Shop Specializes In Classic Truck Restoration
Chris Rudloff’s customers get a feel for the quality of his work the minute he drives into their yards with the 1948 GMC 2-ton truck he uses to haul vehicles. For the past 11 years, he has built a reputation in a 500-mile radius around his Califon, N.J., Classic Custom Truck Restoration shop. While many restoration shops specialize in hot rod and muscle cars, Rudloff has a soft spot for trucks – from old pickups to Peterbilts.
“We do a lot of ’47 to ’54 Chevy and GMC trucks, but we’ve also worked on Mercedes and other unusual models,” Rudloff says. He even rebuilt a 1951 ice cream truck for an owner who put himself through college with it. Now his son uses it to sell ice cream at corporate events to pay for his college tuition.
Customers often bring in a truck that’s been in the family or used on the family farm, or a vehicle they buy that was similar to one they had when they were young. Rudloff even locates vehicles for some customers.
The Classic Custom Truck Restoration shop has tools to do everything, with a complete engine machine shop for rebuilds to fabricating equipment and homemade power hammers to build body panels and English wheels.
For folks who just want to remove paint, the business has a baking soda blaster.
“It won’t hurt glass or chrome, and if the vehicle hasn’t been taken apart, you can blast it, and you don’t have to worry about damaging the engine. Baking soda wears paint off rather than chips it off,” Rudloff says. Soda’s only disadvantages are that it can only be used once and that it doesn’t remove rust or body filler.
Rudloff purchased the soda blaster after he agreed to help a friend restore an old truck, which led to renting a building, advertising the soda blasting service, and the start of his business. Initially, many customers just wanted the paint removed so they could do the rest of the restoration work themselves. Rudloff still offers that service, but 80 percent of his customers want the whole restoration.
He notes that he works with customers to give them what they want, but he emphasizes that his goal is to provide more than a restoration.
“I want something you will drive to use. I want you to have a realistic goal for money you are spending,” he says, explaining that means tweaking the brakes or acceleration so that a customer feels safe pulling into traffic.
Prices range greatly depending on the vehicle’s condition and how much work customers want to do themselves. Removing the paint from a 1954 Chevy pickup runs $1,500 to $2,000, for example, while a complete restoration can be anywhere from $45,000 to $60,000 – or more.
That’s why Rudloff thinks it’s important that a vehicle be useful after restoration.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Classic Custom Truck Restoration, 412 Trimmer Rd., Califon, N.J. 07830 (ph 908 832-1111; www.classiccustomtrucksnj.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Shop Specializes In Classic Truck Restoration SPECIALTY/SERVICES Chris Rudloff’s customers get a feel for the quality of his work the minute he drives into their yards with the 1948 GMC 2-ton truck he uses to haul vehicles For the past 11 years he has built a reputation in a 500-mile radius around his Califon N J Classic Custom Truck Restoration shop While many restoration shops specialize in hot rod and muscle cars Rudloff has a soft spot for trucks – from old pickups to Peterbilts “We do a lot of ’47 to ’54 Chevy and GMC trucks but we’ve also worked on Mercedes and other unusual models ” Rudloff says He even rebuilt a 1951 ice cream truck for an owner who put himself through college with it Now his son uses it to sell ice cream at corporate events to pay for his college tuition Customers often bring in a truck that’s been in the family or used on the family farm or a vehicle they buy that was similar to one they had when they were young Rudloff even locates vehicles for some customers The Classic Custom Truck Restoration shop has tools to do everything with a complete engine machine shop for rebuilds to fabricating equipment and homemade power hammers to build body panels and English wheels For folks who just want to remove paint the business has a baking soda blaster “It won’t hurt glass or chrome and if the vehicle hasn’t been taken apart you can blast it and you don’t have to worry about damaging the engine Baking soda wears paint off rather than chips it off ” Rudloff says Soda’s only disadvantages are that it can only be used once and that it doesn’t remove rust or body filler Rudloff purchased the soda blaster after he agreed to help a friend restore an old truck which led to renting a building advertising the soda blasting service and the start of his business Initially many customers just wanted the paint removed so they could do the rest of the restoration work themselves Rudloff still offers that service but 80 percent of his customers want the whole restoration He notes that he works with customers to give them what they want but he emphasizes that his goal is to provide more than a restoration “I want something you will drive to use I want you to have a realistic goal for money you are spending ” he says explaining that means tweaking the brakes or acceleration so that a customer feels safe pulling into traffic Prices range greatly depending on the vehicle’s condition and how much work customers want to do themselves Removing the paint from a 1954 Chevy pickup runs $1 500 to $2 000 for example while a complete restoration can be anywhere from $45 000 to $60 000 – or more That’s why Rudloff thinks it’s important that a vehicle be useful after restoration Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Classic Custom Truck Restoration 412 Trimmer Rd Califon N J 07830 ph 908 832-1111; www classiccustomtrucksnj com
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
