Keep Searching with David Steca

- 2024-07-12

David Steca has a unique approach to car restoration, choosing to purchase classic cars with a specific journey in mind before restoring them. During our conversation, we delved into David's passion for travel, what gives him sleepless nights, and why he will never stop searching.

Briefly tell us your most fulfilling resto project to date.

I didn’t want to hack the Classic Range Rover into pieces, but I had no other option to get it like I wanted. I cried once we had finished the rebuild, and everyone in the workshop left. It’s the only time that has ever happened. That’s because I thought it wasn’t possible; there was no reason to believe it would go right. It had barely driven 20 miles after the restoration, and then we left with it on a 4-year journey. It’s the one project that taught me all the skills that I have and use for other things.

Why was the Range Rover project so tough?

The more I took things apart, the more I realised how bad it was and how much work it would entail. I bought a welder because of the car and had to learn how to weld. I couldn’t give up.

We did things to the RR that had never been done before. I wanted the front seats to swivel around, and it took two months to develop a suitable system. I still get questions today about how we made that work. The car is essentially a living prototype. Everything from the windscreen forward is new. I’d never done serious structural welding before this project, and it gave me many sleepless nights when I was thinking about what to do with a specific problem or big hole.

You say that during these dark moments, the why keeps you going. What is your why?

I’ve never reached that point of being at my wits' end. What drives me is the desire to feel and experience what it is like to be in one of those old photographs.

Remember, all my restos are linked to a specific road trip. When I drive home from the workshop after working on it, I think about flicking on the switches for the lightbar, the feel of the seat, and how the gears shift, and that motivates me to come back the next day as Ialready see the finished article in my head.

Why do you Keep Searching?

Every time I reach a destination that I’ve wanted to go to, and in the Range Rover Classic that was the Lofoten Islands in Norway, I’m blown away. Then I realised that it was not such a massive challenge despite people saying it’s a very far away place. Then we went on a Russian winter trip in the Porsche, and everyone thought we were crazy.

Every time we return, I think about the next outrageous trip. Also, the more you see, the more confidence you get and the more you want to go again. I am constantly looking for new places to go and want to take the most challenging route. When everybody says you shouldn’t go, those are the trips that I want to do.

Do you need to reach the destination to feel truly free?

I once reached Nordkapp, and it was a bit of an anticlimax as it’s a tourist spot. The three turns before you get there make you feel like you are alone on the edge of the earth. The moment I feel truly free is in the early morning when I have driven a sports car up a mountain. When I stop, I can smell the brakes and engine, and then I think to myself that I shouldn’t have raced up there like that, but I did. That is the moment you feel truly free.

Which do you enjoy more, the resto process or the actual adventure?

The two are united, and I say that’s because I’m not a weekend warrior. I started working on my Classic Range Rover to drive it through the Sahara. I do custom medications for every trip, and there is no one-size-fits-all for me. The moment I turn that spanner, it’s linked to the eventual trip and destination; they’re one.

Every bit of work is part of the experience, and the ultimate gratification comes from the fact that you can feel the impact of your work while adventuring in your Range Rover. The one makes the other possible. I would not do either; I would only do both.

Does the risk of breakdown add to the excitement?

There is always an element of risk with both modern and classic vehicles. The German in me says there is a very slim chance of catastrophic failure, where you have no control over what happens. The fact that I can fix my vehicle means that I calculate the risk differently to those who can’t.

I’m not there to break things, and there’s an element of risk that I refuse to surpass. Overlanding isn’t about bragging or taking risks. I feel nervous when a trip starts, but that disappears after 1000km when I am familiar with the various sounds. Your early choices will determine reliability and risk. My 300Tdi engine in the Range Rover is the most reliable engine Land Rover has ever made.

Did you feel like that first person on your trip to the Sahara?

Morocco is an amazing place, but it’s also one of the easiest and safest places to visit. We were not alone or remote, and I’m glad I got to see some of the sites. If anything, it made me more curious. I’d love to go to Mauritania and explore the desert, where you don’t see anyone else for hundreds of km. Seeing the Sahara for the first time myself was deeply impressive. I might not have been the first to see it, but I was very happy that I did get to see it.

Is the reward worth the effort?

If you’re on top of the mountain you have spent months preparing for and think it’s the pinnacle, then you look up and see another bigger one, and you want to conquer that one. You’ve not succeeded and just made yourself some more work. There’s an inherent curiosity for me to Keep Searching. Maybe I will stop one day when I’ve found my limit, but I’m not there yet. So far, every trip that I’ve done has made me want to go on another one.

I want to know, and I’m a curious person. I don’t take tourist buses and want to be in control, but I also want to lose control. I want to stretch my comfort zone inside the workshop and on the road.

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