Have pool table—will travel!
Rod "Hot Rod" Archibald has converted the bed of his 1954 Chevrolet pickup truck into a traveling pool table.
Rod “Hot Rod” Archibald racks up the balls as he plays pool in the bed of his 1954 Chevrolet pickup truck rat rod, nicknamed “Cue Ball,” at his home in Bahia Oaks in Ocala on Feb. 23. [Photo by Bruce Ackerman/OG]
If not, then you aren’t familiar with Rod (“Hot Rod”) Archibald of Ocala! He has one…mounted right in the bed of his 1954 “rat rod” which he explains is an unrestored vintage vehicle. Rod’s 1954 sits on a 1998 S-10 frame with a high-performance Chevy 350 engine. Now you know the skinny on the “rat rod’s” underpinnings.
Owners of such vehicles are usually quite attached to them, or to the idea of eventually restoring them, and usually have names for them. Rod has named his rat rod “Cue Ball,” because he said his late father came to him in a dream and told him to name it that.
To explain a little further, Rod’s father was William (“Archie”) Archibald, who was an accomplished, tournament award-winning pool player. “Archie” was always “Hot Rod’s” inspiration. Rod drove truck for a living for many years, and always kept his eye out for a 50s series truck. With his father being a well-known pool player and loved to teach others the game and who taught Rod all he knew about pool, the idea came to him, “Why not put the two together, and put a pool table into the back of a truck?” Why not, indeed. That is just what he did.
When he saw the truck he wanted, it was sitting in a field in Sayre, PA, close to Owego, NY, where the family lived at the time, without even a for sale sign on it. “It was in pretty rough shape,” Rod said. “The windshield was smashed, and it was in really bad condition.” Vintage vehicles, even that beat up, usually were selling for $1,000 or more, he said. He had $500 with him, and offered it to the owner, who accepted. That was in November of 2000. To completely restore Cue Ball to the finished product he dreams of, would cost in the neighborhood of $25,000 to $30,000, not counting labor, Rod knew, as he also has experience in restoring vehicles for others.
The truck sat until 2017, while Rod went through a run of adverse circumstances. He got married, then divorced, and then while he was out of town driving truck, all of his tools were stolen. As if that weren’t enough, Rod was diagnosed with stomach cancer…”large B lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymphatic system.” Surgery took about half of his stomach. Having been an Army veteran, he was in VA hospitals during all of 2020 with surgery and chemotherapy in both Sayre, NY, and in Wilkes-Barre, PA, at the Geisinger Hospital there. He is left with a large hernia which is inoperable. He tried to do a part-time trucking job, but couldn’t do it, and ended up retiring. He will be 67 years old in a few
weeks. Bills mounted, and he had to even sacrifice the car he was driving…leaving him with only his Cue Ball for transportation.
While Rod was driving truck, he often was routed into and through Ocala. He grew fond of the area, and said, “What’s not to like?! Look at this gorgeous weather! I love it here!” He moved to Ocala as soon as he had recuperated enough to manage the move. Here, he continues his quest to work on Cue Ball.
Rod found a regulation size pool table, 8.5 feet long. He had to cut it down to a 4×6 to fit into the truck bed. When he is setting it up to play pool (yes, it is functional!) he has to jack up the table, and level it with 2 x 4s. It has a wood bed under it, not slate. He often drives Cue Ball to the Syracuse, NY, Nationals car show, and other shows also. While the vehicle has garnered much acclaim, it has never taken a trophy.
Still, it is his joy to take the truck to let people play pool with him. He doesn’t charge anything. “I just enjoy teaching people,” he said. After his cancer treatments were completed, he even took Cue Ball to the Sayre, NY, hospital complex, parked it in the lot, and staff members would come out to shoot a game or two of pool.” That was a joy to him, he said.
He has all of the cue sticks and billiard balls ready to play.
Cue Ball is a long way from being the restored truck of which he dreams. It should have “a beautiful, smooth, shiny finish; chrome bumpers…” his voice trailed off.
He has lots of stories to tell.
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