All in the family

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2012 (5305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The pickup truck has been an indispensable tool to small businesses and the farm community for most of the last century.

While most early pickups remained down on the farm, simply parked in a field once the shiny new replacement arrived, some went on to a better place.

Nick Slota bought a shiny, navy blue GMC 1/2-ton pickup in 1950, a replacement for his 1928 Chevrolet and a great help on the farm near Pine Ridge. Slota’s main vehicle, it took the family everywhere they needed to go and even helped distribute produce from the farm to customers in the Point Douglas and North Main areas of Winnipeg.

The GMC would see regular daily duty right up to 1973 until Slota’s son, John, purchased the truck. John drove the truck for a few years, then began restoring it in the early 1980s.

New fenders and running boards were purchased, and Alan Laden did the body prep and paint, finishing the pickup in Bright Cream with chocolate-brown fenders. The box bed was redone with fresh oak and the interior received a full makeover with button-tuft brown interior by Ron’s Upholstery. A neat summer driver, its work days were clearly in the past.

The truck was purchased in 1990 by Slota’s brother, Will, who kept the truck in storage until the mid-1990s, then pulled it out to do a full mechanical restoration. Norm Dumontier at Mid-Canada Suspension supplied all of the new brake components and several other hard-to-find pieces.

The truck’s original 216-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine was tired, and Will thought upgrading to a Chevrolet 235-cubic-inch six would be a good move.

“I just thought the larger engine with the modern-style bearings would be a better choice,” Slota said, adding that it was also the engine from father Nick’s ’59 Chevy sedan.

Slota turned the engine over to Canada Auto for a full rebuild. While the 216 and 235 share the same bellhousing bolt pattern, there are subtle differences in the starter mount that Slota had to address. Modifications to the water pump and motor mounts would go unnoticed to most since the installation looks like the original engine is still in the truck.

Backing the engine is a rebuilt three-speed manual transmission from Asperline Transmissions. Power is transferred to the ground via the original rear axle riding on the factory-supplied steel wheels, shod with wide whitewall tires and GMC hub caps.

Since the completion of the mechanical work the pickup has always been driven locally during the summer months and future plans include a new wood box, another repaint and an interior update.

Slota was quick to point out a couple of oddities about the truck.

“It was purchased new in 1950 and bears a 1950 serial number, yet it came with a 1949 owner’s manual and what appears to be a 1949 GMC hood ornament,” he said. The Indian-head hood ornament, with its red plastic fins, looks like it would be far more at home on a Pontiac than a GMC truck, but it’s the factory-original emblem.

With the truck rolling up only 59,237 original miles, Slota’s pickup is a family heirloom that will certainly be around for decades to come.