That is exactly what Dunedin man Chris Van Der Byl did with his good friends Mike and Kerri Ramsay’s 1948 Ford Pickup at the first Tokomairiro Car Show and Cruise at the weekend.
The vehicle won "best in show" at the first ever event hosted by the Tokomairiro Rugby Club at the club’s rugby grounds in Milton on Saturday.
Mr Van Der Byl said he and owner Mike Ramsay had been working on the vehicle for more than 10 years and had completely designed and built it up themselves.
Mr Ramsay was unable to make it to the event, so Mr Van Der Byl took it to show off on his own.
"It has been a very long few years," he said.
"We have been friends since the 1990s and have been working on this car together for 10 and a-half years."
He said Mr Ramsay had owned the vehicle for 45 years and the pair decided to work on it as a project after work on Monday and Wednesday evenings.
"We’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this.
"It’s been a mission, but we’ve loved every moment of it."
The vehicle was up and running but was waiting on certifications to be road legal.
The pair were "chuffed" to win best in show as the vehicle had already received awards from various other shows since it has been put out for showing.
"It’s pretty much a true home build."
The first car show hosted by the Toko Rugby Club attracted 170 vehicle entries from all over New Zealand and more than 500 people to experience the show.
The rugby club raised about $4700 for upgrades towards their club building.
Toko Rugby Club secretary Anita Kingma said the club was "blown away" by the day.
"We as a club thought it would be a unique way to fundraise," she said.
"We would have never expected it to get as massive as it did.
"We’re amazed by the support and very thankful.
"The club has been asked if we will host another one next year.
"The answer is a massive yes."
