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  Owned by
John and Lynette Cilia
"7998"
Bolter # 38864
Ontario, Canada

25 September 2016 Update
# 3118

This truck is for sale!

2016 Sept. 18 Cobble Beach Concours de elegance Vintage truck winner !

Concours quality nut and bolt restoration. Original numbers matching truck with GM Canada build sheet to verify. I invite any seious buyers to inspect my truck. All tools and jack included. Many GM NOS parts used. If you want too own the finest 5 window in North America, you've found it. Check picutres in the Bolt Bucket.

$55,000. US

You'll have to work your way through this link, but you'll find John's truck: "The winner in the highly competitive pickup class was this 1950 Chevrolet 1300 5-window." Quite a lot of neat vehicles to look at and congratulations to John and such a fine job! ~ Editor


01 January 2016
# 3118

 

1950 Chevrolet 1300 - Canadian Built

 

More pictures of my old truck

Join the discussion about this truck

 

Total nut and bolt restoration to keep it all original

From John :

I signed on to the Stovebolt site in September 2014, soon after I acquired this truck.

Five years before I got this project, I had a 1951 Chevy 3100. It was Windsor Blue with the brown interior. It didn't have the original engine. I got that truck from a guy in Arkansas and the truck was pretty much already done. It was a nice truck but not exactly what I wanted and definitely not as nice as the '50.

I worked on finishing up a 1956 Cadillac Convertible (see the picture in the Bolt Bucket ~ Editor) and had to sell the '51 Chevy. A fellow in Western Canada took it off my hands.

With the Cadillac finished (Fall 2013), I started looking for a new winter project. I put a ad on Kijiji specifically looking for a Chevy 1947 to 1954, 5-window short box. I searched all across Canada. I got several calls but none panned out. Some people had interesting finds but the truck engine or serial numbers didn't match the truck. Then I got a call from the owner of this truck. It sounded good and he sent me lots of pictures.

This old truck had not been registered for over 32 years but it was completely original, unmolested and ran good! The seller was a gentleman living in Lethbridge, Alberta. He was going to restore it but didn't do anything. He had purchased it from the original owner, who was a farmer in Manitoba.

As we loaded the truck onto the trailer, the seller started crying with sadness -- like losing his old friend.

I had the truck shipped thousands of miles to me in Toronto, Ontario. It arrived on September 17, 2014.

The old girl, being 100% original, was almost totally rust free. I was told that in the winter months these trucks were mostly parked in the barn. That sure explains why there was chicken feed and feathers in the headliner, along with mouse nests and poop! As a matter of fact, when I removed the last headliner screw, there was a avalanche of chicken feathers, feed and mouse droppings and nests that all rained down on me -- YUCK!

Rust free - sure; dented - plenty. A working farm truck can really take a beating. The fenders were pretty bad - probably from fence posts. The tailgate wasn't even on it ... and, if fact, it was in pristine condition, like it had never been used.

I was contemplating the project, sitting on the back end of the truck with my coffee. Next thing I know, I went straight through the wood floor of the bed. It was so rotten.

My 86 year old Father, who was a die hard Chevy owner (but none of them trucks), showed up too see the new project. The truck started right up and we took it around the block. Well, not only did it not have any muffler but it didn't have any brakes either! My Father had sensory shock over load -- besides no muffler, the transmission was whiney! The tires were like blocks of wood and the suspension was rock hard. I had a smile from ear to ear and thought, "What a Hoot!"

So I slowly took it back home and parked it in my driveway. We had only gone around a couple of blocks and I still can't figure out how it stopped!

My wife thought that I was in way over my head on this project but she knew how tenacious I was. She wasn't too keen on taking a ride as the truck really smelled. My two sons thought the truck was really neat but I knew they thought I was nuts.

My plan was to do a factory spec restoration and I knew the Stovebolt site would be able to help me with all the details to make this happen.

So, I was set. The very next morning I started to strip the truck down to the last lock washer. That took me the next couple of weeks. I worked at it every day. It was Fall and I wanted it all apart before Winter arrived. I took lots of pictures (well over 300) as I went step by step with the restoration.

I am retired so re-doing this truck was my new full time job. I had the truck in running condition two weeks short of one year from the date I got it. Still on-going tweaking but that is the case with all of these, eh?

The engine is the original 216. I have a letter from General Motors, Oshawa Canada showing that the engine and running gears are original, with all the numbers matching. I called them with the numbers and got the package and letter in about a week.

I had the truck painted Swifts Red (that's what General Motors calls it). The interior is the standard color. All painted that one color. GM changed the color of the seats and I went with the Spanish Grain Maroon.

I got the original hard yellow pine wood kit from Mar-K and painted it black just like GM did.

I wanted it as close to factory as possible. It only has one tail light in the back. There is no contrasting colors on the tail gate. GM didn't do that until 1955. There are no turn signals. I kept it all six- volt.

I used the original plates that go inside the door jam with the serial numbers. They are worn down from the farmer getting in and out. I wanted to leave them just the way they were.

The truck has the original NOS glove box light, cigarette lighter, GM hand held spot light, and a very rare spare tire lock and key.

The options I did add to the truck were a street light viewer that was in the GM box. It is a traffic light viewer that you mount on top of the dash. I found an original radio for the truck - beautiful condition. I really like that. I found a windshield washer -- like a squirt gun with a button on the floor and it squirts the fluid on to the windshield. The heater is original and it works great.

The biggest surprise by far was the realization of just how many parts there really are in these trucks and the incredible amount of hardware used !!! A large amount of baggies were used and labeled. 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself doing this truck and have already had crazy thoughts of doing another. I've actually been kicking around the idea of maybe finding a Suburban to restore.

The truck as you see it now has had a total body off the frame restoration with all the factory installed numbers matching the drive train.

I couldn't have done it without help from my two sons and my friends, but especially my wife Lynette.

As a side note, my 2007 Chevrolet Silverado crew cab which is 57 years younger than my 1950 1300 and both were born in the same Oshawa Ontario factory! I had owned many trucks since 1984, all of them General Motors (the 1950 Chevy 1300, 1951 Chev 5-window, a 1992 Extended Cab 4x4 Silverado, 2000 GMC Crew cab, and the 2007 Silverado).

 

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