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Pay Backs, The Dick Gambino Story

296K views 986 replies 307 participants last post by  Dicky 
#1 · (Edited)
For those of you that cant read good. Just look at the pictures. But if you don't read it all.. Your missing the gems.

Edit: If your missing his site. Your missing the real show.
http://www.gambinometal.com/index.html
I was also able grab some video and put it on page 9.

So, I randomly ran into some girl one night. I must have mentioned I need a weld on my bike for some reason. She told me her dad works on old cars and does metal art. Dick Gambino metal craft. Then She showed me pics of his art things. She says "this is a picture of some old car he did a grill for". Little did she know it was a extremely high dollar Bugatti..!

I was like. If he could do that, he can surely weld on my lonely seat bungs. So I go to meet this weird old metal arts and crafts guy. He was out of the shop and left the roll gate up. To my shock I was staring at a hand formed dual head plugged BMW cafe racer where the side frame and cross braces welded solid. The lower frame rail is designed to be removable to pull the motor out the bottom!
This is the last thing I thought I would run into as I pulled in the drive way.



.

.
He showed up. We met, we talked. I told him I needed seat bungs welded and my numbers. Soon to find out he was an old biker and custom painter. Built choppers, stadium show bikes and drag bikes in the 60's. Raced a dirt Flat track in the 60's till he blew up his Ducati. Moved up to dragsters and painted funny cars in the 70's. Lives on a small sail boat.! In cold NJ year round. Did the body work for Ferrari race cars. Just plain unreal stuff. Topped of with the fact that he didn't redo a Bugatti grill. He hand shaped the whole car from photographs. All of the Bugatti fenders and body panels from flat steel. Yet he bills himself as a blacksmith.

At this point he had only seen my bare empty Triumph frame in hand. Two days later i picked up my frame with the seat bungs tacked up. I rushed home and built up my whole triumph chopper in three evenings. Threw it on a truck and drove it up for some other dodads/welds. As we pulled my chopper down he shoved me out of the way yelling "I gotta sit on it.. I gotta sit on it.. Oh yea, oh yea this is perfect".
He was like a crazed savage animal. So longer story short. He told me he wanted me to leave my bike there and I can come and work on it there. Come and go as I want and make sparks fly. All because he liked my bike and how i work. Works out great for me because he has all the big 100 year old tools and cool shit.

So I show up one day. There on the floor was this big old gang tool box. It looked like it had been under water cuz all the draws were like rust puddles. He then told me he had always wanted this box when he was a kid but couldn't afford one. He envied that box. All these years later someone found it and gave it to him. He lightly mentioned that one day he might think about fixing it up. Maybe paint it his old race colors.

So my plan was set. I was going to wait till he went on a trip to Texas and finish his dream because I know he just didn't have the time. I worked on it over three days. Ground out all the rust in the draws. Got some tough engine paint.
Painted it yellow and grey, his flat track racer colors.




Mind you these pics are after grinding and sanding.



I finished it up. Closed the lid and tossed it back on the floor in the scrap pile where it lay. Waiting for him to trip over it. So this was my little pay back for all of the priceless tip tricks he has given me.
 
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#73 · (Edited)
Re: Pay backs...






I still wanna know what's up with the BMW work bench thing?!
Ok, the benches.

I was wondering about the same thing myself so I had asked him one day. He told me he makes one of these custom for every bike he builds..! I thought this was a waste of time. But i can only say that because I lack vision and talent. He hates motorcycle lifts and tables. He likes that he can reach into a lot of places and wheel em around.

I had my bike on my own lift that I brought. Well I showed up one day and my bike was in the air on that dolly. I was thinking how the hell did he get it up there? He pulled my bike up with chains. He is like a stunt man. He feels the need to climb around on top of the bikes up there. Well now the BMW has been stripped down and out one part at a time for painting. I will be helping on the re build up. So ask me how we are going to get a fully painted cafe racer down from that contraption.... I have no idea.
 
