TEXT BY JON HANSEN PHOTOS BY GRANT COX
Ithe current climate of the auto industry, it’s difficult to be the first to do anything. Of course, there’s always the yearly race to see who can be the first to build on a brand-new body style or modify a new truck to be the “first of its kind,” but if you have a truck that has been around for 20, 30, or even 40 years or more, it can be a serious challenge to build something unique. When the owner of Evapo-Rust, David Harris, began formulating a plan for a SEMA build for 2017, he wanted to be sure it would get the attention it deserved. “The truck idea came about after SEMA 2016 when I saw that much of the action and foot traffic had shifted to the parking lot,” Harris says. “I told my guys we needed a build that showcased what our product Evapo- Rust does for rusted car bodies.” With that in mind, the hunt for a vehicle began.
Diamond In The Rough After several weeks of searching Harris came across the truck that would become his showcase build, sitting in a field and covered in rust, dirt, and snow, in his home state of Arkansas. Manypeople wouldn’t view this as an ideal starting point, but it was exactly what he and his crew were looking for: a platform on which to demonstrate the hardcore abilities of their product. Once he’d bought the truck, Harris noticed a faint logo on the hood—“DeMint”—which is where the truck’s name, Demented, comes from.
Restoration got underway immediately. The cab was unbolted and hoisted into a large tank of Evapo-Rust. After 24 hours of soaking, this miracle of science had removed all of the rust and gunk covering the nearly 60-year-old Viking cab. It was then time to get to work bringing the aged warrior to life. Any of the red paint that wasn’t destroyed by the elements was left as-is on the cab and then clear-coated six times for high-gloss protection.