Flood of memories

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/03/2009 (6373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Although I have attended every single one of the 34 previous World of Wheels car shows to roll through the Winnipeg Convention Centre, this year will mark my first time actually displaying one of my own creations.

Over the years a number of cars, trucks and motorcycles I’ve helped get ready for the big event have been showcased under the bright lights, but the truth is none of the more than 100 vehicles I’ve owned in my life has been show-worthy.

For the last two months I have been busy preparing my 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster for its big debut at the show. My friend Richard Roy, the owner of Maniacal Expressions and a talented painter and airbrush artist, is looking after the paint. When I wrote this article the show was only a few days away, but I had yet to see the paint job Richard applied to my gas tank and fenders. I’m beyond excited.

My friend Ted Hector, the owner of Thunder Road Motorcycles has also been helping me out, he ordered me a pair of vintage-inspired Firestone tires, and welded up a cool two-into-one exhaust pipe that looks like it’s straight off the set of The Road Warrior. On my end I’ve been fabricating and polishing for weeks.

Without getting into too much detail about what else to expect, (you’ll have to drop by the show and check the bike out) I can tell you that until Sunday evening, things were moving along just fine.

Then the rain started falling.

On Monday morning I opened the door to my shop and was absolutely horrified to discover no less than four inches of water on the floor. In fact, when I opened the door, water actually cascaded onto my boots. Thanks to the ceiling fan that was quietly humming overhead, there were whitecaps on the waves of water that surrounded my prized motorcycle. Thankfully the water was just deep enough to submerge my new tires.

The culprit was a cap on my floor drain that popped off due to the lake that had surrounded my shop the night before. With the ground still frozen, all that rain had nowhere to go. My first instinct was to simply close the door and head to California. I’ll spare you the cleanup details, but I can tell you that I now know way more about the internal workings of my Honda water pump than I ever wanted to know.

This is not the first time my shop has taken on water, but I had thought it a thing of the past. At least most of my stuff is stored off the floor, so other than a box containing my collection of cool car decals, nothing really got ruined. Twelve hours later the floor was finally beginning to dry.

As I was muscling the squeegee, the thought occurred to me that I should have known something like this would happen. I’ve seen enough episodes of Overhaulin’ or American Chopper to know that when things are moving along too smoothly, one should begin to expect the unexpected.

With the show only a few days away, I now have my work cut out for me. I suspect that throughout the city there are countless other gearheads facing different situations with similar challenges, each of us playing out our own versions of beat the clock.

For me, Piston Ring’s annual World of Wheels was always a father-and-son event. When the cancer caught up with my father Dave back in 2005 all that changed. The recent twist of events in my seemingly effortless motorcycle build makes me feel as though he is still standing over my shoulder guiding me. My dad was always quick to point out that one should never get too cocky.

“Just when you think everything will fall into place, life has a way of throwing you a nasty curve ball,” he’d remind me with a sly grin.

Thanks, Dad. Truer words have never been spoken.

Come hell or high water, Free Press AUTOS writer/editor Paul “Willy” Williamson will unveil his custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle tonight in the Free Press display at Piston Ring’s 35th annual World of Wheels.

We have a winner

Free Press AUTOS reader Paul Ryan is the winner of our Meet Chip Foose contest. Paul will get the chance to meet Chip Foose on Saturday at Piston Ring’s 35th annual World of Wheels, and also wins dinner for two and VIP treatment at the first Sunday Night Cruise of the season at the Pony Corral Restaurant on Grant Avenue on Sunday, May 17.