo Guthrie

Sometime during the span between the 1965 Thanksgiving dinner at the church and Arlo Guthrie’s July 16^th, 1967 Newport folk Festival live performance of his opus, Alice had called Pinto to come to dinner to meet a young friend of hers named Arlo Guthrie. Pinto says, “I had no idea who Arlo Guthrie was.” At the time I saw a young kid making a living as a troubadour traveling around the country hitchhiking and playing all the café’s and bars in New York and wherever else he could make a few bucks.

Once Guthrie’s monster hit captured the public’s attention the family members peaceable life would be forever changed. Among others Alice would resent her unwanted fame and divorce her husband, Ray. Pinto would find work in the movies.

Pinto played himself in Alice’s Restaurant, the movie, having parts in scenes of the motorcycle race and getting a tattoo. In the process he developed a good relationship with director Arthur Penn. Out of that relationship came other film work involving motorcycles with the likes of Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood.

By early 1969, Pinto and Alice had become a couple. Eight months later the Alice’s Restaurant experience would peak with the release of the movie. Pinto would appear in 1969 issues of Life Magazine and Playboy that profiled the Alice’s Restaurant family. August 18^th Woodstock had exploded on the global consciousness. August 19^th “Alice’s Restaurant” the movie appeared in studios across America. A week later Pinto and Alice left their relationship behind and entered a friendship that continues today.

Pinto racing his Triumph at age 79

In the early 1970s Pinto had moved on to owning a motorcycle tuning operation. Called North Bergen Cycle Shop in Mahwah, NJ it specialized in building and rebuilding motors and optimizing motorcycles for the owner’s intended use. With some humility Pinto says, “If somebody came in with their BSA, Triumph, Harley, Ducati, whatever, if they came in and said I want this set-up to do such and such, make it magic, they came to the right guy.” Fifty years later and now living in rural Virginia, Pinto continues to tune the motorcycles brought to him from far and wide. Pinto smiling with the honest confidence of experience says, “I am still the right guy.”

This brings us to Pinto’s dealings with Evel Knievel. Pinto recalls a man entering North Bergen Cycle in the 1970. Pinto says, “This guy comes walking into my shop. He was a perfect gentleman. He was very honest. He was very honorable. I really liked him.” Evel Kneivel’s manager, through his connections in the motorcycle world had come to Pinto to have Kneivel’s bikes tuned for jumps he would be doing in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Pinto says, “For me this recognition ranked high on my list of professional “WOW” moments.” Pinto said yes. Shortly thereafter a monstrous Peterbilt decked out in striking red, white and blue Evel Kneivel art thundered into his parking lot.

Up until then Kneivel had used Harley Davidsons and then Triumphs for his jumps. No more. Out of the Peterbilt rolled  seven brand new Laverda 750cc American Eagle Model motorcycles. Pinto says, “They were a very well built high quality Italian motorcycle. I just did everything to assure that they were right on spec. My job demanded that I go over every nut and bolt. The Laverdas were a beautifully designed and built motorcycle. My job was to make sure each delivered peak performance.”

Evel Kneivel after crashing at Pocono Raceway

After being so impressed by Kneivel’s manager, Pinto admits to finding Kneivel to be a rather arrogant and unpleasant individual. Pinto says, “Maybe I just caught him when he was having a few bad days.”

Pinto, in recalling Kneivel’s jump attempt at Pocono Raceway ended in a terrible crash resulting in serious injury says, “ He missed the jump and wiped out. I could not help but think of his reputation as a heavy drinker.” It was documented that before every jump Kneivel would take a shot of Wild Turkey for good luck. Sometimes it would be two or three shots if he felt the need for extra luck. “Maybe this time the extra shots brought bad luck,”says Pinto.

In reflecting Pinto says, “What is the saying, If you love what you do it is never work. My life and my profession, in large part revolved around my passion for motorcycles. All those involved with my passion I loved and continue to do so.”

Pinto concludes motioning towards Mel saying, “Mel here shares my passion. I love him like a brother. I am blessed.”

Tomorrow will commence my Charles Kuralt blue highways, back roads tribute tour. As such, I am yet to have exciting tales hand-picked from road side discoveries to be served up like farm fresh delicacies for your personal consumption.

If one can will the future though, I would love nothing better than to manifest glorious surprises. As my mind wanders I imagine stumbling upon a shabby yet substantial barn nestled in a wooded expanse “out back” of a weathered farm house. Parting the barn’s feeble creaking doors reveals it to be chockablock with classic contents, each resides under a blanket of fine dust that speaks to a rich past like tree rings. All possess histories of once being driven by mid-century Hollywood royalty. It would be enough to make Tom Cotter cry. Hey, you have your fantasies, I’ll have mine.

However, while organizing my back country journey I did come across a fascinating stolen car story with its roots in the closing days of WWII and its resolution well into the next century with a conclusion worthy of O’Henry.

The following offers what I believe to be the best multiple decade stolen car story with an “I did not see that coming” conclusion.

