The B.C. Vintage Truck Museum History

The BC Vintage Truck Museum traces its roots to the Bob King Collection, a private assortment of antique trucks amassed by trucking magnate Bob King between the 1920s and 1950s. Following his passing in 1974, his collection was donated to the government, eventually becoming a foundation for public exhibitions.

A pivotal moment in the collection’s history came in 1986, when several trucks were showcased at Expo 86 in Vancouver, celebrating transportation history. The highlight of the event was a 1936 Indiana ‘87’ leading a parade across the new Coquihalla Highway.

After Expo 86, the trucks were temporarily housed at the BC Transportation Museum in Cloverdale, which closed in the early 1990s. The collection was then entrusted to Teamsters Joint Council 36, forming the Teamsters Freight Transportation Museum in Port Coquitlam. Under the care of Norm Lynch and retired Teamsters, many of these historic trucks were restored and featured in parades, Hollywood films, and heritage events.

In May 2012, the City of Surrey approved a lease allowing the collection to move to the former Surrey Museum on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. The move, completed in June and July 2012, saw 18 antique trucks carefully transported to their new home, where they were first publicly displayed at the Cloverdale Blueberry Festival that August.

A major milestone was reached in fall 2012, when the Teamsters formally donated the entire collection to the City of Surrey. Renovations soon followed, with the LARK Group retrofitting the former museum space to accommodate the collection. By early 2013, the facility—originally called the BC Heritage Transportation Centre—was renamed the BC Vintage Truck Museum.

Since then, the museum has continued to grow under the Surrey Heritage Society, preserving the legacy of British Columbia’s transportation history. With ambitions to secure a permanent home and expand the collection, the museum remains a key heritage attraction in Cloverdale, celebrating the province’s trucking past. 🚛