Chapter 53

Day Fifty-three - Thursday

My eyes opened because I had heard a sound. There it was again. Noises were coming from out on the street, but I couldn't tell what it was.

I got up, pulling my 9-millimeter from the headboard drawer. I looked out the side window, but I couldn't see anything. I heard the noise again and went to the other side, the side where the patio was, and looked toward the street.

In the middle of the street was tin can. Pushing the tin can was a raccoon. I guess the can smelled good, so he was pushing it along toward I guessed, where he lived. I looked at the kitchen clock it was five-fifty. Time to get up anyway. I put on a couple pots of coffee and went back to the bedroom to put the gun away and snuggle sweet Sue awake.

With several kisses, she turned to me hugging me, saying she didn't want to get up yet. I told her she could sleep all she wanted, but I needed to take a shower and get the day started.

Sue opened her eyes and turned to look at the clock. "Darn, it is time isn't it. Okay, one more kiss then it's shower time."

We did our tag team on the throne and both of us got into the shower. We really weren't up for games this morning, so we were out on the patio by six fifteen, dressed and ready to go.

Shawna and Charlie came over with empty cups, saying they were going to have a cup of coffee then go finish the bike. Charlie was going to go in late at Dell's so he could help Shawna finish up. They were excited because it was an important customization. It could possibly be seen on nationwide TV.

Phil and Judy showed up before Tiny and Ruth came. Hanna and Jim, along with Debbie and Hank, showed up with Martin and Glenda. Tom and Al, with Joan and Betty, came around the house about the time Tiny and Ruth showed.

Everyone was a little sluggish but in a good mood. It smelled like rain so we might get a shower before the day was over. The TV weather lady said there was only a thirty-percent chance of rain but you know how those folks are. That's right, hardly ever accurate.

Everyone ate the breakfast sandwiches Phil had brought then packed up to head to work. Joan, Betty, and Hanna were staying at the house office, while Glenda was going to do her morning cleaning of the house and do some laundry for us. Jim was the only one heading to a different location.

We were all busy doing something by eight, or at least we had a fresh cup of coffee in our hands. The motor shop people were all standing around with a cup of coffee while Charlie and Shawna were putting the finishing touches on the bike. It really looked classy. At first glance you thought it was just a copy of a car then, looking closer, you saw the small pictures of all the different Busch and Winston Cup cars that had won big races, including the date and driver. The tanks were painted with more numbers and cars including a replica of Gene's old car. Shawna had her signature, in a low but prominent position on a tank, and had included the S&S logo among the decal looking sponsor logos. They had put white wall tires on the bike, complete with chrome wheels.

The bike looked really good.

Charlie put some gas in the tank and used the kick-starter to push the engine through a couple of times. He then pointed his finger to a button and pushed it. Shawna had installed an electric start on the bike. That would really make Gene happy, as he wasn't a spring chicken any more.

Shawna got on the bike, shifted the tank shift into gear, and rode out of the shop. She took it up and down the street next to the shop and rode back, saying the bike is righteous.

Charlie gave Shawna a hug and kiss before he helped load the trike onto the trailer. Sue, Charlie, and Shawna all rode in the truck over to Gene's. We parked in front so he wouldn't see us and pushed the bike around back and covered it up. I went through the side door to find no one in that part of the shop, so I pushed the button to open the door.

We pushed the bike into the shop, closed the door, and went to find Gene. He was in his break room having coffee. We said for him to hurry and come out to the shop. All of his men followed him, knowing something good was up.

Shawna went and stood next to the bike and asked Gene if he were ready. When he nodded, she whipped the cover off it.

Every man there took in a deep breath in a gasp. The bike was lit perfectly by the shop lights and stood out on the painted floor. The bright blue with all of the colorful logos jumped out at the looker, while the chrome flashed in their eyes.

Gene staggered to the bike looking at it. Then he began looking at the detail of all the little paintings all over the body. When he lifted the lid on the body, he saw that the inside was painted as well, but in the box was a fire extinguisher in a holder along with a bottle of champagne in a special cradle. Shawna said that was for his next win.

After he looked it all over, he asked if it ran. Charlie took over and said, take it for a ride but remember it has a foot clutch. Three speeds forward with one reverse. Neutral was between first and second, not first and reverse. Next he showed Gene the magic button. Charlie said, "When you don't feel macho and don't feel like kicking the thing, turn on the gas and push the button.

