VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 My new 1928 Pickup

After 3 year of resturation the 28 pickup is finish.

This car was original a 4 door touring, but in 1950 or so the farmer remove all the sheet metal behind the drivers seat, and make a little bed on it.

When I was a little boy, I remember the farmer used the pickup to carry milk pail bucket to the main road.

This is a Copenhagen car, and the color are identical as orginal. Dark blue and black fenders.

Fantastic Bluezone. What a nice looking truck. I'll bet there are a lot of envious people around. Have fun with it.

Wow,
That is one impressive truck. Looks like it could be original. Actually a '28 Roadster Express (pickup) was made in Canada. There are a few that still exist.

Absolutely of top class restoration (as usual), Arvid. Gold medal for each and every one of the old Chevrolets you have restored during the years.

What is the next project?

:vcca:

Arvid,
Just catching up on some recent posts and saw your picture. You did a wonderful job! Looks like you have another world class truck. All the best!

Thank you all.

This was the last prosjekt i have in my garage.
My be the Pickup was the last restoration I will do?
My wife don't belive that.
Here are som other pick up pictures.









Best regards

Arvid

Arvid
One nice looking "ute" as we call them downunder. I think that this 28 was a ute from new. In Australia Chevrolet didn't supply sheet metal from the dash back, unless it was an imported CKD vehicle. We had GMA (General Motors Aust.) make the tourer and roadster bodies (closed cars were imported as ckd [completely knocked down] with the panels supplied and GMA did the woodwork and applied the panels)
The Chevs could be purchased as supplied by Chevrolet US, ie rolling chassis with body complete to dash, we had many body builders buy them like this and make their own bodies. There were many varieties of 'utes' made here. I can send you a few photos if you wish.
The reason why I suggested that yours may not have been converted from a tourer is that the panel behind the front door is longer than the tourer centre door panel. A lot of our locally made utes were similar to yours.
Either way it's a great little "ute'
Chris

Hello Chis.

You are absolutly correct.

The panel behind the front door is longer than the tourer centre door panel.



Why??

Because I have made it longer.The red panel on the pictures are a piece from a front door.



The hinge from the back door still exist in the body.


The owner(dead in 1953) grandchildren (70 years old)remember they use the touring,and in 1950 or all the sheel metal behind the front seat was removed an they make a little bed on it.

Here are a pictures from the barn, how it was when I find it.


If you have some pictures of "UTE" cars. It will be nice to see them

Best regards
Arvid

Thats a beaut ute Arvid. Very nicely proportioned . I'm building something similar on 1926 chassis. Key problems I see with utes (pickups) is where you put the spare tyre and petrol tank if you are not using a 1/2ton commerical chassis. Cant see either on your photos - how have you dealt with tank & tyre?.

You see the tire on the picture of the half-ready pick up, where the tank is put in a passenger car. I imagine he has put the tank under the seat, even if the chassis is a passenger one.

A really impressive vehicle from a really good restorer.

:vcca:

Yes - I was waiting for that photo to download and was a bit quick on my reply. I am trying to find good photos or dimensions of the 1/2 ton commercial rear cross member which accomodates a spare more comfortably. I suspect it would be a simple fabrication. Am interested to know how Arvid fitted petrol tank in cab space. Commerical tank would sit to high. Passenger tank wouldnt fit between chassis rails in this location?.

The main part of a 1/2 ton rear cross member is not too difficult to make. However there are two brackets on the rear that hold the spare tire carrier that are much more difficult. I can take a few photos in the next couple of weeks when I get to the storage building if you don't get some.

Hello BOPNZ

Here are pictures of spare wheel and gas tank.

I have used a tank from a Chevrolet 1932 passenger car. This tank is to long to fit between chassis rails, so I have to cut about 15 centimetere of the tank ,and weld a new end plate on it.





If you need more pictures. let me know.

Regards

Arvid

Thanks Arvid

Very nicely done. Problem solved. You have inspired me to crack on with my project.

Chipper - would love photos of rear chassis cross member for commercial.

Cheers all

Ken

The Aussie Chev 4 utes had the petrol tank in the normal position under the rear cross member, they also had a small liftup flap in the floor of the bed and over the pertol cap. Great for the Chevs as we use them but not practical if you have a big load on board.
I'll send you some Aussie ute pictures in the next few days
Chris

