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With an eye for the detail required to authentically restore vehicles, and the experience of three successes - his two 1956 one-and-a-half ton gravel trucks and his 1951 half-ton - Ken Smithson was ever on the lookout for interesting subjects. Already acquainted with most International models through his life as a farmer, a trucker, and a foreman in road construction, seeing a truck he particularly liked, Ken would buy it. Gradually he accumulated 75 vehicles - mostly old wrecks - and stowed them out of sight behind the trees on his farm 29 kilometres straight north of Rimbey, Alberta.By 1982 Ken learned that over the course of 40 years, International had made only 19 different series of half-tons. Ken decided to collect them all. Typically, a series would run more than one year. International began building half-tons in 1934 with the C series, and their last half-ton, the 100 series, rolled off the assembly line in December 1974 - a total of 19 unique half-tons.
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On his farm Ken built a 24 by 24 foot shop, and there he began work. Hauling in a derelict, he would change the motor and do all the rough work. Terry Sheane did most of the electrical and fine-tuning. Both Ken's and Terry's parents were from the same Manitoba town, and Ken and Terry became friends. Terry, who was shop foreman at Neville Roper's Ford garage in Rimbey, was intrigued by Ken's project.As for the bodywork, Ken was fortunate to meet Lorne Hicks, a young man from Calgary who married into the Springdale district, not far from Rimbey. Lorne worked in town at Rimbey Collision Repair, Keith Bland's shop. When the economic crunch hit in the early 1980s, Lorne's continued employment at Bland's was contingent on a drop in salary. His employer suggested a solution: that Lorne approach Ken about helping with his truck restorations.
Lorne drove out to Ken's farm and presented his case. Ken was only too eager for Lorne's help if Lorne could paint and do bodywork in Ken's small shop. Soon an arrangement was reached that satisfied all three parties. Bland would keep his experienced body man, Ken would benefit from Lorne's expertise, and Lorne would earn enough to meet his financial obligations.
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A truck at the test-drive stage in 1987.1938
Ken Smithson's farm, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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Lorne Hicks, the body man, at the left, with Terry Sheane, the mechanic, both seated on Terry's own 1938 Ford truck at an early stage of restoration. Once the trio of Ken, Lorne and Terry began working in earnest, they also restored a number of Terry's vehicles.Ken, who had taken his earliest restored trucks into town to be painted at Rimbey Collision Repair, knew Lorne's quality work firsthand. Now almost everything could be done at the farm, right in Ken's shop. Terry and Lorne, who both continued with their regular employment, came out to Ken's evenings, weekends, and holidays. Their experienced workmanship and their enthusiasm were matched only by Ken's own. This enthusiasm carried them through the eight years required to complete the project.
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International 1935 C-1 in the workshop in 1985.1935
Ken Smithson's workshop, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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In the narrow confines of Ken Smithson's 24 x 24 foot shop, work begins on the 1935 C-1, shown above stripped down to the chassis.This shop is also where Jay Hirsche, a retired welder, often came with his welding truck to work with Ken. When Ken was repairing the 1955 R half-ton, he needed a short wheelbase for his display - the display that Ken always kept in his head with the trucks in year-order heading down the line.
A long wheelbase would not display well in between all the shorts, so Hirsche - perhaps the most experienced Alberta welder at just that very task - worked with Ken's long wheelbase 1955 and cut it just behind the cab, taking out an entire foot. Putting the weld in behind the running board brace, Ken had to get down and look underneath to even see evidence of Jay Hirsche's cut.
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International 1955 R half-ton in 1985.1955
Ken Smithson's farm, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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In restoring the 1955 R110, bodywork and painting were done at Rimbey Collision Repair. Welding was by Jay Hirsche.9
For every truck photo in his album, Ken Smithson has a rich story.17 April 2008
Ken Smithson's home in Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Dijie Ratzlaff
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Ken Smithson still loves to talk about the golden days of restoring a complete collection of International half-tons. |
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