A father, son and their 1996 Mercedes-Benz SK Eurocab

A labour of love.

Joe was a self-employed trucker for 30 years and purchased only Mercedes-Benz Trucks throughout his long career, he explains “I always rated Mercedes-Benz Trucks for their bullet proof V8 engines and general all round reliability”. After semi-retiring a couple of years ago, Joe was eager to get stuck into a project, something that became a labour of love for him and his son Craig, a fellow truck enthusiast.

The Mercedes-Benz SK range is a rarity. First introduced in 1989, a majority of the fleet were exported in the 80s and 90s – very few remain in the UK. The father and son hit gold though in 2016, when they spotted a 1996 Mercedes-Benz SK Eurocab. At first, the original owner was reluctant to sell his restored vehicle, however a year later he changed his mind and the Finnies bought it on the spot.

Refining a classic.

Joe and Craig certainly got to work, completing a long list of refurbishments to their classic truck.

They sourced a majority of the parts from Germany and further afield, which included:

• 600 litre Mercedes-Benz fuel tank and supports
• Electric sun roof
• EPS gear stick
• Webasto night heater
• Mercedes-Benz stereo
• Front grille
• Roof wind deflector
• Interior carpet
• Roof lining
• Exhaust system
• Fiam air horns

They also resprayed the chassis and cab plus fitted new Alcoa durabrite wheels. However, regardless of all the upgrades, they’ve stuck to its roots, “we’ve tried to keep it as original as possible,” explains Craig.

A rare retro truck admired by all.

The immaculate silver and red paintwork is a nod to the original fleet – it’s based on the Mercedes-Benz demonstrator model back in the 90s.

The vehicle doesn’t hit the road so much now, but Joe’s convinced it’s still a good runner “it drives as well as any modern truck and would still be more than capable of a good days work at 40 tonnes gross, with ease.”

He mostly takes it along to trucking shows where it’s of course a firm favourite, particularly as this right hand drive model is extremely rare in the UK.

This fact generates a lot of praise from fellow drivers, “you get a lot of gushing nostalgia from guys who used them back in the day,” enthuses Craig.