An early summer car show in Melville, Saskatchewan Canada had a highly unusual 1957 International Harvester AC-160 resto-mod crew cab hauler that was a rock star at the event.
The IHC had a gooseneck trailer and was hauling a 1967 GMC pickup and a 1957 IHC milk truck, both of which had also undergone radical changes.
Jim Sutherland
The owner of the three resto mods was Erin McCauley, a talented builder who “likes really unusual stuff”, in his words, and has a boatload of talent needed to build unusual vehicles.
For example, Erin’s ’57 IHC custom crew cab is a combination of the original 1957 International Harvester cab with a 1964 IHC cab on the back half. Erin was welding by the time he was 13, so stitching the two cabs together was definitely not beyond his skill set.
The platform for his IHC resto mod was a retired 2006 Ford E-450 ambulance that suited Erin’s game plan for a heavy-duty chassis under his resto mod rig. The Ford donor van had a 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel engine supplied under that name by International Harvester, so Erin was able to stay in the IHC family for his powertrain upgrade.
The net result is a 1957 IHC pickup truck that now rides on an air suspension and has comfortable rear quarters for extra human passengers, along with a trailer package that can haul two automotive passengers.
Erin describes the resto mod truck’s driving experience as “awesome” and takes every opportunity to drive his unusual rig. He also named it ‘Farm Limo’ to celebrate its rural heritage and transformation into a very comfortable driving machine.
The interior of Erin’s IHC has undergone a major change with a Levi denim touch via his wife Donna’s quilting skills in the mix. Donna intends to continue the changes when she tackles the transplanted Challenger SRT seats in the truck as a future project.
The ’57 IHC is now a solid performer in modern traffic, given its 21st century Ford platform, plus it can easily haul the other two resto mods on a gooseneck trailer.
Speaking of which, the 1967 GMC is an interesting resto mod because Erin chose to turn the truck into a uni-body rig when he joined it with an all-wheel drive Subaru Tribeca platform. The process shaved off a massive number of excess pounds and Erin describes his unusual resto mod as a “go kart” because of its much lighter weight.
The other vintage ride on the vehicle was a 1957 IHC milk truck that delivered dairy products in the Melville area back in the day, according to Erin. He upgraded the retired milk truck with a major swap when he put the vintage delivery van on a 2005 Cadillac Escalade donor platform.
Bear in mind Erin has the right stuff to tackle some very complicated swaps and, in the case of the 1957 IHC crew cab project, he was able to complete the task in only 6 months. He describes himself as “a glutton for punishment”, but it’s very clear Erin has more than enough talent to take on major build challenges and make it look easy.
Erin also has shiny cars (his words), but he leans towards his radical resto mod 1957 IHC Farm Limo for everyday use. MyStarCollectorCar will give the floor to Erin with his modest final words.
“I appreciate that people like it”.
Erin McCauley
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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