How an Old Chevrolet Farm Truck Inspired a Passion for Painting

Todd Wilhelm shares his story about the history and restoration of his family’s 1951 Chevy pick-up truck.

 

 

There is a special spot in Todd Wilhelm’s heart for his family’s 1951 Chevy pickup truck. His father purchased the truck from a farmer in California just prior to Todd’s birth. The truck had always been around and a part of many family memories, including regular trips to the ice cream shop. He fondly remembers riding in the bed of his dad’s pickup, “back in the early ‘80s, you could do that and not get in any trouble,” he joked.

At the age of eight, Todd began working with his dad to spruce it up and keep the old, farm truck in working order. The thing he loved the most was admiring the faded, old yellow paint job and dreaming what color him and his dad would paint it when they restore it.

With this history, passion and expertise, it wasn’t long before he began working in automotive body shops.

Pursuing a painting career

Todd opened his own body shop, T&C Paint Worx, in southeast Michigan, working exclusively with BASF Diamont paint series.

After a few great years, the recession began to slow down business and Todd welcomed his first daughter. Looking for stability, Todd considered options for a career change. His expertise and passion for refinish paint brands landed him a job as a sales representative at BASF.

The last masterpiece he built in his shop was a 1956 Chevy Bel Air with a new custom paint job, which he proudly displayed at the 2013 Woodward Dream Cruise.

The final restoration

As a busy dad of two daughters now, Todd doesn’t get as much time in the shop as he used to. But he does have one final project, his father’s Chevy pickup truck that inspired his love of cars so long ago.

“We are giving it a new lease on life,” he said.

He has already restored the frame of the truck and the cab and a few other parts are in process.  Some new additions have also been made including a new Corvette motor and an updated chassis and suspension.

“Once it’s finished, it will be better than a brand new pickup truck from 1951,” said Todd proudly.

Todd is returning the Chevy truck to its former glory and giving it the paint job him and his father had dreamt about years ago. Todd’s goal is to finish in time for his father to enjoy a reminiscing ride in the old farm truck.

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BASF shared this story on their Automotive Solutions page. They told us,

“Todd Wilhelm, a former body shop owner, has had the opportunity to work on many different classic cars in his time. But when it comes to his own masterpieces, it has to be Chevy. Todd finished his 1956 Chevy Bel Air just in time for the 2013 Woodward Dream Cruise. He has now turned all of his free time in the shop to restoring his family’s 1951 Chevy Farm Truck.  Hopefully, it will be ready for a cruise of its own someday soon.”

In honor of this year’s Dream Cruise and Chevy fans everywhere we chose to share this on FastLane.

Car Salesman Confidential: 

How To Buy A Used Car

It's All About Who You Can Trust

By Mark McDonald | August 01, 2014  |  

In recent years, with the transaction price of the average new 

car climbing past $30,000, and the sluggish economy, more 

and more people are electing to keep their cars a little longer, 

or buy used. So the question is, how do you keep from getting 

stuck with a bad used car? Here are my suggestions, 

as a ten year veteran of car sales:

1. Establish a Relationship With a Salesperson

Any time you buy from a person you've never met, 

whether he's a salesman for a dealership or some guy on eBay, 

it's a bit of a gamble. The seller may be a straight shooter, 

and the car he's selling may be perfectly fine. Or he may 

be a con artist and the car may have serious problems with it.

 In my opinion, a good strategy is to find a salesperson 

you trust -- maybe the man or woman you bought your 

last new car from -- and work through them. 

When it comes time to buy something used, call them up 

and tell them what you're looking for. If he's smart, your 

salesman will steer you to a car you'll be happy with, 

if for no other reason than he wants to sell you more cars 

in the future.

2. Buy From a Large Dealership With a Good Reputation

I'm not knocking small "Mom & Pop" dealerships, 

because I have many friends who work at places 

like this and there's nothing wrong with the cars

they sell. But I think you have a slightly better chance 

of finding a good used car at a large, well-established 

dealership. There are two reasons. First, large dealerships 

have service departments, whereas your local "dirt lot"

 probably does not. Chances are good that any car you 

find at a large dealership has at least gone through a 

basic Safety Inspection to make sure the tires are good, 

the brakes work, and nothing is wrong with the steering. 

