Rides — Working on vehicles a good fit for athletic therapist

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This article was published 24/08/2018 (2780 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Inspired by not only nostalgia, but also the “what you see is what you get” aspect of maintaining classic cars, Schad Richea has found a pastime that fits.

Employed as an athletic therapist at Brandon University during the day, Richea said that his nights spent working on vehicles serve as a “nice release.”

“When you work with people, there’s a psychology involved where you have to deal with the whole other element of the mind,” he said, adding that vehicle components are far more predictable, in that there’s less of an unknown involved.

“It’s a nice release —a relief to come home after a hard day where you didn’t get anybody to be better for two to three days … and I’ll close this garage door and I’ll sit and I’ll work on a car for hours.”

Growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan, Richea said he was raised fixing things, so the shift toward automotive repair and restoration was an easy one for him to make.

At age 16, his father bought him a 1972 Plymouth Duster from a colleague for $800 as thanks for helping with that season’s harvest.

It was a vehicle that Richea had his eye on, and had been looking forward to the possibility of purchasing, so when he was handed the keys it was all the more meaningful.

His father had owned a 1971 model when he was growing up and Richea had memories of riding on the transmission hump in the back seat, so even at age 16 the vehicle carried nostalgia.

The 1972 model he bought at age 17 in 1988 remains in his Brandon area garage today.

“I went to university, I did a master’s, I got married, I bought houses, I’ve lived in four provinces, I’ve moved 17 times in my life, but this is the only thing that’s been with me the whole time,” he said.

Having heard too many stories from people who regretted selling their first vehicle, Richea said he decided to never make the same mistake they made — “from my lifeless hands!”

A mess of rust when he first got the Duster, he said that the spare tire area in the trunk was so badly rusted out that he could stick his hand through.

In 1999, he started a restoration effort, hiring professionals for some and doing some on his own, including the renewal of its interior, and by 2005 it was back to the shape it was in when it left the factory.

He undertook a similar restoration with a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner.

These and another vehicle he has in Saskatchewan are “numbers-matching” cars, in that components throughout have matching serial numbers.

They’re in as mint condition as possible, as they would have appeared when brand-new.

Richea relocated to Brandon only 10 months ago, but has already been making rounds in the local automotive community as a licensed appraiser.

Although he has been unable to line up a certification with MPI thus far, he received certification in Alberta, where vintage cars must be appraised every five years.

The appraisal test, written over the course of a couple weeks, was what Richea considers the most difficult examination he has written in his life, which means a lot given the fact he has written hundreds.

Taking him a couple of weeks, he managed to receive his certification from the Speciality Vehicle Appraisal Institute.

It’s not only a pastime, but a way of life for Richea, who hopes to break through and conduct more local appraisals.

There’s more to it than simply looking up a vehicle in a book, he said, adding that he’s the guy who checks various automotive components for serial numbers to see whether they’re numbers-matching vehicles, among checking out other variables that determine what they are worth.

In addition to appraisal work, Richea said he has also enjoyed local car shows.

He said he has been impressed with the local automotive community, adding that few places have as many people pumped up about vintage automobiles as the Brandon area.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB