A few years back I was contacted be a fellow simply known then as Mike. He told me a story of a truck that his father had owned and built and rebuilt numerous times over the years.
The story starts in about 1954-55 when they had opened a Fina Garage, also imported and sold Messerschmidt Cars, ran a mail order ( first one in Canada) hot rod speed parts shop in
Simcoe Ontario named Grays Powerhouse. They needed a truck to do shop stuff, Mikes dad Gray decided that a section job would make it stand out amongst the usual shop trucks around
at that time. It occasionally had a different powerplant installed so I am led to believe, everything from a stock Flathead to a Nitro burning Austin 4 cylinder, a side note to this was that his dad
Gray also ran the first nitro burning dragsters in Canada( very interesting man) also was instrumental in the birth of the Kohler Speedway,later to be renamed the Cayuga Speedway, now
Toronto Motorsports Park. Anyway, going back, Mike got a hold of me online as he was initially looking to have someone build him a modern street rod out of pops old truck. When I got a sense
that it had so much awesome Ontario rodding history, I basically told him he would be a jerk to do that to a truck that had survived this long intact.. After a couple days of thinking, Mike decided that
yes,this was indeed a good intentioned blast I had given him ( lol) and we fast became pals.. Fast forward to this year, Mike contacted me after having the truck for sale and getting sick of the
naysayers etc.. straight up told me that we were making a deal.. Here is the truck today, good friends Neil Candy and Nick Semeniuk helped me go to western Ontario to retrieve and bring back to
the Mother Ship for assessment and to start learning more history before tearing in to it and missing any details.. I will probably not be moving along at a great pace,life still must happen, my family
has come accustomed to eating and everyone demands that I still work every day since the Lottery folks have not shown up at the door yet!If you know anything helpful,have original photos,please
Chris
If you haven't found a frame yet, Terry Stenberg in Cobble Hill, BC has several rock solid units. I can PM you his number. If you/he can get one to Calgary, I will bring it back in July. It still may be here in time for you to start on the truck. Great find.
Warren
Thanks a bunch Warren, much appreciated but I think I'll just repair what I have since they seem to be all sort of bad in the same area anyway,, Concentrate more on stuff that I need like something under the hood to motivate it,lol.. If you find yourself out cruising around, I'm not far at all from the county!
-- Edited by Chris Stapley on Sunday 7th of April 2019 09:28:26 PM
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Buying selling and trading garage toys and big kid stuff.
good score chris. the scoop on the hood opens the door to a lot of ford power options not having to replace or repair what was in it from stock. gfu it's been a long time since i have heard anything to do with a Fina gas station also. trying to remember the last one i can recall operating, i think on clonsilla ave in peterboro maybe, it was that or a Spur station. either or they are long gone now.
Thanks brother,so if I’m reading you right, I should be looking for a SOHC then? Lol
well that would work but don't overlook a side oiler either, lol
kidding aside it will make a nice show of what Chriss Kustoms is about and the history of it would be is a bonus is what i was thinking. as for power that is the decision of the individual owner i have always figured and the scoop on the hood kinda opened the door to that call. i know my truck probably wouldn't get driven as much or as far if it still had the flat top in it.
Well that’s just great Ontario rodding history. The truck needs some love but its diffferent and has to hit the road again. Have fun and keep the progress pics coming..
-- Edited by Torquewar on Wednesday 10th of April 2019 05:16:41 PM
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gotta be young and dumb before you get old and wise
Thanks man, don;t hold your breath though,this is intended on being a long term build. I'm not ready for it to launch just yet..
Chris.
Torquewar wrote:
Well that’s just great Ontario rodding history. The truck needs some love but its diffferent and has to hit the road again. Have fun and keep the progress pics coming..
-- Edited by Torquewar on Wednesday 10th of April 2019 05:16:41 PM
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Buying selling and trading garage toys and big kid stuff.
