Grizzly Trucks

Had some erands to today so loaded up the truck with all the recycling and headed off.The dump is right next door and I took the truck in and had it weighed.It got weighed with Mary and I in it but my fuel tank was only a 1/4 full.Next stop was fuel and I came home and did the math..
With no one in the truck and the fuel tank full (30 gal) the truck weighs 7571lbs or 3441KG..I would have lost the bet on guessing the trucks weight.This is much more than I thought...
Now the truck would have been weighed when new to get the paper work done.Regi says the truck weighs 3500KG..So considering all the changes I made and all the work I did it worked out OK...Truck actually lost 59KG..(trying to be funny)
Heavier than I would have guessed but still lighter than the new diesel 1 ton 4x4's...

Well I finally got a hold of (he called me actually) the owner of the truck sold on Gibsons a few months back.Nice guy and has a pretty good knowledge of Grizzly's and has always wanted one..Truck is a conversion by Grizzly and is mounted on a 95/96 Ford F-350 4x4 Powerstroke chassis.I have been told that the truck originally was Cummins powered and owned by Geoff Bucks brother..It was later owned by the RCMP and used to tow there race car..Turns out the truck is 15 min east of me.I will go have a look and get some more info very soon...
I should have said...This truck was a 2wd auto on a Grizzly frame and was converted by Grizzly...I am going to find out more info on this..

As the truck looks now..


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This after the conversion and for sale in 96 for $56,000...I do not know the time frame of when the RCMP owned it but it was before this..
Next pic is how it looked in the 90's

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I also had a long talk with Art who owns truck(#7) in Sayward..Great guy and certainly know's a lot of Grizzly history as he is the original owner.He fed me so much stuff I don't remember it all....When I am on the Island in the spring I will go see him.

Art's truck.....

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Having issues with the pics....I will do this the hard way...
Gibsons truck as sold a few months ago...

Gibsons truck as it looked in the 90's..

So are there any trucks missing now?

Hey Hank...As far as I know I am only missing 2 trucks now.The yellow oil field truck is one but Avery from Rust Valley Resto tells me that truck is in one of the neighbouring towns.I am also missing the truck I believe to be #3..No rumor's of it at all.I was told by the owner of truck #6 which is in Prince George that the truck used to live there but disappeared years ago.The hunt continues.

I think the Grizzly on Rust Valley Resto will spark a few people into doing internet searches and maybe being a little curious.Storys will be told and maybe someone will hear a story that leads to finding them.I took Mary on another errand run last weekend to the mall.I just sat in the truck.A couple guys came up and talked to me and 3 people asked if they could take pictures..People are curious...

The Grill tells me these are both early trucks.Straight bars and no maple leafs...The trucks are actually very similar(????)

I got a call today from a friend who lives in Qualicum.The last truck built has been sitting outside in a compound there for way to long (years)..It has recently disappeared.My friend keeps a eye on it for me so it has happened recently...Hopefully it just been moved inside somewhere...Or better yet its inside the shop getting worked on..
I am trying to find out the story.

Last Oct my Gran son and I sent a 1 hr looking there and Bowser looking and no sight Will send picture to Son in law for him to ask around.

I remember you telling me that....I wonder if its getting some shop time.He told me he had a new young guy working for him and he was eager to get working on it...I don't believe the business in the compound is the owners but I believe he owns the building...

I had my friend check the compound after (weeks) you said you couldn't see it and he said it was there...More questions than I have answers for..

Not much going on with the truck right now.Its pretty much just sitting in its tent.Still have my F-150 4x4 so It gets the salt bath and road crud we have right now.It also heats up to temp in a 1/4 of the time the Grizzly does.
Finished putting in the new belts today.Truck was built with early 80's Ranger belts with floor mounted retractors.I found a belt company in the states that make a similar system.With minor modification the retractors fit my floor brackets..Nice to have working retractors.I could only get black but that's ok..
The "to do" list is getting very small....

I sent a e-mail off a few weeks ago to the guy who owns the black grizzly as he is friends with Bruce who owns the burgundy truck in Qualicum.I got a answer today.Apparantly the Qualicum truck which happens to be the last one built has been moved and put in to dry storage.Hopefully they are going to start work on it.At least the truck is out of the weather now.........

Update on the Qualicum truck...The truck has actually changed ownership.That is why it was moved.New owner got a hold of me and we have been doing the Q&A thing for a few days now.Poor girl has been sitting outside for way to long.Truck is running again but obviously not happy...He has sent me lots of pics.I haven't CSI'd all the pics but I noticed a few things...
Frame is a Grizzly frame and truck has the airbags.Rear set-up is similar to mine but not the same.Same goes for the front.Dash appears to be the standard Grizzly dash that was used starting with the 2nd truck.Truck would appear to have been built with A/C.Looks like a adjustable steering column.I will post more info when I get it..Truck is still in Qualicum.....
Future of the truck is uncertain.Owner may decide to sell.For now he is gathering info and is going to get the truck under a tent...

more......

Nice if you could #1 and Mary could have this one.

Hank....buying it has crossed my mind but I need to finish the stuff I have..Having the first and last ones built would be interesting...

Hmmmm... Frame up candidate. Looks fairly solid though. Couple years and a few (will vary between builders) handfuls of 100's and it will be standing tall.

Boy, she's a rough old girl. A guy would lose money vs. resale on it but if a guy loves the pickups then it is worth it as it is still saveable with a ground up as stated.

Agreed...it needs to be stripped to the core and start over.At least it is all there....

Seen that movie before, building street rods. Unless you can do 80 to 90 percent of the needed work yourself, it is a build for love. I built one that I had 8000 in just paint and body work. I have asthma and really don't want to foul up a already fouled up air intake system. So I hire all that done. Easy to burn 4000 to 8000 in in interior and the list goes on. Unless your last name is Foose or Coddington the chances of recovering your investment is difficult and becomes increasingly difficult as you pay for things that you don't do. Your truck, just based on the few numbers and a "coolness" factor for those of us who populate this business will probably return your investment. Classic cars ...Stutz, Packard, Rolls etc. will in most cases return all the investment, due to fewer numbers and initial high value.

The real key to rebuilding and cut the costs is knowing what parts work, where to get them cheap and a place to get machine work done. For my B75 hand build I have a friend that
owns a machine shop and he lets me use the equipment. Material is at cost. Having custom machine work done will kill most ideas.