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Rochad Tlusty Photography, 835 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL (2026)

12/27/2025

John Wayne surprisingly generously gave Richard Boone a luxurious Rolls Royce.
In addition to being an excellent actor, Wayne was also an impeccable gift-giver.
Boone once recounted a story about Wayne's gift to a friend and fellow Flagler professor, Tom Rahner. Years later. Rahner recalled that Boone had made a very brief appearance in Wayne's film, The Alamo. Boone played Sam Houston, a character with a real-life counterpart that lived from 1793 until 1863.

Because the role was smaller, Boone had refused outright compensation for playing the character in the film. However, Wayne wouldn't let his actor and friend leave empty-handed and surprised him with an incredibly generous gift.

Rahner stated, "When Boone arrived back home after the shooting, a brand new Rolls Royce, a gift from Wayne, was in his driveway!"

Still, despite his fame, Boone never let celebrity get to his head. Rahner stated, "Dick talked about his career, as might have been expected, but not to excess. He was proud of his accomplishments, but I would not characterize him as a braggart.

12/27/2025

Tony Dow Reunites With His First Car After 50 Years, A Beautiful Full-Circle Moment
Tony Dow, beloved for playing Wally Cleaver on the classic 1950s series Leave It to Beaver, was known not only as the Beaver’s older brother but also as a lifelong car enthusiast. What many fans don’t know is that Dow’s passion for cars ran deep, and it eventually brought his very first vehicle back to him half a century later.

Dow’s connection to the automotive world was strengthened by his long friendship with Fireball Tim Lawrence, a Hollywood concept artist behind more than 400 iconic movie cars, including the 1989 Batmobile and vehicles from The Avengers, Starsky and Hutch, and The Fast and the Furious. Lawrence later featured Dow in one of his automotive-themed coloring books.

Despite becoming a familiar face on Leave It to Beaver, Dow originally landed the role of Wally almost by accident. The first actor cast appeared too mature, and producer Harry Akerman remembered Dow, who had little acting experience, something he later said worked in his favor.

Cars occasionally played key roles in the show, and even future drag racing legend “TV Tommy” Ivo appeared in a couple of episodes. Dow himself loved tinkering with engines from a young age, even building makeshift neighborhood cars using lawnmower motors, a story that eventually inspired a script for the series.

During his time as Wally Cleaver, Dow drove a variety of cars on the show, including a 1953 Chevy he bought for $220 and his father’s 1963 Plymouth Fury. But the first car he ever owned in real life was a 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Spyder.

Dow sold the Corvair in 1965 to a Universal Studios prop man named Al. When Al fell ill decades later, he passed the car to a friend named Marty along with strict instructions: if Tony Dow could be found, the car must be returned to him.

In 2015, that promise was fulfilled.

“After 50 years, my first car has returned to my garage,” Dow shared. Although now painted black, the Corvair still wears its original license plate and a frame quoting Ralph Nader’s famous line: ‘Unsafe at any speed.’

It was an emotional full-circle moment, one that reunited Dow not just with an old car, but with a cherished piece of his youth.

12/26/2025

Living the dream: Florida heavy hauler follows family tradition as third generation trucker
Bubba Branch grew up surrounded by trucks. Long before he could drive, he was already sitting in the cab of his grandfather’s rig in Florida, shifting gears and pretending to log miles without ever leaving the yard. Trucking wasn’t just a career choice for Branch; it was a family legacy.

Both his father and grandfather spent more than four decades on the road, and Branch proudly followed in their footsteps. Of seven siblings, he was the only one who caught the trucking bug, riding along with his dad whenever he could and cherishing time spent with a grandfather who could do no wrong in his eyes.

At 18, Branch earned his CDL and landed his first job driving a worn-out 1970s GMC Brigadier for a Central Florida company. The truck was rough, full of fumes, and patched-up floorboards, but Branch took the opportunity without hesitation. That determination carried him through the early struggles and into a successful trucking career spanning more than two decades.

Today, at 44, Branch and his wife, Krystal, own and operate Atlas Heavy Haul in Lakeland, Florida, hauling heavy equipment across the country. One of his most demanding jobs involved transporting a 200,000-pound electrical unit from Miami to Pittsburgh, a journey that took nearly two weeks to complete.

