Photos by Anne Klint
Maria Del Camino
Transformation! Start reading, or read about me.
Photos by Anne Klint
Photos by Terry Hargrave
Photos by Terry Hargrave
Photos by Christina McPhee
Carrizo Plain, CA March 2012
3/17/12
Depart for the Carrizo Plain (http://g.co/maps/9hes6) after staying late at NIMBY attending to details like affixing the rear lashing rings, a guard block for the brakelines and cribbing for the rear of Maria. MT and I load MdC with gear.
Departure was dicey due to three back-to-back rain storms. I did not want to learn the truck handling characteristics for the first time in a raging storm! As it turns out, we had a break in the weather at the time we left (about noon - only three hours late!) With JP following us (me, Mary and Phaedra, the dog) in his truck w/trailer we hit the road. By the time we got to San Jose it was starting to rain. The truck scales in Milpitas were closed. Traffic was heavy. Fairly stressful. The accelerator spring is too strong - too much effort - tiring.
Truck is woefully under-powered for a load like MdC. Any incline whatsoever slows us down quickly. We were often going 35mph! Pedal to the metal. The grade from Santa Margarita into Carrizo was tedious - 15mph at times.
Arrive in California Valley around 7:30/8:00 just as it was getting dark. Trying to figure out where to stay. Cold, windy and rainy. Kenny suggests we stay in an abandoned house next to his motel. It was full of stuff with no room to set up camp. As I am pulling back out of the driveway to turn the truck around I drop into the mud. Stuck, Mary and I decide to camp in the front of the truck. I wish I’d had the time to finish the bunk. Anyway, with Phaedra at our feet we cuddle up next to Maria’s engine and fuel tank.
3/18/12
In the morning we get help from Mark Thompson’s Post Nature class to get the truck out of the mud, but first we have to get JP’s truck out, he got stuck too! Even with the help of his truck we couldn’t get going forward. Only by backing up, into fresh mud with gravel added, then getting a run of about 2ft could the truck get onto the driveway again.
Lots of rain, sleet and hail - very cold.
3/19/12
Weather breaks but it is still cold. Terry arrives. I am exhausted, not sleeping well in the truck. We check the dirt roads in his 4-wheel drive. It is still very soft and muddy. I do not want to get stuck again! Decide to hang out by the motel/restaurant for the day. I unload Maria in the parking area next to the restaurant and do a little grading practice, talk to locals, CHP Officer and a sheriff. The Officer was very interested in MdC and I “consulted” with him about paperwork for the truck. Apparently I need a CA cert # and because I plan to go out of state I will need a DOT #. Penalty is $2500 w/o! Load MdC back into truck for a full day tomorrow. We finally set up the tent for a good night’s sleep.
3/20/12
Up at 5:00am, before dawn. We are offloaded in the subdivision by sunrise. Anne, Mark and Michael (student) help offload Maria. As I reload ramps I notice bent hinge pins on the stands. Not good. I need to figure out why this has happened. Terry and Christina arrive and begin documentation. We make our way down Chowchilla Street via Clarksburg. Phaedra is in heaven with Mary throwing the ball for her and exploring. I start heading towards the hovel with Terry and Christina shooting along the way. Taking a break about halfway they head back to base camp with Mary and Phae. I continue on towards the “homestead” turning right on Cornell Street heading towards Carpenteria. T & C return with supplies for lunch. C gives me a book: Dana Birnbaum’s Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman. Perfect to read in Maria. I have to afternoon to myself. MdC parked high. Reading, napping, listening to crickets and birds. One of the students comes to visit. We hang out thinking about his ladder as surveying instrument. Smithson. Terry, Christina, Mary and Phaedra return to shoot in the late afternoon light.
We do several takes of “trespass” then head MdC back to the truck (which is parked at Cornell & Belmont). Soon Mark’s entire class is there to review their works. Ice cream bars are delivered. Group photo with 15 students in Maria - Flying! I figure at least 2250lbs lifted!
By the time we are back at the truck it is getting dark. We must load by T&C’s head lights, safety triangles out on the road, parking lights and dome light drain truck battery. So once loaded, I had to shimmy into the truck to find the jumper cables. After jockeying around a bit we were able to connect to T&C’s battery and … success.
Back to base camp (motel/restaurant) Dinner is ready. Mary and Phae leave w/T&C. I stay to pack gear for tomorrow. To bed early - exhausted.
3/21/12
7am - Coffee. Start packing. Gorgeous morning. Driving the truck was very satisfying with it’s cinemascope screen - expansive landscape - view from up high. Hand;ling on curves was pretty sketchy, worse than coming down. Pick up Mary and Phae in Santa Margarita, more coffee, a bite to eat and then head back up North. Good weather this time. Made it through two weigh stations with no problems. NIMBY/home. Re-weigh at truck stop shows nearly 1000 lbs. overweight on front wheels. My work is cut out for me now. I need to shift the center of balance when loaded. With Maria’s position fixed, this will not be easy!
Thanks to Christina McPhee, Terry Hargrave and Anne Klint for all the photography.
10/04/11
I have been looking for a truck to haul Maria. A Class 6 @ 26,000 lbs. GVW. This will enable me to bring Maria to smaller events more easily/less expensively. Also, to have control over my departure and arrival dates is big!
JP and I spent a few hours trying to start a Ford CF-7000 that Snook has come across. No luck. Would still need to figure out load-in and off the static ramp scenario is still too sketchy for me. Perhaps retro fit a tilt/roll back scenario, use the old cylinders from excavator?
