Two Scanias, Two Eras
It is not really new, but in the Netherlands, the culture of customised trucks has been part of the landscape for decades. Behind some of the more unusual builds, we often find stories that go far beyond tuning. This is precisely the case with Jan Jaap Verweij, better known by his nickname “JJ”. At 48, this Dutchman from Lopik now owns two radically different Scanias: a 144-460 bought new in 2000 and a spectacular 143-450 built as a show truck in an entirely reinterpreted American style around Scania DNA.
Two trucks that are impossible to compare according to their owner, but united by the same philosophy: imagine something personal, take the details all the way and, above all, never simply reproduce what already exists.
A Passion Born Across the Street
To understand Jan Jaap’s world, we have to go back to his childhood in Lopik. Across the street was the transport company belonging to his uncle Piet. For young JJ, this place quickly became a second home. Every free hour was an opportunity to join the trucks, observe how they worked and enjoy this atmosphere that already irresistibly attracted him. At that time, his uncle’s fleet consisted exclusively of DAFs. Scania was therefore not yet the brand that occupies such an important place in his life today. The turning point would come later, when a certain Ruud Borst offered him the opportunity to go into international transport. Jan Jaap then took the wheel of his first Scania 112M, followed some time later by a 113M. It was at this point, as he himself puts it, that the “Scania virus” permanently took hold.
He began his professional career with Ruud Borst in 1996. Four years later, while he still had only a few years of experience, he already took an important step by buying his own brand-new truck: a Scania 144-460. A truck which, more than twenty-five years later, is still part of his life.
The Scania 144: More Than a Truck, a Piece of Life
Bought new in 2000, the Scania 144-460 was immediately customised. Jan Jaap worked extensively on its design and came up with a decoration made up of five shades of blue and white. The darkest blue actually comes from the Volkswagen colour chart: the famous Jazz Blue. This truck would then travel nearly one million kilometres in its colours, without ever losing what gives it its charm today. Even more remarkably, it still retains its original paint.
The 144 was never designed as a show truck. Above all, it was a genuine working truck, simply built with the aesthetic attention that already characterises its owner. The preparation remains deliberately understated and timeless: a tank and toolbox perfectly integrated into the chassis, a Series 2 silencer installed behind the tank and an exhaust system that lets the characteristic rumble of the V8 be heard without going over the top.
On board, the atmosphere is entirely faithful to the early 2000s. Blue can be found inside the cab with old-school plush upholstery, accompanied by a carefully integrated audio system. For JJ, the appeal of this truck lies precisely in this consistency: it has not been artificially modernised. It embraces its era and its patina while remaining in remarkable condition. His favourite detail is not actually any particular accessory, but the truck’s overall attitude: its position on the road, its proportions and the way it always sits perfectly on its tyres.
Eight Months in the United States with a Scania
The story of the 144 takes on a completely different dimension when Jan Jaap decides to take it to the United States. After leaving professional transport in 2007, he developed other activities, including a business related to bus shelters, which he ran for six years. Then came a much more personal adventure.
A former semi-trailer dating from 1991 was transformed into a genuine camping trailer to accompany the Scania on a trip across the United States in 2013. The combination then crossed the Atlantic for an adventure that would last nearly eight months. When asked today what the most memorable anecdote he experienced with his trucks is, JJ humorously admits that his life is full of unusual situations and that it would be difficult to list them all. But this American journey remains without hesitation one of the most exceptional experiences. It was precisely this journey that gave birth to the “Scania in America” project, an adventure that would contribute even more to making his 144 known among enthusiasts.
From Transport to Go-in-style
After returning from the United States, Jan Jaap continued on a rather unusual professional path. The Dutch magazine Truckstar offered him a position on its team. At the same time, he also developed Go-in-style.nl, an activity directly linked to his passion for trucks, customisation and accessories.
For around three and a half years, he ran both activities simultaneously before having to make a choice. The pace became difficult to maintain and JJ eventually decided to leave Truckstar to devote himself fully to Go-in-style. Customisation was no longer just a personal passion: imagining new accessories, new styles and new solutions became an integral part of his profession.
Yet this creative eye had existed long before. Since childhood, Jan Jaap has photographed the trucks he liked and carefully observed the details of their builds. Today, this passion for imagery is taking on a new dimension, as he has resumed his studies alongside his business in order to become a professional photographer. Professional transport is therefore now a thing of the past. JJ has no longer operated a transport company since 2007 and his trucks are now purely vehicles of passion.
The 143: An Idea That Stayed in His Head for Fifteen Years
If the 144 tells the story of Jan Jaap’s past, his Scania 143-450 represents exactly the opposite. It is a truck built to materialise an idea he had kept in his head for more than fifteen years. In 2021, he bought the vehicle… directly by phone. The project could then begin at De Arendshorst in Bennekom.
