The Villages - June 2017 - 50

Behind the wheel

A Millennium Yellow Replica Ride
story By rica Lewis | photos By Brandon atweLL

"When you retire, you get your
childhood back," Lauraine Shovely said.
She stands with a proud smile beside her husband,
Glen - a handy guy, she said. Glen knows his way
around a fiberglass mold, and he enjoys a good challenge
and makeover project. He has trophies to prove it. Take
his 1954 Ford pickup truck, a millennium yellow
masterpiece. Glen stumbled on the beat-up thing rather
serendipitously.
"We stopped to get gas on the way to see family and I
picked up an auto guide," Glen said.
Thumbing through the flyer, he saw a truck that
intrigued him.
"Later, we were headed to a flea market when I spotted
the truck. It was right there in front of me, and I thought,
what are the chances? One in a trillion?"
Glen's fascination with trucks has roots in his
childhood. His dad collected junk cars as a part of his
business and young Glen liked to play in the rusted out
shells of them.
As for his Ford pickup, he said he was drawn to it
because he's always been fond of the model. But getting
the dilapidated, near-dead vehicle to run was a big job,
and restoring it to its former glory was more work still.
After seeing it, he towed it home and began working
immediately. It took seven years, lots of sheet metal work,
handmade fenders, interior restoration and attention to
the engine- but he managed to make it magnificent.
"I did all the work myself," Glen said.
In terms of garage hours, Glen calculates he
has clocked around 3,000, which doesn't upset
Lauraine.
"I think it's awesome. It keeps him out of
trouble," she said.
When asked whether he ran into any
problems while working his magic, Glen said he
learned as he worked.
"Trial and error. I've come up with creative
solutions," he said.
If he couldn't find the parts he needed, he
simply made them. And the ideas kept flowing. It
didn't take Glen long to decide he needed a golf car to

50

JUNE 2017

match his truck. Not wanting to buy an entire golf car
just to scrap the body, he found one that had just the
basics and began building the rest from there.
"I'd carried this bolt of fiberglass with me for 30
years," he said. "All the way from Detroit when I worked
as a pipefitter. I always imagined I would do something
with it, and this was my chance."
From the formerly useless fiberglass roll, Glen crafted
his golf car fender.
"The body is entirely handmade; it has a cooler under
the hood and I fashioned the whole thing to replicate my
Ford," he said.
And while Glen feels as though he tackled the learning
curve with his Ford, the golf car work was far more intense.
"But well worth it," he said. "I enjoyed building it, and
the response has been great."
The Shovelys' millennium yellow masterpiece gets lots
of love.
"Whenever 'Junior' leaves the garage, we
are assailed with whistles and waves,"
Glen said.
Villagers enjoy the Ford, but like
Glen, they're even fonder of the mini.
"I'm a 60-something child,"
Glen said, "and this is my toy."



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - June 2017

Contents
The Villages - June 2017 - Cover1
The Villages - June 2017 - Contents
The Villages - June 2017 - 1
The Villages - June 2017 - 2
The Villages - June 2017 - 3
The Villages - June 2017 - 4
The Villages - June 2017 - 5
The Villages - June 2017 - 6
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The Villages - June 2017 - 8
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The Villages - June 2017 - 50
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