Editorial

 

Oct 1,2007

It's about time I did something with the site here. So I redid the galleries from scratch. I had to strip down the previous features in many cases as I was once again surpassing the bandwith alloted. By now most of you have seen the new HHR panels on the road. It is kind of surprising how Chevrolet is marketing this new vehicle. There are no brochures at the dealers yet. Not sure how well they will do with little marketing behind them.

June 20, 2007

My 53 panel has been sold. It took one day to sell it in Old Autos Magazine. I will be sorry to see it go but have happy memories of having owned such a neat classic panel for 2 years. Unfortunately it was a major luxury for me to own it and I could never really afford to get it to the level I would have wanted. Also I have become much more involved in the organizing side of custom van events which require some major treks across country for which I need a very reliable vehicle. The old Ford was great on short hauls but running it 1200 miles routinely on a weekend would have been pushing the limits.

Had to pull the plug on the MSN Paneltrucks forum today. Not quite sure what happened on there lately but I have a feeling someone possibly Mike will start another one. As soon as I find out I will link it up.

Just got back from another event I am involved with, Vanfest 12 was a big success. This was the event that Panelfest was part of. We only had two panels there this year, the same ones that have been there for the past likely 10 years. The weekend before I went to the Fleetwood Country Cruize In. There were 4 or 5 panels there among the many amazing vehicles. Coverage of that can be found on Showtrux.com

January 25, 2007

The updates are getting further apart, but that does not mean I have been idle. Last weekend I ventured to Detroit once again to see the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. Last year I got to see the Pteazer HHR there, this year I was fortunate to see the upcoming HHR Panel. Unlike Chrysler who never went ahead with the PT Panel, GM will have the HHR Panel in production in the spring at sticker price around $17,000. Unlike the PT Panel the HHR is actually a good sized vehicle that has some good promise. I have a feeling before Chrysler buries the PT they may come out with the panel if the HHR Panel does well. Already I know of two classic panel owners who have bought 2006 HHRs.
My panel is still for sale I got some inquiries but nothing serious. I have lowered the price to $10,000 CDN which today is $8500, not too shabby. If you are serious about buying it check out the for sale page. It's a runner and will get you where your going.

Oct 14, 2006

Last week I received an email that shocked me quite a bit. News that Rick Finn had passed away. Even though I only met Rick on 2 occasions it was like meeting up with an old friend. Rick was one of the few panel guys in Anaheim last February for the Panelwest show. We had a good talk there as well as at the Donut Derelicts Cruise the next day. We had much in common from our 53 F100 panels to our love of all those rolling canvasses that people proudly display at events all over the country. Rick was one of the originators of the Donut Derelict Cruise which is the event with the widest variety of vehicles I have witnessed from Rat Rods to Maybachs. I was in the process of writing an email to Rick to see if we could collaborate on a proper panel truck and van gathering in March 2007 in the Huntington Beach area. We had talked briefly about it in February. I had also been waiting on Rick to finish his interior, the exterior was done in "California Suede" a look that I have come to appreciate quite a bit. You may recognize Rick's panel on the sidebar index photo that has been there for a few months now. Click on the image above for more pictures and info on Rick and his panel.
Here is some news I had expected a few years back from Chrysler about the PT Cruiser. Chevrolet will have a panel version of the 2007 HHR in the spring of 2007 ! After seeing the Rides program a good while back I had a feeling that we might just see that happen seeing that 3 of the 4 customizers chose to panel it. I did get to see the PTeazer HHR in Detroit at the auto show. I am sure this is very welcome news to the PTeazer people who have been customizing PT Panels for years now. I am sure if I pass by their shop in March there will be a flurry of activity. I have been by their shop twice and unfortunately never get to see their main vehicles which are so popular and always on the show circuit or on runs like the Hot Rod Power Tours.

September 23,2006

It has been another busy summer attending events near and far. I ran into Big Bob at Super Somer in Connecticut in August. He is a great guy and still proudly displays his Panelfest plaque everywhere he goes. Art was also there with his chopped 40 Ford, looking as great as ever. There was also a very fine 54 Chevy there that has been seen on the Power Tour a number of times, more on that in the coming months. Clivk on the image for some pictures.

I have not seen a lot of panels this year unfortunately and did not get a very good response from the 2 events that I did put together this year. We'll see how things go down the line.
My 53 panel is for sale still. Click on the picture below for details. Now if I could only win the lottery and keep it and finish it off the way I would like ...

Big thanks to Michigan Rick, Mr Peabody and Mike for their continued support !

July 22, 2006

It is a sad day that I have to put my 53 panel up for sale. I mention burning the candle at both ends and going to events all over North America. Well it just isn't practical for me to have a classic vehicle of any sort when I am travelling thousands of miles every year to events.
Still waiting on some more pictures from Panelfest and will have coverage of the Syracuse Nationals and the National Truck-In shortly.

