Candice Cooley’s vintage-inspired 2017 Peterbilt 389.Candice Cooley, of Havelton, Idaho, made her 2017 Peterbilt 389 into a vintage-inspired award-winning truck.
She got her truck directly from Peterbilt and it was completely naked, she says. There was a seat in it, but that was about it. It didn’t have rubber floors or a rubber dash. Cooley, an owner-operator with her own authority, wanted to give her new model year truck a vintage feel.
She started work in February. She knew she wanted to incorporate straight lines into the paint job as a nod to those on older models, but still without the truck looking like one.
“I wanted the old school look that was still a new truck. I didn’t want to restore anything,” she said.
Cooley partnered with Image West and Conrad’s Custom Upholstery, both in Utah, to give the truck its classic look. The dash and sleeper components were sanded down and painted white. The red paint line on the truck’s exterior wraps around the sleeper and flows inside, giving the exterior and interior continuity.
“Where there’s a red stripe on the truck, that part of the inside if you open the door wraps right into the truck and stays the red,” Cooley said.
The truck has a 72-inch sleeper and Cummins ISX 600 engine. She has some custom switches ordered that she’ll add to the dash when they come in. Cooley competed with her truck in the 2016 GATS Pride & Polish, where she won Best of Show in the Limited-Mileage Bobtail category.
“I was thrilled. There are some nice trucks there, so I was thrilled,” Cooley says of winning in her category.
Cooley plans to compete in shows next year, then she’ll start to rebuild another. She says she never wants to show the same truck twice.
When Cooley isn’t competing, she’s overseeing her livestock hauling business. She’s been hauling cattle for 10 years and has five trucks in the business.
Candice Cooley's 2017 Peterbilt 389. (Photo: Jim Allen)
Candice Cooley's 2017 Peterbilt 389. (Photo: Jim Allen)
Candice Cooley's 2017 Peterbilt 389. (Photo: Jim Allen)
Candice Cooley's 2017 Peterbilt 389. (Photo: Jim Allen)
