What’s your oldest or fondest memory of being in a car? For Todd Wilhelm, that was riding around in his Dad’s 1951 Chevy Pick-up. Fastlane brings us the story of Todd and his father’s ’51 Chevy truck and how it spurred his career in automotive painting.
The truck was originally bought by his Dad off a farmer, shortly before Todd was born. At eight years old, Todd started wrenching on the truck to keep it in tip-top shape. His fondest memory was looking at the faded yellow paint, thinking of different colors to paint the truck. Fast forward a few years and Todd became a painter.
Todd worked for years as a painter, honing his craft, evening opening up his own shop. His crowning jewel was a 1956 Bel Air, that was displayed at the Woodward Dream Cruise. Before his latest car, business at his shop slowed down, he had a kid, and needed to find another way to make ends meet. At that point he talked to the people he knew best-BASF paint.
BASF hired him up as a salesman, which works perfect with his broad experience as a painter. With his new job and now two girls, the ’51 farm truck has taken a slower role. He’s still restoring the truck with his Dad, and still dreaming of that perfect paint job. His goal is to get the truck restored better than new, and give his Dad a ride in it.