1957 CHEVROLET 3100 TASK FORCE DELUXE CAB PICKUP
GROWING UP WITH A PASSION FOR CARS, GARY MCNEIL L HAS DEVELOPED A TALENT FOR INVESTING IN SOME VERY DISTINCTIVE CLASSICS
NOT JUST ANY OLD PICKUP
Gary Mcneill has always sought something a bit different from the mainstream and carefully selected vehicles that stand out from the mundane. No other members of his family helped influence his initial interest in cars, he says; it was just a passion that he had for rare and exciting vehicles, which later led to the recognition of the investment potential of tracking down the right cars. “I remember there was this ’ 70–’80s black JPS Ford Capri with a bulge in the bonnet and a big V6 engine across the road from where I was growing up. I was probably just 12 or 13 years old. It was an awesome car, with its Granada V6,” he says.
A career as a chef, and now managing the challenging catering division of Otago University, would seem at odds with an interest in rare classic and sports cars. But just look at the career of the likes of British chef Paul Hollywood — the celebrity’s fascination with cars and his motor racing success have fitted the two interests into a lifestyle, so maybe there is a connection there, given the appreciation for detailed presentation in both pastimes?
A century of pickups
About five years ago, Gary was searching for something rare, and he found an exceptional vehicle, quite different to anything he had previously owned — a Chevrolet pickup. But it wasn’t just any old pickup — it was a 1957 Chevrolet 3100 Task Force Deluxe Cab, featuring panoramic rear windows; a sun visor; chrome bonnet rockets; and a rare colour scheme called ‘Ocean Green’, a hue more usually seen on ’57 Corvettes. The pickup is completely original, including the 235-cubic-inch (3.9-litre) six-cylinder engine — which Chevrolet called the ‘Thriftmaster’ — fitted with a three-speed column-shift manual gearbox.
Gary had been searching for a truck for quite some time on trips to the US, at various locations, but it was hard to find the particular truck he wanted, let alone one in good condition. General Motors (GM) produced a huge number of pickups over the years, and 2018 signals 100 years of producing them, with most being driven until they literally fell apart. As work vehicles, they were knocked about and worked hard, so it was not surprising to find that survivors are scarce. His ideal truck
was a 1957 model, as that was the one that appealed the most to him. After looking without success for so long, purely by chance, he came across the right vehicle, the one he would purchase and return to New Zealand.
Spotted on the streets of LA
“When I was in Santa Monica, even though it was a family holiday, it was sort of in the back of my mind to buy an old Chevy pickup truck if I found the right one,” Gary recalls. “We went to the Pomona Swap Meet and travelled from one end of the States to the other on holiday. We couldn’t find anything.”
That was until a truck sitting on the side of the road in Santa Monica, with its elderly owner behind the wheel, caught his attention. “I just knew straight away as soon as I saw it — because I had seen a few
The truck was in such good condition that he knew that this was the right one to buy. The standard of restoration made it a very easy decision, and a deal was done
“I pretty much bought it on the side of the street, then asked if he would be kind enough to drive it down to Kiwi Shipping a couple of weeks later in LA. One of the easiest car deals I’ve ever made”
Chevy pickups on my trips — and as soon as I saw that one, I just knew that it was me,” Gary says.
He spoke with its elderly owner, and it became obvious that someone had done a pretty thorough job of restoring the truck. It boasted a number of factory features, such as the rare sun visor, but it was the colour scheme and pristine condition that impressed Gary and his wife the most. They were somewhat surprised when they discovered just how long ago that restoration had been.
“It had been restored about 15 years ago. Like I say, it’s a very nice truck, and it has held up very well. It was assembled in LA and spent pretty much most of its life in Texas,” Gary tells us. The truck was in such good condition that he knew that this was the right one to buy. The standard of restoration made it a very easy decision, and a deal was done.
“I’m not sure how long the old chap had owned it for, or if he restored it or purchased it like that. I think he might have owned it the majority of that time.
