By trade he works in vehicle body repair and owns his own business, Daury's Paint and Collision in Port Mouton. Old vehicles have always been a passion for Daury though, especially old trucks.
"There's nothing like an old vehicle. They've got so much character," he says.
When his oldest daughter was born in 1988, he wanted to start a project that would be something he would enjoy creating, and get a lot of use out of when completed. It was also going to be his first ground up restoration of a vehicle.
Daury was in Upper Cornwallis hunting around for a vehicle to buy when he found out about a 1940 Ford Pickup truck being stored nearby. The truck was still owned by its first buyer, but had not been out of the garage since 1963. He offered the owner $1,000, but was initially turned down. Still interested in the truck, Daury left his name and number with the owner to call if he ever changed his mind. A few months later, he got the call.
The truck was in rough but useable shape when he bought it. Since it had been sitting in storage for 25 years, the wheels had rotted into the floors. When he winched it out, it actually took some of the floor up with it.
Once he got it home, the restoration began.
"The whole concept behind this truck was I wanted to build something that I could use for the family, like the prom and graduation," he says.
It didn't quite work out that way however. Both Mallory, his oldest, and Rachael went through school and university before it was completed. This is because seven years into the build, the story takes a major twist.
In 1995 a devastating fire broke out that destroyed his business, and the truck along with it. At the time of the fire, most of the parts were ready for assembly. Daury figures it was about 80 per cent done at that point, with most of the work left being painting and creating a box.
On Halloween he doing some welding work in his garage, when a spark ignited on his workbench.
The fire quickly spread out of control, so Daury ran across the road to a neighbour's house to call the fire department. By ,the time he came back out again the fire was already through the roof. Even the heavy rains couldn't slow the fire. It burned so hot it melted the transmission right off the body.
After the fire, there was little left of the truck, though it was his business that was more of a loss.
"When you lose your garage and everything you had worked for in your life, the truck was the last thing on my mind," he says.
His focus turned on rebuilding his business that he had put so much work into.
What was salvageable of the truck, which wasn't much beyond the cab, was put out behind the garage.
Daury says he pretty much forgot about the truck for the next five years, figuring it wasn't worth working on anymore. However when you put so much time into something it's hard to let it go.
"Twelve years is a long time to be working on something to just throw it away," he says.
In 2000 he decided to take a door into his garage, just to see if anything could be done. It came out better than expected, so he moved on to the main cab. From there he just kept on going.
Eleven years later, 23 years after he bought the original truck, it was finally on the road.
One of the first things he did when the truck was finished was take his father out for a ride. Daury says his family didn't have much growing up, and his parents never had a car. Taking his father out for that drive was a very gratifying moment for him.
"It made him feel like a million bucks," he says.
His father passed away in March of this year, and Daury says he was glad he could show his father the finished truck.
The truck was always meant as something to use, not just a showpiece, and Daury says he wasn't originally interested in taking it to shows. However people would constantly come up to take pictures or ask questions about the truck.
"If I drive through town, people are giving you the thumbs up or coming over and asking you about it. There's never a dull moment when you are driving in it," he says.
It turned out to be a popular decision. There are very few 1940 trucks at the car shows, and the two-tone red and black colouring makes it stand out from other vehicles.
He thinks a lot of what attracts people to it is the customized work that has gone into it. It's mostly the little details, but they give the truck a very streamlined appearance and visual appeal.
The roof was dropped three inches, to make it more like a street rod. The engine hood originally opened on both sides, but Daury modified it into a single piece. The original hinges on the door were very pronounced and bulky, so he hid them in the door. He also removed the handles, hiding the switch to open the doors.
"A lot of the modifications I've done to the truck, people don't see them," he says.
The modifications took time, and he also fabricated just about every other part on the truck that he could as well. For cost, he really didn't keep track, but for time he figures it is well over 2,000 hours, if not over 3,000.
One feature did get left off the truck he says. He almost had "To hell and back" airbrushed on the back, but in the end decided it wasn't the right thing to put on. However it does sum up the journey, he says.
"We had a lot of highs, a big low, and back on top again."
His story is well known in the car show circuit as well, mostly by virtue of where he lives. Since his home and business are right on the highway in Port Mouton, those going to the Yarmouth and Shelburne County shows saw the truck's progress over the years.
"They say "we feel almost like we watched your kids grow up because of all the things you have been through," he says.
This summer he's been to five shows, and managed to rack up seven awards, to add to two others he got late last year. They have included three Best Truck in Show, two Best Custom Truck in Show, two Best Street Rod in Show, one Participants Pick and one second in Best Street Rod and Custom Truck
Daury's favouite trophy is the Participants Pick, which was donated by a member who had just lost his father. After he won the award the son came over to shake his hand. He says that moment meant a lot to both of them.
The truck is something he takes a lot of pride in as well.
"Not as proud as I am of my kids, but still proud," he says. He isn't looking to take on anther project either.
"I'll never live long enough to do another one" he laughs.
Now that the truck is finished, Daury says he's going to enjoy it to the fullest. And next summer he will get to use it for a special family event, when he escorts his daughter Mallory to be married.
