New old guy...

Boyd Who · July 18, 2010, 09:58:36 PM

Some of you may remember me by my former user name, ag_chevy. I built and cruised around in this '48 Chevy p/u...

I sold that truck in Aug 2003 and pretty much walked away from the hobby for awhile. In Jan 2008 my wife and I made a life-changing decision and moved 700 miles away from the rat-race of the big city. We bought a gorgeous Victorian home on a large lot in a small farming community in Manitoba, my home province.

This place came with a small but usable single-car garage, something I never had at our old place. Now, everyone knows you can never really take a hot rodder away from hot rods. In the summer of '07 I had run into one of my old friends from my hometown at a car show. He still had his first car, a '67 GTX clone that he built from a Belvedere II he'd owned since 1976. We got to talking and I mentioned that we were considering moving back to the province. He asked if I still messed with old cars, and if so would I be interested in buying the '27 Essex that he and his dad built just before we moved away. I got to help a wee bit during construction, and in the summer of '79 I got to drive it quite a bit.
Just finished, spring 1979...

He offered it at a price I couldn't refuse, so as soon as we'd moved and got settled we headed out to bring the little truck home. It had been put into storage in 1988 when he started the resto on his '67 Plymouth and hadn't been seen since. We pulled it out of storage on Feb 17, 2008...a VERY windy and cold (about -20F) day.

I got it running that spring and hit a few local events, then started to make a few changes. It wasn't built very well and is a horrible thing to drive. Any trip more than an hour or two and it needs to be trailered due to a severe lack of legroom. It will be fixed, though as I want to be able to do long distance trips in it.

This is what the truck looks like today...

Once my new shop is finished I plan to tear the truck apart and redo the entire chassis, touch up the body and interior, as well as build a new box for it.

For a pile more pics and info you can head over to my web site...
http://www.northwestcoin.ca/essex.html

rog · July 19, 2010, 12:32:12 AM

both are very nice..

chev looked great! essex is a blank canvas.. all the best with it.

Boyd Who · July 20, 2010, 09:37:07 AM

Thanks Rog!

chimp koose · July 21, 2010, 01:32:41 AM

suicide doors on a truck. Thats neat! Are you going to super run next year? I think it is in saskatoon again,my home town.

Boyd Who · July 21, 2010, 08:52:04 AM

Thanks, CK! The "truck" started life as a 2-door sedan. Lots of them were converted to trucks in the 40's like mine was. Essex had suicide doors on almost everything they built except for the 1930-31 model years.

If I come to Saskatoon for the Super Run next year it will be as a spectator. I plan to tear my truck apart for a complete rebuild as soon as my new shop is finished. I'll be taking it to the Super Run in Brandon his year but that will be the last big event for it until it's redone.

39deluxe · July 26, 2010, 12:20:44 PM

Looks like a great project. You won't be seeing too many like it at the shows, that's for sure. I'm thinking you could extend the cab behind the doors about 6 inches without loosing the proportions. Is that what you had in mind for adding leg room?

Tom

Boyd Who · July 26, 2010, 07:31:31 PM

Thanks, Tom.
I don't want to mess with the length of the cab, I really like the way it looks now. What I plan to do is replace the Dodge 225ci slant-6 engine with a SBC/T350. The people who built the truck 31 years ago set the firewall back 11 inches

to make the long engine fit. It will be an easy fix to move it back to the stock location once a V8 is nestled in the engine bay.
One thing I do plan to change is the p/u box. The current one is made of plywood, is too small, and does not have an opening tailgate. I want to modify a box from a 40's or early 50's stepside of some form to replace it.

mrloboy · July 29, 2010, 08:26:33 PM

Hi Al!
If you are wanting to replace the box, I would suggest building from scratch. It is less work than trying to salvage an older box and modifying it to fit your pick-up. Your Essex is a great little truck and a box designed and built to compliment that unique cab would not be that hard to do.

Pop by my shop and I can show you what we have done in the past. Currently our 28 REO pick-up project is on the floor with a hand built box on it. The cab of the REO project is built primarily out of a 30 Essex 2-door with the front section of the REO fire engine grafted to it. The top is chopped two inches and the cab is channeled six inches over a much modified set of '41 IHC frame rails. The roof and integrated visor is from an 84 Olds Omega and we are suiciding the doors. Fenders are from a '29 Model "A" coupe.

Maybe we will see you this weekend at the Super Run in Brandon. Lo-Boys is having an open house and lunch for the Rodders on there way through to Brandon. That all started from a call from Lanny as the Leadfoot Lanny's tour is heading our way. They expect to be in Baldur at 10:00 AM

Boyd Who · July 29, 2010, 11:58:33 PM

Hi Rick! We'll definitely be at the Super Run this weekend...I've been looking forward to it ever since we moved back to the province!

As for the truck box, we'll see how things go. I have some ideas in my head already, just have to make them work.

Once this weekend is done I'm pretty much pulling the Essex off the road for a complete rebuild. I'm just finishing up the new shop I built. Hopefully I'll have it insulated and heated before winter.

See you at the show!