Owning a piece of Swan River’s history can be an amazing and rare find. This is the case for Valley-born Jason Beasley of J-Ride Customs.
Beasley acquired the old milk truck from Crescent Creamery that was used in the Valley to deliver milk and cream to people. It was a treasure he stumbled upon while taking a drive out in the country.
“I have family in the Valley and was actually born in Swan River,” said Beasley. “I was cruising around with my Aunt Nancy Thomas and Uncle Bob Thomas. They have land up in the Pretty Valley area and on the way, I spotted the old Crescent Creamery milk truck just off a gravel road, in a field. It caught my eye and we stopped, because any kind of old vehicle gets my attention right away.
“My uncle stopped and I went and had a look at it. It was in rough shape and there wasn’t even a frame underneath it. It’s a 1954 International Metro Milk Truck and it’s a rare find. My uncle knew who owned the land it was on, so I called them up and I made a deal with the owner. My brother was coming back up to Swan River in a couple of weeks because my grandmother was moving to Winnipeg, so we put all of her stuff in the Metro and put it on a trailer and brought it back.”
Beasley is an avid retro vehicle collector and has dedicated his time to restoring many classic cars, trucks and antique automobiles. Through his business J-Ride Customs, he does all the custom work himself and has a dedicated YouTube channel that has videos of him doing the restoration work for people to see.
Restoring the old 1954 International Metro Milk Truck was challenging for a few reasons. It was in really rough shape; the parts were impossible to find and basically no longer exist.
“I just love old vehicles with all the curve detail they have on the body itself,” said Beasley. “I had to do some research because it was missing so many parts. It looks like someone was just gutting it and using it for parts at one time. There was no frame or motor in it when I bought it.
I had to find out what would fit underneath it the best with the least amount of modifications to it.
“I ended up buying a 2009 Dodge Durango and used that frame for underneath it, including the motor and transmission. Now it’s an all-wheel drive vehicle. I wasn’t able to find any of the old parts for it, so I had to customize and make my own. I had to make my own body panels and everything for it. On my YouTube channel, I have videos of myself making parts for this.
“Sure, it would have been nice to go to somewhere like California to find potential parts for this old milk truck, but you just can’t do that with these types of vehicles because there’s just not a lot of them around,” said Beasley. “You have to make do with what you can.”
It took some time for Beasley to find the right parts that would work with the old Metro milk truck.
He spent a lot of time researching what would work best. Once he had the materials, he began working on it through the winter and on side, amongst other projects and work he had coming into his shop.
“I owned the old Crescent Creamery milk truck for three years before I even did anything with it,” said Beasley. “That’s how much time it took to research and make parts. I work on big projects like this in the winter months. I have a decent size shop and the tools to work on stuff like this. I actually started working on the milk truck last fall to get to where it is now. It’s not totally finished, but did a fair amount of work to it, plus I have three or four other vehicles I was working on at the same time. Plus, I have other vehicles coming in for servicing as well.
“I’m going to bring the milk truck back into the shop for the winter and hopefully finish it. It’s not going to be all pristine; I’m going to leave the original paint and the mural on the side of it. That is all going to stay and where I put the new parts, I’m going to blend the paint to make it look older as well, to match.
“I’m also going to put the seats from the Dodge Durango inside the Metro Milk Truck, so it will have three rows of seating inside,” said Beasley. “I’m also using the dash from the Durango as well, because it’s got this nice woodgrain look to it.”
Restoring the old 1954 Metro milk truck has been a topic of discussion for people of all ages and from everywhere, not just the Valley. Many people remember a time when milk and cream were delivered to their home using milk trucks just like this.
“It’s a real conversation starter that’s for sure,” said Beasley. “A lot of older people remember these types of milk trucks from back in the day. They tell me how they got their milk and cream delivered back then in these trucks. My mom recalls that as well.
“Then I have all these delivery people and Amazon drivers who come here and they are just drooling over this old milk truck. People always ask if they can take pictures and are just blown away by it.”
Beasley has always loved classic automobiles and that led him to learn how to restore them. Some of the restorations he sells, and others stay part of his permanent collection.
“I have certain ones I keep after I’m done restoring them,” said Beasley. “I have a Corvette that I bought when I was 19 years old and a few Novas, Chevelles, cab over pick-up trucks in my collection. I’ve always been car crazy my whole life and I blame it on the band ZZ Top. I’m all self-taught when it comes to the autobody and restoration work.”
Beasley has plans for the 1954 Metro milk truck once it’s finished. It will become part of his permanent collection.
“Once it’s finished, I will keep it because it’s nostalgic to me, and is a part of my history and Swan River’s as well,” said Beasley. “It pulls on my heartstrings a bit. I plan to keep it and potentially take it and put it in car shows. I put a trailer hitch on it so if I want to pull a trailer and my Harley on the back, I can do so. There are a lot of options of things I can do with it now.
“It’s in the plan for me someday to show these restorations in car shows and even down in Arizona. I’ve had lots of people wanting to put old Crescent Creamery milk truck in the parade in Swan River for the rodeo, but it won’t be done for then, but likely next year it will be.”
To see more of Beasley’s restoration work and projects, you can watch videos on his YouTube channel under J-Ride Customs.