The Truck Arrives
When the 1953 International pulled into our shop, it arrived the way most honest old trucks do — with stories in every scratch and with plenty of work ahead. No wiring. A brake system that needed a thorough going-over. The bones of something great, waiting for hands that knew what to do with them.
Darren came prepared. He showed up with a detailed list of work he wanted done, and our team got to it.
The Build: What We Tackled
Electrical — Starting From Scratch
With no existing wiring to work around, we did a full American Auto Wire kit install. Starting clean like this is actually a gift — no chasing gremlins, no splices from three different decades. Just a proper, reliable electrical system built right from the ground up.
Cooling -
New electric fans and a thermostat were installed with custom mounts fabricated in-house. Keeping a 70-year-old truck cool on a summer drive takes more than original equipment.
Lighting -
We installed new Holly 7” round lights and modified and fitted new front park and signal lights. The result is a truck that looks period-correct at a glance but stops traffic safely in 2025.
Fuel System -
Fresh fuel lines were run throughout — no shortcuts, no compromises on something this critical.
Drivetrain -
One of the more interesting puzzles on this build: sourcing and supplying a new yoke to mate a GM driveshaft to a Ford 8.8 rear end. We sourced that through Alberta Driveline, and it fits the way it should.
Battery Tray -
A custom-mounted battery tray was supplied and fabricated. Neat, secure, and tucked where it belongs.
Glass -
Byron and Landon handled the install of the front windshield and rear windows. Getting glass into a truck this age without a crack takes patience and the right touch — they delivered on both.
Brakes -
Mike A. went through the entire brake system from front to back — inspecting, repairing what needed repairing, and bleeding the system clean. When Darren heads out on the road, the truck will stop as well as it goes.
More Than a Rebuild
Darren is picking the truck up next week and taking it home to finish the final details himself. That’s fitting. Some of the work on a truck like this should belong to the person who loves it most.
The reason for the urgency is something most of us can understand. Darren’s father’s health has been declining, and Darren has a simple, quiet hope: to take his dad for a few last drives this summer in the truck his father bought brand new, all those years ago, on a Friday the 13th.
There’s nothing we could build that would mean more than that.