#33 ·
Re: Pay backs...

nice. there's a guy here like that too. Teach introduced me to him, old fucker named Rick. he's one of those old ornery bastards that has EARNED his salt. he's an ass, but he's an ass to everyone.
Rick was working on my bike two years ago, making a hydraulic clutch, fabbing mid controls, and such. when i told him that i had ran outta money he told me "it's getting done. whether or not you have cash. it's a labor of love now, and i gotta see it through." a week later he was testing out the hydraulic clutch, jockeyshift, in the middle of January, in Minne-fucking-sota
i'll go to rick for ANY and ALL of my machining, and i hope that the man takes some pity on me and teaches me how to use those machings and welders.

the only "payback" i've given him, is that i've sent many people his way for work, and i bring my girls every time i visit him (unless i'm riding). the old dude LOVES my little kids
 
#38 · (Edited)
Re: Pay backs...

Reading through this thread just put a big smile on my face.

I met an old guy around my parts into Nortons and he's been helping me with my Commando project.

He won't do any work, but sits behind me, looking over my shoulder saying "Yes", "No", "Put the spacer behind that nut" and so on. Without him I would have been lost.

He respects my work as it is clean and methodical and he also respects my willingness to learn and do things for myself.

I respect his knowledge and help and I flip him my old parts and extras since he doesn't have a lot of cash since he's retired. He's become a friend that I'll call just to drop by for a beer or two and he can see how far I've progressed and whatever other nuttiness I'm up to.
 
#41 ·
Re: Pay backs...

that is a great gesture, and the box turned out really nice. i'm sure he appreciates it.

a lot of older guys like that, just miss company from like-minded individuals. all of their friends are dead or not involved anymore, and most newbs are faddy and annoying. seems like a great relationship has formed.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Re: Pay backs...

Yea the Bugatti almost killed him too. He said parts were strung out and inventoried over a whole building.

The guy is a living legend as far as I am concerned. I will sprinkle this place with random Factoids and Gambino 101's. If ya know em already. Cheers to you.

Factoid: At the age of fifteen. Dick saw a how to chop and channel a hot rod in some mag. He got his hands on an old ford and said I can do this. He carried his only tool box a mile each way to work on his car. At 15 he had it chopped and channeled his first ride. His dad then scraped his car because he felt dick was wasting his time. Oh and he still has managed to keep all his fingers.
 
#44 ·
Re: Pay backs...

Gambino 101: When making a bracket that you plan to bend, say into a 90 degree. You must bevel the edges first. If not the hard edge at the elbow will spider and crack over time.
 
#45 ·
Re: Pay backs...

What a GREAT story. Kinda gets me in the Christmas spirit! And that old Man is a NATIONAL TREASURE for real. Seriously, how many people alive today have the knowledge and experience, desire and Craftsmanship this old timer has? Sadly very very few. And I'm sure he did it all with hand drawn sketches and visuals in his head. I'd bet he hasn't been around too many computers! And Kudos to you for showing him your respect and appreciation! That is so Cool, especially in this day and age.
 
#48 ·
Re: Pay backs...

I know Rick and yes he is missing some fingers. I've learned a ton from him. I had been thinking I would learn to weld but that would take a reason away from going to see him. Every time I go I learn so much that it is worth not learning to weld so I learn all this other stuff. He's an awesome guy.
 
#49 ·
Re: Pay backs...

i learned how to stick weld from an old guy when i was 11. he said if you get that machine running just right you can walk away from it while it welds. i had no idea what he was talkin about till he showed me.. he bent a bunch of welding rods together into a support for the stinger. turned the machine on stuck a welding rod in it and let it go.. the weld was better then anything i had seen before. amazing guy. i met an old dude out here who is like yoda for triumphs. he knows the entire history of triumph like he was there. he comes over and lets me do the work while cussing smoking and drinkin beers.. i learn more from him then anyone else ive ever met. he cant work on any car newer then 70.. his truck broke down in front of my place and i fixed it.. man that dude smiled for days after that. he thinks its really cool that someone my age is interested in old british bikes.. im 35!.. i soak up whatever knowledge he gives me.

there arent too many guys like that out there anymore. im glad i found one.. youre lucky to have found him. im hoping to learn everything he can teach me before he dies (which by the way he lives wont be too much longer) that way i can pass it on to someone when im that age.
 
#51 ·
Re: Pay backs...

There are more than 17 that care! Hell, I am 41 and would like to find someone like that to learn from!

My kids don't have a lot of interest in the inner workings of anthign I am working on, but that is okay...some kid will at some point, and I might get to be that old guy to some kid. For now, I'd love to be that kid to someone....

Skint
 
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