New lease on life for former police vehicles

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This article was published 23/05/2018 (2158 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The three-wheeled vehicles city police once used for zipping between cars and parking in minuscule spaces are making a comeback.

A pair of vintage Cushman Trucksters are being restored by students at the Manitoba Institute for Trades and Technology, in preparation for their new home at the Winnipeg Police Museum.

“This is a new venture for us to reach out and partner with students,” said Winnipeg Police Service deputy chief Gord Perrier.

Secondary and post-secondary automotive students will work on the restorations, and save the downtown museum some money. In turn, the museum will purchase parts, and help with tuition for some students in need. A dollar figure was not disclosed.

The Cushman Trucksters were formerly used by Winnipeg police for parking enforcement, dating to the 1960s.

The small vehicles were not for the actual patrols out issuing tickets but rather for the sergeants checking up on those patrols, said Jack Templeman, the former long-time curator of the police museum (who still volunteers there).

The two models being restored became part of the police fleet in 1981. By 1983-84, responsibility for handing out parking violations was transferred to the Winnipeg Parking Authority, and the vehicles found a second life transporting staff in city parks.

The City of Winnipeg had been in possession of one of the two models being restored. The other found its way years ago to a man in Ontario, who later sold it to a man in Manitoba, who eventually donated it to the museum.

The trucksters have about 40 years of dirt, dust and grime coating the dashboard and hardened into the grooves of the rubber corduroy flooring.

They are basic motor vehicles, with just a steering wheel, gear shift, and a few gauges. There are two side vents that serve as air conditioning, along with sliding windows.

They also top out at roughly 30 to 40 km/h — which should be ample for their future life in the museum, and once in awhile getting out for events such as the annual Santa Claus Parade and Teddy Bears’ Picnic.

The Cushman company, founded in 1903 by Everett and Clinton Cushman, is based in Augusta, Ga. It made the trucksters from 1952 to 2002, but its speciality was scooters (which it still makes).

Trucksters are light-duty vehicles used for work such as selling ice cream, transporting staff in parks and stadiums — and parking enforcement.

Mathieu Hrynchuk, a Grade 11 student at MITT, is in charge of the restoration projects. The trucksters need a lot of work, he said.

“A lot of parts need to be replaced like the master cylinder, the muffler. There needs to be a complete rewiring and expensive bodywork needs to be done,” Hrynchuk said.

He said the restorations could be complete by early 2019.

The police museum has become a popular spot since it moved into the new WPS headquarters (245 Smith St.). A police spokesman said visits have gone from a few hundred when the facility was in Westwood, to 10,000 last year.

The museum is expecting up to 1,000 visitors this weekend for the annual Doors Open Winnipeg event, when the public can view many buildings noted for architecture or history at no cost.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca