Building on a dream

A Tucumcari teen's 1990 GMC pickup truck doesn't look look much right now, sitting in a Tucumcari Automotive bay mostly disassembled.

But within a couple of months, it will be a show truck that will be entered into the NSRA Southwest Street Rod Nationals in Oklahoma City.

Truck owner David Olguin, 16, isn't bankrolling the rebuild through his part-time Pizza Hut job. Instead, Tucumcari Automotive owner Robert Moore has enlisted a growing number of local businesses and people to chip in with donations, parts or labor for the project.

Moore estimated the total value of the pickup's overhaul - including a white pearl paint job with pinstriping and a new engine - will be at least $60,000. Moore is calling it "The Dream Build."

Earlier this month, Olguin brought his truck to Tucumcari Automotive to inquire about replacing its bumper and grille.

Moore came up with the idea for a crowd-sourced rebuild, though Olguin and his father, Tony, were skeptical.

"He thought he was getting mugged," Tony recalled, using a term for being scammed.

He recalled what his son told him: "There's some guy in here wanting to tear my truck apart. I don't know if he's trying to fix it up or screw me over."

"It started off from 'Hey, you want a bumper and grille?' to 'Hey, you want a rebuilt truck?'" Moore recalled.

"I started off asking local businesses to help with this. Then my friends in the car community from Albuquerque, Clovis, Amarillo and even Phoenix began to send parts for it.

"Everybody's been excited about this. Nobody's told me 'no' yet."

The only requirement for Olguin is to enter the truck at the Street Rod Nationals in mid-October. (Tucumcari Automotive will enter two other vehicles - a 1975 Chevrolet Impala and a 1993 Chevy truck - at the show.)

Moore remains hopeful the truck will be finished by Tucumcari's Fired Up festival on Sept. 9, which will include a car show.

David Olguin said he's still amazed so many entities and individuals are helping rebuild his truck. One couple even donated money for his Oklahoma City hotel room during the Street Rod Nationals.

"It's not like it's a rare, rare car," he said. "I didn't expect this many people to come out and help."

Moore said this project is a way to give back to the community.

He said he once was a gang member in the Phoenix area who turned his life around after the birth of his first child 23 years ago.

"I just want to get kids off the street so they don't end up like me," he said.