Welcome to Sho-me Your Wheels web site and blog. This is my first attempt at writing a blog, so, if you think the writing is bad just be thankful for spell-check and that my wife Judy will edit this before print.
The Mansfield Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the first annual Sho-me Your Wheels at the Wilder Days 2009 celebration which Mansfield hosts to commemorate renowned children’s author, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Being a little short of good sense, I volunteered to attempt to bring it altogether. Helping me get this website set up, puts considerable strain on Judy’s patience, but without her help, it wouldn’t happen.
I know the picture of the oxen doesn’t have anything to do with a wheel show but God invented oxen before he did the wheel. The picture has community significance because it was taken at a Manfield neighbor’s farm at their Oxen Day.
Their young sons bought two Brown Swiss calves at the auction and broke them to pull. It was an interesting site to watch. The calves had no intentions of becoming oxen. I didn’t really think the boys would win but about less than a year later this picture was taken with boys in control. Need is the mother of invention and now I know why the steam and the internal combustion engines were invented to provide power for moving objects. The oxen will be at Sho-Me Your Wheels if I can convince the boys to bring them.
We invite you to bring your wheels whether it be cars, pick-ups, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, farm and garden tractors and old hit and miss engines. If it is restored, un-restored or somewhere in between — if you can move it, bring it.
I have been operating, fixing, restoring and admiring old cars and equipment, (Judy refers to it as ‘junk’), for over fifty years.
I bought my first car in 1958, a 1954 Ford 2dr hard top, a real nice car. A year later I just had to have a convertible so I traded it straight across for a 54 Ford convertible. It did have a new paint job. The new paint had been applied right over the tape that covered the rusted out rocker panels. When trunk mat was taken out for cleaning the trunk floor looked like rusty corrugated roofing. Clearly the car had been hit in the rear pretty hard some time before the paint job. On close observation the front inner fenders looked the same. It must have looked like an accordion before the Bondo and paint were applied. After about a hundred miles it was almost out of oil, due to heavy leaks at out the rear seal. I got some real hands-on experience rebuilding the engine. After a good job of engine building I got my jollies racing 55 Chevys.
I have had many experiences since then rebuilding cars, trucks, heavy equipment farm tractors and sawmills.
If you don’t have something to bring to the show just bring your memories, your lawn chair and enjoy sharing old times.
Thanks for stopping by to read. You’re all invited to subscribe or come by frequently to talk ‘junk’ and keep up with Wilder Days.
Richard Lorenz
