The ultimate winter beater

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/02/2012 (5083 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thanks to a much-needed cold snap, things are finally heating up in Willy’s Garage as we prepare to film the third season of our MTS TV Winnipeg on Demand television series.

To get you up to speed, in late February and early March we will be making an epic journey north on winter ice roads with a crew from Farpoint Films to visit our friends in a number of remote First Nations communities. As a result of the mild weather throughout December and early January, a number of these communities declared states of emergency.

Without the cold temperatures needed to build the winter ice roads required to deliver much-needed groceries, fuel and supplies, it was quickly becoming a dire situation. There are still challenges to be sure, but thankfully, it looks like old man winter has finally co-operated and the roads will open, albeit for a shorter period than usual.

Our initial plan included the buildup of a jacked-up Jeep Grand Cherokee, but after surveying the situation, we decided we needed a big truck to load up with supplies for the moms and dads and of course, some toys for the kids. It’s been a tough year for these folks and we intend to not only bring attention to their plight by documenting the challenges they face on film and in print, but also hope to brighten their day with gearhead generosity.

After securing a small loan from Brian the friendly banker and scouring the Prairies for a suitable truck, last week I purchased a snow-white 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD in sunny St. James for the tidy sum of $5,500.

We have officially named the truck Snow Drifter.

Although it has more than 240,000 klicks on the clock, it was clearly not used for work, in fact the previous owner, David Rose, had a baby seat anchored in the back and primarily used the truck to pull his travel trailer. By all accounts he was the second owner, but it looks like the original owner didn’t use it as a work truck either.

I just finished detailing it and this thing is near showroom-clean. It’s loaded with heavy-duty goodies, including a 6.0-litre V-8 engine, 4×4, a beefy suspension and brakes and a G80 locking rear differential that should keep us from slipping and sliding into oblivion. It’s an extended cab long box truck, so basically it is about as long as a school bus — we should have no problem cramming a significant amount of goodies into it.

Getting it ready for our winter journey shouldn’t be too difficult. Our plans include changing all the fluids, a complete tune-up, maybe a healthier exhaust system and the addition of larger wheels and tires. Ken Hunter from Winnipeg Wheel Works has offered us a great deal on some cool rims, and we are shopping for the right tires at a feverish pace.

Richard L’Heureux from Pro Towing has also been commissioned to raise the truck a few inches to accommodate our larger tires. Steve Redman from Action Sign Services will be plastering our rig in cool lettering and graphics, while me and my buddies Evel Dave Radey, Jason Holmes, Jeff Copp, Kevin Jackson and Jay McLeod are calling on our specific skills to load it up with lights, tow hooks, tools, gadgets and winter survival supplies.

As an added bonus, I was able to transfer the Winnipeg Blue Bomber plates from my rusty old ’94 Chevy truck, so you just know this one is gonna be as tough as Buck.

The goal is to create the ultimate winter beater with a budget of $7,500, including the original purchase price of the truck. If everything goes as planned we hope to show the truck following our adventure at Piston Ring’s annual World of Wheels car show at the end of March. We’ll keep you posted on the build in the upcoming weeks, but until then here’s the blank canvas.

willy@freepress.mb.ca