(Words and Video by Chad Ehrlich) Rick loved cars, street rods, muscle cars, classics, race cars, he’s had them all. From his bone stock 33 Chevy Coupe to his Supercharged Sand Car pumping out over 1,000 HP, Rick was a true gear head. Out of all the cars Rick owns and has owned over the years, his favorite was his 1957 Buick Caballero Custom.

We’ve had a lot of fun over the years. A lot of Collector Car Auctions, car shows, parties, we had a lot of good times together!!! When the family asked me to do this, I was more than willing to help. I can’t think of a better way to honor Rick and the good times we all had with him!

Since Rick loved cars, using the standard coach didn’t seem appropriate, especially when the Caballero was sitting the shop ready to go. With a few slight modifications, Rick was going to have his last ride in his favorite car! The Caballero has a chopped top, Desoto grill and she’s all Buick under the hood, powered by 430 out of a 69 Riviera GS. Its a super cool car with the power to handle the task at hand. It was only appropriate that the Caballero was going to give Rick has last ride!

This was a celebration of Ricks life. He loved his family and friends. He was very caring and giving. He came from nothing and worked his way up to be able to do the things he loved. I believe that we did this right, I know he was up there looking down on us and chuckling when we lit the fireworks and unloaded the cooler at the cemetery!

I just wish that I would have gotten a picture of the funeral directors face when I told him everything was under control for when we got to the cemetery, the fireworks and the cooler full of beer were already loaded and ready to go! I don’t think he had heard that before, but they had never done a service for Rick!!!!