Anne-Marie Lukenchuk is the proud owner of her grandfather’s 1951 Chevy 1300 truck that he bought brand-new 74 years ago.
Her granddad bought it for $475.00 and added the 5-window option for $25.00 ,then he dropped another $8.00 for a tube AM radio.
Jim Sutherland
Our American MyStarCollectorCar readers may be confused with the pickup’s 1300 model number because it would read 3100 for buyers in the USA in 1951. Either way, 1951 Chevy pickups were ½ tons with different model numbers built for Chevy truck buyers on either side of the border before the 1965 Auto Pact agreement eliminated heavy cross-border automotive tariffs implemented by Canada and the United States.
The history behind Anne-Marie’s 1951 Chevy truck is more of a personal matter because it was her grandfather’s and she was very close to him. In fact, she drove the truck out to the fields to deliver food for the farm workers when Anne-Marie was only 9 years old and took much longer because she was just a kid managing the pedals and steering wheel.
The old workhorse followed the fate of most farm trucks and eventually the pickup was used up and removed from active duty. However, Anne-Marie remained attached to the ’51 Chevy truck because of its close association with her childhood days on her grandad’s farm and decided to resurrect it from a very rusty retirement.
Anne-Marie also wanted to improve the truck and bring it up to modern standards in terms of performance. She chose a 383 stroker crate engine to boost the horses under the hood to a much larger herd and bolted the beefed-up Chevy small block to a 700 R-4 automatic transmission.
Anne-Marie addressed the truck’s outdated handling and braking shortcomings by installing a coil-over suspension on every corner of her ’51 Chevy, as well as a four-wheel disc brake system that will handle the giant horsepower boost in her resto mod pickup.
Other creature comforts include power steering, power brakes and air conditioning to make every road trip more pleasant for Anne-Marie and her passengers.
Anne-Marie took a hands-on approach to the resto mod project and is very familiar with every nut and bolt on the truck, including her very cool custom Chevy bolts under the hood. She wanted to be completely involved with the process because it was her grandfather’s pickup, and she wanted to reconnect with her happy childhood memories in the truck.
MyStarCollectorCar readers may notice the high-quality paint and finish on the truck. Anne-Marie’s husband James is a body man who used his talent on her truck and helped build an award-winning truck for his wife. The husband-and-wife team were able to complete the project in only two years, a remarkable time frame, given the complicated nature of the resto mod.
The trophies are a nice touch, but Anne-Marie’s main goal was always to reconnect to her beloved grandfather through the old farm truck. Recently she survived a serious health problem and will sometime just sit behind the Chevy’s wheel and just soak up the positive childhood memories to find a balance in her life.
The signatures on the dash from her uncle and grandfather tell the big story.
The 1951 Chevy 1300 is a therapy truck for Anne-Marie because it takes her right down memory lane and gives her a big boost. “I can’t get the grin off my face when I sit in it”, in her words, and that is a perfect ending for her story.
Jim Sutherland
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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