~Life in the fast lane ~
Good day! What can I do to you…I mean…What can I do for ya?
If you've ever walked into the coolest little hot rod shop in the heart of Texas, you'd more than likely have heard Charlie greet you with that. If you were lucky enough he might just have given you a personal tour of the place. People from all over the world walk in, gear-heads and the not, stand in awe. The stories, images, and creations that only time given to the details through a keen eye for the art of mechanics. From the antique grandfather clocks, to the vintage pinball machine and jukebox, to the 1920's to 1970's hot rods, customs and muscle cars. All brought back to life, better than before, by the steady hands of an expert in the art of restoration and reverse engineering.
Charlie is pretty much the real deal with hours upon hours of late nights, shoulder to shoulder on builds with some of the great names in the custom auto world. And once those builds were done gracing the magazines, he drove those works of art daily inspiring the passers by.
Any time spent with him and his stories and it's apparent. He is a man from the era of customs. That era where men created cars with the limited resources to satisfy their personal needs. Can't find what you need? Make it.
From the cam'd up coupes and shaken' shoeboxes nervously idling the streets looking for a challenge, down to the low and slow rolling customs glistening with sexy lines and details.
That era of creation tuned Charlie's skill set that he now blends with his hand picked multigenerational crew.
To show Mr. Charlie some love, we threw him a little party for his fittingly, Valentines birthday 69 years ago.
We started with a little cruise from Austin, out 290 west to the "Gateway of the Texas Hill country" Dripping Springs and the new home to the best damn burger joint in town, Good Burger Co. After filling our tanks with properly seared Texas angus and a hill country sunset we cruised back to the shop at dusk for a little down and dirty blues howlin' from one of our own, Billy Pitmans little 3 piece band. Jimmy Vaughan gave his seal of approval to his right hand man's performance.
It was a great night, cheers to you Mercury Charlie and a Happy Birthday DaddyO!
~ Chris S. ~
A big thanks to Dos XX for providing the cervezas for our little party along with Texas rain water. We thank you for the donations!