The Champagne Truck Quattro Parte

WE ARE THREE WEEKS AWAY! Someone pinch me and fire me a bottle of bubbly because I haven’t slept in two weeks. This has been the most surreal process and I am still shocked that I’m going to have my very own Piaggio Ape. This may be our last blog before the big reveal of *****(Yes, I just gave you all a hint into how many letters are in the name). If you want to hear more and see far we’ve come since last year, keep scrolling!

The last time we checked in with you all, there was a ton of body work that needed to be done to bring our truck back to life. Now that it’s looking beautiful and pearly white, it was time to start focusing on the interior details of the cabin and of course the box on the back of the truck where all the fun happens. I had asked our followers if they preferred the brown antelope seats or a white and it was a pretty even competition. Cool fact: My brother in-law works for a vinyl company and he ended up custom making the vinyl for my truck! I used to laugh at my grandma and Mom for being so sentimental but now karma has blessed me with the same trait. It makes my eyes tear up that my truck has a piece to it that’s so special and it came from family. We went with a pearlescent white that is gorgeous and will have some custom stitching/boning in it. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait till the grand reveal to see the seats!

Ken started adding in all the main parts back into the truck such as the engine, battery, steering, dash, brakes, gas tank, and wiring for the headlights and horn. It is now completely drivable. Keep clear on the road. Toot toot!

Ken will laugh when he reads this because I called him last week and said “please don’t be mad but can we make some changes?” LOL. He laughed and asked what the changes were, to which I answered that I wanted a white gas tank and white side rails instead of black. Doesn’t Ken send me an email of some pictures of what I was looking for and the subject line read “Mad Ken”; such a joker. I wanted to paint the gas tank white and the side rails just to have it all be cohesive. Needless to say, it looks great!

We had some other small changes made to the truck that were more cosmetic such as adding the windshield back in, white headlight caps have been added, and white fenders.

Once the front cabin cosmetics were done, it was time to start having the box for the back built. They built the metal framing of the box and then the sheets are added and painted. to close it up. Since I have doors on all three sides, they left it open. The vertical sheet to the left is the side that goes up against the Ape.

It took a few people to put the box on the back of the ape and then Ken was able to secure it. We’re now in the process of finishing inside the box; this means the woodworking, installing taps, countertops, lighting, all the fun details! Our taps and all our keg equipment has been ordered and surprise, surprise, we made more changes! We originally had told you guys that we would have 3 taps in the truck… well now we have FIVE! I know it’s a big jump but I wanted to make sure I was going to be able to give all the options for our clients and to do that, five taps was required. Our champagne truck is looking absolutely phenomenal and I couldn't wait to share with you all. We’re hiding the inside of the box right now because we want the grand reveal to be a REALLY BIG surprise. What kind of reveal would it be if we showed you now?!

I went out for a visit to see Ken yesterday and to see the progress of it all. It’s just unbelievable how much work goes into these and the meticulous work he has to do to refurbish and convert them.

When I went to sit in my truck, Ken had a gift sitting on the seat for me. I will eventually share the picture of it but he had a custom made apron with our champagne truck’s name on it (can’t share it just yet). How kind is that?! I feel like my spaghetti and wine that I bring out won’t ever be enough to thank him but I’ll keep trying lol!

I’m kind of sad writing this because we’re getting near the end of our journey and soon the truck will be completely revealed. I’ve shared as much as I could throughout this entire process and I really hope you’re all enjoying it as much as I am. If you’re new here, head on over to our first blog to start from the beginning.