Guest Speaker: Mike Proulx - FIF T2 Chevy Truck Restoration
Posted by Markus Baumann
Mike arrived in his restored 1952 Chevy truck. This was his second restoration project; the first belonged to a friend. Mike presented a slide show that showed the progression and work that fully restored the 52 year old truck to it's present beauty.
Mike purchased the truck in April 2001, full of rattles, rust and shag. He gutted and sandblasted the interior in June and painted it blue. On September 25th he and his team started on the exterior. This involved a complete dismantling of the vehicle, down to the frame. The frame was sandblasted and painted and the engine was placed back in. A power brake booster was added for safety. The body was all sandblasted and painted, and new fenders and grill were added. The truck bed was fitted with new oak boards from his sister-in-law's place that were stained with some nice stain from Tripp's. The restoration was complete in March 2002.
In 1952, the original price of the truck would have been $1,765. In 2002, it was appraised at $28,500. The restoration took 1230 man hours over six months, including many hours from Armand Proulx.
Mike has a new project, a 1952 GMC truck. It had been sitting in a local barn since 1979. Both vehicles were originally built in Oshawa.
More photos are on display under "Photo Journals" on the Rotary Club of Midland website (www.MidlandRotary.org) or by clicking this direct link.