Canadian "Ute"

rusty6 · Jul 17, 2020

You've heard of the Australian "Utes". (Utility pickup truck) but they were not generally available here other than the El Camino and Ranchero. Back in the days when a farmer needed a pickup but couldn't afford to buy one, he got inventive and converted an old car into a ute. I saw a lot of those in the late 1960s. I see one for sale now on Kijiji.

centash · Jul 17, 2020

That ones a lot fancier than the ones my dad converted in those days. Most farmers
cut the body off behind the front seat and built a wooden flatbed to mount on the
frame....crude but effective!

Ben

Rich'sToys · Jul 17, 2020

Someone did a nice job on that!

rusty6 · Jul 17, 2020

(quoted from post at 04:04:26 07/17/20) That ones a lot fancier than the ones my dad converted in those days. Most farmers
cut the body off behind the front seat and built a wooden flatbed to mount on the
frame....crude but effective!

Ben

Yes, I have seen the full range from nice ones like this to some that just had a piece of plywood stood in behing the driver's seat to close off the "cab" from the box. Removed the trunk lid and rear roof section. Probably weld the rear doors shut if it was a four door sedan. Here is the link for more details on it. No, its not mine but at that price I'd consider adding it to the fleet.
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/saskatoon/1957-pontiac-thatcher-wagon/1512544333

pete 23 · Jul 17, 2020

Dad had a 31 Plymouth made into a pickup In about 1944.

TomA in CA · Jul 17, 2020

Even before I bought my first tractor
at 16, I started out with a '49
Studebaker made into a flatbed. It
had auto trans, I ran chains on it
and used it like a tractor.

kencombs · Jul 17, 2020

The hardest part of those is the rear window. That one looks like a front windshield installed upside down. Wonder what it was from? Looks pretty good.

cdmn · Jul 17, 2020

During WWII, a farm truck got extra rations of gas. Thus, cars were cut down so they could
drive more. By the way, the national speed limit was 35 mph, and new tires were nearly impossible to buy. They were rationed to discourage driving. The gas was needed for the military. Distillate was still used in tractors, and some farmers used it in their trucks. It
worked so long as the engine was hot. A Frenchman came to the US and showed them how to reprocess distillate into aviation fuel. That ended distillate's price advantage. Might have
been the greatest contribution to the war effort by an individual civilian.
Untitled URL Link

dr sportster · Jul 17, 2020

It is a Pontiac.

jddrawbar · Jul 17, 2020

Someone did a really nice job....I like it.

fixerupper · Jul 17, 2020

Yes it is a nice job. Someone had some talent. My neighbor made a ute out of a Ford Falcon back in the 60s. He used it a few years and traded it for a pickup. We laughed at it at the time but now when I look back at it he was being inventive to save some money. He did not buy a vehicle until he had the cash in hand and this got him by while he saved up the cash to buy a real pickup.

bcdave · Jul 17, 2020

We had one made from 1939 FORD. It was our
fist flat deck. It was my first wheels.
My sister would tow me with the VAO and
then I would go visit my friend. It was
lucky there was a hill to park on so I
could start it to go home. Thinking back
it probably wouldn't start because it had
old gas.
Dave

Duner Wi · Jul 17, 2020

kencombs, take a look at 57 Pontiac. I think the rear window was moved forward.

Steve@Advance · Jul 17, 2020

Nice one!

I've seen a variety of them, there were ElDorado Cadillacs, must have been a company doing them, they were done right, think they were done in Oklahoma.

Then there was a Rolls Royce I seen about town a few times, it was not nice.

rusty6 · Jul 17, 2020

(quoted from post at 10:54:36 07/17/20) Nice one!

I've seen a variety of them, there were ElDorado Cadillacs, must have been a company doing them, they were done right, think they were done in Oklahoma.
.

I think those were called "flower cars" to carry the floral displays at funerals. I don't know the name of the company that built them but they do look well done. Ours in Sask. were strictly farm built and ranged from downright crude to pretty decent.
Here is a nice Cadillac.

showcrop · Jul 17, 2020

The farmer that I worked for as a kid had an 8 year old 56 Ford car that he used as a truck. All he did was take the back seat out. He was a sharp business man and owned a huge campground and two hotels and a winter place in FL by the time he died. When I was maybe a Junior in HS, a 48 Ford express truck showed up on the local Ford dealer's lot. We had a good time joking on the school bus about who would ever buy such a junk. A few days later it was gone, and a few days after that I was driving it. I wasn't laughing anymore.

rusty6 · Jul 17, 2020

(quoted from post at 17:37:59 07/17/20)
The farmer that I worked for as a kid had an 8 year old 56 Ford car that he used as a truck..

When I was a kid in high school I really wanted a 56 Ford but never did get one. Might still be time for it to happen though. I actually passed up the chance to buy this 55 Pontiac converted to a truck. It was at a farm auction in spring of 2014 and sold for scrap price considering the appearance and condition.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 18, 2020

Back when I was raising baby calves I took the back seat out of an old Buick and used it to haul the calves home in the Winter.

rusty6 · Jul 18, 2020

(quoted from post at 04:01:14 07/18/20) Back when I was raising baby calves I took the back seat out of an old Buick and used it to haul the calves home in the Winter.

Yes, it was common for a car to do the work of a truck here too. Back when farmers couldn't afford $75000.00 pickups with tiny cargo boxes. My dad would take the back seat out of this 39 Ford on occasion to haul home a new calf. Thank goodness he did not butcher it into a pickup truck like some did.

Canadian "Ute"

rusty6

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centash

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Rich'sToys

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rusty6

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pete 23

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TomA in CA

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cdmn

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fixerupper

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