June 20, 2006

Panelfest 2 is a wrap. We had 5 panels at Vanfest this year. But there were only 4 on display. Thanks to those who participated this year. I put up a preview gallery for now, more detailed pictures will follow as well as the story and results.

May 27, 2006

As soon as spring hits time flies by and up here in Ontario Canada there is something to do every weekend and too often two things on the same day. As usual I am burning the candle at both and in the middle. This year I am directly involved with 3 events in 3 different regions and next year the same. Today I was trying to put the finishing touches on the 2007 National Truck-In flyer front page so that made me late to go to the Waterdown show and swap meet. I did manage to get there just after everyone else left, but I did manage to meet up with Ron and Eunice. Eunice is doing quite well I am very happy to say. Tomorrow I will go back during the day to see them again and also Larry for some first hand info on last week's F100 Supernationals and just maybe he'll have some pictures to share. Michigan Rick has already offered up his and they are likely on the way. So next weekend it is off to Barrie for the monster swap meet up there, then Gravenhurst for the Lion's Club car/truck show and also the Fleetwood Country Cruise-In to see George Barris.

April 9, 2006

Spring is upon us and it is time to get busy to work on the panels again. Been getting a steady stream of email, but I have a problem sending out email. My main pc is getting a well needed cleaning out and upgrade, hope to have that back soon to get back on track.

It was good to here from Dean, there will be a Third Unofficial Panel Nats Sept 15-16 in conjunction with Dash to the Dells 17.

March 3, 2006

Time stops for no one. If I could only get another 12 hours in a day ... It is time to start the planning for Panelfest II. Will be meeting with my counterparts, Kevin, Geoff and John who have been doing Vanfest for the past 10 years to discuss this. Last year's event was a success and some of my panel buddie's came from far to support this. Hopefully we can attract some more locals and stateside panel owners this year. Details will be up shortly.

Feb 14, 2006

Back from the most incredible trip to California yet. Unfortunately Panelfest was not too popular, not quite sure why people stayed away when they said they were coming but what can you do.
Rick Finn from Hotrodlife.com did come by with his very cool 53 F100 panel and we had a very nice Holden panel from Australia there. Pictures of my adventures in California can be found on Showtrux.com.
Did meet other panel people while down there and will have more photos of the various panels I did see shortly.

Feb 6, 2006

Aside from Panelfest West I am getting many emails seeing I have posted info on many websites. I will sift through all of this and post many new pictures in the coming month or so of readers' rides and other stuff.

Got to meet Chip Foose in person on Saturday, what an incredible guy. More info on that will posted next week.

Final details will be given shortly. There is a good chance that after the show we will cruise over to nearby Garden Grove for their weekly Cruise Night which is quite popular.

 

Jan 26.2006

Today I got a call from California from John. He had been told about the show by Bob Ryder from Truckin'. Now we have the second confirmed panel for the show. Unfortunately I was having problems with the pictures Bob had sent of John's truck so I didn't have a clue what his truck looked like other than it was a yellow 50 Chevy with flames ... once I saw the pictures I instantly recognized the truck, it has so many flames it is practicaly on fire.

Jan 22, 2006

A flury of activity happening between Panelwest and everything thing else. Getting the word out on the gathering in Anaheim. First confirmed panel for the show is one very cool F100.Thanks to one of the biggest supporters of the site Michigan Rick for letting me know about hotrodlife.com which is where this panel is from. There is a mini feature on it right now, full feature to come.


Was in Detroit last weekend and got to see the HHRs close up and by chance the PTeazer HHR that was featured on Rides and at SEMA. Click on the HHR picture to go to the Detroit coverage.
Now we finally we finally have the show on the road here for the site for 2006 ! Been getting emails for future features and have a stack of reader's rides to post. Be patient, they will be posted soon !

Jan 8, 2006

We are already a full week into 2006 ! Have not had a chance to do much of anything here for a while for various reasons. Usually at this time of the year I get a chance to catch up on stuff but this year I am further involved in other stuff related to my hobbies than ever.
Next week I will be headed to the Detroit International car show, hope to see one of the HHR panels there and some new concept cars like the Challenger.
In February every year there is a van club convention. This event is held in a different city each year, this year it will be Anaheim. I just confirmed yesterday that I will be going to this. I have been to California 5 times previous to this, the last time I managed to go to the Western F100 Nationals. We will be having a custom van show on the Friday, forever the opportunist I thought that maybe we could include a mini Panelfest in this. With a month to organize it and being on Friday we cannot expect a great attendance. But for anyone interested please get in touch with me. We will be inviting some magazine people to the show, so you never know if we might get some coverage. For more info go here: Panelfest West
Good to see Peter's 52 in a recent Old Autos. I think it has been in the last 3 of 4 issues.