Gene reached down, turned on the gas and hit the button. The little motor caught instantly. Charlie explained that Shawna had converted the electrics to solid state so he didn't have to mess with points. He instructed him that Shawna had a detailed description for him of all the items of conversion so he would know how to take care of the bike.

Gene put the bike in gear and eased out of the door and twisted the throttle a little to get the feel of the motor and acceleration. We heard him shift into second, then third, as he rode around the block to arrive back at the shop. He put it in reverse and backed it up to see how that was.

"Well, Shawna, this is magnificent. Much more than I could have ever imagined. I can't believe you researched all my major wins to include them on the body. It is enough to make tears come to the eyes. Probably like the bill you'll have.

Shawna handed him a company invoice printed out nice and neat. Gene looked at it then said, "Are you sure, is this enough?"

"I charged you our shop rate for the work we did, and for the time we put in on the bike. You have the list of parts we used that we marked up twelve percent, the same as we do your motors. I even included my husband's efforts on the bike as well. I don't think I forgot anything. You get this at our shop rate for all the business you have given us and all of the referrals you have given us. Thank you sir, the company appreciates it."

Gene said he would be right back. When he came back he gave me a check for the invoice then he handed Shawna a folded check telling her it was his way of saying thank you for her special efforts.

Shawna looked at me to see if she should accept it and I nodded to her to keep it.

She smiled and gave Gene a kiss on the cheek, saying she hoped they won this weekend.

We left as Gene was loading the bike into an enclosed trailer with a spare car, about to leave for the track in Georgia where time trials were in progress.

On the way back to the shop, Shawna and Charlie were giggling until they finally told Sue and I how much the check was for. Our bill was only eight thousand and change, so Gene had tipped Shawna five grand. That was a nice bonus.

The rest of the day was going to be boring for both of them, so I told them both that they should take the rest of the day off, put the check in the bank, and go for a nice ride over to the beach. Shawna said, "I would, but I need to be here so we can get some work out. Charlie has some important stuff at Dell's to do too, so can we have a rain check?"

Don't you just love those dedicated employees? Sue wanted a ride home after she looked at the brochures that were being designed. Twenty minutes later, I was letting her out at home.

Back at the shop, I checked with Debbie who reported business was back to total chaos with orders for everything pouring in on the fax, as well as the phone. She said if we could continue to put out three motors a day, we would be caught up in two weeks, as long as no more orders came in. She said that, at our current rate of production, the frame shop was an easy month behind, while the sheet metal shop was only running three weeks behind.

Debbie said that I should steer clear of Abe until he was over his panic, as we had received an order from Panama for fifty rebuilt generators. Abe was trying to figure out where to come up with that many old broken down ones to rebuild.

Wow, an order for seven hundred and fifty grand of rebuilt product. The reason was that there was a heavy tariff on new stuff, but no tariff on used or rebuilt items. Even their government couldn't bypass the tariffs.

I told Debbie that we would just have to advise customers of our lead times from now on, so they would not think that we had stuff on the shelf. Just tell them that everything is built to their order.

She said we had received some big rolls of blueprints for some Busch cars, some short track sprint cars, and a couple of models of trucks. We also had a new frame order for a Dodge team, along with an order for us to build an engine. The factory had been notified, and we were to receive the crate engine, along with the NASCAR specs.

I called the team and told them that we were a little backed up on orders, but were getting out product as fast as possible. The frame and sheet metal could be quick, but the motor was going to be at least ten days if you factored in shipping. The owner understood and said the order was more of a test than anything else. He asked if we could use the eighteen-percent stainless material that Gene had told him about. I quoted him the additional for the change in metal and he said that was fine, that he would adjust his P.O. and I should do his here, as well. When he asked about the motor, I told him when I had all the costs, my assistant or I would give him a call. I thought to myself, now there is a start with a whole group of new owners. Wonder if I should contact a Ford team.

I told Phil to have his field men to look really hard for used and abused generators to fill the big order Abe had. Phil began telling me how he was raiding several big supply companies of road salesmen that had been lured away from Onan in the past. He said that with our new open-ended deal, we could probably just keep hiring until we had a salesman or two in every state.

Tiny said that he should have sample brochures back from the printer this afternoon, now that Sue has taken a look at them. He felt that if we began with a neat mailing he had designed, then followed up with calls and visits to the bigger supply houses, we should do some good business.

Debbie came upstairs to get me, saying she just had a call from Hillsborough county. There was a steel stairway that had cracked and broken at the county courthouse. They needed a company to come and weld the breaks and inspect all of the fire escapes and exterior steel stairways. She said they were saying this was an emergency, as the broken stairway was a primary fire exit.

