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| This was Gary 's personal toy a few years ago. It is a 1953 GMC pickup that traveled a long way to get here. It was purchased in Colorado and flat towed by its owner to British Columbia . Towing it this way destroyed the original rear axle. Replacing the rear axle turned in to a major upgrade. A 1979 Trans Am gave up its front suspension, rear axle, seats and steering column. After this work the truck was driven to St.Catharines and sold a couple of times before arriving at Gary 's |
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| After driving for a couple of years a few problems were discovered. A front end alignment could not be done as the original donor clip was bent. A new stereo and a dented fender led to a full, frame off rebuild to repair things. |
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| This is the installation of a Painless wiring kit and new insulation to quiet road noise. A late model heat and defrost system were added to replace the antiquated original. |
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| Reassembly has started and we used a slight variation of the original purple but added a lot of pearl to make the colour really unique. If you look closely you may notice the divider bar in the center of the windshield was eliminated. An electric fan was added to assist the stock belt driven fan. |
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| The 350 Chevy engine had to be bored 80 thousandths over to clean up the bore taper. Baskets full of power enhancing parts were added to make the performance match the good looks. |
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| The box was fully lined with polished aluminum checker plate to add some sparkle. Still visible are the original Trans Am snow flake wheels that are to be replaced with a vintage looking chrome reverse rim. |
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| These are the original Trans Am seats and tilt steering column. The rest of the cab was done in maroon carpet and red velour to match the seats. A multi disc CD changer and amplifier were hidden under the seat riser. |
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| In this photo you can see the custom made stainless tube rear bumper and the aluminum framed tonneau cover that was built to secure the stuff stored in the box. The cover locks to the tailgate to prevent both from being opened by prying fingers. |
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| Here we are winning first in class at the Performance World car show in Toronto in 1997. |
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| A final shot from a car show in Collingwood in the summer of 97. Looks good, huh! |
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