Michael Younkin, a fiberglass fabrictor, sands a former Indian Chief Muffler Man down to its original gel coat during a 2016 restoration of the fiberglass giant known as Chief Bagnell due to the location at which he had stood since 1972. Loveland resident Joel Baker and his restoration team returned the giant to its former location after their five-month restoration process. (Special to the Reporter-Herald)
Standing in a moving truck that holds pieces of a Texaco Big Friend, Joel Baker of Loveland talks Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, about his plans to restore the fiberglass giant. Baker is one of the leading restorers of large 1960s and 1970s Fiberglass figures, like the Muffler men. (Photo by Jenny Sparks/Loveland Reporter-Herald)
This photo of a crowd of Texaco Big Friends was likely taken outside the International Fiberglass Comany in Venice, Ca., in early 1966, when the advertising giant debuted. Loveland resident Joel Baker came across a copy of this photo and is unsure who originally snapped the picture. (Submitted)
The legs of a former Texaco Big friend extend from the back of a rental truck in Nevada after Loveland resident Joel Baker bought the fiberglass giant for a restoration project for his team, American Giants ( http://www.usagiants.com). Baker and a group of specialists will restore the 22-foot Big Friend, one of only four left in existence. (Special to the Reporter-Herald)
Loveland resident Joel Baker recently saved this former Texaco Big Friend, here repainted and repurposed to advertise a Nevada business, from a pile of discarded parts and, with a team of specialists in Illinois, will resotre the fiberglass giant to its original state. (Photo Courtesty of Joel Baker)
When Valley Homes in Nevada decided to use this former Texaco Big Friend to advertise its business, the 1960s era fiberglass giant was repainted to look almost like a Robin Hood. Loveland resident Joel Baker recently bought the Big Friend, one of only four left in the United States, and will restore it with a team of specialists. (Photo Courtesty of Joel Baker)
Terry Nelson, a painter at International Fiberglass, saved this picture when the company that specialized in making giant fiberglass advertising pieces folded in 1972, and Loveland resident Joel Baker now has a copy of the former advertising photo in his collection. (Submitted photo)