Utes! Now we are talking. I love 'em.
Firstly congratulations Solan on a superb restoration. It is always nice to see restorations done with taste and thoroughly good workmanship.
If you go to my personal detail page you will find a picture there of my Aussie ute which I am only the second owner.(I'm afraid I have no idea how to get the picture onto these pages)
Originally a tourer, it was cut down to a ute in the early 30's and put to work carting wood to a nearby antimony mine at Broadford Victoria. The owner assured me he used to check in at the weighbridge with just under 2 tonnes on board everytime. To handle the weight, ex-military solid-tyre artillary wheels were fitted to the back, and full elliptic buggy springs were clamped between the chassis frame and the axle tube. It also had a block of wood with a piece of tyre nailed to it as a bottoming block. All this was in place when I bought it way back in 1968 for $12.00. (Laughable even then, but that was a fortune to me, a secondary student with no income whatsoever, and I borrowed it from my Dad.)
The tray was originally flat to give the space needed for logs. When restoring it I used the steelwork and patterns from another ute I found the remains of on a sheep station in the outback where I was working as a jackaroo (stockman). It had the fuel filler through the rear floor and the spare tyre mounted on the side as you see. The rear door hinges are still in place behind a cover strip that forms part of the tray. The rear of the front seat is lined with ply and therefore no space is lost to the tray. The rest of the body, valances guards doors etc. are exactly as for the tourer.
These conversions were common especially during the Great Depression when resources were scarce, and I would imagine the situation was similar everywhere around the world. I have seen some superb professional body-works conversions on better cars, particularly Hudsons and Buicks which were pretty robust vehicles to start with and well suited to remote and arduous conditions in rural areas.
I was frowned upon when I restored mine because it was not a tourer, however now it is seen more as an example of what used to be done to ordinary cars, often to extend their working life or from necessity.
Anyway well done and welcome to the elite world of ute ownership.
Geoff.

That is a real beauty!


Where is your personal detail page ? Maybe I can put in a connecting link of your Ute.

OOPS! I am showing my computer prowess with great style again.
When I first joined we submitted a picture that was under MY PROFILE section, but it seems to no longer be there. Maybe the format was too large.
Anyway I have just created a URL with the help of Google and am feeling rather smug. I mean my ability with computers usually doesn't extend further than looking for the hole to put in the winding key(still can't find it).
Hopefully the address below will give you a gander at my Aussie ute, and that you like it.

[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/gumboot50/chev/photo[/img]

Thanks so much for your offer of help MrMack. You have forced me to sort the issue. But how do I get pictures into the message like Solan does? Cool indeed.
Geoff.
[img]picassaweb.google.com/gumboot50/chev/photo[/img]

Struth, I'm struggling again/still. Try this second attempt at getting the address correct.

A slight misunderstanding here as I am not the restorer of Bluezone's (Arvid) beautiful pick up, and have not been involved in that project. I am far from being able to compete with Arvid in that field.

Today he is one of the most professional and experienced restorers in Norway, and specialize in 4 & early 6 cyl.-Chevrolets. He also has restored a HD MC, a Jeep, stationary engines, built a copy of a gas pump in full size, and has made a lot of high-quality NORS parts for sale to Chevrolet owners for many years.

:vcca:

Solan,
It looks like disaster all round for me. I even got the owners mixed up. Apologies to all, but it is still a lovely restoration just the same.

I do not know why the photo URL I have entered in my previous reply (through the window prompt in the Reply section) does not seem active. Maybe someone else can help me get it correct.
Geoff

This will be the longest post in history, all me trying to get it to work.
I think the google URL has to have the photo number added also and check that out-19 digits!
Try again muggins.
[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/gumboot50/chev/photo#5240662038442507298[/img]

Remove the [img] in front and behind, if possible.

For viewers: Copy the link in the adress field at top and you will see a very nice ute showing lovely colors too.

Have a lovely ride!

:vcca:

Thanks Solan,
I am getting the hang of this and have been beavering away on getting it correct.
I simply copied the address at the top of the page and it is too long- apparently. The img bit appears automatically for some reason. I have tried the one below and it works.If it is not active then you will have to type it in manually to your search engine.
I have also added a photo of the '25 as I found it in '68 and there you will also see the solid tyres.
Click on the 'slideshow button and the pictures will appear full size.
Cheers,
Geoff.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gumboot50

I've had a win!
One more thing before I retire, Click on the picture of the car to first open the album and this will also reveal the slideshow button for the full size views.
I like being difficult, therefore only give half the instructions each time.

Thankyou for your patience everyone.
Geoff.

Down here in Aus. we had a lot of utes, some were made on a new rolling car chassis by local body builders, like John H. Miller in Sydney. I have over 30 original photos of Miller utes from 1924 models through to 1926. In fact the photo of the ute that GM Aus. uses for promo is a Miller ute. I've seen evidence of many other manufactures making them as well and there are quite a few of these utes still around, (out of 30 Chev 4's at the last tour there were two) however as Geoff has indicated there were a lot of tourers cut down to ute for a number of reasons, the depression was one, however the main reason was WW2 when petrol rationing was introduced. It was hard to get petrol ration coupons for family cars, but was a lot easier for primary producers vehicles, so most farmers cut there tourers down to utes to take advantage of more available fuel.
It's a pity that there is no photo gallery attached to this column as I could post of lot of ute pictures, and others.
Chris