As well, the new flat windshield no longer carried the "Made in Canada" stamp. These hubcaps were also shipped to Toronto, where they were used with the old axles, as on the peacock green Dispatcher seen here.ġ970: The blue wrecker is perhaps the only Tonka Canada product with the one-piece body which had been adopted in 1964 in the U.S.
The new, slightly longer axles required deeper hubcaps, recognizable by the ridges running along each spoke.
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had switched to axles with end caps (see How to Date Your Tonka Flat-Fender). models now had body-color windshields.ġ968: Tonka Canada continued to use the old-style axles with the hammered ends, after Tonka in the U.S. Many of the Canadian windshields were white, while most of the U.S. They appear to be original - perhaps they were leftover stock sent to Toronto for the initial production runs.ġ966: Spoked hubcaps soon arrived in Toronto, and were used on the RCAF Jeep and other models. The solid hubcaps, which were replaced by spoked hubcaps in the U.S. Click on any of the photos above for a larger copy (30K JPEGs).ġ965: The light blue Jeep with the solid disc hubcaps dates from the earliest Canadian production, probably 1965. Apparently Tonka Canada was using some parts shipped from the United States, on bodies stamped in Toronto using the tooling for the old three-piece body. versions, and they also evolved gradually as parts were changed. The Canadian Jeeps used the same wheels, whitewalls and hubcaps as the U.S. The old body style was probably a bit slower to produce and required more labor to assemble, but Tonka Canada was supplying a much smaller market. by one-piece bodies in 1964 (see How to Date Your Tonka Flat-Fender). These bodies had been replaced in the U.S. The Jeeps were still produced in Canada as late as 1967-68 using the old-style three-piece bodies with seams in the hood. See a later, smaller version (50K JPEG) on the side of a Tonka Wrecker. The decals varied slightly in size, lettering, and location (rear or side) in different years. (although without the flattened bottom edge). Most of the Canadian Tonkas carried an identifying "Toronto, Can." decal, similar to the Mound, Minnesota decal used in the U.S. I used to spin steering wheels down the line to get them going. I worked on the assembly line, mostly staffed by Italian women. "My dad worked at the factory as well, in shipping.
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I remember the fork lift drivers scooting around the plant. They even expanded the plant - it was a busy spot, with trucks loaded with toys going out daily. Axles, rivets and other parts were brought in from US. They had a final line, a pre line where the raw steel was formed, a press room, and tool and die shop and plastic molding. Rob Smart told me in 2021, "I worked at the Tonka factory in Toronto 1972 to '73. The name was changed to Tonka Canada, still with Peter R. acquired a 3-year option to buy controlling interest in Mercury Tool and Stamping on 22 June 1964. According to the Tonka Chronology at, Tonka Toys Inc. was the name of the operation from 1965 to 1967. Records at the Toronto Archives show that Mercury Tool and Stamping Ltd. As of 2021, the building is occupied by Global Electronics. The Canadian Tonkas were made at 5 Racine Road in Toronto, shown in this photo from the early 2000s. It is also apparently the only Toronto Tonka to have a spare tire. But with the Canadian flag on the hood, this one isn't hard to identify as made in Canada. The RCAF Jeep has generic "Tonka" decals on both rear fenders, rather than the usual "Tonka Toronto, Can." decal (see below). See a photo of a mint example of the RCAF Tonka with its original box (50K JPEG) at Harold Carlaw's Memorial Military Museum in Campbellford, Ontario. This hard-to-find Royal Canadian Air Force Jeep is perhaps the most distinctively Canadian of the Tonkas built in Toronto. From approximately 1965 into the 1970s, a large number of Tonkas built in Toronto, Canada, were slightly different from those built in Mound, Minnesota, USA.
Here's something to look for when you run across an unusual example of the large Tonka flatfender toy: "Made in Canada" stamped in tiny letters in the indentation on the windshield frame.
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