By Mike Hazlip–
After spending decades on display above the entrance at Pastor’s Valero gas station and espresso bar, an historic vehicle is off to a new home.
Frequent visitors to the convenience store and coffee bar that was owned by Randy Pastor and his family might recall the antique Ford Model A suspended from the ceiling near the entrance. Pastor recently sold the business, and the car had to go, he said.
The vehicle would prove to be a complication for the new owner’s insurance company, Pastor said in an interview at the scene, and he was looking for a good home for the 1930 car. The problem was getting it down.
That’s when Jesse Larranaga, owner of Western States Mechanical, offered to help, Pastor said. Western States Mechanical of Galt was contracted to help facilitate the change of ownership, Larranaga said. Pastor offered Larranaga a deal: get the car down, and it’s his. Larranaga took him up on the offer, utilizing two forklifts and employee Josiah Rao for a delicate three-hour process that lasted well into the evening of Friday, August 1.
“Get it out, get it down, and you guys can have it,” Larranaga said of Pastor’s offer. “We’ve done sketchier stuff than this, but this was a challenge.”
The first step was to level the car that had been hung at an obscure angle to give Pastor’s customers a better view of the vehicle. The Ford sat on a metal frame that was hung by metal rods. The rods were secured to large beams above the ceiling.
Larranaga used one forklift to support the frame until it was level. Then he lifted the frame gradually to take the weight off of the rods as Rao climbed into the attic to loosen them from the beams. About two hours in, Larranaga brought another forklift to help support the car.
Then, another delay: Larranaga had to make a trip to Home Depot for a cutting tool. Finally, the last of the rods were cut loose, freeing the Ford from its perch for the first time in decades. Larranaga brought it down slowly as Pastor and his family watched.
Larranaga said the process was “interesting,” and added that he and his company had never taken a car down from a ceiling before.
“We’ve put bigger stuff than this up on roofs, but never in a building, so this is a first,” he said of the experience.
Pastor’s daughter, Holly Woltzen, said she remembers riding in the rumble seat as a child as she and other family members gathered around the car for one last look once the Model A was at ground level. The vehicle has been in the family for five decades, according to Pastor.
When Pastor’s parents started the business in 1975, they had initially thought of a race car theme, throwing out the idea of displaying a NASCAR under the floor with clear plexiglass over it and adding a black and white checkered floor pattern, Karen Pastor said.
The Pastors recalled that Randy’s mother ultimately suggested a different theme would attract more women to the establishment and be better for business. The family agreed, and decided to hang their Model A above the entrance, she said. It’s been there ever since.
“It’s not getting sold,” Larranaga said of the future for the newly acquired vehicle. “It’s going to get up and running and we’re going to enjoy it and take it to shows and other people can enjoy it.”
As the family said goodbye to not only the classic car that graced their ceiling, but their generational legacy, Karen Pastor emphasized that the employees and customers who patronized Pastor’s Valero over the years were the reason for the success of their business.
Woltzen confirmed with The Sentinel that the family will still continue operating the Citrus Heights Car Wash, as well as the auto care center, and that they still plan to rent Penske trucks.
The Pastor’s Valero has since been sold to Arco, with business up and running as of Aug. 8. By Saturday, Aug. 9, multiple drivers filled the gas station pumps once again.
