Labors of pure love aren’t exactly rare in the world of trucking, and any summer truck show offers ample evidence. There are hundreds of restored older trucks — and radically glitzed-up new ones — that get hauled out to those shows across the country. And as they sit there on the grass, proud owners beside them clutching the ever-present polishing cloth, we all drool dutifully and wish we had one too.

Some of those show trucks hardly ever turn a wheel in anger.

They’re not exactly trailer queens, but it’s not altogether common that somebody spends a lot of time and money to build a more or less simple working truck.

Enter this gleaming exception, the beautiful 1984 Freightliner FLC120 of Jean-Guy Lachance in Plessisville, Que. The truck works four or five days a week for Transport Gregoire, mostly doing cross-border runs. Jean-Guy and his wife, Francine Morin, run together full time nowadays, though it hasn’t always been that way. Lachance used to operate a small car and truck repair shop, dabbling in trucking here and there.

A solid ride that still runs as good
as it ever did 25 years later

In 2002 he decided to alternate weekly between his garage and hauling as a broker. Jean-Guy and Francine would hit the road and do about 2800 miles in a week, then come back to do a week at home and in the shop. That changed last year when they decided to close the garage and go trucking for Gregoire full time.

Jean-Guy bought his dream truck way back in October 1989. The Freightliner had a Cummins NTC 400 engine and a 15-gear transmission, along with a 42-in. sleeper and a rear leaf-spring suspension.

"It was not the nicest truck we’d seen but mechanically it was A1," says Josée Lachance, Jean-Guy and Francine’s daughter. In fact, it was a proud Josée who alerted us to her Dad’s special ride, hoping to surprise him — an "avid" highwaySTAR reader, she says — with an appearance in the magazine. We were happy to oblige.

In any event, the Freightliner’s makeover began in 1994, and it took five long but very fulfilling years.

"He loves to bring a second life to motor vehicles," says Josée. "My father was like 20 years old again."

The truck he built was the culmination of a long-held dream — to create something that he could call his own in the most literal of ways, something that ran as well as a new machine without the payments attached.

It’s not an especially fancy, over-done tractor. As you see, there’s not a crazy abundance of chrome. Nor are there a zillion LED lights. It won’t always attract the attention of innocent civilians in the knockout way that some older restored classics can do. But to truckers in the know, it’s special. 

The truck came with a Cummins NTC 400
in ’84 and, to be sure, it’s still there

First off, there aren’t many 1984 machines around any more, even as tired old veterans showing their age. Maybe on a few farms, in a few construction company yards, but not out on the road pulling 53-ft vans in regular service. And probably none are as nice as this one. It’s clean and, compared to some, pretty understated. And though the rebuild/restoration is almost 10 years old now, it looks as fresh as ever. The truck only has 800,000 miles on the clock.

The frame was cut and stretched to a 245-in. wheelbase, and a Neway air suspension was added along with a 60-in. sleeper. Then came the paint, maroon with a basecoat, a clear coat and Freightliner stripes typical for the era. The interior was totally redone, keeping the original style. Two red-velvet Eldorado VIP seats were installed. The sleeper includes two over/under bunks, a refrigerator, a microwave, a portable toilet, a retractable sink, plus stereo and TV of course. Everything runs off an AC generator.

On the business end, Jean-Guy swapped the 15-speed for an Eaton Fuller RTO-146-13 transmission with 3.73 Eaton rears. The NTC 400 motor was cleaned, naturally, then repainted and detailed with chrome and stainless-steel goodies.

The result was a solid ride that still delivers between 6.25 and 6.75 mpg at its usual 60-mph cruise speed. At its best, it’s done a nice 7.70 mpg, dipping to 5.5 in the winter.

As you’ll see in the photos, the name of the truck is ‘Peggy Sue’ in honor of Jean-Guy’s idol Buddy Holly, and "…also because my mom thought the truck was his mistress," says Josée, with a hint of loving irony in her voice. And where have we heard that before?