The proud owner of this Feature Truck of the Month is Quint Hanson of Deerwood, Minnesota. The following tells the revival of this very rare vehicle and the area businessmen that contributed.
The story begins in the late 1990’s with a neighbor asking Quint if he could store an old truck in his shop that was in the process of being restored. For doing this he would receive half ownership!
“The chain of events that followed is how the restoration was completed. In the years that followed the neighbor passed away and I was left with the truck that was in very poor shape. To say that it was in the process of restoration would be a real stretch. Basically very little restoration had been completed. I made the decision to begin the process of restoring and rebuilding the truck from the ground up.
The first item on the list was to rebuild the 207 six cylinder engine. After several attempts by a series of backyard mechanics, who quite frankly were over their heads, I managed to find an engine rebuilder via a recommendation. That person was Clyde Wilson at Auto Value in Brainerd, MN. In talking to Clyde, I found that his specialty was rebuilding all types of high performance, vintage, and industrial engines. He agreed to rebuild the engine. Of course, locating parts was a challenge and between the two of us we accomplished the task. I located a new cylinder head and assorted parts from Bob Marx Parts in eastern Wisconsin. Clyde also located a used engine which we purchased for a number of parts needed for the rebuild. Other parts needed were also supplied by Auto Value in Brainerd, MN. and Jim Carter Truck Parts in Independence, MO. I even purchased some parts from salvage yards. The engine was rebuilt, including a cylinder rebore, new pistons, new rings, new head including valves, springs, etc., main bearings, and other parts.
The next item was to locate a body shop to rebuild and paint the truck. I decided to go with Larry Karpen and his team at Hickory Lake Auto south of Aitkin, MN. They took the truck down to the frame and began the rebuilding process from there. My wife picked out the colors for the truck and Larry found the Chevrolet specification paint colors for that year’s vehicle. The project took Larry’s team over a year to complete. His team did a complete rewire of the truck’s electric system.
The next process was to build a bed of some type. In doing my homework along with a close friend, Dick Nubson, we managed to find a sales brochure and some specifications of a 1934 truck and stake box in the General Motors Heritage Center website. Dick then designed and blue printed the box. I set out to determine the wood needs to complete the task. Once I had written the specifications for the lumber needs, the next project was to secure the lumber. Someone to cut and mill the wood to the right size was Jeff Avelsgard. Once the logs were cut, the lumber had to dry. This process took over a year.”
A pure 1934 six cylinder 207 cubic inch engine. This basic Chevrolet engine design was used as a 194 in 1929 to a 216 cubic inch in 1953. Used 24 years in cars and light trucks in the US and overseas factories.
The cluster of necessary gauges.
A copy of a bed in a 1934 sales brochure.
In conclusion:
A big Thank You goes to Quint Hanson for not only saving this very rare 1 ½ ton truck (bought during our country’s Great Depression) but also making it look and drive as it did over 90 years ago!
You can contact Quint Hanson at: Quint1943@gmail.com