But from the outset, JJ wanted to make one essential point clear: he absolutely did not want to turn a Scania into a fake Peterbilt or a fake Kenworth. The inspiration comes from the United States, but the result had to remain unmistakably a Scania. His idea was to take certain proportions and visual codes from the large, stretched American cab-over trucks, then mix them with the elements he likes about the Scania Series 3. Anything that did not fit this vision was simply rejected. “I combined everything I liked in the United States with what I liked about the Series 3. The rest, we threw in the bin.”
The result is a truck that JJ believes simply has no equivalent. A build that does not seek to copy an existing style, but to create its own language.
Four and a Half Years to Build Every Detail
Comparing the 143 with the 144 ultimately makes little sense to Jan Jaap. Both do have a similar gearbox and a 14-litre V8, but the comparison practically ends there. The 144 is an old working truck preserved in the spirit of the year 2000. The 143, on the other hand, is a genuine show truck built almost from a blank sheet of paper.
On the latter, practically every element has been redesigned, rebuilt or improved. The project required around four and a half years of thought and construction, with attention taken as far as parts that the majority of visitors will probably never notice. The chassis is one of the elements JJ is most proud of. The entire installation was designed to achieve an extremely clean and uncluttered result. The electrical and pneumatic systems are notably grouped inside the right-hand tank in order to visually free up the rest of the chassis.
The exhaust stacks were also given particular attention so that they would follow the cab perfectly. Mirror brackets, wings, bumpers, lighting: nothing was simply selected from a catalogue. Each element was the subject of specific thought in order to integrate it into the overall project. It is precisely this accumulation of details that represents the truck’s true value for JJ. Some elements immediately catch the eye, while others require several minutes of observation before being noticed. But all of them contribute to the consistency of the whole.
A Project Built by Several Dutch Specialists
To bring this idea to life, Jan Jaap surrounded himself with several specialised Dutch companies. The truck’s construction was entrusted to De Arendshorst, while Rutges Reclame handled the paintwork. The interior, meanwhile, was entrusted to Cool Guys Customs. Three companies that JJ is keen to praise for the quality of their work and their ability to turn his ideas into concrete solutions.
The interior of the 143 obviously takes a radically different direction from that of the 144. Whereas the latter fully embraces its old-school blue velvet, the show truck receives a much more modern atmosphere dominated by black Alcantara. A substantial audio installation completes the whole, further reinforcing the very particular personality of this cab. Two interiors, two eras and two philosophies, but always the same desire for consistency between the exterior and the cabin.
“Often Imitated, Never Duplicated”
On the visor of the 143 appears an inscription that probably sums up Jan Jaap’s philosophy better than any speech: “Often imitated, Never duplicated”.
For him, building a customised truck is above all about taking an idea out of his imagination and giving it a real existence. Customisation therefore becomes a genuine form of expression. This is also why he places so much importance on small details. A successful build does not necessarily depend on the number of accessories or the amount invested, but on the consistency of a project and the personality of the person who imagined it.
This philosophy also extends far beyond the show truck. According to JJ, allowing a driver to make their truck their own directly contributes to their relationship with the profession. A clean, customised and well-maintained vehicle can become at the same time a personal expression, a hobby, a way of life and a demonstration of professionalism. The customised truck is therefore not merely an object intended for gatherings. In his eyes, it also represents a certain professional culture.
Truck Shows for the Encounters Before the Trophies
Today, the two Scanias are driven relatively little. The 143 nevertheless recently covered around 2,800 kilometres to reach Finland and then Sweden, while the 144 only went out this year to attend Assen. Jan Jaap nevertheless takes part in several major events on the European scene. The Truckstar Festival in Assen, the Power Truck Show in Finland and the Nordic Trophy in Sweden are among his most recent destinations.
A few first prizes have come to reward his builds, but JJ immediately puts their importance into perspective. Trophies are not what motivates his travels. What matters above all are the encounters, the atmosphere and this culture that brings together enthusiasts from all over Europe.
The 143 was the truck he dreamed of building. Now that it finally exists, it is difficult to imagine an even more ambitious project. For what comes next, Jan Jaap is even considering something paradoxically simpler: a truck that is just as cool and personal, but easier (and above all less expensive) to build.
Two Trucks to Tell the Same Life Story
On one side, a Scania 144 bought new in 2000, still in its original paint after covering one million kilometres and crossing the United States with its camping trailer. On the other, a 143 imagined for fifteen years and then built over more than four years to become a show truck unlike any other. It is indeed difficult to compare the two.
The first represents the kilometres, the work, the journeys and the memories accumulated over more than twenty-five years. The second materialises an idea, an aesthetic vision and several decades of influences coming from both Scandinavia and the United States. But behind their differences, these two Scanias ultimately tell the same story: the life of an enthusiast who, since his childhood in Lopik, has never really stopped observing, photographing, imagining and building trucks.
And when an idea remains in Jan Jaap Verweij’s head for fifteen years, it is probably best to expect it to eventually take to the road.
Text and Photos: Alexis Perbet