Dec 4, 2006

Been neglecting the site here lately, trying to get the 2006 vannin' calendar put to bed. Pretty much finished with it now and once it is the mail I will have time to play catch up.
Check out the latest Truckin', they did one very nice 5 page spread on Larry's 53.

Nov 9, 2005

A while back I wrote to Old Autos (the big classic vehicle tabloid in Canada) asking if they would be interested in an article on Panelfest. They said sure, send a small article and a few pictures. I sent the article that they seem to have printed word for word, only typo was on my last name. I left the choice of pictures to them, I was dissapointed that none of the SOCP panels were in the coverage, especially when these guys and gals were some of the biggest supporters of Panelfest. This article will be a good thing for Panelfest 2, hopefully it will encourage some panel owners to get their panels back on the road or finished. I will post the full article and pictures once the current issue is off the newstands. I will try and get a couple of extra copies for Baxter and Big Bob.
Although Larry' panel Floored did not make it into Old Autos this time, it will be in the next issue of Truckin' in a 5 page spread. I look forward to seeing this, it is always a great feeling to see people you know make it into national magazines like Truckin' and Street Trucks with their trucks.

Oct 23, 2005

Yesterday I finally got to meet one of the biggest supporters of the site since day one. I knew it was inevitable that we would meet either this year on my turf, or maybe at Autorama on his. Well Michigan Rick ventured our way for the Fall SOCP shop tour a.k.a Halloween Horsepower Tour. Now that is quite the title but you had to be there or maybe just check out the pictures and video (click the picture here) as it lives up to the name. Michigan Rick (MRick) and Pam stayed with Cambridge Rick (CRick) who a few of us found out CRick's daily driver is a 1960 Chevrolet panel, he keeps the 56 F100 panel for the weekends. Well MRick was also killing a few birds with one stone, he also drove down in Larry's new toy, it was quite something to see Larry beaming over his new Model A rod. It seems this rod is for Pam and Larry is building another one for his son too. I hope they let Larry drive them occasionally or at least let him fix them when their broke :). It was good to see Graham on the tour, he is doing well and hopes to have his 56 panel completed to celebrate it's 50th anniversary down at the Supernats. Ron was not on the tour, however we heard that Eunice is recovering quite well which is great news. On the tours we usually stop at a hot rod shop and this time we started out at Horton's in Milton, just up the road from me. I got to meet up with Mike and Doug, owners of one of the neatest Chevies I have seen this year. The first time seeing it was in the spring, it was a kind of patina at the time and I thought it was done (as in completed). Well then when I saw the pictures from Syracuse I noticed it was California suede(flat black). Either way I just love the truck and it was good to have another chance to see it and talk to them about it and hope that we see them at Panelfest in 2006. There was something very familiar about this truck. I realized last night when I got home. I fixed up a 1/43 Kinsmart Suburban a few years ago that has the same exact look to it. I had even managed to find some AR TT2 look alike wheels for it that the actual 50 is sporting now. We'll see a lot more of this truck here in November.

Oct 1, 2005

Michigan Rick mentioned in a post that the panel owners he met at Dash were some of the friendliest people he has met. I find that about most panel owners I have met in my travels.
I met a couple of panel owners Ron and Larry, their wives Eunice and Pam and their families earlier this year for the first time. We have crossed paths many times this summer, Larry has given me hard to find parts for my panel and they supported Panelfest to the max, Ron was the main sponsor for the event. So I was very sad to hear that Eunice, Ron's wife had a stroke this past week. On behalf of the panel guys and gals who frequent this site I wish her a full and speedy recovery.

Sept 29, 2005

Got the 2nd Unoffical Panel Nationals pictures from Michigan Rick. Unfortunately Rick could not bring his panel but he was there to take some great pictures on our behalf. I will see if I can get Dean to send us some info on the event.
What I do know is that Kent was there thanks to hearing about it right here, had a blast at the show and took home the Best Panel in Show award !


Sept 26, 2005

Classic Trucks has a very nice 1947 chopped Chevy panel on the cover of their November issue. As far as chops go on panels sometimes they go a bit too extreme, this one is just right and the overall look is amazing.
popped by the Waterdown swap and show on the weekend. Had intended to bring the 53 there on Sunday, but the rain came down pretty heavy Saturday night and early Sunday which would have the grounds none too pretty. Peter was there as were a couple other panels in the show and 2 in the swap for sale. That pretty much does it for the outdoor shows in the area and it will be pretty quiet until January when the indoor shows take over. There will be one more outing for me though and that will be the fall SOCP shop tour. If ever you get a chance to go on an organized shop/garage tour in your area, go for it. It is amaing what kind of collections of vehicles some people have.

September 19, 2005

The second Unofficial Panel Truck Nationals was another success, attracting 11 panels to the Wisconsin Dells this past weekend. We had Michigan Rick there representing the site and giving away the best panel award. Rick will be sending pictures of all the fun shortly. Not sure if some of the panels from last year are in the shop, much like Rick's getting ready for the 2006 Supernationals.

