Well to my surprise, the post on this website to gain the most comments and readership has been that of the Grizzly Truck, a made in British Columbia Monster of a vehicle still to be seen in small numbers around the western half of the continent. With the help of photos from another site Grizzly Info and linking to the only other blog post on the Grizzly I could find (helpful in the comments section) I have made here a collection of all of the photos and information so far gained by having the post up on Willbop for the last year. I have not included comments from the other blog site but you can go ahead and link there to see them. Some are repeats from here.

We have learned the various places the trucks may have been built, the names of some of the participats (and the Grizzly fate of the business and one of its owners). We have also learned that there is some substantial demand for these trucks and the technical drawings, machine tools, fabricator programs and manufacturing documents that were used to make them. Any one holding on to something from the production days that needs to make a little cash? Post a comment here and you may find a buyer.

Here are the clue comments so far:

Comment by Zac |
2006-05-08 04:47:43
Rumour has it that the Grizzlies are being made in Campbell River on Vancouver Island now. Just word on the street.
Comment by Jim M |
2006-05-10 11:42:56
I worked for the Grizzly Truck Company during its final days. As far as I know it was bought by a company in Arizona and all the assets of the company were moved there. Whether or not they are still in business I do not know.
Comment by Jim M 2006-05-10 12:05:02
An addendum to my last post. I do know that the owner of the defunct Grizzly Trucks started another company called Blue Grizzly Truck and Equipment Ltd. and the owner is Geoff Buck.
Comment by roy |
2006-06-09 12:44:27
well - the company went broke when the US imposed embargos on Iran in the 80’s(?) - only a few left running …. too bad as they are a real truck (a’int no damn H2) and buddy had a real vision.
Comment by Jim |
2006-12-09 09:56:30
Sorry Roy. The Yanks had nothing to do with it.
Much as we like to blame our neighbours to the south, it was just business problems. Did you see any large logging companies here buying them? Didn’t think so.
Comment by Bruce |
2006-06-16 12:05:36
The company went broke in New West and the owner hung himself in the shop. Not nice. (97)
Comment by John Welch |
2006-08-07 07:08:23
I worked with this company in the early 90’s for specification applications of low speed cruise control. The truck features a Cummins heavy truck engine and all mechanical components are designed to be field interchangeable with logging industry equipment parts and fittings already on site where you are working. I still have some books on the trucks. The owner wanted to make a truck that could survive the logging industry conditions. It is the most heavy duty vehicle for off road ever built so far and simple to repair.

Comment by Lonewolf |
2006-10-16 16:26:50
In the summer of 96 I had the opportunity to see the small plant in New Westminister BC and to meet the owner and spent time talking about buying one in the future. He let me take pics of his truck and a truck being built. Later when I was in town again I called to talk to him sadly though, I was told he had been killed in an industrial accident a few days earlier and the furture of company was uncertain.
I still have the truck booklet that I requested showing the many body and drive train versions to meet ones specific requirements. This truck is awesome and still my first chocie. I’m not able to find any info on the company and would like to know if it is still being built and if they have a Web Site.
Comment by Cory |
2006-11-01 03:08:08
I have seen these truck in Fort St. John BC. Canada. They were used in The oil patch, I do know that there were at least 3 in town in the time frame of 92 - 95. These trucks were very impressive very heavy. I never had a chance to work on one, but I do know they were built like tanks. They make the H1 look like a tin can. I do think I know who owned one in Fort St. John so I will make some calls and find out if they are still around. I will post again if I find one.
Comment by Mike |
2006-11-10 06:18:46
There was two of them around Comox on Vancouver Island when I was there in the early 90’s. There was an enclosed type as the picture above and a Pickup model I believe in red. Amazing truck. There are several logging companies on the island so I assumed they belong to some of them.
Comment by Allan Crawford |
2006-11-19 19:56:08
I would like to buy on if ever anyone sees one for sale. I run a company in Whsitler Called Canadian Snowmobile Adventures. My number is 604-932-8809
Thanks
Comment by Rohi |
2006-11-26 01:55:38
I saw one 3 nights ago on Granville Street at 70th in Vancouver. My initial reaction was that it was one of my designs which I worked on several years ago. However, when it passed me, I realized that this machine was a simple design compared to the more aggressive and classy looking machine which I have drawn…..However, the Grizzly is an awesome beast though.
I have been thinking for a few years to build a true Canadian SUV,…… put the Hummer 1, 2 and 3 to shame…. If I see the Grizzly again I will try to take some pictures.

