SASKATOON – A delegation from Saskatchewan is in Arizona this week to sell a custom-made truck for charity at an international automobile auction.
The truck, which was designed and built in Warman, Sask., is a 1956 Ford F-100 pickup truck merged with a Shelby Mustang and a 5.4-litre V8 engine. It’s being auctioned off at the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Event in Scottsdale, Arizona on Friday.
“This particular concept had never really been done before,” said Bruce Williams, who designed the truck.
All proceeds from the sale will go towards the future children’s hospital in Saskatoon.
“We anticipate that it will go into a major piece of equipment that will be lifesaving for children here in Saskatchewan,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan’s president and CEO.
The auction is a rare opportunity for the Warman-based crew; their truck is the only Canadian charity vehicle for sale at the event this week.
“This year they’ve whittled it down to eight,” he added.
The truck, named ‘Snakebit,’ was constructed over a nine-month period and unveiled at an auto show in Las Vegas by KISS bassist Gene Simmons and his wife, Shannon Tweed, who grew up in Saskatoon.
“It was really, really exciting to see thousands of people on the stage, watching the unveil,” said Thiessen.
At the unveiling, Simmons said he wanted to see the truck sell for one million dollars, however, organizers were much more cautious in their sale predictions.
“We’d like to see a reasonable amount of money,” said Thiessen.
“I think the world record for a similar vehicle is about $180,000 for a ‘56 ford, if we could see something north of that, I think everybody would be delighted.”
Regardless of how much the winning bidder pays for ‘Snakebit,’ organizers say the project shows the charitable side of Saskatchewan.
“We are different than the rest of this country in my opinion; we are a volunteer capital of the world, we are a giving people,” said Boback Lane.
“It’s about Saskatchewan work ethic and Saskatchewan ingenuity and a great cause and it happens to be a truck,” added Williams.
‘Snakebit’ is expected to be on the auction block around 8:30 p.m. CST on Friday.
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