LA PORTE CITY -- Cabover semis may have gained some fame with the television show, "B.J. and the Bear," in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but they don't see much use on the road these days.

It wasn't Steve Hendershot's intent when he bought the Kenworth K100 cabover, which he found on the Internet, to trick it out and paint in the same style as B.J.'s semi-famous semi. But that's what happened.

Hendershot owns Buckshot Repair in La Porte City, which repairs semi trailers, as well as maintains its own fleet for lease and its own use. Hendershot and two other people at his shop -- Bryan Kelchen and son-in-law Chad Meyer -- spent about six months working on the rig when they weren't working on other trailers.

The truck is the same make and model as that on the television show, bears the same paint scheme and even has a monkey (stuffed) that sits inside the cab. Bear on the television show was a chimp.

The truck also sports some differences. Hendershot had the frame extended 4 1/2 feet, and added a sign on the back of the cab that reads "Bad to the Bone." It even lights up. The name on the door reads "Buckshot Express," not "B.J. McKay."

The work Hendershot, Meyer and Kelchen put into the rig is getting noticed.

At a truck show in Joplin, Mo., in late June, the truck took second place in the classic truck division and earned a coveted spot in Shell Rotella's 2008 calendar (Hendershot doesn't know what month yet). Hendershot said his truck even beat out rigs that were done by the stars of CMT's "Trick My Truck" television show for the honor. In addition to the calendar, the Buckshot Express was also photographed for Large Car magazine, he said.

Hendershot has been invited to take the rig down to a truck show in Dallas in August.

Hendershot said the rig was the talk of the truck show in Joplin. One of the stars from "Trick My Truck" even complimented it.

"It was a big hit," Hendershot said. "Even guys on the two-ways we heard, they were talking back and forth and said there was only one truck there that should win anything, and that was the B.J. and the Bear cabover."

Between the cost of the cabover and the improvements, Hendershot figures he's put at least $48,000 into the truck. He said he's already turned down one offer of $50,000 for it. He plans to keep it and keep showing it.

"It's kinda like old guys and cars, you kinda fall in love," Hendershot said. "I really like the truck. It'll probably stay around here until I die."

Hendershot bought the Kenworth cabover because he had always wanted one. The longer the truck sat at the business, the more Hendershot and his friends talked about what could be done to it, and the more inevitable the makeover became.

So they went to work on it. Meyer, the paint specialist, handled the painting. Kelchen extended the frame.

The reason for extending the rig's frame was simple: "Because it's cool," Hendershot said. "It's not aerodynamic by any means."

"We even went as far as painting the brake drums in the front and back," Meyer said. "They were rusty. You can see them through the holes in the wheels. It's all about detail."

Hendershot said he's even thinking about tricking out another truck, one that they might sell. They've got their eye on a gold Peterbilt cabover at the shop.

They've already started talking about what they can do it.

Contact Jeff Wilford at (319) 291-1423 or jeff.wilford@wcfcourier.com.