Mark Wojcik: Builder

In building the clone, I am amazed by how many people remember, and idolize the truck (as well as the Aztec). Over the past year while I have been working on this project with the truck’s owner we have been watched by other customizers like us from around the country as we posted updates on the truck’s progress. So many remember it from the late 50's, a time when they would see it as a teenager. Everyone who has heard, or seen pictures of the project has been excited, and has sent encouraging words to see the project finished.

To give you an idea of where my passion started with The Kopper Kart, please bear with me as I touch on some of its history. The Kopper Kart was built by George Barris and his shop crew at the same time as the Aztec. The truck had been sectioned by its original owner and bought, unfinished, by George himself. It is one of the few Kustoms to actually have been titled to George Barris. The truck was finished and quickly went onto the show circuit. It was featured in all of the major publications of its time, and was actually driven cross-country, accompanying the Aztec, to the major shows and events. Perhaps this is the reason for the pair of cars being so popular. They were actually seen, in person, by many aspiring customizers and car fanatics across the county.

The story of the truck has some similarities to the Aztec, as well. The truck suffered a similar fate. After being bought and sold by Jim Skonzakis it was taken apart to be a recipient of a Cadillac engine for use in drag racing. The Hot Rod club that volunteered to do the "restoration" eventually gave up, and the truck was left to deteriorate. The owner never reassembled it, and supposedly the cab and bed went separate ways, eventually being destroyed. (The fellow from whom we bought many of the hard to find parts for the truck [John Maurice] actually tracked down and talked to the last owner to confirm this rumor.) So, unlike the Aztec, the original is gone forever.

Many years later a young man, Vic Collins (owner of the tribute truck), who has made himself a name in building 1/24 scale models of custom cars for Revel and the like, took a step to realize a dream of his. That dream was to build a copy of his favorite Kustom, the Kopper Kart. Only half serious, he bought a trashed GMC truck and he, and his brother Ed, cut the body apart with a Sawsall and begin to tack weld it back together. This was his first attempt and could be considered a "practice session". The truck actually seemed to look something like the Kart, but we ran into several problems, lack of time, and just plain 'burnout'. After many starts, stops, and disappointments, the truck sat idle. Vic began restoring a nice shoebox Ford, which is significant because the majority of the car was repaired here in New Jersey by Bob Nitti's body shop (co-owner of the Aztec). When Bob sold the business Vic came to me to chop, add Stude fins, and perform other custom tricks to his car. Moving into more recent history, Vic's passion and desire to get serious about the Kopper Kart led him back to my shop where we have been working together on the truck ever since.

As the shop owner, I have been working on cars since 1975. I started out with Tri-five Chevies, and eventually went to work at the "best" bodyshop in my county so that I could learn more. John Pazsik, the proprietor of the shop, had been building customs since the late 50's. One of his projects was an award winning '54 Mercury that ran the ISCA circuit in the early 60’s. The car won most of the major awards in the car shows on the East Coast. He became my teacher, and mentor. Vic's father often visited John's shop, with little Vic in tow. Eventually I grew in skill level and Vic grew up. When Vic was old enough to drive he drove old cars. I still worked for John, mostly part time, while building my own cars. The most memorable was a chopped 55 Olds which I drove to many shows from NJ to Iowa. It was photographed and appeared in many magazines, though not as a feature car.

It seems another enthusiast had the same dream as Vic, John Maurice, from Maine. He also began building a clone of the Kart, but after a few years of collecting parts and beginning to customize another truck, he found that he had to move to New York City (a place not conducive to building cars). He found out about us on an internet message board (the HAMB) and offered us first chance at the entire project, or just the rare parts that he had found. This is the impetus that we needed to get back on track.

We received the truck in October 2006, and have been working on it non-stop ever since. We plan to debut the truck at the Detroit Autorama in 2008. We traveled to the Detroit Autorama in 2007 to test the waters concerning the truck. It was met with enthusiasm for its completion, and given a spot on the floor for 2008. We presented the photos of the build to the show promoter, Bob Larivee and his staff. He encouraged us to finish it in a high standard, and would be happy to provide a spot to debut it next year. Others who have seen our progress pictures have been Donn Lowe, Terry Cook, Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier, Richard Glymph, Barry Mazza, and Bob Nitti (co owners of the Aztec). Ron from our build team wrote a letter to Barry Maguire at Car Crazy, sending pictures of the Kart, and it was used on the TV program in May of 2007.