I told Debbie to call them back and say we will be there in thirty minutes. She was to get exactly where we could pull our truck in, and who our contact was.

I went out to the welding area and asked who would go with me to work at the courthouse. They all wanted to come so I thought for a minute. "I really could use two guys, so I think today I'm going to take Tim and Bob. I'll probably do most of the welding, but we may all do some. We'll take the big truck and go down there." Tim went through the truck supplies real quick to make sure there was enough gas supplies, as we may have to use a portable rig for some of this. We will also need a lot of grinding tools to make sure existing welds are good. I'll have Bob do our running to bring more supplies. The additional supplies will be in the tool room that we don't use."

I got the information from Debbie, and went to Abe to see if he had any extra block and tackle that I could use. The truck had one, but there was a good chance it would take two to handle a stairway.

The three of us drove to downtown Tampa where the county courthouse was. It didn't take us long to find where the problem was, as there was a fire truck, with its ladder extended, over where the stair way was hanging.

I had all three of us put on orange coveralls from the truck and hard hats to comply with OSHA before we approached the guy apparently in charge. When he found out who I was, he directed me to the fire chief.

I asked the fire chief if I could go up to look at the break.

Climbing up a fire ladder that is at a forty-five degree angle is not fun. Firemen do that when the ladder is used as a bridge. You have to walk on your hands and feet like a dog. Thank goodness my usual attire included heavy work boots.

I could see where the weld had broken right where the base rail connected to the platform by a fire door. The hardest part would be to get a block and tackle above the platform to hold the stairway in place. In addition to that weld, I thought there should have been pieces of steel between the stairway and the rear of the platform for additional support. I asked the fireman with me how strong the ladder was. He said it should be able to pull the stairway closed so it could be welded. The problem was going to be the old weld should be cleaned off before a new weld was made.

I went back down and gave the chief my plan. I was going to have Bob on the roof holding my safety rope while I used a portable back pack gas rig to first clean the old weld, then connect two support pieces that should have already been there. When it was stable I would re-weld the cleaned ends where it was broken. I separated a couple of eight-foot pieces of heavy angle iron and cut them to six feet with the truck's big torch.

Tim signed to Bob what he was going to do and a fireman that knew how to sign took him in the building to get to the roof. I put on a two-point safety harness, and the backpack. I connected a deep pouch that carried extra rods and a regular tool pouch to my safety belt, hooking my gloves in my belt, and put my hood on my head, but tilted up.

With the block and tackle over my shoulder, I once again followed the fireman up and across the ladder to a point that was now just above the platform, at the top of the stairway. Bob threw me the two safety ropes with carabiners on the end. The fireman with me hooked them to my safety harness. I waved at the roof guys and we maneuvered the ladder so I could step onto the platform. I pulled the rope from the block and tackle down attaching it to the stairway and had the fireman take up the slack.

With everything stable, I fired up my torch and cut off the old weld. It was easy to see what had happened, as there were air bubbles throughout the weld. I heated and filed and heated and hammered, to clean and shape the area to weld.

I dropped my supply rope to Tim and he attached the first piece of angle iron and I hauled it up. Using the rope, I clamped the piece in place before delicately stepping down the steps and clamping it to the base rail. While down the steps I welded the support onto the steps and went back to the platform to weld the support to the platform.

I repeated this for the other side welding the base rail to the platform the way it was intended. The other side was bubbled too so I cut it clean shearing off the old weld material and welded it solid. The fireman unhooked the safety ropes from my harness and disconnected the block and tackle handing it to me to take down the stairway. I carried everything down the stairs and began storing it in the truck compartments. When I was down to my jumpsuit, I looked to Bob and mouthed. "Check all the welds on the stairs." I gave him a piece of chalk and said, "mark bad welds." He nodded that he understood. Thirty minutes later he came and signed to Tim.

He had found two welds that were bad but everything else looked good. I handed Bob the tool belt, the pouch, and the backpack gas rig, and he was off taking care of the bad welds. Bob was a good craftsman and I knew he would do a good job.

I told the county maintenance guy, who was my contact, that the welds and the two new support braces needed paint right away, so rust wouldn't start.

Several firemen were looking over my truck, saying the only thing I didn't have on the truck was a boom for a bucket. I told them that welders didn't normally do high work unless it was a major construction job where there were scaffolds or big commercial lifts. I could see where a heavy-duty boom could have been used today, but that would have taken up space that we used for equipment on the truck.

