The Oklahoma Route 66 Association announced last week that a painted U-Haul truck once owned by the late Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire is undergoing restoration.
A teacher with the Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City approached the association during its January meeting and proposed restoring it as a student project.
LD’s Wrecker in Chandler, Oklahoma — a member of the association since 1990 — offered to transport the vehicle to the shop.
On the way, the LD’s crew stopped at the Route 66 landmark Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma, where Waldmire has a booth dedicated to his artwork.
Francis Tuttle students will repair the truck’s mechanical components.
The association stated that other arrangements are being made to restore the cab’s exterior and interior, but is mindful of not damaging Waldmire’s distinctive mural.
“We want to honor Bob’s legacy, not ruin his work,” association President Rhys Martin said. “We have to figure that part out, but we’re committed to doing it right.”
After the restoration, the association will seek funding to convert the back of the truck into a customized, deployable educational experience.
Waldmire purchased the truck in 2007. The association recounts the rest of the truck’s winding story:
Bob painted a mural on the left side of the truck and put it up for sale, but those plans didn’t come together before his death in 2009. Ken and Marian Clark of Tulsa, who had helped Bob purchase the truck, donated it to the National Route 66 Museum and Transportation Museum in Elk City, but they didn’t have room for it. That’s how it eventually ended up with Laurel Kane at Afton Station in Ottawa County, where it remained until 2019.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association acquired the truck late that year and stationed it in Chelsea for travelers to enjoy and always planned to restore it to working order. “We thought it would be a wonderful tribute to Bob’s legacy to turn it into a mobile museum of sorts,” said Association President Rhys Martin. “It would give us a way to deploy at events on-and-off Route 66 and hopefully inspire people to travel the road themselves.” The restoration project was designated as an official Route 66 Centennial project by the US Route 66 Centennial Commission and a full inspection was performed with the assistance of Association members Billy and Pam Stanbro of Chelsea … but the price tag to return the truck to the road was high.
Here’s an illustration by Waldmire of the U-Haul via Google Arts & Culture.
Martin told Route 66 News that he hopes the restoration will be finished in May.
After that, the U-Haul will be parked at the association’s headquarters in Tulsa.
(Image of Bob Waldmire’s U-Haul via Oklahoma Route 66 Association)