Below are some pictures of the project to date . I guess a little
history is in order. I have always liked the look of the older vehicles (20's to 50's) and have always wanted one. I enjoy working on cars and
recently purchased a home with a large double garage so I had plenty of room to start a project. As it turned out my wife's uncle's father (you still
with me?) was cleaning up his farm and had two old trucks sitting there. One was built in 1953 and had the drive train removed and the other was
built in 1952 and was almost complete missing a few odds and ends. I was very impressed with the shape of both trucks and got them both.
If the engine hadn't been seized in the 52 I'm sure would have tried to drive it home. It had been parked 9 years earlier and two of the tires still had air in them!
It was loaded onto a trailer and brought to my garage. Upon tearing it all down (a process that took two months) I made an unfortunate discovery. Under the cab
the frame had cracked. Not in one place but in three! Needless to say that finding this was a blow to the project. Here you see some pics of the truck during and
the tear down process. The single car garage I had to work in at the time was quite full needless to say. But back to the problem at hand, the busted frame.
I began to think of options. Should I pull the 1953 pickup apart with the chance of finding the same problem or should I go a completely different direction and get a newer frame.
In the interest in making this a daily driver that is comfortable and a pleasure to drive I opted for the newer frame. This way it has independent front suspension,
front disc brakes, and power steering. Not to mention it is easier to find replacement parts! In my search for a suitable frame I came across a 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix
that was destined to go to the wrecker if someone was not to show interest in it. The car had been sitting for 12 years and only had a tarp to cover it. It had a 455 V8 and turbo
350 transmission....I could not resist. Besides my truck needed a drive train anyway right? I proceded out to the site with some help from a couple of friends (thanks again Brian and Scott)
and after a battery and a fuel pump change along with a removal of a pile of dirt I drove it into town. The chevy blazer that Scott and Brian were driving in couldn't keep up to it and to our
surprise once we got to town we found out it was only running on seven cylinders. What we were also gong to find out was that 12 years of sitting does nothing good for a radiator. The car
over heated three times on the way in and we had to stop in Lumsden (about half way) and fill cooling system again. Getting a bit frustrated and being encouraged by Brian's (those cast iron
big blocks don't mind a little heat) we left Lumsden with the intention not to stop again on the way to Regina. Here is a picture of me and the car on the highway during the first stop on the
way in. To continue please click on the Next link at the left.
