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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-06-04, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009.Local’s custom Dualie featured in magazine Jason Badley of Brussels wanted to do something that no one had ever done before, and so far, that has landed him a national best in show award and international recognition. An article in the June issue of Mini Truckin’magazine features Badley’s creation, the only four-door Chevrolet S-10 Crew Cab Dualie truck in the world. Badley says that the S-10 model has long been described as the “ultimate mini truck” but until now, it has only come in a two-door model. Badley changed that with a lot of time and patience and a bit of custom work. This idea first came to Badley in 2005 and just under two years later he had made it a reality. And while Badley has been into cars since his early teens, even he would admit that this was not an easy project. The truck began with a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer and a 1989 pick-up truck with a large bed. Then he played a large-scale, metallic game of cut and paste, taking the bed of the pick-up and grafting it to the front of the Blazer. Both of the trucks started in rough shape, Badley says, and there were times when he was ready to send it to the scrap yard, but once it was finished, he couldn’t have been happier with it. “It couldn’t have been more than a week after I finally finished it that we had it down in London for the show,” he said. At the 2007 Canadian Truck Nationals, Badley’s creation won him the highest honour bestowed to his class, Best Dualie. After that big win, Badley submitted several pictures to Mini Truckin’magazine for a section called Ridin’ Around, which features three trucks on one page, often submitted by the owners. However, once the magazine saw what Badley had done, they needed a full story on his creation. He found himself in a part of the magazine called Hometown Heroes, despite the fact that the magazine is situated in California. This is another achievement for Badley, he says, because it is very rare for a Canadian-made vehicle to be featured in an American magazine. The finished product, however, didn’t come easily for Badley. He said two of the toughest parts of the project were the roof and the back doors. Because of discrepancies between the two vehicles he was grafting, they were different sizes, so there were issues marrying the two rooves together. In addition to that snag, Badley also had to extend the frame by 32 inches to fit the body with the extra- long bed. Fabricating the doors was also a trial, he said, seeing as how the truck has never had four doors on it before. However, the work is done and he has accomplished what he wanted to accomplish with this truck and he is ready to move on, saying that he will likely sell it later this year. He has already moved onto hisnext project, refurbishing andupdating a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro,which will be Badley’s fourth full-scale project. The Camaro, whilemaintaining much of its original luster and design, is planned to be heavily-modified to include many of today’s perks, like air conditioning and power steering. Badley’s love of cars came even before he was able to drive one. Throughout his childhood, he was in love with dirt bikes, and once he got to Grade 8, he moved on to cars. Badley has never let anything slow his momentum. His enthusiasm for cars was not slowed even after a debilitating accident in 2001 left him paralyzed from the waist down when an 18-wheeler ran a yield sign, hitting Badley and leaving him “lucky to be alive.” He says that while he can no longerride a dirt bike, he still owns ATVsand snowmobiles and modifies hiscars to drive through hand controls,which is just another modification hemakes to these vehicles. Everything in his shop is also modified so that he can do much of the work, some of it involving extensive heavy lifting, on his own. His next goal is to take the Best in Show award at the Good Guys Nationals in Columbus, Ohio in 2010. He says his Camaro will be done by then and ready to enter the show. Badley does a fair amount of travelling to car shows, going to Las Vegas every year for its car show, saying that it takes three days to even get through the entire show. For full build pictures a on-line gallery is listed under the name Long Haul at www.hubgarage. com Close Blyth firefighters responded to an automobile crash Sunday at 9:23 p.m. Chief Paul Josling said two teens were in the vehicle. Both were taken to hospital, but have been released, he said. The crash occurred just east of Blyth on Walton Road at the elevators. Josling said it is believed that the car hit the loose gravel and the driver lost control. (Vicky Bremner photo) BBLLYYTTHH PPRRIINNTTIINNGG IINNCC.. BLYTH 523-9211 PRINTING IS OUR BUSINESS • Colour • Business Printing Forms • Posters • Brochures • Letterheads • Flyers • Envelopes • Carbonless • Business Forms Cards • Labels WE CAN DO IT ALL! One of a kind Jason Badley’s creation, a one-of-a-kind Chevrolet S-10 Crew Cab Dualie, came from two different trucks originally. After working on the project for nearly two years, it netted him a best in class at the Canadian Truck Nationals in London in 2007 and international attention with a recent feature in Mini Truckin’magazine. (Photo submitted) By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Brussels Ag Society receives donation TD Canada Trust employee Nicole Noble, left, accepts a cheque from Branch Manager Cheryl Ryan on behalf of the Brussels Agricultural Society. Both work at the TD Canada Trust branch in Wingham. TD Canada Trust supports their employees who are involved in their community and its organizations by offering employees the opportunity to apply for the TD Volunteer Grant Program. The TD Canada Trust employee must volunteer 40 hours or more with a registered charity to be eligible. The amount donated is $500. Nicole completes her hours by organizing/implementing the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Competition.