Tech Tips and Tid Bits
MODERN-DAY BLACKSMITHS
THE CREATIVE GENIUSES BEHIND ETC & CAR CRAFT
The Pesce family has been “pounding metal” for four generations. Today, at their two locations on the east coast, these modern-day blacksmiths create some of the coolest trucks ever dreamed up. Although they have made a name for themselves in the world of custom truck building, their true business lies in collision repair and paint. But whenever the guys get a chance to revive that blacksmith heritage, they jump on it and build some cool stuff.
Elizabeth Truck Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, along with its sister company Car Craft Truck Works in Staten Island, New York, leaped onto the scene when their now-famous “Beast” Peterbilt won the first annual Big-Rig Build-Off in Louisville, KY in 2005. Ever since then, most of the other custom builders have been playing catch-up, trying to get up to speed with these visionary and trend-setting builders.
Steve Pesce’s grandfather immigrated to New York from Italy and opened a blacksmith shop in Manhattan, mostly servicing horses back then. But even then, it was all about “pounding metal” and fabrication. Steve’s father Bert grew up around the blacksmith shop and continued the family tradition, but his focus became more about building custom bodies. But back then, people did not specialize in things as much as they do today, so he also did plumbing, electrical and other metal-related work.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Steve, like his father, grew up around the family business. After high school, Steve began doing custom paint and body work, and made a name for himself building custom Corvettes, hot rods and motorcycles. About that time, he met his wife Deborah and the two got married (they have been married for 40 years now). Two years later, they had twin boys, Anthony and Steven, and Steve decided it was time to settle down.
In 1978, Steve established and opened Car Craft Collision Works in a small shop on 62nd Street in Brooklyn. After a few years of working on cars, Steve began to get bored so he decided to venture into the commercial truck market. At first, he couldn’t even get big trucks into his shop without removing the wheels or flattening the tires because the door was too low. A few years later, he moved into a bigger shop on 42nd Street.
As the business grew, so did the need for space. In the late 1980s, Steve bought a piece of property in Staten Island and built a shop that was exactly what they needed. This shop is still their current location in Staten Island, which is now known as Car Craft Truck Works.
After Steve’s boys graduated from college, they both decided that they wanted to work for the family business. Around this time, they built a second location across the bridge in Elizabeth, NJ called Elizabeth Truck Center (ETC). Located near the port and airport in Newark, just outside of New York City, and close to five major interstate highways, it is a prime “truck” location. Steve calls Elizabeth the Times Square for trucks.
Growing up around the shop like both their grandfather and father, Anthony and Steven have done it all. In the beginning, they did things like get coffee, sweep the floors, run to get parts, assemble things and clean things, so they both know the business very well. Eventually, as they got older, they began doing more important jobs. Today, Anthony runs the Staten Island location and Steven is in charge of the body and paint shop at the New Jersey location.
Both of their locations focus primarily on collision repair and paint, but the Elizabeth store also has a chrome shop and parts department (ran by their younger sister Kim), while the shop in Staten Island handles most of the extreme truck builds and heavy fabrication projects. With an immensely creative mind and an amazing knack for fabrication and metal work, Anthony is in charge of all the custom builds, and there have been plenty of those over the last few years.
It all started in 2005 when ETC was invited to participate in the first-ever Big-Rig Build-Off, pitting several of the top builders, toe to toe, against each other. They spent four months and over 7,300 man-hours building “The Beast” and ended up winning the competition. This win really put the guys on the map. The truck, even today, is still admired and loved, and has become ETC’s rolling business card. This outrageous custom rig was truly ahead of its time.
“The Beast” started many trends that even today are still emulated - some of them are even commonplace now, but back then they were pretty wild. Things like chopped cabs and sleepers, suicide doors, wrap-around fiberglass fenders, exotic interiors, custom-cut wheels, and extreme paint schemes were not that common, but “The Beast” had all of these things (and more) which is why it was so unique. It also has a 10-inch stretched hood, a 7,000-watt sound and video system, 36 yards of Ultra Red suede inside, and 27 coats of Candy Apple Red and Orange paint. It really is an awesome rig, but “The Beast” was just the beginning.
Since then, ETC (actually Car Craft) has built many famous trucks, several of which have been featured on our cover over the years. One of their earliest creations was a yellow KW called “Bride of the Beast” owned by Gary Gallopo. This 1980 W900A has a 310-inch wheelbase, a chopped top and small coffin-style sleeper, a cool interior and unique silver stripes. Then there was a KW known as “Tequila Sunrise” which was one of the first trucks to have a painted floor and dash that matched the exterior of the truck. Then there was the “Predator” Kenworth, which has an extended front grill that practically goes all the way down to the ground.
One of the things ETC is known for is their amazing interior work, and several of their rigs illustrate that fact perfectly. “Hillwick 66” is a 1966 narrow nose Peterbilt with a killer interior that includes extensive amounts of Zebra wood that was imported from Brazil. The “Punisher” Kenworth, which was on our September 2009 cover, also has an awesome interior, as does the “Mayhem” International, which was featured on our August 2008 cover. There have been so many trucks it is hard to mention them all, but a few of the more well-known rigs include the “99 Problems” red Peterbilt, the “G-Unit” two-tone blue Peterbilt, the orange and purple “Hot Wheels 2” Peterbilt car carrier, the blue and black “Bruizer” Freightliner, and the ultra-cool Candy Red “Bad Habit” International LoneStar. A few of these trucks have made our cover, as well.
Anthony wanted to thank some of the key people who help him with the extreme builds, including Billy Klever (Shop Foreman); George Mazzey (Paint Foreman); Angelo Mazzey (Head Assembler & Fabricator); Diego & Gus Mena (Fabricators); Alfredo Teixeira (Assembler); and Wynton Pelle (Body & Fiberglass). Many of these guys have worked in the shop for over 20 years. Between the two locations, Steve Sr. employs about 100 people. The Pesce family recently purchased a four-acre lot in Elizabeth, and are currently considering building a third location.
If you want to build a unique rig (or just get your wrecked rig repaired), these are the guys to call. We are proud to call the Pesce family our friends, and are thankful that they allow us to distribute our magazine in both of their locations. We look forward to seeing them later this month at the show in Englishtown, New Jersey, and we hope to see you there, too. For more information about ETC and Car Craft Truck Works, visit them at www.elizabethtruckcenter.com.
PHOTOS: 1) Steve Sr. & Deborah Pesce; 2) The group pic taken when ETC won the 2005 Build-Off; 3) Steve Sr. & daughter Kim; 4) “Tequila Sunrise” KW interior; 5) “Hillwick 66” Peterbilt interior; 6) “Predator” KW; 7) “Punisher” KW; 8) “The Beast” Peterbilt; 9) “Bad Habit” LoneStar; 10) “Mayhem” ProStar; 11) “Bruizer” Freightliner with the skyline of Lower Manhattan lurking behind.