Who is Gay from Cannery Row and what is their importance?

Gay is not one of the original "Mack and the boys" that move into the Palace Flophouse and Grill, Gay seeks refuge from marital violence. His wife formerly swears out warrants when he hits back, but he finds the new Salinas County Jail so nice that she quits. Gay is an inspired mechanic and gets Lee Chong's dilapidated Model T Ford in running order for a frog-hunting expedition. If there were a term for mechanics akin to "green thumb", it would apply to Gay.