1959 Chevy Olson KurbSide by Grumman Step Van
What is a Kurb Side?
The Olson KurbSide by Grumman (now Morgan Olson) step vans were typically used as delivery or transport vehicles much like the modern step vans of today. Thelma, our beautiful 60+ year old gal, is a KurbSide.
Click here for some more history on the Olson Kurb Side.
Finding Her
As I started my search for a unique vintage vehicle to give Chilljoy a home, I stumbled upon this lime green beauty in Dayton, Ohio in January 2019. As luck would have it, the owners were planning to list her for sale and so I beat everyone to the punch. I had just learned what a Kurb Side was the day before. Kismet? I think so.
Why the name Thelma?
My wonderful and talented grandmother loved ice cream until her very last day. In fact, it was her very last meal before leaving us suddenly many years ago. Her name was Thelma Joy. I miss her so much and I wanted to incorporate her memory into this journey of mine in some small way.
The Makeover
Because we all love a good make over story, check out a few of the before photos. She used to be a roach coach. We haven’t been able to find any info prior to that.
Army veteran, Ben Leach of Dayton, OH spent the better part of 2017 working on her. He documented much of the build on his Instagram page.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Year: 1959
- Body: Olson Kurb Side by Grumman (original)
- Model: Series 30
- Chassis: Chevrolet (original)
- Engine: Chevrolet 5.7L 350 V8 (definitely not original)
- Transmission: 3-speed auto Turbo-Hydramatic 400 (rebuilt)
- Carburetor: QuadraJet (rebuilt)
- Curb weight: 4,700lbs (before interior build out)
- Wheelbase: 137″
- Overall Length: 20′
Building Chilljoy!
Now that she was ours, it was time to turn our focus to building her interior to become a high quality frozen treatery truck in Columbus, Ohio. Enjoy!
Thank you for checking out our gorgeous gal! What do you think? Leave a comment below. Positive vibes only, ya’ll! 😉
I love your Thelma! Just saw it on a stepvan page. Are those 16″ 8 lug rims? I’m looking to find the moon hubcaps like yours for my Kurbmaster Junior aka “Kurby” and keep hitting a wall. Appreciate any leads you may have for me. Mahalo! JD
Hi John! Thanks for checking her out! I honestly should know this. Eek! Let me check and I’ll let you know. 🙂
Absolutely love the black-and-white with the lime green! Super cool and what a transition!! I’m sure she is grateful for her new family!
I appreciate you, your Grumman has inspired me to get back to work on my ’61…thank you.