Bob Basola

[Les Darsow]

I just wanted to let everyone know that Bob Basola passed away last week. He is survived by his wife Caroline of Worcester, NY. Bob worked with John DeMaris and Dick Wolcott on their Aux Trans conversions. It was Bob's Trasco that was used for the photos in the conversion article on this website. He was my friend, I will miss him.

Les

[JDEM]

Bob's wife (widow) is actually Carolyn, not Caroline.  A minor point that Bob and I joked about, now and then.  That because my wife's name is spelled Caroline - but her parents pronounce it "car-o-linn."  Bob's wife's name is also pronounced "car-o-linn" but is spelled what I call "properly." This name-thing was just rehashed at Bob's funeral this past Sunday.  What else are you going to talk about at a funeral??

Bob was one of the leading Ford Model T experts for many years in the USA.  When I first met him, he had many.  I've got one from him, a 1920, sitting upstairs in my barn.

He was also a mechanic at a local Chevrolet dealership and later an auto mechanics teacher at BOCES.

In addition he was also an "old" Oldsmobile enthusiest and a member of the "Curved Dash" club. I think Bob's Oldsmobile is a 1903  Model R with a one-cylinder engine. It sits down his basement.

Bob was also a Bombadier collector.  Basically snow-cats with tracks, cabs, Chrysler engines, and Clark transaxles similar to what Cletrac HGs and OC3s use.

And, obviousy, he liked Cletracs.  He had at least one that was original from the family farm he grew up on - a wide-track HG.  Also many others that came from other local farms here in Otsego County, NY. When I first met Bob maybe 20 years ago, he had over a dozen HGs, OC3s, OC4s, and a few General and Avery wheel tractors (with Clark transmissions).  Recently he was down to "only" two.  That in part because his home owner's insurance company threatened to cancel if he didn't  empty out his fields that were full of old iron.

Bob's best HG has a homemade rear two-point hitch and an Anderson dozer.  He used it to do much of the dirt grading when he had his new modular home put in (quite some years ago).
I used to kid Bob about how useless his Cletrac was in 1st gear to push dirt - since it was geared way too fast. That's how this AUX trans thing came up with us.  Keep in mind that this was before the Internet and mass info-sharing.  I came across a guy in CT that had made a crude AUX setup and I bought his plans for $10.   I didn't like the set-up and commenced to build my own from the Ford Model A car-trans.   After I got mine done, and kept bragging about it to Bob, he asked me to find him a Ford Model A trans so he could design his own aux.  He later found an original Trasco Aux on Ebay and bought it.  It still sits down his basement.  He wanted to modify and improve it, but never got it done. So, Bob's Cletrac is STILL too fast in 1st gear.

Bob's death was unexpected.  He told me a few weeks before he had a cold he couldn't get rid of. Obviously, it was a bit worse then that.  So, he didn't do much to prepare and his widow has a lot to deal with now. The irony of this is . . . a few years ago Bob's neighbor was a big collector and a close friend to both of us. He had a  three-story barn full of old tractors and parts. He too died suddenly and Bob and I tried to help his widow soft through all the stuff. At time, we were both complaining about Charlie (the deceased) not even writing down some sort of list of his "holdings" with some explanation.  Well, I don't have a list either. Maybe I should learn a lesson from this.

Bob was a good friend and old fashioned enough to always be good for his word.  I kind of regret that he never got to see my aux setup since we discussed it back and forth for many years.  He only saw photos or parts I'd modified and brought over for him to inspect.  He only lived 3 miles from my farm, but he'd become somewhat reclusive and no longer drove a car and never left his property.

[Wisconsin H]

I too knew Bob and Charlie, Bob was my shop teacher and I purchased Charlies 1928 Dodge before he passed -( ya read me ). Bob was a great guy,  I just stumbled on this post today and it brought a tear to my eyes reading it. I learned alot from the man.