That is it for now. Thanks for the visits.

In response to the immediatly preceeding post “BC Place Dome Collapse 20 Mins Ago” another blogger responds “Photos Schmotos” and shows this vid. I agree 100%. .

In my defence, I had the post up within 30 mins. Here is the (way cool) video

Emerging Reports indicate that a large tear has developed in the roof of the cloth domed BC Place Stadium in Vancouver (home of the BC Lions Football Team and several annual expos and events). No injuries have been reported.

Here is a photo of the stadium on a normal day and in better health. I wonder if they will have it fixed before the boatshow! (Feb 7-11 2007). Hundreds of vendors will be waiting to hear if this will postpone or cancel the show and this is the second time in three years theshow has been threatned. A labour strile two years ago almost scuttled the 2005 show.

The CBC Website Reports:

The domed roof of B.C. Place Stadium collapsed with a loud bang on Friday afternoon and is completely flat.

Two City of Vancouver workers told CBC News that there appeared to have been a hole in the roof.

They said they heard some flapping, followed by what sounded like an explosion.

They said they believe the whole internal roof support structure may be gone.

Former CBC journalist Kathryn Gretsinger said the deflated dome was the “strangest sight ever” as she travelled into downtown Vancouver over the Cambie Bridge.

She said there was only a circular rim of concrete visible when looking up from outside.

Here is a more dramatic shot of the flacid facility:

For at least ten years, a community of people have been using False Creek, a former industrial sewer and more recently a focal point for a rapidly expanding civic rehabilitation zone, as a permanent anchoring site for their boats. The interesting twist is that the boats are inhabited, each a one or two bedroom apartment floating on the inlet.

As the surrounding neighborhood beautified and the average income of its residents skyrocketed, more and more complaints about the boat dwellers made it to city hall. Some of the boats are perfectly tidy boats but some are, ahem, creatively maintained. Many of the boats are commercial fishing craft converted to be ‘liveaboards’. There owners row back and fourth to their jobs and city activities, confident that the heavily integrated community that has been forged among the boaters of False Creek will keep their possessions safe and also comforted by the fact that the ebb and tide of parochial NIMBY-ism sometimes prevalent in city politics will not impact their way of life as False Creek is under the jurisdiction of a Federal government that, for the most part, has forgotten we exist and only speaks French anyway.

Until recently. Boaters, out! Find a new home or sell your boats! The boaters of False Creek must leave immediately now that the city has successfully lobbied Ottawa to change the navigation act to make False Creek a regulated anchorage area. The salty nonconformists must weigh anchor and move on.

I don’t know how I feel about this actually. I often liked the thought of having them there. It was quirky and community making and a good story to tell. I sometimes feel that governments can push for a civic state of being that is too sanitized and not folksy enough to represent an “organically cohesive” society and the result is social alienation. (eat that Emile Durkheim). It s true that new sewage regulation would have made the squatters (ha-ha) illegal anyway as it is now prohibited to discharge waste closer than 2 miles from land. (This regulation does not apply to the city of Victoria apparently, who dumps the contents of its citizen’s bowels into the Straight of Georgia. It also would require the building of a few hundred more pump-out stations), but considering that the Creek has not fully recovered from being a 70 year old industrial waste pool, 100 boaters seems less important.

Still, some of the boats looked kind of ratty. The Olympics are coming up (but should we remove a charming quirk?) and given the rudimentary nature of marine showers, these people probably smell.

Blogged with Flock

Here in Coquitlam Center, Suburban mall of note East of Vancouver BC, the assembled gather in communion for a Fifa administered dose of global community. The serving is especially felt in multi-culti Greater-Van.

GOAL!

If you look at the top of this page, you may find pleasing to the eye a pair of planes. These Harbour Air seaplanes were photographed by talented Briana and she very graciously applied them to the front bumper of this web-log.

At that time she and I lived not three blocks from where these planes and others of their ilk could be seen idling at all hours of the day and night, should one care to see them. They would fly in from parts unknown (or Nanaimo) and land in Coal Harbour and disgorge their folk onto the dock.