When he’s not hauling freight, Branch pours his passion into his show truck, a custom-built 1996 Kenworth W900 known as Just a Phase. Repainted red and rebuilt from the inside out, the truck features extensive custom work, much of it done by family. His son Kolt painted the dash, while his wife handled many of the accent pieces. Powered by a CAT 3406E engine and an 18-speed transmission, the truck has already earned awards, including Best Chrome and Best Engine at the Shell Rotella SuperRigs event.

Branch’s pride doesn’t stop with trophies. His greatest hope is that trucking remains a respected profession for the next generation. Kolt, one of his three children, already shares his father’s passion and rides along whenever possible, dreaming of one day taking the wheel himself.

While Branch acknowledges challenges facing the industry, especially the lack of safe truck parking, he remains deeply grateful for the life trucking has given him.

“I’m doing what I love,” Branch says. “I’m thankful to be a truck driver, and I respect everyone out here doing the job.”

For Bubba Branch, trucking isn’t just work, it’s heritage, pride, and a lifelong dream still rolling down the highway.

12/26/2025

1949 Dodge Power Wagon Restomod. 😱

12/26/2025

Dad Gave up Prized 1965 Corvette to Start Family, So Son Surprises Him With One 50 Years Later
More than 50 years ago, Ron Farrell bought the car of his dreams, a brand-new 1965 red Corvette with a black interior and soft top. Fresh out of college and climbing the corporate ladder at Northern Natural Gas, Ron was a young man with a passion for classic cars. But when he and his wife welcomed two baby boys in the late 1960s, the two-seat Corvette no longer made sense. With reluctance, he sold it and replaced it with a practical family car.

The story became a cherished family memory and a long-running joke between Ron and his second son, Brent Farrell, who grew up hearing how he was one of the reasons the Corvette had to go.

That joke eventually turned into a dream.

Brent, now 55 and owner of a construction company, never forgot the sacrifice his father made. Since receiving his own first car, a powerful 1985 Mustang GT from his parents, he had always hoped he could repay his dad in the same unforgettable way.

For decades, Brent kept an eye out for a Corvette like his father’s. Then, in 2022, he spotted one at an auction, a fully restored 1967 Corvette, nearly identical to the ’65 model Ron had owned. Unlike many cars he’d seen, this one had been rebuilt from the ground up: original engine, transmission, carburettor, and rear end. Safe, reliable, and pristine.

Brent won the auction and quickly brought the car home. After a final inspection by a Corvette specialist, he and his siblings planned the perfect reveal: a surprise during their mother Alice’s 80th birthday celebration.

When the family arrived at Brent’s house, the Corvette sat in a neighbour’s driveway with a fake “For Sale” sign. Ron immediately recognised it, “This looks just like mine!” he said, full of nostalgia. They coaxed him and Alice into the car, reminiscing about the old days.

Then came the twist.

Brent pulled out a “car write-up” from the glove box and asked Alice to read it aloud. At the bottom were the listed owners: Ron and Alice Farrell.

In that moment, everything clicked. Ron threw his hands in the air and shouted:

“Hallelujah, I’m in Heaven!”

The couple was stunned, overjoyed, and overwhelmed that after more than half a century, Ron once again had a Corvette just like the one he’d sacrificed for his family.

In the weeks since, Ron has enjoyed driving the car around town and even took Alice out for a special spin, just like old times.

12/26/2025

Man Surprises 95-Year-Old Great-Grandpa With His 1967 Chevy, Takes Him on First Drive in 40 Years

As the young and successful Canadian artist takes up his aerosol spray can to paint on canvas, he envisions a fresh take on old-school graffiti from the 1980s. Jordan Childs is just 27, but he works, dreams, and most certainly drives old-school, carrying on a legacy passed down from four generations of Childses: in the form of a truck.

That truck is a 1967 Chevrolet C-10 Sidestep, originally teal but later painted firebird-red and now sunny-yellow, and many souls helped get it going again.

“All the parts in the truck are from different family members,” Mr. Childs, from Ottawa, told The Epoch Times. “It was my great-grandfather’s, then it was passed down to my grandfather, who passed away at a young age. And then it was passed along to my dad when he was 15.”

An old farm truck, it drove from 1968 till 1996 when it needed major mechanical work, and Mr. Childs’s dad didn’t have the means to get it repaired, so instead kept it, hoping to hand it down to his own son. Meanwhile, the first and oldest owner of the truck—Mr. Childs’s 95-year-old great-grandpa, Bill, never expected to see it running again.