September 16, 2005

This weekend the 2nd Unofficial Panel Truck Nationals are happening at the Dash to the Dells run hosted by the Badgerland F100 club. Michigan Rick will be representing the website and give out a Best Panel in Show award. It sure would be nice to have been there but it has been a very busy summer. Hopefully we will again get many pictures of this show and maybe we'll see it top 20 panels this year.
A while back someone from GM Canada contacted me for help finding an early 50's Suburban. Thanks to the SOCP guys, one was found and appeared in some promotional photoshoots. I saw an HHR on the road this week and immediately thought that it would make a great looking panel, even better than the PT Cruiser. Well Lo and behold GM made up a contest and presented 4 HHRs to some design conpanies and customizers. The contest wrapped up June 22 at the GM Design Center in California and will be aired on Rides on Tuesday Sept 22. Unique Performance, Teazer Designs (it was only natural that the PTeazer people get in on this build, as they were one the first companies to build a Pt Panel kit) and YearOne all built variations of a panel version. We never saw the PT Panel concept make it to market, will we see an HHR panel ? If they don't, I am sure the good people at PTeazer will have panel kits available very soon.
Was talking to Larry at the Barrie Fall Flea Market, he got a call from Bob Ryder from Truckin' to let him know his panel "Floored" (thanks for the correction) will be gracing 5 pages of an upcoming issue likely available in October or November.

September 6, 2005

So much can change in the matter of a week. I spent much of last week watching the coverage of Hurricane Katrina on CNN. On the weekend Cluckie and I were down near Pittsburgh at a van run and met up with a friend who had been in Mobile Alabama last week and got some first hand reports on how it has affected that area. We also had the National Guard staging in the same fairgrounds we were in. They were able to come over and enjoy some r&r with us Saturday night before their long trek down south to help with the relief. There are a number of causes that different truck clubs are pondering. As soon as I hear of one that is a go I will let you know.
Panelfest II will happen June 16-18 2006 ! I got confirmation from Ron that the Gravenhusrt show will be June 10, 2006. Great news and the planning can begin to get the word out very early.

August 28, 2005

Sometimes there is just a lot going on and more panels to share here. I met up with Peter and Cluckie last night at the Mapleview Cruise, they had their panels there, I didn't ... I have to really get crackin' on spiffing up the 53 and show it off a bit, I am quite a way from where I want it to be so that may be part of the reluctance to bring it out.
There was a very nice I'm guessing 38-39 Ford (actually a 1936, Mike caught that pretty quick) at Mapleview last night that I have not seen before. Never managed to meet the owner, but I will be back next week to see if he is there. If anyone can tell me what year it is it will be Ron. In looking through the site I found that Ron's link to his 39 is missing (it is back now). Come the fall I will need to do some house cleaning to make sure all the links work. There was also this pretty much stock 58 GMC Carryall there. It is for sale as well the owner has a mint body off restored 59 Carryall for sale. If anyone is interested I have his number. Spoke to Peter and Cluckie about Panelfest and got some more ideas about it, still waiting on the Gravenhurst date for 2006 to make the final decision.

August 23, 2005

After a bit of a lull it was time to get out to see some panels again at the Arthur Ford Mercury Truck Nationals and talk to some of the regulars you see around here about their far flung adventures to Columbus, Syracuse and Moncton. Both Larry and Cluckie went to the Good Guys show in Columbus Ohio, said it was a great time and Cluckie even got to meet Chip Foose. Larry was in Syracuse also and was fortunate to be inside for the torrential downpour on the Saturday. Ron was all the way to Moncton and beyond, he ran into Gus out there, the owner of the flamed 53 Mercury you may have seen at the Supernats.
We talked a bit about Panelfest II, the guys there said they would be back. As long as we can confirm that the Gravenhurst show does not coincide with Vanfest/Panelfest it will happen June 16-18 2006. I am hoping for a confirmation of this shortly. If all goes well I will start getting the word out on it and flyers done up very soon to see if we can get some more panels there.
The Unofficial Panel Nationals are coming up soon, if you are in that area be sure to check that event out that coincides with Dash to the Dells, it would be great to see them hit the 20+ panel mark this year !

