Hubert

"FREDDIE-BOB"
ROBERT ALLEN’S
1936 CHEVROLET (Model FB) LOW CAB PICKUP

Last update: 2007-06-29.

This site sponsored by Robert Allen and Company, Professional Land Surveyors.

MY OLD TRUCK IS NOW SOLD AND I AM STILL SINGING THE BOO-HOO TUNE.

I AM SURE THE NEW OWNER WILL ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DID.

The dream probably started about 1948 when I was about 2 years old. My uncle Pete had a 1936 GMC pickup shown on the left in this photograph taken in front of my father's shop, Courtenay Stove and Sheet Metal Works.

In the next photograph, I hitched my first ride in it, even if it was only in the driveway of our house on Leighton Avenue.

Next, we jump ahead to 1994. While ‘cruising’ through the Old Car Auto Trader I found a ’36 Ford in Ontario and a ’36 Chev in Alberta. The Chev was a lot closer than the Ford and they were the same price so there was no real decision to be made. After negotiating with the owner over the telephone, my two sons, Chris and Andrew, and I made the trip to Claresholm, Alberta and bought the truck on July 4, 1994.

On the farm near Claresholm, AB.

Most of the truck "was there", the engine ran, and I was able to drive it around the previous owner's yard. We trailered it to Calgary and then had it shipped to Vancouver by an auto carrier. I then trailered it to my shop in Sechelt where I proceeded to strip it down to the frame. At this point I was going to keep it as original as possible. I had decided by this time that every car or truck needs a name so I decided upon Hubert, a rather out of date name for a rather out of date truck.

Auto Haulaway's Annacis Island yard.

In my shop.

It took a few months of week nights now and again and the odd weekend to finally get it stripped down to the frame. I then took the frame out to be sandblasted and painted. I spent the next five years buying all the catalogues, books, and parts that I could find that had anything to do with 1936 Chev pickups. I had the engine re-built, the clutch and transmission re-built, a new gas tank and radiator built, and the differential rebuilt. I re-did the front and rear brakes, re-did all of the steering parts, and had some body work done on the fenders and running boards. I bought a whole new box kit (metal and wood) as it would have been more expensive to have the body work done to straighten out the dents, fill in the bullet holes, buy new wood, etc. I had tremendous support from dealers such as B & W Antique Auto Parts (250-743-3274) and Jim Carter Antique Truck Parts (816-833-1913). They were the first ones I called after I bought the truck and with their help they put me on the right track. I then put in the engine, clutch, and transmission, put the radiator, front fenders, and running boards on and then HIT THE WALL ( as so often happens with these projects). About this time, we bought a new house and we worked on it for four months before we could move in. For the next eight months we worked on the house while we were living in it. I used that as an excuse for not doing anything further on my truck. However, the time arrived when I decided that if I ever wanted to drive my truck more than 15 kilometres (20 miles) at a time, I was going to have to do something about the whole drive line. I considered looking for a Chevy S-10 and mounting the body on its frame. In the end I decided to keep the original frame as it had all the mounting parts for the cab, fenders, running boards, etc. That seemed to me to be the easiest route for me, because keep in mind that I am not the most mechanically minded person in the world.

60 years of gumbo and grease.

Frame sandblasted and painted.

Engine cleaned, rebuilt, and back in place.

Partially put back together and one of Hubert's last days.

Click Freddie Bob to see the transformation from a stock truck to one with a modified engine and drive line.

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