So, it came as the greatest surprise for Bill when the young artist pulled up in the truck with his dad, hoping to rekindle old memories. The very young and new-school Mr. Childs video-recorded the priceless reunion on his smartphone, of course, and Bill’s reaction later went majorly viral on Instagram.

Bill first heard the familiar sound, and his head popped up, Mr. Childs said. Then Bill, who is “very old-school,” made a very funny joke:

“Times must be rough if you’re driving that!” he said.

He found what he witnessed almost unbelievable, even more so when he popped the hood and saw that the original engine, the old farm truck had gone through four over the years, had been restored to brand-new condition.

It also brought back dear memories.

“I just think it reminded him of his son,” Mr. Childs said. “That was the motive, the whole purpose of rebuilding the truck, basically.”

The graffiti artist now carries on the Childs legacy by making the ’67 Chevy his daily driver, traveling to art shows and brick-and-mortar clients, where he throws up old-school-inspired murals on walls across Ottawa. He has painted the interiors of flashy auto works showrooms, sneaker stores, roofing companies, and a lot more. He also has plenty of private and commercial clientele from the graffiti world capital, New York City.

Although his 56-year-old pickup now drives like a dream, that first day, when they took Bill for his first drive in the truck in 40 years, gave them a few big scares.

“We took it on its first drive to Pembrook, and I actually have a video of that drive,” Mr. Childs said, adding that Pembrook is two hours from Ottawa. “The truck broke down three times during that drive.”

About a quarter of the way there, it stalled, and they called a family friend, Richard, who took out the carburetor, cleaned it, brought it back, installed it, and got them going again. Then, in the middle of nowhere, it stalled again, and they figured out that the extremely old and rusty fuel tank was leaking into the carburetor, making the engine stall.

“So, on the side of the road, [my stepdad] had to rebuild the carburetor,” Mr. Childs said. “It’s pretty scary because if you drop any parts, it’s game over.”

But they managed to get it running and then raced to Pembroke, where they realized the fuel gauge was actually defunct; they ran out of fuel and came to a dead halt. It was “just pure luck,” Mr. Childs said, “but we literally stalled at a gas station.”

But perhaps it was something more than just luck, he surmises. “Definitely a lot of souls were driving the truck at that point,” he said, adding that they immediately installed a new fuel filter to stop the leaking, and the truck is now “running really smooth.” “I’ve been driving it to work and it’s been pretty good the whole time.”

The young artist also drove it to his dad’s cottage in Calabogie, where “every old guy was stopping me, wanted to talk about the truck,” he said. “At the gas stations, they’re like, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen this in a long time.’” His dad’s neighbors were blown away as the whole truck and interior were custom-made. The web community also fell in love with the story of how a farm truck was reunited with a great-grandfather in Canada, as the video garnered over a million views.

Today, old-school legacies continue to live on as Mr. Childs willingly carries forward the torch of both his hip-hop-inspired artistic style and his family truck. He appreciates his dad’s setting it aside for him, opting for a family vehicle over an antique for enjoyment. The father didn’t have the money to get the old pickup running again.

He “actually preserved the body, ensuring that it was in good shape when he gave it to me,” Mr. Childs said, adding that his father kept the rust off while his stepdad also contributed, handling all the mechanical work later on.

When asked if he plans to hand the Chevy down to his son one day, Mr. Childs, who is now engaged, answered, “Oh yeah, definitely. And the truck was made in Canada, too, which is really neat.”

12/26/2025

Filling her up in old school fashion

12/26/2025

Elderly Man Reunites With the ‘Rare and Desirable’ Lagonda Car That He Owned for 50 Years
An old-age pensioner was briefly reunited with his beloved classic car, which he owned for 50 years, at a recent auction.

In 1961, now-89-year-old Ken Hill bought the 1932 Lagonda for just 135 pounds (approx. $173).

“I had bought it in South London because it was a beautiful classic car of its era,” said Mr. Hill, a retired journalist from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. “I was getting interested in old cars at the time, and it came my way after a friend of mine was given it as a company car.”

When his friend didn’t seem to enjoy the car anymore, Mr. Hill decided to buy it from him.

However, in 2011, two years after his wife, Jean, passed away, Mr. Hill decided it was time to let the car go and ended up selling it for 41,000 pounds (approx. $52,620).

“My relationship with the car was coming to an end, and I thought it would be nice to make some money,” he said.

A story about the car was published in the local newspaper, and the following day, four different people called him to say they were interested.

