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Hickey Enterprises, Inc. reborn in 2014

Metrodps

Metrodps

Strange but nice guy
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You know this is going to be a good post since I don't post much any more!!

I just spent an hour and a half on the phone talking to Eric who is the owner of Hickey Enterprises, Inc. He has resurrected Hickey and is bringing it back to life! Some parts are done and some are still in production and need a few things to finish.

We talked about the parts and our trucks; he has a 1970 Blazer (hope I remembered the year right) and drives it too. He is located in Michigan.

He sounds like one of us and I invited him to come be a part of ck5:whistle:. I felt like I was talking to Dave, Russell or one for you all. I told him about the ck5 parts under ground and he laughed but thought that was cool.

Check out the companies web page and products. He knows about http://brochures.slosh.com/ and we talked about him having old Hickey catalogs. You know I am not the best with words in print form; so I'll let him do the talking! :thumb:


EXCEPTIONAL MANUFACTURING of vintage 4x4 parts


Hickey Enterprises, Inc. is a result-oriented manufacturer of aftermarket truck parts, components and fabricated parts. We were reborn in 2014. We have continually provided quality products and services to an ever-increasing number of Chevrolet, Dodge, Jeep, Ford and Toyota customers throughout North America.


Hickey Enterprises is committed to providing our customers with the highest-quality products and exceptional service. We understand the goal of complete customer satisfaction each and every time.

We pride ourselves on working closely with you to help you build your project and meet your needs.
http://www.hickeyoffroad.com/home.html


=========================================================

Some neat information on Hickey equipped trucks from shows and other media.
http://www.hickeyoffroad.com/trucks.html



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There's a guy over on 67-72chevytrucks, and I think he made an appearance here, that was / is reproducing Hickey parts. User name is Midunes. Same guy?
 
AJs72K5 said:
There's a guy over on 67-72chevytrucks, and I think he made an appearance here, that was / is reproducing Hickey parts. User name is Midunes. Same guy?
Click to expand...

That is him! He sounds like one heck of a nice guy. I am not a phone talker but I enjoyed talking to him!!! I could of talked another hour but told him He was probably get "the look" from his wife and he said he had gone out to the garage to avoid them. :haha:

Yeap sounds like one of us!:pimp:
 
LOL I did a search for Hickey, Hickey enterprises and nothing came up. What is even funnier is I didn't know thatK30guy had sold his stuff and was telling him about it.

Well I have to claim I don't come here much any more.....
 
No problem. The more vendors reproducing parts or making aftermarket parts the better for us. :waytogo:
 
You know how some people when you talk to them on the phone are like ok you took enough of my time. I do believe that he would of talked to me another hour about the parts development and our trucks. Like I said he sounded like one heck of a nice HONEST guy.
 
Great!

But what i want to know is---is he going to bring back the drop hood?


Also, i thought Vic Hickey designed the original 69 blazer? Is this true?
 
Is this the guy that lives by me that you said is gonna chase me down in the dunes? :whistle:
 
vandelay industries said:
Also, i thought Vic Hickey designed the original 69 blazer? Is this true?
Click to expand...

Vic Hickey – 1976 Inductee Vic Hickey is recognized for his achievements as an off-road vehicle designer. He helped design vehicles which are cultural icons today such as the Chevrolet Blazer, the Humvee, the Lunar Rover and the legendary off road race vehicle the Baja Boot.


Hickey left GM in 1968 and set up Hickey Enterprises. He continued to work with GM as a main client for another 13 years. Now having his own shop he had the opportunity to experiment more with the types of off-road vehicles he chose to develop. He designed and built the Banshee for James Garner to race. This vehicle had an Olds Cutlass frame, an aluminum 455-inch Oldsmobile engine and toped out at a speed of 150 miles per hour. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in it. While Hickey enjoyed fabricating one-off race cars it was not very profitable. Hickey Enterprises grew beyond just developing race vehicles quickly and included the development and fabrication of aftermarket parts for off-road vehicles including the Blazer, Ford Bronco and Dodge Ram Trucks. By 1979 the company grew to 140 employees and a catalogue which listed over 1,400 items. Hickey chose to sell the company once it became more focused on manufacturing rather than design.


In semi-retirement he continued designing for GM, U-haul and others. In 1979 Hickey took a contract with the Food Machinery Corporation (FCM) to design a High-Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheel Vehicle (HMMWV). The vehicle would become known as the Humvee and eventually the Hummer. This vehicle was basically a very heavy duty version of the Baja Boot. The U.S. Army viewed the vehicles at a demonstration and had ten more built for testing. AM General began building the vehicles for the Army. By 1995 over 150,000 Humvees had been built for the U.S. Military and its allies. In 1999 General Motors purchased the name Hummer from AM General and began producing civilian versions of the vehicle. Hickey and his wife moved to the ranch of their dreams a 900 acre property near Paso Robles. In 2000 they sold the ranch and moved to Arroyo Grande. Hickey passed away of natural causes on June 13, 2003 at the age of 84.



Sources: Rafferty, Tod. The Achievers, Central California’s Engineering Pioneers. Central Coast History Foundation, San Luis Obispo, CA. 2004.
Obituary Victor Francis Hickey, The San Luis Obispo Tribune, 10 July 2003, p.B2.
Auto Maker, Vic Hickey Loves Cars and it Shows…,English, Jennifer. The San Luis Obispo Tribune, 24 March 2000, p.H1
 
AJs72K5 said:
There's a guy over on 67-72chevytrucks, and I think he made an appearance here, that was / is reproducing Hickey parts. User name is Midunes. Same guy?
Click to expand...

Yep same guy. Hello again guys. Thanks for the great introduction Lawrence. I have started producing new Hickey parts and continue to restore originals. Its just a one man show with a bit of help from some family and friends. Mostly a after work and weekend hobby for now. I'll try to make regular post here to keep the CK5 world updated.
 
vandelay industries said:
Great!

But what i want to know is---is he going to bring back the drop hood?


Also, i thought Vic Hickey designed the original 69 blazer? Is this true?
Click to expand...

The 67-72 hood was done by "Eagle Ventures". Hickey only produced the drop center for 73+. I won't be bring the hood back because it never really left. Autofab has the correct molds.
 
Lawrence I've researched the swing carrier for Suburban. According to all the catalogs I have they were never offered by Hickey or Valley.
 
midunes said:
Lawrence I've researched the swing carrier for Suburban. According to all the catalogs I have they were never offered by Hickey or Valley.
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Seems like the Blazer one should fit with minimal if any modification. I put one of the Valley ones on a pickup.

-- A
 
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