August 15, 2005

Made some long overdue changes here. Added a proper For Sale section finally. It has been close to a month now since any events, looking forward to Arthur next weekend. Moparfest also sounds interesting, maybe some elusive Dodge panels will be there, could I kill 2 birds with one stone ?
Yesterday I talked to my oldest panel buddy Baxter about Panelfest 1. He said he might be back if we do it again in 2006. Over the next couple of weeks I will be talking to a number of the this year's attendees to get their thoughts on how to go about doing it again next year. We had a few glitches that need to be taken care of and look at ways to get the original people back and attract some newcomers and especially the locals who did not attend.
Keep an eye on MTV's Pimp My Ride, they seem to be doing up a panel truck next.It's a 57 Chevy that they paint red and add a yellow flame job to the front ... deja vu. I would really like to see Foose get his hands on a panel, a panel would be a natural design exercise for him.
Speaking of Foose, you can see the coverage of ther 2005 Supernationals in a number of magazines this month. A Foose designed F100 took best of show, it is reported to have cost 300k to build ! That drives home how hard it is to win at these shows nowadays. You can see Larry's 53 in the Street Trucks and Custom Classic Trucks (they even have it on the CCT website)

July 28, 2005

Getting caught up slowly but surely. Mike sent pictures of the Good Guys show in Indy a while back, click on the chopped F1 to see them. Have been having a challenging time with my graphics programs lately, this is one reason for the delays. Looks like I will have to clean out my PC and reload. Will be taking a well needed break until the Arthur show now in August.

July 21, 2005

Back from holidays and the 33rd National Truck-In. Great to see Baxter and Gail, Big Bob and Art there again and there were a few panels I had not seen before anywhere. Click on Art and Baxter's panel picture for the full coverage. Just missed going to the Syracuse Nationals on the way back from the family vacation, but there were no hotel rooms withing 60 miles of Syracuse on Saturday night. Larry and Pam were there, I hope to get some pictures from them, I hear there were 12 panels there this year.
Now that all my major events are taken care of for the summer I can try to catch up here.

July 5, 2005

In a couple of days I will be at the National Truck-In in Pennsylvania. This is the largest van only event to which panel trucks are also invited. We're expecting to see at least 6 panels, I hope we can hit the 10 mark. Unfortunately I will not be driving down in the 53, a bit too far right now. It needs a few things to make it road trip worthy (I hope to have it in tip top shape for May of 2006).
The guys at SOCP helped me track down a 49-52 Suburban for a GM photo shoot. Here is a picture that appeared in the Toronto Star July 2.

June 28, 2005

Still waiting on a few photos to complete the coverage for Panelfest. One major bonus I have living where I do near Toronto is having Cruise Nights pretty much every day of the week within less than an hour and car/truck shows pretty much every weekend within two hours. So I went to two Cruise Nights in 2 days. I came upon this great looking Chevy panel. Not everyone will feel the same way, but I love the whole patina look on any truck and this was the first panel I saw personally like this. I spoke to the owner for a bit but never got the year of the truck. I will be back to see it again and it seems he was at the spring Waterdown and will be back for the fall show. I hope we see him next year at Panelfest 2 ... I am pretty sure we'll do it again. Not sure when and where, but I would really like to accomodate some of the panel people unable to make it this year as well as having most of the others back.

June 17-19, 2005

What a weekend, thanks to all my friends and supporters in attendance. We managed to hit 11 panels and for good measure we added a sedan delivery to hit 11 vehicles among the 229 vehicles in attendance at Vanfest.
Now I need to sort through the hundreds of pictures.

June 13, 2005

It's coming too quick now. Not much down time lately, getting grief from the family about all the car/truck shows, cruise nights around here. There are at least 2 weekend shows within 2 hours every weekend for the rest of the summer. This past weekend it was the Gravenhurst show This is a big show for the SOCP guys and gals as Ron is one of the main organizers and they have their picnic there. The SoCal bike was on display that Michigan Rick donated, I have been a cyclist since I was a gaffer and would love to win that cruiser ! It was a nice show with a good number of vehicles, but only one panel ! Fortunately Larry and Pam were there with their 53. Maybe everyone else is putting the final touches on their panels for Panelfest :).
We should be seeing some panels from the Indy Goodguys show soon. Mike says there were a good bunch of panels there. We'll also be seeing coverage from the Goodguys Columbus show and the Syracuse Nationals coming up.
Not much progress on my panel lately. Finally got the plates on Saturday after a very long week processing the insurance for it. I got the lettering off of it and really would like to do something special for Panelfest, but time is not on my side.
The info for the 2nd Unofficial Panel Nationals is up. Dean and the guys from Badgerlands F100 club are doing it again. Last year there 16 panels, mostly Fords, the challenge is on to the GM guys to head to the Dells and push that to over 20 panels this year !

June 7, 2005

With just over a week away from Panelfest, reality is setting in, what have I got myself into here ? Last week I got a package from Owosso Michigan of all places, it was some goodies for Panelfest from Michigan Rick ! He sent some very nice diecast for giveways, a t-shirt from his House of Wheels bicycle shop with his panel on it and some othe r odds and ends. Rick also donated the so cool SoCal cruiser bike to SOCP for their raffle. I sure wish he could make it to the show this year, maybe we'll have to get out our 2006 calendars and figure out when is best for him next year or maybe we'll be tired of each other if we go on the Super Tour to Supernats 06 together :).
Never a dull moment around these parts. Went to the gigantic Barrie, swap meet and automotive flea market this past weekend. I have never been to one as big. But the big suprise was not seeing one panel there. At all other events like this tied to car shows, there is usually at least one vendor with a panel truck. But I did see some interesting items including a couple of 1/18 53 F100 diecast panels.
Headed up to Gravenhurst this coming Saturday to check out the car show that Ron helps put on. We should see a few panels up there including Larry's 53.