“I found somebody who wanted that particular model and in a pretty original condition,” Mr. Hill said. “In my favor was the fact that I had never restored it, just kept it running.”

Last month, Mr. Hill’s son, who happens to be a car enthusiast, saw that the old Lagonda was coming up for auction at the H&H Classics sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

“My son took me to the auction as a treat,” Mr. Hill said. “He’s very good at ensuring his old dad gets the odd treat now and again since I haven’t been too well recently.”

At the auction, the car was described as “rare and desirable” with just two owners since 1961, and a service history dating back to 1949.

Mr. Hill was pleased to see that his car was in a better condition than when he sold it, as the last owners put on traffic indicators and renovated the engine.

“It was great to see it again,” he said. “It reminded me of all of the factors that made me interested in it in the first place.”

The car fetched 33,188 pounds (approx. $42,590) at the auction.

The octogenarian, who still has the spare radiator surround in his waterfront home, said he wasn’t tempted to buy his old car back as he has recently given up driving.

“Who knows whether I wouldn’t suddenly forget that on Lagondas, the accelerator is the middle pedal,” Mr. Hill said. “Or revert to the old habits when driving a modern car.”

12/26/2025

SoCal Man Finds Pristine 1968 Porsche 912 With Original Paint, Revives Car to Be His Daily Driver
In coastal Southern California, 34-year-old former competitive golfer and content creator Michael Gideon was searching Craigslist for a simple, reliable, yet sporty daily driver, ideally a vintage Porsche he could use for everything from grocery runs to camping trips with his family.

In July 2022, he discovered the perfect candidate: a 1968 Porsche 912 with original paint, original parts, and no rust, a rare find. The car had belonged to an enthusiast named Duffy, who had lovingly used it both as a daily driver and a light racecar. After Duffy passed away, the Porsche sat unused for over 40 years, gathering dust and developing a sunbaked patina.

Despite its long dormancy and mechanical issues, Michael saw enormous potential. Older Porsches were famously overengineered, simple, and durable. Determined to revive it himself, he disassembled and restored every mechanical component, brakes, suspension, steering, and had the engine completely rebuilt. After a year and a half of work, the Porsche roared back to life in September 2023.

Its first days on the road brought a few challenges, including a breakdown in a remote desert canyon with no cell service. But after resolving a wiring problem, the car has since driven flawlessly, covering thousands of miles.

To Michael, the driving experience has exceeded all expectations: lightweight, responsive, and full of character, “like a refined little tractor,” he joked. Today, the resurrected 912 is his everyday vehicle, just as it once was for Duffy. He gets constant thumbs-up on the road, and more importantly, the car is now safe enough to take his wife and 4-year-old daughter on adventures. They’ve already gone camping together, with their gear packed into the front trunk.

For Michael, restoring the Porsche wasn’t just a mechanical project; it was the fulfillment of a dream: bringing a vintage sports car back to life and making it part of his family’s everyday journey.

12/26/2025

Son Gives Father a Photo of His Dream Car for Christmas… Then the Actual Car
Lee Morris, a photographer from Fstoppers, had grown up hearing his father talk about one car above all others: a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro finished in Hugger Orange with white racing stripes. Determined to make that dream come true for Christmas, Lee spent most of 2013 searching for the perfect car. Unfortunately, nearly every orange-and-white Camaro he found was far beyond his budget. The one affordable option slipped away when he lost an auction by just $3,000.

Reluctantly, Lee bought a red Camaro instead. But the story didn’t end there.

With encouragement from his friend Justin, owner of AJ’s Superior Body Shop in North Carolina, Lee decided to completely transform the car. Justin and his team spent weeks carefully dismantling every panel and preparing the car for a full repaint. When Lee joined them, six people worked together on a marathon 16-hour day, spending four hours just taping the rally stripes, then laying down the iconic Hugger Orange paint followed by three coats of clear.

The process gave Lee a deep appreciation for the craftsmanship behind restoring vintage cars, especially Justin’s meticulous attention to detail.

Once the Camaro was finished, Lee’s brother trailered it to Charleston, where Lee staged a photoshoot in front of a restored 1950s-style gas station. Photographing the car proved challenging; its glossy surfaces reflected everything around it. Using advanced compositing techniques, Lee spent nearly 40 hours in Photoshop perfecting the final image.

That photo became the first Christmas gift. Lee presented his father with a framed picture of his “dream car,” letting him believe that was all there was.

