She has been working closely with drivers from Truckers for Safer Highways, who share her concerns. Vaugeois is calling for "proper measures" to be put in place to protect drivers and keep highways safe. See: MR 55 crash claims life of woman, 47
#SECOND LIFE TRUCK DRIVER#
The driver and sole occupant of the pickup, a 47-year-old woman, died. The driver of the transport, a 31-year-old man, sustained minor injuries. Last week, a 47-year-old woman lost her life after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community. The vehicles involved were a pickup truck and a transport truck. NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay-Superior North) is urging the Ford government to take immediate action following another week of tragic accidents involving truckers in northern Ontario. “People always say, ‘Do what you love’ and I think we are really fortunate here because we get to play with cars all day.
Now, after a decade of opportunities, Dozier has been able to turn a childhood passion into a rewarding career in the collision industry. He places the ‘69 truck’s worth between $45,000 and $50,000-which would earn him about $20,000 profit if he decided to sell. In 2008, Dozier and his team rebuilt five other “shop-owned” cars and sold them at auction. Although the project ended up being a complete overhaul, the truck’s character was maintained by its original radio and dash instruments.Ĭurrently, the shop is working on five restoration projects-two of which are owned by shop workers-in addition to their repair workload. New interior, wooden bed and side moldings, along with 16-inch Eagle Alloy wheels and a shiny two-tone red-and-white paint job. Cole also dropped in a new ZZ 454 GM Performance Crate Motor with a deluxe serpentine accessory belt.Īnd to finish it off? Cosmetics.
The suspension and transmission were completely rebuilt, and a new exhaust system with a Flowmaster muffler was installed. The frame was then media-blasted and powder-coated.Ĭole did all the mechanical work, Dozier says. The restoration began in February 2009 with completely dismantling the frame. “It can take up to 18 months and a lot of money and resources.”Īnd he should know: He threw nearly $30,000 and a year of work into his steal-of-a-deal from eBay. “In our experience a lot of people don’t have an understanding of what it takes to do a restoration,” he says.
But while taking on customer projects is part of the business, he prefers to own the vehicle that is being restored. About 20 percent of the shop’s work is custom restoration jobs like Dozier’s ‘69 pick-up. Trained repairer or not, Dozier runs a $2.4 million a year operation with 10 employees and closing out about 80 vehicles every month. “I knew just about every car make and model by the age of ten.” I always had toy cars and trucks,” he says. “When I was young, anything with four wheels was interesting to me. “ we just took advantage of the opportunity.”ĭozier isn’t a mechanic or a bodyman by trade, just a guy making a living at something he loves-playing with cars. Greg has been working on cars his whole life,” Dozier says. So, as opportunity knocked, Dozier answered once again and bought Telesis with Cole in 2003. While at Progressive, as luck would have it, an old friend he’d met while at a 1993 car show-Greg Cole-called him up and said the shop he worked at was for sale. Progressive had a booth and next thing you know, three months later I’m working for them.” “It was kind of a fluke really,” he says. “I couldn’t resist.”ĭozier, now co-owner and president of Telesis Collision in Palmdale, Calif., began his career in the industry as an auto-insurance adjuster with Progressive Insurance in 1999. “I was like ‘Oh, my God! I can’t pass this up,’” Dozier recalls about his reaction to seeing the car and its price on eBay. Not only did Dozier bid on the new “toy,” winning it only set him back $500 and change. It was an opportunity that he just had to jump at, he says. Most recently, “it just so happened,” as Dozier likes to say, that he came across a 1969 Chevrolet C-20 Custom Camper while perusing eBay. Opportunity and happenstance have guided Geoff Dozier through much of his career in the collision repair industry.
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