This is one in a series of special Langley Advance Times stories about what to expect at this year’s Langley Good Times Cruise-In, happen Saturday, Sept. 9 in Aldergrove. You can also check out our special keepsake edition hitting the streets on Thursday and available in limited quantity at the car show.
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On Saturday, Sept. 9, Nanaimo’s Trevor Williams, winner of the Shine Speed Shop Award of Excellence at last year’s Langley Good Times Cruise-In, will name his successor.
After superstar California car builder Jimmy Shine and a panel of judges have identified the top eight to 10 finalists for the award, Williams will make the final choice, per Shine award tradition.
He’s been giving it a lot of thought.
“I just know when somebody builds something themselves, with their own hands, that’s pretty cool but I also realize that not everybody can do that,” Williams told the Langley Advance Times.
“So I’m kind of looking for somebody that has something that stands out. That’s maybe a bit unique, a little bit different but that they put thought into.”
It’s a good description of his winning entry last year, a C10 Chevy pickup from the 1960s (which stood for “conventional” in reference to the Chevy truck’s two-wheel-drive system, while the “10” referred to the half-ton payload rating).
“It needed a lot of work,” Williams recalled.
“It was a complete basket case – 99 per cent of the people that would have got that truck would have just taken it to the scrap yard. It was absolutely rusted out, the floors, the fenders, everything.”
Williams did virtually all the work himself (with the exception of some upholstery and internal engine work) at his Nanaimo shop, “Gasboy Customs,” which is online at https://gasboycustoms.com.
“It’s basically a shop that I have in my back yard, and to be honest with you, it’s a hobby shop,” Williams, a commercial trucker and heavy machinery mover, insisted.
“I pretty much build this stuff for myself. And when I’m done building it, and done enjoying it, I sell it off and build the next one.”
Transformed, the gleaming truck features a custom colour, “gas boy blue,” a “kind of a turquoise” that manages to look period-accurate, Williams explained.
“I wanted it kind of a ‘60s, Las Vegas casino by the poolside, vibe,” Williams said.
“That’s what I was going with.”
His first go at the Shine award with his truck, the previous year, saw Williams in runner-up spot, a placing which fired up his determination to win it all.
”I came home with it after that show and I was like, ‘I’m gonna win it next year,’” Williams recalled.
“I went over that truck and I just made sure that when I showed up the following year, that everything was just spotless and it was perfect.”
When he won, a delighted Williams was “absolutely blown away” to be recognized by Shine, an idol of his youth.
”I was always a big fan of Jimmy’s growing up as a young teenager,” he said.
“[I was] super proud because everything that I did to that truck, I’ve done myself,” Williams enthused.
“I was ecstatic. I kind of use it as a life lesson, because I have two kids that [I’ve told] if you put your mind to something, there’s no reason why it can’t come true.”
He and Shine have become friendly since the win, with Shine even allowing Williams to borrow his shop, and tools, to fix a trailer leaf spring that broke during a trip to California.
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