Then came the real surprise.

Lee revealed the actual Camaro, now fully restored in Hugger Orange with white stripes, waiting just outside. What began as a photograph ended as the ultimate gift: the real car itself.

The project was more than a Christmas present. It was a blend of love, craftsmanship, photography, and patience, turning a lifelong dream into reality, one panel and one surprise at a time.

12/25/2025

Dad Sells His 1967 Camaro to Raise a Family, 41 Years Later, Son Surprises Him: ‘My Dad’s Worth It’
For over 40 years, Earl Guynes cherished the memory of his first dream car, a 1967 Marina Blue Chevrolet Camaro. In 1983, when he found out he and his young wife were expecting their first child, Earl sold the beloved Camaro to prioritize his new family. It became a legendary family story: the “diaper-money Camaro.”

Growing up, Earl’s son, Jared Guynes, heard countless stories about that car. By his teen years, he understood the sacrifice his father had made, and he secretly vowed that one day he would give his father a Camaro just like it.

In 2021, after a successful business year, Jared finally decided to make his childhood promise real. He spent a full year searching for a matching 1967 Camaro, same shade of blue, white stripes, and 350 V8 engine. Since Earl’s original car had no VIN or documentation, finding the exact one was impossible. Even a perfect replica was extremely rare. But after ten months of searching, a listing suddenly appeared in Texas.

The car looked right, but it had serious mechanical problems: faulty lights, failing brakes, random shutdowns, and leaking fluids. Understanding Jared’s purpose, the owners lowered the price, but the car still required major work. Determined to make the Camaro completely safe for his father, Jared spent two more years repairing, upgrading, and testing it, often driving it only at night and hiding it in storage units so no one, especially Earl, would find out.

Keeping the secret was exhausting. The car broke down repeatedly, requiring tow trucks, long drives to specialists, and endless repairs. Yet Jared never considered giving up:

“My dad’s worth it.”

Finally, on Earl’s 65th birthday, Jared orchestrated an unforgettable reveal. During a family dinner, a magician friend performed a trick that led Earl outside, where the Camaro was parked, gleaming in the same Marina Blue Earl had loved as a young man.

At first, Earl thought it was just a similar-looking car. Only when Jared said,
“That’s your Camaro, Dad. Thank you for the diaper money.”
Did Earl realize what his son had done? He broke into tears, something Jared had rarely seen in his entire life.

For Jared, the restored Camaro was more than a car; it was a symbol of love, gratitude, and a lifetime of listening to the stories that mattered to his father. Earl now plans to take his wife out on a nostalgic drive to the old hamburger joint they once visited, a new chapter for a car that represents both sacrifice and devotion.

12/25/2025

Stolen 1956 Cadillac Returned To 106-Year-Old WWII Vet
Very few stories of stolen classic cars have a happy ending, but fortunately, that isn't the case with Curly Bunfill and his 1956 Cadillac Eldorado. After being reported stolen on January 17, 2020, the Sacramento Police Department announced that the Cadillac was returned anonymously to the police station, and later returned to its owner. What makes this story even more special is the owner of the car and where the car came from.

James King, 43, was arrested after the car was discovered, and he was booked on charges of vehicle theft and probation violation with a bail set at $60,000.

The owner, Mr. Curly Bunfill, is 106 years old, and he is a three-time Purple Heart recipient and World War II veteran. After the war, Bunfill became a Hollywood stuntman, which is how he came to eventually meet actress Rita Hayworth. The two became friends, and Hayworth left Bunfill her Bermuda Blue Cadillac when she died in 1987. Aside from its past ownership, this car was unique since it had Rita Hayworth's name engraved on the doors, trunk and engine compartment.

A friend who came to check on Bunfill had noticed the theft on Friday, January 17, and it was later reported that the car was locked in Bunfill's garage with the keys in it. The Cadillac was stolen after Bunfill's Sacramento home had been broken into, and a reward of $7,000 was offered for information to locate the car. Thankfully, just days later, the Eldorado was spotted at the police headquarters where someone dropped the car off with apparently no damage.

Car enthusiasts might recognize that this isn't the only Cadillac connected to the Hollywood actress. Hayworth had also owned a rare, only two were ever built, 1953 Cadillac Ghia, and this gorgeous specimen of a car is part of the Petersen Automotive Museum's permanent collection.

Rochad Tlusty Photography

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