Guessing an introduction of myself is in order, I'm Tikiman. That's me in the window. My owner, (that's what he thinks, but I let him go along blindly with that notion) is the owner of the 1964 Shasta Airflyte that I'm hanging out in currently. I will be trying to document his attempt to rehabilitate this 'rolling piece of history', his words, not mine. But wait, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself. First intros are needed to give everyone an idea of the people I'm dealing with here. He's The Bossman, his real name, I have no idea, but I think he calls himself this because it gives him a feeling of being in control. Once again, I'll let him meander down his path of blissful ignorance. Next we have Lori, or as I like to call her, The Real Boss. Of course, I wouldn't use this name in front of Bossman so as not to knock his feelings of being in control down a few notches, along with him evicting me from the Shasta. There are a few other characters running around this place and I'll introduce you to them as needed.
How this Shasta found it's way to Middle America Kansas
The Bossman had an itch I guess, at least that is what he says, to own a vintage camper. For as long as I've known Bossman, he's always been into vintage cars, trucks, music,...etc., etc. Doesn't matter, if it's old, Bossman seems to be into it. So naturally a camper was next on the list. He tells me he has been doing some research surfing the web for campers and comes across some pretty 'neat', his word, blogs tracing the restoration of Shastas. This really gets him excited about finding his next toy. He finds some sites to start his search. Of course, he starts with Ebay and finds nothing close enough and he tells me, he wouldn't buy an antique car without actually inspecting it, so same rules apply to campers. For once, I can agree with him. Craigslist, a big nada also. One day, he tells me he's found a site that has nothing but vintage campers for sale on it, TinCanTourists. Of course, he says it's disappointing that it seems most of the campers are too far away to even consider. They all seem to be in the Great Lakes or the Southwest.
By this time, Bossman has his heart set on a Shasta, The Canned Ham. One day early in July 2010, he's perusing the classifieds and sees an ad for a 1964 Shasta Canned Ham with Wings. This ad peaked his interest. He tells me later on while recounting the initial excitement of the find, he figured this little gem would be too far away also. So he scrolls downs to find the location of the camper…... KANSAS CITY, MO. I can see him bounding around as excited as Ralphy the day he got his Red Rider BB gun. Bossman stated, "a call was made, information exchanged, a date was set to go and view the ole gal a couple days later, with the promise the seller wouldn't sell before I got there" Bossman and The Real Boss made the short hour trip to Farley, MO and had made a deal before heading back home. To cap off the evening and ticking me off royally, they stopped and had dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, at Legends, KCK. Here's a picture I found of the proud new owner after he handed over the dough Hard to see, but it looks like a Cheshire grin to me.
More to follow, I'm sure this will be an interesting adventure for Bossman and The Real Boss. Some work has already been done, which I'll post. More work has been found once doing a little digging he tells me. Til next time, Keep it Tiki
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