Most dealerships will also check the fluids and change 

the oil. With a small lot you just have to take the seller's

 word for it that the car is mechanically sound, or arrange 

to have your own mechanic inspect it. Second, a big

 dealership has a bigger reputation to protect. They 

know that if they abuse you, you'll go on line and write 

a bad review or complain to their corporate office, and 

nobody wants that. So they go to greater lengths to 

make sure their used cars are sound, and they'll be more 

responsive to your complaints after the sale. Let me give 

you a quick example. A used car manager at a large 

dealership I know went to an auction and bought five 

used BMWs for a song. On the outside, these cars

 looked fine -- but every single one of them had 

frame damage. 

I'm not sure how this guy expected to get away with 

it, but his plan was to sell these cars without disclosing 

the damage and make a killing. But when their history 

was discovered this guy was fired – instantly -- and the 

cars never even made it onto the dealer's lot. A large 

organization just cannot afford to do business like that.

 A Cautionary Word About CarFax. CarFax is great . . . 

but don't put all your faith in it. CarFax only reports 

what's reported to it. If two people have an accident, 

but choose not to report it, it won't show up on the 

CarFax. Second, just because CarFax says the car has 

been in an accident, it doesn't mean it's a "bad vehicle" 

or you shouldn't buy it. Read the fine print. Was the 

vehicle unable to move on its own power, and had to 

be towed away? Or was it able to be driven away? 

The fact is, the collision might have been a minor 

incident with only minimal damage, but because 

the Police were called and a report was taken, it 

shows up on CarFax as an "accident." Third, even

 if a vehicle is involved in a collison, 

if the damage has been repaired properly there's 

no reason to avoid buying the car. See if records 

are available, and ask how it was repaired and by whom.

 

A Word About Rental Cars.

Many times, dealerships will supplement their 

used car inventory with vehicles from rental 

car companies. The reason is simple: they need

 the inventory. A dealership can't just sit around 

and wait for customers to trade in what's popular,

 so they go out and buy desirable vehicles from 

rental companies, or at auction. A lot of people

 are put off by this, but they shouldn't be. 

If a car is in good condition it shouldn't matter 

who the previous owner was. (In fact, you may 

even have a better chance that the vehicle was 

properly maintained because most rental companies

 perform regular maintenance.) Rentals will 

typically have a little higher mileage on them

 than comparable privately owned cars, but that 

also means they're priced lower. I have sold 

many a used car that came from a rental fleet 

and had no complaints yet.

3. Buy a Certified Used Car

If you've been out cruising dealerships lately you
 may have noticed some of the cars have stickers
 on them saying things like "Certified" or 
"Certified Pre-Owned." What this means is that 
the car has gone through an inspection process, 
been serviced and, if necessary, repaired, and is 
being sold with an extended warranty. For example,
 if you come across a Certified Honda, it means that
 the regular 5 years or 60,000 mile drivetrain warranty 
has been extended to 7 years, 100,000 miles.
 This is a tremendous value. A certified car has a 
warranty on it that, in some ways, is better than 
the original factory warranty. Certification offers
 every used car buyer extra "peace of mind" that 
they haven't bought a lemon, and knowledge 
that the manufacturer stands behind it. 
Of course, a certified car will also cost a little more
 than a car that isn't certified, but in my opinion it's
 worth it. A Word About "As Is" Vehicles. 
Most of the used cars found on dealership lots 
have a sticker called the "Buyer's Guide" or 
"As Is" that tells you whether or not the car has 
any warranty left on it. Pay attention to this sticker. 
If it says "As Is," it means As Is -- you're buying the 
car just as it sits, with no warranty. There's an old 
saying in the car biz that, if you buy an "As Is" 
vehicle and you drive it off the lot and it breaks 
into two pieces, you own both pieces. The dealership
 is under no obligation whatsoever to fix that 
vehicle for you. Here's the thing. If you discover a 
problem with an "As Is" vehicle before you complete
 the paperwork or drive it off the lot, most dealerships
will probably fix it for you -- depending on what it is.
 If it's a minor cosmetic issue, like a broken cupholder 
or soiled carpet, probably not. But if it's something
 major, like a bad headlight or mechanical issue, 
they probably will. Just be sure to get any promises
 in writing on the "We Owe" (that's the document 
the dealer uses to remind us of what we owe
 the customer). Verbal representations in the
middle of a sale tend to get forgotten, or can 
be distorted by memory, so always get it in writing.

Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/1408_car_salesman_confidential_how_to_buy_a_used_car.html#ixzz3As5KeVjF