Rik has simple plans for his truck-“I will be using it as a truck, not as a show and shine, l think it’s a bit pissed with me, it thought it was going to retire but l told it other wise”.
The common thread throughout this project was Rik’s adherence to a serious game plan.
He’s very realistic about the level of restoration “I read a story on a web site called stovebolt, a guy had the same truck as mine in the States, he called it a 30 yarder,?? because it looks good at 30 yards, l might be using that phrase in the near future.
People ask me, why didn’t you spend time trying to knock out all the dents and dings, the same reason that l didn’t spend thousands on paint and body work-
it’s not going to win any beauty contests and l would be really pissed if l or someone dinged it, this way l can always fix it or you won’t notice it so much, at the end of the day l like to think l have a neat looking old truck that still working for a living, I’ve tried to keep it as was as”.
Basically this is a story about the how and why of a self-administered project. Rik kept the level of talent required for the truck within his skill set, approached with a positive attitude and made organization the cornerstone of the project.
The key to any project is to have fun before, during and after the process. Most do it yourselfers bring something to the table but after completion of a project like this, they will be light years ahead of where they started in knowledge and expertise.
Typically guys like Rik will take on another project after the first one simply because of the challenge, and more importantly…the fun.
We haven’t checked with Rik lately,but given the success of this project, it’s a safe bet that he’ll take on another jigsaw puzzle-possibly with even more missing pieces.