Return of the Zipper King

Threads that interweave to create the fabric of this 21^st century ownership puzzle are many and involved. It all began at the 1935 Berlin Motor Show. Heroically displayed as the centerpiece of the Mercedes-Benz exhibit and indeed of the whole event, stood the gleaming

1935 Berlin Motor Show

Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster, chassis number 105380. Built in 1935 during the 1934 and 1936 model run, it shone as a gleaming jewel of advanced engineering and design. Recognized as one of the greatest performance automobiles of the pre-war era, Mercedes-Benz produced a total of 342 500Ks with only 29 being Special Roadsters. Its supercharged (thus the “K” designation) 5.0-liter inline-8 cylinder produce 160 horsepower. Blazing fast in the context of the time, it could easily top 100 miles per hour. The 500K’s advanced engineering extended to the chassis which featured a sophisticated 4-wheel independent suspension with double wishbones at the front, a double-joint swing axle in the rear as well as coil springs and dampers.

As The Autocar wrote in 1936: “This is a master car for the very few. The sheer insolence of its power affords an experience on its own.”

Everybody loved it. However, a precious few could afford it with its 1935 selling price of 28,000 Reichsmark ($11,200). One person who did love it and could afford it was industrialist Hanz Prym. He purchased the car new after the Berlin Motor Show in 1936.

Hanz Prym

Prym known as the “Zipper King,” lead the oldest family-owned business in Germany. For 12 generations the Prym family specialized in the manufacture of haberdashery and copper and brass products such as zippers and buttons. During the war Prym industries supplied the war effort with turbine blades as well as buttons and zippers. It should be noted that while a German industrialist and briefly imprisoned by the allies in 1945, Prym held no sympathies for the Nazi’s. He supported the Weimar Republic and actually advocated for the return of the monarchy.

When World War II came, Prym retreated to his estate in Stolberg Germany taking the 500K with him and secreting it away on the estate grounds. The 500K quietly resided in its sanctuary while the war raged until late fall of 1944 when the collapsing German war effort saw allied troops in the form of the 3^rd Armored Division (known as the Spearhead because they always like to be out in front) cross the Siegfried Line and set of camp in Stolberg at the Prym estate mansion.

First hand commentary by soldiers in the 3^rd Armored Division confirmed Spearhead occupation of the Prym estate.

“The division ensconced its headquarters in the plush luxury of the Prym Mansion, just south  and east of Stolberg. The rainy winter weather soon turned the entire Division area into a sea of mud.  There were daily skirmishes and firefights, and at night patrols probed for information. Artillery  action was continuous. The men were tired and the machines needed maintenance in the worst way. Shellfire was the bane of  existence  at Stolberg and in the surrounding towns. German guns located in the Duren area constantly shelled “Spearhead” positions.”

Bivouac style encampment on Hanz Prym’s estate September 1944

During this time the car disappeared from its hiding place on Prym’s estate. Early versions of what happened told of the 500K being sold to an American soldier. Once released by  the allies after a short detention, it is said that Prym, who died in 1990, was furious upon learning that his prized Mercedes was gone. The Prym family vehemently rejected the story of the car being sold as an outright lie. The version that subsequently gained traction and stuck described the car as being spirited away by a U.S. Army Colonel and shipped to the United States while Hanz Prym was being held in the custody of Allied forces. Regardless of the reason, the 500K had vanished. Decades would pass until in 1976 when it appeared in the collection of Russell Strauch in Toledo, Ohio. From that time until 2011, Prym’s 500K changed hands with some regularity. During that period in the early 1990’s it underwent a complete restoration.

2011 RM Auctions

Then, in 2011 it starred center stage at the 2011 RM Monterey auction. There it changed hands for the princely sum of $3.7 million gleefully spent by Dutch classic car aficionado Frans van Haren. Joyfully, van Haren prepared to share his magnificent acquisition with the automotive world on Europe’s biggest stage. He intended to ship his prize to Techno Classica in Essen Germany in 2012. And he did. And that is when the Scheisse hit the fan.

Beautifully bathed in photogenic light for all to see, just not for long. Within a few hours the German authorities set eyes on the gleaming 500K and summarily seized it. Frans van Haren had been accused by the descendants of Hanz Prym of possessing stolen property. Their property. By bringing Prym’s 500K back to Germany van Haren had subjected his prized possession to German law, law that could only be enforced if the car was in Germany.

With frenzied bewilderment thick in the air along with $3.7 million disappearing into thin air, fingers seeking targets to blame flashed about pointing in all directions. At this point it would seem timely to mention that, at auction, RM Auctions stated, “Interim history is unknown.” More than 20 years of history resided in darkness and, oh yes, there was no title involved in this or any of the earlier transactions. Game on.

By the end of 2012 a German court in Hamburg ruled that the allied soldier did not have the right to take possession of the car. The 500K Special Roadster belonged to the Prym heirs not van Haren. As to what satisfaction van Haren can get from those who sold him the car, that is a story for another day.

As to the Prym progeny, in 2016 Bonhams auctioned the Prym family’s Berlin Motor Show 500K Special Roadster at the Bonham’s Chateau de Chantilly auction. It sold for $5.29 million.

As to any complaints van Haren may have, the Prym family says, “zip it.”