May 19,2005

This particular day has been a very long time coming. When I started this site many moons ago I knew that one day I would own a panel. I have been interested in them for many years now and have made some very good friends with panel owners and that just gets better all the time. I have also been into custom vans for many years and to many of us panels are the original custom vans. We just transferred ownership on it today, I still have to get it safetied, but it has been licensed and on the road all along. Just has a few items I know of right now that have to be repaired to pass the safety. I will take care of that in the next week and have it road worthy well in time for Panelfest. I can thank Gary from SOCP for steering me towards his old truck that he sold 5 years ago. He mentioned it to me during the SOCP shop tour and I went and checked it out that same day. The truck is in very decent shape for 52 years old. There is a bit of rust here and there, a few things don't work but it does have an updated clip that drops it low to the ground and a 302 in it. My plans are to go very slow with it, it will be a long term running project, which is a bit of a luxury that I know many of you never had with your projects. I'll put up a bunch of pictures of it soon.

May 18,2005

The clock is ticking ... June 18 is quickly approaching and there just seems to be an event happening weekly and sometimes daily here. If it's not a swap meet it is a cruise night. Looking forward to the Mapleview Cruise tonight to meet up with some more panel owners to spread the word to about Panelfest.
Larry is back from the Supernationals, he says it was a great trip. As a side tour he also went to the NSRA show. I'll be picking up his photos this weekend and we'll have them up shortly after.


May 14,2005

Today was my first opportunity to get out to an outdoor show. I went by the Caledonia Ontario show early, unfortunately too early for 2 other panels but we'll meet up on Wednesday. I met one of my "neighbors" there with great looking Dodge panel. We'll be seeing much more of that in the near future. I have news I just can't wait to break but until I have it sitting in my driveway I will keep it to myself and a chosen few.
Supernats are happening this weekend, would have loved to have been there, maybe next year.

May 7,2005

Went on a shop tour today with the Southern Ontario Classic Pickups club and some of theri friends. It was a pretty neat bunch of vehicles on the tour, a Shelby 350, a hammered F100, Caddy and Lincoln convertibles, some very nice classic F100's but no panels, maybe next time. There was only two panels on the tour but the rest of the vehicles we saw were pretty amazing. You will be seeing much more of one of those panels on the site in the near future.
Check it out here on my newest website: SOCP shop tour

May 6, 2005

The Vanfest/Panelfest meeting went well. Still digging hard trying to get sponsors, I may have to revert to plan B for this and go a bit slicker. Now just to reassure you the sponsors at this point are mainly for door prizes. The actual cost of Panelfest will be covered within the cost of the entire event.
The monumental feature on Larry's 53 F100 is almost complete. There will be in the neighborhood of 360 pictures on the buildup of this amazing panel and we're not even finished yet ! More pictures will be taken at Panelfest by myself and my camera wielding buddies to get the top 20 shots of this amazing truck. You will be able to see it next weekend at the Supernationals also. Be sure to say hi to Larry and Pam. They will have a very limited number of Paneltruck.com t-shirts with them.
This feature has taken countless hours to prepare, so I have a backlog of pictures and some artwork to take care of. So give me a week or two to catch up.

April 30, 2005

Time is going so fast these days and with May on the way it will just get crazier. There are a number of events in May that I will need to attend to spread the word on Panelfest. We will be having a meeting to discuss Panelfest/Vanfest today. So I will have the final flyers available this week with all the details.
Today I got an email from that all important first sponsor ! It was a welcome surprise for me and you can be sure that I will be bending over backwards for this to work out to his advantage. You will see who it is soon.
I have been getting more photos in for future features as well as long term buildup stories. Still trying to figure the best way to approach the Readers Rides section. I could be running into space limitations soon, but don't worry I have something to relieve that problem.

April 23, 2005

With Spring well on it's way here brings new ideas and major incentive to get out and do stuff. The summer is going to be so busy with shows, cruise nights, swap meets and Panelfest. No sponsors yet, but I got an ace or 2 up my sleeve to encourage this now and overall to make this site a lot better.
Last week Larry coerced me into doing up some Paneltruck.com t-shirts. I looked into this and all I have to do is start over from scratch to simplify the red panel I use for the logo. He wants them in time for the F100 Supernationals. I opened my trap about that on the forums here, of course then I get 2 responses from 2 of the most active guys out there who will not be at the Supernats or Panelfest that they would like some too. So you will be hearing about this shortly. It is a great way to raise some seed money money for Panelfest and the site without asking for handouts which I refuse to ever do on this site, I will find ways to subsidize it through t-shirts and other projects like the eventual calendar which I already have the experience doing.

