From 1980 to 1983, Henk Wijngaard drove through the Netherlands in a yellow truck. The former truck driver made a splash with songs about life on the road.
The loading platform of the car could be converted into a stage. “It is a moment in my history when I made my boyhood dream come true,” says the singer. Laughing: “I drive to the drivers with my own truck. I stood at the market in Eindhoven in front of thirteen thousand people in this car, with a 500 watt installation.”
In 1983 he sold the car to a fairground operator. The Scania passed through many hands, but disappeared from view.
Nico Silvius from RadioNL couldn’t stomach that. He looked for the car with the help of listeners. “Just find that truck. We didn’t even know if it still existed.”
A photo book has been made of the entire restoration. The team that put Silvius on it found the car in Ommen and anyone who sees the photos knows that the restoration was a big job. “He had been standing under a tree at the scrap yard for sixteen years waiting for someone to give money for the scrap iron.”
A group of enthusiasts from Grijpskerk renovated the truck, painted it yellow and the well-known rainbow stripes are back on it. Henk Wijngaard has to shed a tear when he sees the vehicle again after so many years.
“This is a beautiful moment. A beautiful moment. I have no words for it,” he says.
Watch the reunion of Henk Wijngaard with his truck below:
