Twenty-minute videos can be taxing to watch, especially if you’re not that interested in what you’re watching. Fortunately, nothing about this video of a 60-year-old Tonka truck getting restored counts as taxing. On the contrary, there’s something oddly therapeutic about watching a beat up and rusted up toy get restored to its former glory. The subject of this particular video is a 1960’s Tonka Wrecker Truck, and if you haven’t seen this video presented by the Rescue & Restore YouTube channel, now’s as good a time as any to get a first look at what this specific channel is all about. Believe me; there’s a good chance that you’re not going to stop with just this video.

Rescue and Restore - 1960 Tonka Wrecker Truck

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t played with Tonka trucks. I had my fair share of them growing up and while all of them have been lost to time, I still have fond memories of playing with those trucks in our backyard. You can imagine, then, how exciting it is for me to watch a video of someone restore a dilapidated Tonka truck and bring it back to life. This video comes to us by way of Rescue & Restore, a YouTube channel that has a growing library of toy restoration videos ranging from Tonka trucks to toy pianos. There’s even a restoration video of a 1950s vintage toy cash register. Rescue & Restore is fast becoming a go-to YouTube channel in my household, and I can’t get enough of it.

At first, I was skeptical that this beat up Tonka truck could be restored to proper health. It wasn’t just beat up; it was Rescue & Restore. Rust and grime have occupied its entire surface and it was probably a high fall away from breaking into pieces. Give credit to the man behind the channel because, from the looks of it, he knows what he’s doing with his restoration gigs. From stripping away the rust to deconstructing the truck, every process was done in a manner that suggested that an artist was at work. There’s a meticulousness to his skills that’s mesmerizing, too, particularly when he starts reapplying the paint and color of the truck’s panels using some materials and equipment that you normally wouldn’t find in a typical garage. One step at a time, the deconstructed pieces come together and the result is nothing short of incredible. It’s as if this Tonka Tow Truck just got off the toy production line.

Even if you’re not a fan of toy car restorations, watching the whole process of deconstructing and rebuilding something that probably belongs in the trash is beyond impressive. For a toy that’s been around for close to 60 years, this particular Tonka Tow Truck looks complete good as new.

And if you have Rescue & Restore 18 minutes to spare, I suggest you go watch beat up other videos on YouTube. If that video of him restoring that 1950’s vintage toy cash register doesn’t blow your mind away, I don’t know what will.