1938 Ford Pickup - Oldie But Goodie!

When you sit back and think about it, 28 years is a really, really long time. For one thing, some people were lucky to even live that long centuries ago. For us, that amount of time covers childhood, elementary through high school, college, and beyond. Again, that's just a long period of time. But, that's exactly how long it took before Wayne Laliberte took ownership of his cherished '38 Ford pickup.

Now, the story's not just simply a matter of waiting all those years (family, job, etc). No, it's a little more complicated than that. Back in 1973, Wayne purchased a '38 Chevy pickup from his neighbor for $48.00. It sat...for 11 years. At the same time that Wayne bought his, a friend had purchased a '38 Ford pickup. It, too, sat...for 28 years. While Wayne sold the Chevy (after the 11-year hiatus), he was able to convince his friend Dave to unload the Ford on him, though it would a bit more than what he originally paid for it in 1973! Okay, so are we all on the same page now? Good, let's move on.

Despite Wayne's nearly three-decade endurance run, he gave himself a nine-month deadline to completely build the truck (and, if you're like most of us, you'd try the same). First order of business was to separate sheetmetal from chassis, then send all body parts out for sandblasting, bodywork, and paint at Bruce Weindemann's, in nearby San Jose. In the meantime, Wayne--along with some help from his entire family and friend Pete Scialabba--focused on the construction and assembly of the rolling chassis...which he did, right up till the point where he had to have emergency kidney surgery. That only set him back six weeks or so, but within a nine-month crunch, that could seem like 28 years! Fortunately, during the recovery time, parts were ordered, so all was not lost.

Once he was back at it, with only four weeks until the deadline (Goodguys West Coast Nationals, by the way), the chassis was wrapped up, the various body parts retrieved from paint, and the miscellaneous assembly started. Wayne made an appointment for upholstery at Costa's Custom Covers in San Jose, who promised him a two-week turnaround. Wayne had to retrieve the truck a week in to install the front sheetmetal, but was able to return it after a weekend's worth of work and allow them to do their magic. With the interior finally completed, the '38 was brought back home once again for some final tweaking and a little testdrive. All was good, but one thing was lacking--graphics.

With but a few days left before the Goodguys show in Pleasanton, Wayne literally hauled over to Gene Worth at Worth Works, (also in San Jose). The goal was to have some old-timey lettering and stripping done, but the clock was clicking. Luckily, Gene plied his trade and wrapped things up Wednesday evening, allowing Wayne an evening's rest before heading north to P-Town. The story ends on a high note: Wayne made the big show without a single problem. It only goes to show that good things come in time. But it also proves that deadlines can be met!