09/12/2016
Mario Medeiros, Best of Show winner Bob Consani Classic 2016 for his Orange and Chrome Peterbuilt Bigrig truck.
Here is Mario's story as written by him;
" Thank you for the opportunity to tell my little story about my truck and my love for trucks. It began the moment I was born. My father was a truck driver and I spent a majority of my time as a child riding with him. He drove a Peterbilt gravel truck and from that moment I knew I wanted to build a Peterbilt truck one day. My father says he remembers me talking about building a truck when I was about 5 years old.
As I grew so did my love for trucks and when I was 19 years old I was fortunate enough to land a job at a Peterbilt dealership. While I was there I learned a lot about trucks and how to work on them. Also while I was there I became friends with Dave Cozma who worked at Reliance Trailer in Cotati. Dave Cozma is a well-known mechanic, welder and fabricator who worked at Reliance Trailers for many years. Cozma would later become responsible for the reason my dream became a reality.
In September of 2012 I was in the market for a 68 or 69 Corvette to restore. I was looking on Craigslist when I came across the truck for sale in Santa Rosa. The truck immediately caught my attention. The thought of buying a big rig to just drive around sounded crazy to me, but I knew I was crazy so I went down to the bank and got a loan and purchased the truck. I remember looking at it in my driveway the next day. It barely fit and I don't think my neighbors were very pleased with the big rig in the neighborhood.
One day I stopped by Dave's shop to show him the truck. I told him I was going to have a local truck shop do some work for me and he asked me, "Why?, you know how to do it, put it over there in my shop and work on it." And that was it, I spent the next year building the truck in Dave's shop. I would work on it every chance I had. Dave's shop was equipped with overhead cranes, welders, cutters, everything I needed to build a fine truck. Without Dave I doubt this little dream of mine would have come true.
In the Summer of 2013 the truck was pretty much together and it was time for a paint job. I had worked at a body shop in Novato called Thorsson's Auto Center when I was in high school. It was a family owned business with an excellent reputation for custom paint jobs. The truck was painted by young Vincent Thorsson who did an absolutely beautiful job.
Looking back I can’t help but think everything about the truck was meant to be. It was like everything just flowed together. I have to thank Branden Floyd at Dennis Floyd Trucking in Santa Rosa for having the truck and selling it to me. I know he is happy it went to a good home.
I also owe a big thank you to Thorsson’s Auto Center and especially Dave Cozma for allowing me to build the truck in his shop.