10/05/11
I’ve decided to go for it, but very protracted sale/paperwork on truck. Two trips to the DMV due to improper title documents … since the price is so low, it is worth the hassle!
11/14/11
Ford CF-7000 finally registered after several weeks of waiting for paperwork. John and I begin tune-up and cleaning work.
12/03/11
Jason and I head to NIMBY to do more detail work on the truck, reorganize shop and possibly sand F.G. on Maria. Yesterday worked with JP. Pulled the bumper and repainted it semi-gloss black. Replaced interior door handle.
Last week JEST and JP finished stripping the interior of the box. Reweighed the truck @ 14,000 lbs vs. the 15,400 original weight. Reweighed Maria on the same day at 10,360 lbs. Looks like we have a comfortable margin now for the Class 6 rating of GVW 26,000 lbs > 1640 lbs. Since then JP removed the flip tail of the lift gate. D tells me that I need to keep a log book for this truck, at least until it is converted to an RV. 283,537 miles
12/08/11
Replaced bulb in temp guage and new dash panel. All gauges seem fine. New wiper blades, oil change, fuel filter and a full tank of gas (100 gal). OW!
Need to go on a test run to determine fuel economy and to test all systems.
JP has completely reconfigured the shop and we are now moved into the shipping container for storage and tools. Will move Maria into space for truck to modify/chop the box.
12/16/11
Truck to shop for a complete brake job. Drums need to be turned.
12/23/11
Jason and JP did more fiber glass sanding today and I mocked up guides in truck for Maria’s tracks. Need to figure out chain tie down configuration.
1/15/12
Jason removed the rear bumper junk from the truck. JP has welded new structural tube to the box + frame with struts and gussets. We are ready for the new ramps.
1/16/12
Ramps arrive! JP and I layout mounting to truck and JP welds. Ramps are set up and stray bits are cleared inside. I drive MdC into the truck without problem. The pivot angle is not so bad as on flat bed due to longer ramps = flatter angle. JP notes that as Maria approaches top of ramp her weight lowers the truck even further flattening the angle even more. Maria is densely packed in, now to figure out securing her.
3/3/12
Jason and I continue working on redoing the floor. The chocks are mounted. Cannibalized another roll-up door from the depths of NIMBY. Work has slowed to one day a week with just me and Jason. I will need to double my efforts to make sure enough gets done for the Carrizo Plain test drive/field trip extravaganza with Mark Thompson’s class, some former students, Liminals, and friends.
Check me out!
I’m featured in the first few seconds of this video. After that you’re on your own.
Rat Rods, Hot Rods, Customs at Bonneville Salt Flats
http://www.boysofbonneville.com/
The Boys of Bonneville will be screening at NIMBY, co-presented with the Oakland Underground Film Festival, Satuday night, 7:30 PM.
There will be some vehicles built for speed (salt flat racers) on display, and in contrast these beautiful purpose built machines, Maria del Camino will be demonstrating the opposte of speed.
Hope to see you there!
Bruce
The dust has finally settled from the push for Burning Man.
I am now trying to finish up at least two more canvases – shrouds for the Hatchery exhibition this coming weekend. In the process of pulling these rust prints I realize that, in fact, I really need to do four more: The arms down the full length of the side to the crutch.
The most important thing about showing these canvases now incomplete even is to see if the head, bust, & shoulders have an presence at the full height. The rust stains may not be visible.
Since arriving back from the playa, I have been consumed with cleaning and reorganizing. With Mary still out of commission from her broken collar bone, everything will take longer.
I have slowly been collecting up photos from the various people, since Mary couldn’t be out on the playa much she has few photos, but I have fond memories of the numerous outings made with others. This burn was quite a bit different than last. More driving, but I saw less art. Maria is still slow, even with the high speed hooked up, most people can walk as fast as she goes.
The fiberglass seems to be fine, although I think I need another month to finish it properly. I am reluctant to do a pink gel coat. Color can be achieved with lights at night. The dawn/dusk scenarios color her well. She will remain most luminous w/o the pigmented gel coat.
On several occasions, we had a full load of eight. All of the functionality was there – lift, tilt, speed, counter rotation/spin. She seemed stable in all cases.
Most of all, I derived great satisfaction from giving rides to friends and strangers. The experience of the dream flying in slow motion above the playa with a group is what I have been wanting for so long. The surreal landscape, the dust. On one occasion late in the day just before sunset, there was an inversion layer that pushed the dust down low the playa. Riding – elevated – the experience was nearly that of flying low over fog. The ground seemed far away.
I hope to install hydraulic accumulators next year. These will cushion the ride and contribute to the quality of the experience. A bit more dreamy.
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About
00sheppard@gmail.com
MARIA DEL CAMINO is a love poem to the car and Her demise. This is a project acknowledging our relationship to the car as a tool; a social activator, altering the environment and our sense of freedom and adventure. The body of Maria del Camino is a modified ’59 El Camino. With help of many friends over the course of a year, She has been drilled with tens of thousands of holes, to create a pixelated image of the False Maria/Machine Man from the film Metropolis by Fritz Lang. Last year She was mounted to a hydraulic tracked excavator and crawled along at 3 mph. She debuted at Burning Man, brought up the rear of the Green Prix, and was exhibited in the front of “Out of the Garage” for Zero One in San Jose. She will go again this year to Burning Man, and then onward!
Bruce Tomb