Once, the seaplane became engorged with the very photographer who took the above photos only to deposit her into the waiting arms of her fuzzy lover in Victoria last November. Ahh, la Bree en Rose. Romantique, c’est vrai?

Now however, we live no longer by the sea and all of its aircraft but rather on the roaring Fraser River, at the Quay, in New Westminster. It would be dishonest to continue associating myself with these high-flyers now that I’m a burb-blogger. I need a new photo, I need a make-over.

Papa needs a brand new bag!

But what? What image can hold the front line and convey all that is -me- and -New Westminster- and -the Fraser River-. Skytrain? No, too in-other-suburbs-as-well. The Tin Soldier at the Quay? No too, um , too irrelevant.

Give us a hint, guv?

Luna, Meet Poochie

Originally uploaded by Will_Tom.

This is a post about a cetacean. Like Slobodan Milosovic, Luna was a killer by reputation. Also like Slobodan Milosovic, Luna died today. It is unfortunate for the victims of the Serbian dictator’s regime, that Slobo was not killed by being rung over by a tugboat and sliced to bits. A little keel hauling a-la Louise Arbour could do the world some good parenthetically speaking.

So Luna was a mischievous rake who would bust up sailboats and cheekily encase the souls of dead Indian Chiefs from the nearby First Nations Communities but he was cute and a mammal and available as a plush toy, so we shall mourn.

Slobo, not so much.

Carole Taylor

Originally uploaded by Will_Tom.

Today in Victoria BC, Provincial Foxy Finance Minister Carole Taylor released the details of the BC 2006 Provincial Budget.

“The focus of the budget is children, there’s 421 million dollars over four years including 72 million to add more social workers and front line staff.” CKNW

The budget is notable for two serious things and some other things that are not so serious.

Bad press about useless youth and child services = more money and focus on such like. Serious.

Province turning a corner on a localised recession and so this is the first real ’spendie’ budget (possibly on the backs of the down-trodden, who am I to say.) Serious.

In the not-so-serious catagory. “Baby needs a new pair of shoes”. In keeping with tradition, the Finance Minister sports a new pair of shoes on budget day. Usually loafers, brogues and oxfords on the dour feet of the folically challenged get passing mention on budget day. -But Baby!- $600 Gucci pumps complete with the horse bit logo. Bling Bling!

So guess what the radio news focused on? Shoes, legs, related topics. Then the Speaker of the house says ‘Baby’ he better not be talking about any one present in the Legislature. So sure we in BC have a FMILF with gams from here to Revelstoke but the children! The Children!

A Room with a View

Originally uploaded by Will_Tom.

One thing I will not miss when we move from this apartment is the view. The street noise we are used to. The parking we are used to. The creepy boppers an eggs throw away slaving away…well, they are still creepy. The photo doesn’t give you the sense on how close they are. I can feel their sweaty creepy faces peering in on us. I guess we are ‘boppers’ too, to them.

We did see the dramatic uptick in bopper population post-New Year’s resolutions. We saw the faces, resolute, and then we saw less and less of them.

Yet they bop on. I am glad for the glass between us.

9oclockgun

Originally uploaded by Will_Tom.

One of the things I really like about living in downtown Vancouver is the ways the city has of keeping you in time with its rhythm. The office buildings disgorge at 430 and the streets are filled with suits and skirts popping into HMV to buy a disk they didn’t know they wanted until they saw it. Another example is the horns on the Hydro Building that I (used) to hear moaning “O Canada” across the skyline. It is connective. It is visceral. It is…. kind of parental.

Vancouver even tells me when I should think about going to bed. I don’t, but every time I hear the 9 o’clock gun I think:
1) it is 9 o’clock
2) I should think about going to bed
3) what am I twelve? I ain’t goin’ to bed yet!
4) Oh, isn’t that sweet. Vancouver really cares!
5) Pirates… or the French! “Heart of Oak! Rule Brittania!”

Well ok, not neccessarily in that order.

Still, soon I will move to New Westminster where my father was born, his father and his father before that. The cannons on the river are filled with concrete and I have to wait until the Hyack festival to hear any really good black powder explosions. Oh well. I think the trains go by at the same time each day.