zondag 24 november 2013

Well, first purchase made. I found a large Jaguar breaker which sells the front and rear suspension units I want to use. So, yesterday my son Daniƫl and I went to Gorinchem and bought a Jag IRS (independent rear suspension) unit. These came under many Jaguars like the XJ series, E-types, 420 and 420G, etc. It is a full unit with dif, suspension, brakes, etc.

Here it is tied down in the trailer:



And here is Daan on the fork lift truck taking the unit from the trailer:



Yes, that's a four year old in the fork lift. You may guess where the keys to the truck were when I shot the picture. The unit is now in the workshop at my work, we have a hot jet water cleaner there which I will use in the next lunch break to see what I actually bought.

woensdag 6 november 2013

Oh, BTW, there is a little doubt about the year of build, hence the blog title. I think it is a 1929 model because of the dash and some body curves, but the papers say 1930. With the truck being registered only in the 1950's, we think they made a fair guess back then. What it really was, we will probably never know. I don't mind...


Hi,

welcome to my blog. This blog will be as slow as my progess on the chosen subject; my 1929 / 1930 Chevrolet Truck project. I'm aiming at driving the truck in 2029, at it's 100th aniversary. If it gets done quicker, that would only be a bonus!

Some background on the project:
I have always wanted to build a truck, slightly hot rod style, but I feared it would never happen. I have a familiy with two small kids, I have a fantastic but very bussy job, and we have no space to work on such a project. With all that in mind, I thought this project would be nice for when I retire. When starting this blog, I am 38 years old, pension will be available when I turn 70, probably...

Searching on the www on such projects, because I like watching those, I got the feeling that project cars are getting more scarse, so more expensive. And finding cars with a proper VIN and/or title from the 1930's is very difficult, too. I need those because otherwise I will not be able to get the car registered here in the Netherlands once it's done. One night, my wife and I laid n bed talking about various things, and I told her I would like to buy a project car in the USA, bring it over, and store. Just to have it, and we will see what will happen to it later. To my own surprise, we agreed on it and I started a search.

After a lot of searching and ground work by US friends, I found a truck at Dan's Old Cars in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota  (http://dansoldcars.net/index.html). It looks fantastic to me, and horrid to my wife. Best of all, it came with a VIN tag still on the remaining woodwork, and the title. So a deal was made, and Dan kindly made the thing rolling and ready for pick up by a transporter. This is where we are now, the truck has just been picked up.

The truck in the jard at Dan's:

 
And the truck on the transporter:

And that is where we are now. Next post will probably be when the truck is through customs. I guess that will be around Christmas time, who knows...