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Red
Fred
The phone rang one day with Rocky on the line, claiming he had scored a major stash. I knew he had been making a play for another biggie, but this one was littered with lots of NOS (new old stock) goodies. I could tell by the excitement in his voice that he really had something here. He hadn’t been back home with the haul for a week before being raided by some of the who’s who in the Indian world, and they came from other states! My buddy Bill gets to fly free with United since his wife works there (hell, I’d marry her, too, just for the traveling), and they get to drag along an accomplice at a much-reduced rate. It didn’t take long for Bill and me to catch a red-eye to Ohio. Rocky’s shop was once a Jehovah’s Witnesses Hall. The altar is now the main workshop. He has a huge parking lot where he has placed five construction office trailers for parts overflow. Across the street is a Kawi-Honda-Suki dealer. Whenever some clown buys a Drifter, they raid Rocky’s joint for some Indian stickers, thinking they just became an “Indian bro.” Jehovah would cringe if he heard Rocky’s replies! In fact, the formal entry at the front door is always locked, with a “closed” sign hanging. Real Indian riders know the rear entry is where it’s at! Things are surprisingly neat and tidy at Rocky’s. The huge front area houses all the repro aftermarket stuff, his office, a small showroom, and his and hers bathrooms. The back is where all the NOS parts are housed, just like at an old Indian shop. There is also a good-sized workshop area around the back door. Out back is a loading dock with access to the trailers. Upon our arrival at the shop, we went through the routine procedures and socializing, ALL THE TIME just dying to get into the trailers. I guess we were pretty obvious about it, so Rocky just showed us the door, told us where the shopping carts were, and laughed. We spent days there digging, getting frostbitten, and generally having a blast. While we were there, a customer was able to procure an entire ’46 Chief from NOS parts. We’re talking individual parts, still with the tags and Cosmoline on them! Frame, forks, tanks, fenders, cylinders, cases, everything except the hubs!!!! I consider this the ultimate garage to raid!!!! |
A new trailer load of old parts, fresh from ... well, if we knew, we wouldn't be talking either
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Enough old Indian cylinders to build a radial airplane engine -- THE SIZE OF JUPITER!!! |
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Rocky
Halter is the AMCA’s national technical adviser, a vendor at many swap
meets, and a regular on the AMCA National Road Runs. He can be found at:
Rocky's Antique Parts
Phone: 330-832-1989
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