Bodywork, Headline
A SECOND LIFE FOR LEO’S PICKUP TRUCK
(Article published in L’Automobile Collision magazine, December 2023)
By Isabelle Havasy
As part of Driven Brands Canada’s annual conference, attendees had the opportunity to take a look at Léo’s van. It sparkled under admiring glances, proudly showing off its newly refurbished exterior courtesy of the CARSTAR team in La Tuque.
The “star” of the TV series by the same name, in which actor Fabien Cloutier played the lead role, the 1989 Ford Custom 150 is now part of Michel Barrette’s vehicle collection. It was Christian Dallaire, owner of the CARSTAR workshop, who offered to restore the now-famous car to its former glory. “We’re talking about 200 hours of work, spread over our spare time.”
Isabelle Matte, co-owner of the establishment, admits that the whole team had to pick up the pace towards the end, to be ready to show off Léo’s van in all its beauty at the banner’s July gathering at the Fairmount Le Reine Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal. The deadline “came a couple of months before our due date,” explains Isabelle, “but we still managed to pull it off thanks to the great staff we’ve got. We worked very hard.” She points out that ART BASF in Québec City sponsored the products used to paint the pickup.
Keeping Employees Busy
The duo began offering their bodywork refurbishment and vehicle restoration services more seriously during the pandemic. In that slower period, “It allowed us to get work in and keep our employees busy,” says Isabelle. Christian adds that although this is something they’ve been doing for a long time, “we didn’t put as much effort into it before. Today, I always have one in production. As a result, when we have an issue with a vehicle and my employee can’t go ahead because there’s either an error with a part or it’s back-ordered, I send him out to work on it.”
Restoration doesn’t account for the bulk of CARSTAR La Tuque’s activities, as most of their time is devoted to traditional body repairs, “but we are renowned for it,” says Christian proudly. With the majority of the workshop’s employees cumulating some thirty years’ experience, “We’re able to do jobs like this without any problem.” But to take advantage of this “exclusive” service, you still need to be patient. “Without taking a crazy amount of time, the customer knows that we won’t be pulling his vehicle out within two weeks.”
A Team Project
Michel Barrette’s pickup truck “was a great team project, and we put a lot of passion into it,” recalls Isabelle. But above all, they embarked on this adventure to reach out to a different clientele. “We have a vision, we see far ahead.” This small Mauricie village, surrounded by forests, is also brimming with classic vehicles just waiting to be restored to their former glory.
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