TOP, this American grill takes the road seriously with chrome and steel hallmarking the ‘50s automobile design.


LEFT, Dan Alvis considers himself a curator—a curator of a piece of transportation history, his 1951 Roadmaster Estate Wagon. It is a job he takes very seriously.


ABOVE, the Woody station wagon in its natural habitat at the beach. The car conjures up the halcyon days of California surfing before development crowded out stretches of sand and pollution posed health risks.


F


orget that Dan alvis’ 1951 roadmas- ter estate Wagon is one of only 600 that


Buick manufactured that year. remember this: in January 2005 the La Conchita land-


slide buried the Woody, turning alvis’ garage into a temporary earth-filled coffin for about nine months. What makes this Woody special is the dedication and love given to restore the black beauty to more than her original glory. “it’s the end result of something horrible. Like a phoenix out of tragedy and rubble rises something


70 CarpinteriamagaZINe


beautiful,” says the 63-year-old, who lost his brother tony alvis, owner of Los padres outfitters, in the ’Slide. Clump by clump, neighbor and friend Byron


Barnes helped alvis dig out the Buick with DynaFlow transmission. Secretly working weekends – Ventura County determined the area off limits – they took one month to pull the Woody out of the wreckage. its motor still ran, but the car couldn’t be driven. alvis also lost a 1929 model a Woody panel delivery truck.


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