Show Truck Starter

If you have aspirations to buy, restore and operate a show truck, just how easy is it? Here is some valuable advice from someone who’s been there and done it…

- Carl Jarman

So, you want to buy, restore, run and store an ‘old’ lorry? At Gaydon’s Retro Truck Show I was chatting to a friend about this, as he had his eye on a truck. His main concern was where to park and store it. This is, of course, important but is only one of many things to think about for the novice.

First, what do you want the truck for? Do you just want a nice tidy vehicle to attend truck shows and do road runs, spend a minimal amount on and have some great weekends? Or do you want a truck requiring a lot of work and a major restoration so you end up with something looking like Charles Russell’s superb Scania 140?

The first option is relatively easy and perhaps the best if you just want to enjoy the road runs and truck shows fairly quickly.

Ready to roll

An example. In a recent classic commercial magazine (a good source for buying such vehicles) there was an ERF E Series 6x2 sleeper cab tractor unit for £5000. I’ve seen this truck out and about and it’s fairly straight, so if you started your driving career on these motors and fancy a bit of nostalgia, this would be perfect – it’s a sensible price and ready to roll.

It is also ideal if you are not a great mechanic and have no access to those of its original owner, your current firm or just a fictitious livery. Remember, however, to ask permission if the vehicle is going to be put into the colours of a current operator.

You will then have a nice truck that you have personalised. It may not be pristine, but does it need to be? If it looks like a working truck, what’s the problem? We will look at MoTs, road tax and insurance later.

Full restoration