“I just caught him at the right time, as he was struggling to drive it with no power steering and no power brakes. The old fella just said, ‘Hey, it’s time’.
“I pretty much bought it on the side of the street, then asked if he would be kind enough to drive it down to Kiwi Shipping a couple of weeks later in LA. One of the easiest car deals I’ve ever made. No negotiations, no travelling to see it. It was just one of those things. It was meant to be,” Gary remembers.
When asked the obvious question — what it is like to drive — Gary says with a chuckle, “Like a truck! No power steering, no power brakes, but I love it. I love driving it just for that reason, because you are driving it. It just motors along on the open road beautifully at 100kph without a problem. It’s just beautiful.”
The only modification Gary intended making to the pickup was to change the rear leaf springs back to the correct number of leaves, but, other than that, there’s no intention to touch anything else. Town driving, especially on Dunedin’s narrow streets, is definitely challenging, according to Gary: “Yes, it is, but, just like the Pantera [a rare European-specification De Tomaso Pantera GTS that Gary also has in his collection] with its big tyres, once you are moving, it’s fine. It’s just when you are slowing down.”
With the long search behind him, Gary reckons that it’s great to be able to sit back and enjoy what is an impressive vehicle for its type.
Sales of pickups attracted stiff competition between Chevrolet and Ford during this
car’s era, not to mention Dodge and, to a lesser extent, Studebaker and International, but the big factor for Gary was style. This particular example has a fully restored and lined stepside deck in unmarked condition.
“Yep, I wanted a ’57. It was an iconic year, just like the sedans and the coupés. It had to be a ’57 — the shape on the Chevrolet pickups was just a little different to the ’55 and ’56 models. The bonnet has more of a profile, featuring the two rockets and lumps. There are a few better design features too for this, the last model of that shape. The next model, the Apache that appeared in ’58, boasted twin headlights as well as a slightly altered body shape,” explains Gary.
Part of the family
And although it requires a bit of effort to drive, it has proved to be a very popular and reliable vehicle.
“I don’t have a nickname for it, I just call it the ‘old girl’. Let’s put it this way: out of all the vehicles I’ve owned, this one is part of the family,” he says.
“Even though my wife doesn’t drive it, because it has no power steering or power brakes, and she struggles with it, she wouldn’t let me sell this one. It’s just part of the family. I could flick any of the cars in my collection tomorrow, to be honest. I’ve had two offers for the truck this week, and I told them both, no point in negotiating. It’s just not for sale.”
“Parts supply is pretty good. Chucks in Auckland is able to supply parts, and there are plenty being remanufactured by the active US repro industry, including items such as the sun visor fitted to this truck.”
Sitting alongside its very different stablemates, this impressive vehicle oozes a certain charm, and, given the length of time since it was substantially restored 15 years ago, it is one very charismatic and enjoyable truck.
As we travel from Gary’s home to Kaikorai Valley to take some photos, there is that characteristic lower gear sound that three-speed Chevrolets of all descriptions have. The driving position can only be described as commanding, with great all-round vision. The ride is firm and a little pitchy, but the overall impression is of a very solid and rattle-free truck. Like all Chevrolets, that great old six-cylinder engine lugs away without any drama. It’s not hard to see the attraction of these trucks for their owners.
“At the end of the day, it’s just an old truck. GM made something like 300,000 pickup trucks in 1957. They are hard to find as they were just used and abused,” Gary says.
Owning the Chevrolet and communicating with fellow owners in New Zealand and overseas, he has found that, “[t]hey all sort of help each other and I just love it.” He finds the same with owners of the other cars in his garage, a Plymouth Superbird Road Runner and the aforementioned De Tomaso Pantera GTS. It was the same during the restoration of his Ford Mustang Boss 429 a few years ago (also a New Zealand Classic Car feature car), finding that the small, close-knit ownership communities for these vehicles and the level of help and friendliness are what he enjoys.