Flight of the Bumblebee

Special to The Union

Wayne and Alzina Davis first saw the "bumblebee," a '55 Ford Sunliner convertible with a distinctive yellow-over-black paint job, at an auction in Reno during Hot August Nights in 1998. Although they liked it, they were not really looking for a car like that then and did not bid on it. But about a year later, Wayne decided he wanted a '55 Ford convertible. He remembered days of his youth when a "rich kid" had a new one and they had cruised around in it, sometimes going to his family cabin near Big Bear Lake. Wayne had loved that car so he started looking. He found the one from Reno on a dealer's lot in Kansas City. Although the price had gone up some, they reached a deal and Wayne hauled the Bumblebee home. It had the original 292 CID engine and Fordomatic transmission, with good interior and decent paint. Since then he has done a lot of work on the car. He had the engine rebuilt by fellow Roamin Angel Richard Farmer, boosting the horsepower while he was at it. While he was at it, Wayne detailed the engine compartment and converted the wipers from a vacuum motor to a more dependable two-speed electric one. Although it had a continental kit on the back, it was poor quality and Wayne replaced it with an original dealer-option one. He also detailed the frame, repainted the front clip and did a number of other improvements. The result is a dependable, classy and attractive vehicle. Wayne and Alzina's bumblebee has ranged far afield, going on cruises and to car shows in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Canada twice and all over California. And it made all those trips without even losing a wing.

For more information about the Roamin Angels Car Club, go to www.roaminangels.com, call 432-8449 or write to Roamin Angels, PO Box 1616, Grass Valley, CA 95945