April 16, 2005

This morning I headed to the Hills to shoot what is likely the hottest home built panel on the planet today. However you would never know that Larry was the owner and builder of this multi award winning truck as he is possibly one of the least affected top show truck owners I have met. It was such a pleasure meeting him and his wife as well as finally meeting Ron Chaisson too. Ron owns the under construction 39 Ford in the galleries. Larry will be at Panelfest for sure and I really hope that Ron can make it with his panel if not we'll always let him in with his old F100 pickup :).
Larry and I chatted a lot about Panelfest as well as some ideas for the website. I can't tell you how much I enjoy getting face to face feedback like this and to be within a quick drive of so many panel owners now, it will add so much to the content of the site. He's all set to head to the Supernationals again in May and will be hopefully one of many of you able to send pictures to me to post here. I have seen very few pictures of panels from the Supernats since I was there in 2000 yet there always at least twenty in attendance.
Not much feedback coming in lately. I'd really like to have some more Chevy panel pictures to show you here.
As mentioned we discussed some Panelfest ideas. The planning will go into high gear now to find some sponsors and get cracking on some extra special awards for the prize winning panels. I will be putting something special together for all the panels in attendance as well.

April 2, 2005

This week I had the good fortune of meeting up with Peter who has offered to help out with the site. The internet makes the world much smaller, however when you can meet face to face to discuss something like a website it is so much better. Peter like myself started out with custom vans but over time grew away from it and bought himself a 52 Chevrolet panel truck which he has restored over many years. He attends quite a few cruise nights during the year and a number of truck events. He will be coming to Panelfest in June and will be passing on the word to his friends with Chevy panels.
The For Sale section is up ! There are two panels on it now and I imagine more to follow. All the info is on the For Sale page with regards to how to9 submit your panel for sale and we even have a how to buy a panel article on there.

March 16, 2005

Looking through the forums Mike mentions there are many panels for sale these days. I have been drooling over a few of them and some are very tempting. The prices aren't too out of line except of course for the one older Chev I think with the trailer combo at $170,000 u.s, maybe it was a typo.
Mike has prepared a "how-to buy a panel truck" for us. If anyone has something to add to this send your contribution to me. I will add something about selling your panel over the internet shortly, it is a fairly risky venture if you are dealing with overseas buyers or any buyers. Be sure to cash the cheque/money orders and have them clear before you do anything.

Seeing I can't afford the real thing yet, I will have to settle on panels of a much smaller scale. i know I have said I would cut back, but now I have made a 1/18-1/25 scale diorama that can be converted between the two scales. Here's a shot of it right now, this is a work in progress, I have most of the accessories I need now, just need to spruce down the interior of the garage a bit.

Been to a couple of indoor shows locally, no panels in these unfortunately and I am not sure if there were any at Autorama in Detroit.
Custom Classic trucks has one of the finest 56 Chevy panels on the cover of their March issue. This was one of at least 3 top notch panels at the Grand National Roadster Show. Check out a picture of it : here

March 1, 2005

Summer must be around the corner, but we just got about 2 more inches of snow today. Still tinkering with the site and coming up with new ideas and bringing back old ones.
Our March feature is Greg's 1947 Mercury, I just realized that the GM and Dodge owners are going to feel left out soon. It was coincidental that the first 3 panels on the revitalized site happen to be Ford/Mercury.

Feb 21, 2005

This week I got a nice "panel truck care package" from Michigan Rick with all kinds of neat stuff in it, pictures, old panel ad and postcard, decals and other assorted goodies, always nice to get a surprise like that. I hope to meet this guy very soon, maybe in the next month or so.
My email is acting up every once in a while but when it does get through I am getting many requests to put the for sale section back on here. It was a major success on the earlier version of the site. I am trying to figure the best way to approach it now. The internet has become a bigger and badder place to sell high ticket items in the past couple of years. I want to avoid any problems, it may have just been luck that we never had any problems with the many panel trucks that were sold through the site and I want to keep it that way.
I am not 100% satisfied with the forum yet. I may have to have one dedicated forum setup on the site, the one we have now can get a bit confusing if you hit the wrong button and get transported to the Vannin.com forum. That was not the intention of doing it that way.

Feb 3, 2005

It was time for a new look, so I took the liberties of changing this around a bit. I will be adding back previous features gradually. Some will show up as new features as it seems panel owners are always changing things on their rides.
I tried getting together with the SOCP guys but I got the adress for the meeting too late, I started asking for it in December. Sometimes it takes time to re-establish yourself and gain back your credibility after you have been away for a few years, I hope to be able to do that soon.
I was at the Toronto Speedorama this past weekend, I was pretty disapointed that were were no classic trucks there at all, this show has gone down quite a few notches. I ma hoping for better things from the Performance show in March.

