Chop Shop King

Dad was an artist about his work. He of course had to go spot his next job. I might make it seem easy, but believe me each job you would think was mission impossible. Dad would actually create tools to make the jobs possible. How did he get by with so many job's for so many years? He was the master at it all. Year's of practice, fine tuning his thoughts with each job. I remember one job he cut three air tanks into to shorten the air tanks from previous truck's. To make it easier to carry each one. Before long we had like ten homemade tank's around the property. He got the time down to give minutes or less. To be standing in front of a truck to driving it away. In this type of business time is the key to getting away clean. See none of us ever got caught while doing a job. Seriously three truck's a week for seven year's, five year's, even in Delaware.

They always came to the location of the Chop Shop to raid us. I actually just realized that none of us ever got caught, or even hurt, on the job that is. Tearing the truck's down in two days was always hectic. Let me tell you there was no off day's. Rain or shine we worked and very strenuously at that. Don't think anyone ever even broke a bone. I became brute so fast while the other's not as much. Although Dad was working on me also, building my muscles and brain as much as possible.

I was trying to fit in with the new family. We all smoked weed even though Dad was against it. Can't blame him considering the type of business we were in. I think it calmed our nerves down enough to make it possible to do the DO. The first time we used the homemade air tanks. We were in the middle of a town at an actual Mac truck dealer. This job took all seven of us to pull it off. But hey we got three truck's off this lot. Dad had been working on this job for about a month.

Oh we continued to get three truck's every week. I guess Dad had job's lined up for six months. Even the police made his rounds every hour. We all watched the police ride by then we cut the fence and rolled it back. Then we had to cut one pole for each truck. Then this is crazy, watched for the police ride by and he didn't noticed the fence rolled back. Oh they already put aired up the trucks brake systems. When the police cleared the corner all three truck's started at the same time. Not much more than five minutes the truck's vanished.

Dad got by with all that shit cause he made us roll the fence back and tie it up a little. Then go across the rode to watch the police. To see if he noticed the trucks being gone. Think about this no cell phones. Only walkie talkies and CB radios, always going down or up on the frequency. Sure enough the police cruiser kept going without even a tap on his brake's. Then Dad would pick us up.

Wasn't always that easy, some night's we had to do three separate job's. Go park each truck in the spot Dad had designated for us to use. We even used stolen vehicles to go out and do the jobs. Oh we also had to steel different tag's to use on the trucks. Like I said he was very thorough about each job. I still can't believe we never got caught doing a job. His first rule was to never dirty up our backyard. He always went to another county if not many states away.

He was so demanding of me. I really can't believe so many things he got me to do. What with lifting truck tire's into the bed of a pick-up truck. Ten tire's to the bed of each truck. Then most of the time, hand pumping, the diesel fuel out of the tank's. This is unbelievable for real, lifting the 55 gallon drums into the bed of a pick-up! Mind you the barrels weighed 440 pounds! Dad taught me so much like how to put that barrel in the bed of a pick-up truck. Hey by myself and then nine more on one truck. You do realize that's like two tons. Pumping them full and loading them half a day.

Second half of that day was breaking all three hundred bud lugs! Taking the tire's off and loading ten tire's in each pick-up bed. I had to drive all of the 3/4 ton four wheel drives. That was 6 at all times a few one ton flatbed four wheel drive trucks. Oh most of the trucks around the house where Fords. Dad had a master keys to only the Ford truck any style cab! I tore them new ford trucks in that nasty ruff clay mud holler and a few big rocks at time's.

Rain or shine the jobs had to get done. My second day was usually body work even if it was raining. It was my responsibility to correct any damages. Cracks in a fiber glass front end or dents in the corner of a sleeper. You would think in the hills of kentucky there wouldn't be many sleeper demands. We did always have one laying around.

I was always doing side work the rest of the week. That is if Dad didn't hire me to paint a truck . I was a bad ass at bodywork and paint. I would build scaffolds to paint the roof at time's. Other time's I would probablyaint the truck in two part's . Raise the fiberglass front end and paint it last for many reasons. It didn't matter cause fiberglass always came out slicker. Now mind you I'm painting outside in kentucky. That's unbelievably difficult and impossible for most men. Not me back then I did it all with a quickness and perfection always.

Well you would think that would be enough of my daily call for my skills no no. Dad taught me how to run every piece of equipment he could steel. Oh yes from a bobcat to the biggest of the big pieces of equipment. Four comes to mind, The Uke was the biggest, an 80 ton rock truck. Then the D-9 Dozer, a 988 loader, was a mammoth of a thing. One other piece of machinery was a 32 foot Garden Denver drilled. Maybe 15 other pieces of equipment and heck even the maintenance and a lot of repairs too.

We would be doing a coal strip job or getting the three truck's a week. Dad pretty much went for the 30,000 general range in profits. It could've been more at time's, but never less. Thinking back that was another life time ago, over 40 year's ago. When I was learning how to run whatever I had on the strip job at that time.

Even a hand driven jack hammer. I recon it weighed around a hundred pounds. I really hated drill day's so bad. It was strenuous torcher all day in the heat or in the freezing weather. Nothing stopped Dad from making that money, not even the police! Not very often anyway! I would bet no one else has had my extensive up bringing, not even close!