This week’s CAT Scale Rig of the Week is a restored classic from overseas.
Trucking has been a dream for Jussi Lopponen of Finland ever since he saw the film Smokey and the Bandit at the age of four.
Jussi and his son operate at small repair shop and rebuilt this nineteen-seventy-nine white road commander two. The truck has had quite a history hauling cargo in places like the Middle East and Switzerland before ending up in Finland.
The truck was purchased from one of Jussi’s friends in 2016 and he had to do a lot of work to get in back in shape. He built a new twin exhaust system, fabricated custom deck plates, catwalks, exhaust pipe stands, sun visor and front grille. The rear fenders are custom-made from fiberglass and are mounted as floating to the axle.
As for the paintjob, the truck was sanded down to bare metal, and they repaired any damage or imperfections. It was then painted silver with a candy royal blue main stripe and a black stripe with a lace detail on the back.
The rebuild took about six months and the truck won first place at a local truck show. Jussi named the truck “El Proscrito,” which translates to “outcast.” He chose the name because no one wanted the truck in the condition it was in when he bought it.
Do you use the cat scale app and have a rig you’d like us to feature as a CAT Scale Rig of the Week? Send photos to [email protected].
A former military public affairs specialist, Cody Graves has a journalism career that has spanned radio, television and print. For the last ten years, he produced special sections for Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper. During his time in the U.S. Army Reserves, Cody served tours in El Salvador, Iraq and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a local band and spends time with his dogs, Lucy and Daisy.