I wrote up an invoice for the time we were there with three men and my minimum for the truck, along with the two pieces of heavy angle iron. The county guy said the bill was very fair and thanked me for responding so fast.

"Why did you call me?" I asked the county guy.

"The fire chief said to call you as you were doing some custom welding for a bunch of NASCAR guys. He said that if you were good enough for them, we needed to get you. Thank goodness you had the right equipment for this type of job."

I went over to the fire chief and thanked him for recommending us. We shook hands and both of us prepared to leave.

Back at the shop, I straightened the truck and took the backpack over to the welding supply house to get the bottles refilled. You never know when you're going to need everything on the truck.

After putting the backpack kit away, I thought that an item like this fully equipped truck would be a hell of a product. I took a piece of paper and made a list of the equipment and supplies needed for the truck. The add-on stuff, like the generator for the arc welder, carried a nice price tag, along with a commercial compressor. There was a gas rig with a wire feed on a hand truck, along with the backpack rig. I had three arc welders on the truck. Two wire feed and a standard. If you worked two men on the truck most of the time, that would be about right. There was an assortment of big clamps and a few heavy-duty ground straps.

I could see a big company buying a truck like this, completely fitted with all the equipment on it. I would see what it would take at cost to fit out a truck like this. I wrote down the number and name of the utility body before going inside.

I called a Chevrolet dealer and a Ford dealer to get a quote on a three-ton truck for commercial after market beds. Ford's F450 and F550 were the better priced, so I used that as a base. I called the company that made the nice utility body and got a quote from them.

I figured out all of the different type of equipment I would put on the truck and had a pretty good idea of how much everything was. I figured two men two days to put it all together adding what I thought it should be worth to us to build and sell it.

I called the utility body company and got a quote on a heavy-duty boom lift. They recommended an F550 as a minimum to use with a lift, and said a body could have as many storage areas as I wanted.

After re-figuring the whole thing we could sell a package deal without a boom for ninety-five thousand, and a package with a heavy-duty boom for one hundred twelve thousand. If we paid our regular commission on something like this, we would need to be a little higher. I'd give my numbers to Tiny and let him come up with a number. If we built them as they were ordered, we would never be stuck with something that didn't sell. If we were too high, we just wouldn't sell any. We would have some additional cost, as we needed to create a brochure for it. We could use our truck for pictures.

I asked Ruth if she could get a price for bright orange heavy-duty coveralls in bulk so we could promote those through our road guys. I wanted our logo on them somehow so folks could see the S&S Enterprises while the man was working.

We could add that to our welding supply product line. It would be an item we would have to ship out of here, so it would be a bit of a pain, but it might be profitable. I wonder if Sue's company could make them. If so, they could ship them.

I took my digital camera outside to take a bunch of pictures of the truck. I pulled the table out and set it up with the big shade cover erected. I took individual pictures of the welders, including the backpack. After fifty or so pictures, I buttoned up the truck and put the cover back over it. I even took a picture of the covered truck. I should sell a cover with the truck as well.

I remembered a newspaper photographer at the courthouse downtown today, so I called the paper and was finally connected to the guy. I asked him if he could send me any pictures of the truck and us at the scene that he had taken today. He asked if I had Internet and e-mail, and said he would e-mail them to me right away. He gave me his cell number and said to call him if I didn't get them. I checked my e-mail and found a huge e-mail with almost thirty pictures. There was a great picture of me hanging off the side of the balcony platform by the safety ropes. You could see Bob on the roof and Tim on the ground, with the truck framed in the center of the photo. The fire truck was behind our truck giving the photo a great action look. This would be a good photo for the jumpsuits too.

There were a few more pictures that were good, but this was the best so I let my color printer make a bunch of copies.

I asked Debbie if she was good with the computer and she asked what I wanted to do. I showed her all the different pictures with the long list of equipment and told her what I wanted to get across.

"Let me work on it and I'll see if I can make us a homemade brochure," Debbie said taking all the information from me, along with the digital camera.

I copied the list of parts and the prices and took it up to Tiny to work on. He looked at all the costs and said he knew he could do better on the base truck, but that I knew best on the rest of the equipment. He used my numbers and the costs that would be included and came up with one hundred four thousand for the standard truck, and a hundred seventeen thousand for the truck with the boom lift. He said this was an item he didn't think we should stock. I laughed and agreed with him as not too many folks could afford one.