Blame it all on Hot Rod magazine.
When Calgary truck enthusiast Keith McEwen was a teenager, he read every issue of the hallowed journal.
“Earlier in life, I’d always read in Hot Rod about the ‘clean chassis’ approach to a build,” McEwen says. “I always wanted to do a clean chassis, and I put it into practice on this truck.”
McEwen’s truck is a . He’s owned more than a dozen of the second-generation 1967 to 1972 C/K pickups, but he’s invested thousands of hours into this one specifically.
For example, a friend bent and welded together a one-off stainless steel exhaust system. McEwen then spent approximately 300 hours just grinding the welds and polishing the tubes so they appear seamless.
“I was loaned an industrial size polisher, and I went through hundreds of dollars worth of polishing compound because I polished everything that is stainless steel or aluminum on the truck. And that’s every nut and bolt, really.
“If you take that kind of stuff somewhere to have it done, it’s cost prohibitive. But I enjoy the work – you can put your brain into neutral and just hang on tight while you’re polishing the metal.”
McEwen bought the Sierra Grande in 1996. He was returning to Calgary from a Thanksgiving dinner in Strathmore when he saw the truck at the side of the highway with a ‘for sale’ sign in the window. He pulled over, contacted the seller, and bought it on the spot for $500.
McEwen notes this generation of GMC and Chevrolet pickups is prone to rust, but his purchase was in original paint condition with surprisingly minimal rust on any of the body panels.
And, it was a strong running vehicle to boot. So, he drove it for a year before taking his Sierra Grande completely apart, removing every nut, bolt and clip in the process.
“My original thought was to restore the truck,” McEwen says. “Then, I remembered all of those Hot Rod stories, and I decided to build a mild custom – it just makes an old vehicle that much more enjoyable with a few modern conveniences.”
When he built up the suspension, McEwen lowered the chassis and chromed the shock absorbers. He also upgraded the front brakes with Wilwood calipers and drilled rotors, but kept the stock drums at the rear. He notes that 1971 was the first year GM installed disc brakes up front.
For go-power, he dropped in a 468 cubic inch big block Chev, specially built by Brad Lastockin at Brad’s Automotive Machine. The engine has a different cam, larger pistons and upgraded valves and springs, and it is paired to a Turbo 400 transmission. McEwen also added a posi-traction rear end, complete with a chrome driveshaft.
“I put in an aluminum radiator, and instead of rubber hoses, everything is plumbed in with stainless steel hard lines,” he says.
McEwen worked on the truck in fits and starts from 1998, and says he restored an ex-Calgary Police Service Harley-Davidson and a 1972 Chevy Longhorn truck in between.
But, McEwen was slowly picking away at the Sierra Grande and the GM Victory Red paint was applied in 2003. Mike Szuch of Aristocrat Upholstery in Calgary stitched the leather interior. He covered the original bucket seats and console, and fabricated a headliner, dash pad, door panels and kick panels to match.
McEwen finally buttoned the project up in the spring of 2014.
Before he drove the truck, McEwen’s daughter Kerra documented how clean the chassis really was by taking detailed photographs.
“It’s only fresh once,” McEwen says. However, he added 817 kilometres to it this summer alone. Next year, he wants to add even more kilometres with plans to drive it to shows in B.C.’s interior, and others around Alberta.
“It was built to drive, it’s not a trailer queen,” he notes.
That said, he will not be hauling landscape materials in his truck.
In the box, he stained the oak floor red by dipping a rag in the Victory Red paint can before wiping the wood and finally adding 12 coats of automotive clear.
McEwen laughs, “I’ve got a few hundred hours in wet sanding that alone, so, no — I won’t be hauling gravel any time soon.”
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have an auto related item to share for the column or What’s Next? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca. Visit his website at gregwilliams.ca.
