When Bob Pelikan was in the seventh grade, he bought his first car, a Model A Ford, for just $10. “A friend and I took it apart, put it back together and got it running,” Bob recounted. “I sold it about a year later for $35.”
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Bob Pelikan and his '31 Buick Victoria
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Pelikan is the longtime co-chairman of the Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show, the coastside’s hugely popular outdoor carnival of all things mechanical. This year’s 18th annual show takes place April 27th from 10 am to 4 pm at Half Moon Bay Airport.
After the Model A, Pelikan moved on to an old Crosley when he was a junior in high school. He threw away the body, made a frame from water pipe and a new sports car body from plywood.
Yes, Pelikan has always had a special knack for transforming rusty, dusty old vehicles into amazing collectors’ cars. He has had a string of unusual vehicles and many car projects.
In fact, Pelikan’s wife, Jerilyn, drove a race car and a dune buggy for a few years until she finally put her foot down and said “I’m not going to drive any more of your weird toys.” (She bought herself a Nissan Altima).
Flash forward to September of 2006: The Pelikans were having breakfast at Duarte’s in Pescadero when they spotted a 1931 Buick Victoria parked outside a barn.
“There are only 22 of these cars in the entire world and this one had been stored for 40 years in San Jose,” Bob noted. “I said ‘I’ll take it’ and bought it on the spot. It’s such an unusual car. It’s elegant but has monstrous headlights and very cool features inside.”
Pull the ashtray knob and a pack of matches pops up. Notice the Victorian lights in the back of the car. For privacy, tug on the old-fashioned window shades.
“I wanted to make it a retro rod,” Pelikan said. “That’s when a car looks original on the outside but has modern features such as a V8 engine, automatic transmission, cruise control, air conditioning, power brakes, power steering and a satellite radio – it’s got all the bells and whistles.”
The day Pelikan finished restoring the Victoria, he joined 40 other hot rod owners on a drive to Victoria in British Columbia. People marveled at the car’s weight – 4,000 pounds compared to the typical 2,500 pound hot rod – as well as the 132-inch wheel base (the average wheel base is 108 inches). The Victoria has a sliding sun roof for drives down the coast. This summer, the Pelikans will drive the Victoria to their summer home in northern Michigan. The car will stay there for a few months so the couple can attend car shows in the Midwest.
When the Pelikans aren’t cruising in the Victoria, they can be spotted skimming down the coast in an RX7-powered BMW motorcycle with a side car. Bob enjoys weekend lunches in Santa Cruz. Jerilyn actually reads a book while sipping on coffee in her sidecar latte holder.
Pelikan is excited about this year’s Show. “We’re expecting more than 2000 displays – cars, trucks, motorcycles, aircraft, tractors, steam engines – anything and everything with a motor,” he said. “And each one has an interesting story behind it. Plus we’ve got a spectacular lineup of special attractions like our first-ever freestyle motocross exhibition, Stanford Solar Race Car and a World War II B-25 Bomber that will wow attendees.”
In addition to the usual favorites, there will be a “Green Machines” display sponsored by California State Automobile Association – eco-friendly vehicles that run on solar power and waste vegetable oil from restaurants. “Environmental issues are on everyone’s mind. This will be a great opportunity for people to see what the automotive future holds.”
The Pelikans have three sons and two grandsons. They moved from Los Altos to El Granada in 1997.
“I like seeing the ocean from my window,” Bob said. “We have the friendliest people over here. When you walk down the street, people look you in the eye and greet you. After you’re here for a while, you get to know the storekeepers. It’s like living in a small farm town. We love it here.”
