1985 Chevy S10 – Craig M.

Lost But Never Forgotten

Last year, the General Manager of our company was terminally diagnosed with cancer. We wanted to show him our love and appreciation so we did something wild. We stole his 1985 S-10 that he and his dad had been fixing and never finished. The entire crew at our shop dropped their personal matters and spent 8 weeks secretly restoring the truck in our spare time and we revealed it to him at our facility with the help of an amazing group of people. Please see his side of the story below:

One thing my Dad and I have done through our lives is tinker on vehicles. I have owned my 1984 Chevy S-10 since I was 17 years-old. It was how we bonded. How we connected. We did many things to it over the years. It also went through a fire. Plus a few different builds. The latest was the biggest. We stretched the frame to make it a long box extended cab and got a 350 small block setup into it.

I had brought it out to Dad’s garage so we could get back on things and make some more memories. He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer that spread fast. He passed away after fighting for nine months. The truck then became something of greater importance.

I was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer last July. I have done my best to stay positive, focused, and keeping myself busy. I decided I wanted to finish the build in his memory.

It was very recent that I got the bug and started looking at parts trucks and other things for it. Apparently, some other people thought the same thing. I was “invited to brunch” on Sunday with the Range crew, hosted by Dave. Who doesn’t like brunch?!? “Plans fell through” and we were headed elsewhere to eat. Dave ends up driving Jenny and I to the Range Mobility, Inc. – Fleet Services shop. We pulled up, and there was a show and shine that was put on by Range. There were some awesome vehicles. And the best one there…was my old S-10!!!

The Range team “borrowed” the truck from my Mom’s garage, tore it completely down, rebuilt the engine, did all the body work, installed a kick-ass stereo, painted, and reassembled the truck. Derek Wendt also took the great pictures and video footage to make me feel like I was part of it all. Bumper to bumper, they made my dream come true.

So many people were involved in the build process. And I have no way to thank them enough for something so amazing. All of this was done by the staff volunteering their time and skills, many of our vendors donating parts, and many more offering their help. In reality, I don’t think I could have completed this build. This truly is a dream come true.

Thank you so much to everyone involved.[lmc_story_gallery]