January 23, 2005

There are quite a few panels for sale on many sites lately and you can find many ranges of panels from show condition to projects needing years to complete and everything in between. Ebay is always a good place to look but often the prices tend to be a bit pricier and very often you will find a vehicle relisted several times at descending values.
Been getting reacquainted with many of you. Still trying to get the forum setup the way I want and the way you want according to feedback on this.
We have added more topics now.

January 15, 2005

Piecing this site back together I have been surfing the sites finding which ones are still there and which new sites have popped up. Google is the search engine I use, type in "panel truck" and you are off and running for web pages and you can do the same for images. The pictures you see on this website however are always used with approval, taken by a panel enthusiast and sent to me or taken by myself.
Last night I came across a very interesting site, called Leatherneck Express. The restoration process was completed on this U.S Marines inspired 1937 Ford in mid 2004 and it has pretty much been on the road ever since. Check out the very well done website here: Leatherneck Express
The webmaster Tom got back to me right away about the site, you will definately be hearing more of this one to come.
I am working on a new look for the site and still working out the kinks on the new forum. The diecast page has been put back up and I will be doing something with regards to my diecast panel collection which I have to pare down a bit, I believe if you are going to collect something it should not be in a cardboard box. In our new home I don't have the space to display all my collections that I have so I have to scale down.

The new Paneltruck.com forum: Take a test drive now on the new forum, post your comments in the general discussion area on what needs to be fixed.

January 11, 2005

I figured I had better piece together this site a bit if I am making all these plans, otherwise you guys are going to wonder if I am serious about this or not.
Many of the original panel owners have been in touch, very nice to renew acquaintances and hear how your panels are coming along.
The special F100 50th anniversary gallery is back up. This year the Task Force GMC/Chevy panels turn 50 ! So I put that bunch of pictures up too.
I have not slacking off in the past couple of years. For the past two years I have done up calendars for custom vans that had one page of panels on each. These are top quality custom made calendars printed by a commercial printing company in the U.S, not the corner office supply store :) If the interest is there I will likely do up a panel truck calendar for 2006. I will have some samples with me in my travels this summer. Here is a idea of what I am talking about: Panel truck calendar
The features will be starting up again very soon. I have a good bunch of pictures from 2004 ready to roll for these.

January 9, 2005

Things are moving quickly here. The forum is being setup and I am running the prototype by two of my longest running contributors to the site right now. Will be piecing this thing back together slowly but surely.

Back when I first started the site I wanted to do a panel event. That never happened mainly because living in Montreal I was quite far away from a decent number of panels. But now that I am in the Toronto area and have the connections needed to pull this off, I have decided to run this in conjunction with Vanfest. Vanfest is in it's 10th year and has grown from a strictly custom van event into one of the largest truck shows in Canada with 200 trucks and vans there last year. The trucks range from minitrucks to a good selection of classic pickups and we usually have between 2 and 4 panels there, which is but a small portion of panels in the area, I figure there are as many as 10 panels right in Ontario and quite a few within range in N.T, Pa., ohio and Michigan.
I spoke to Kevin who is the mastermind behind this event and he gave me the green light. So this year there will be a special event as part of Vanfest called Panelfest. The show and shine will happen on Saturday as usual with all the panels in their own spot. Usually there is one panel trophy,but this year we will have at least 5 trophies for the panels, Best panel in show, best Ford/Mercury, best GM/Chevy, best Dodge and hopefully I can round up some nice door prizes too and have some special Panelfest t-shirts and dash plaques. I happen to do the Vanfest website too on the side check that out here for past events and more info to come:
http://vanfest.vandomain.com
More details will be posted right here for this event. if you are interested in attending let me know. I would like to have enough dashplaques and t-shirts to go around for those interested.
There are a number of magazines supposedly showing up this year at Vanfest, maybe we'll get some coverage.

contact doug@paneltruck.com for more info

 

January 2, 2005

Have been getting emails from some of the original contributors to the site and look forward to working with them once again. I have not been idle in the past 2 years. In the past 6 months we have moved near Toronto Ontario which brings me closer to many of my friends and acquaintances with panels and to the mecca of car/truck customizing in Canada.
I have continued my involvement with custom vans which keeps me in touch with a bunch of panel owners like Bax, Cluckie, George, Bob, Scottie, Art, Tommy and others. I have kept up with the improvements all of these guys keep making to their wide variety of panels.
One thing that helped bring me back was Gary Pratt's article in Street Trucks about the Unofficial Panel Truck Nationals. I read it over several times and was very pleased to see such a large turnout of panels that made it up to Wisonsin. Outside of the Supernats you don't see that many panels very often. Hats off to Michigan Rick for the original idea and Dean for making it actually happen !