[alloriginal1]

:420: :420: :420: uffin:

 

[moyamike]

 

[alloriginal1]

uffin:

 

[alloriginal1]

:420: uffin:

 

[alloriginal1]

www.autoweek.com/article/20080627/free/992483656 uffin:

 

[alloriginal1]

ESCAPE ROADS: 1952 Chevrolet Ute
GM's early Australian import
By BOB TOMAINE
A picture of FREE Chevrolet's 1959 El Camino followed Ford's Ranchero by two years, but Australia's passenger-car-based pickups by then were more than 20 years old.

Holden's Motor Body Builders began as a leather supplier in 1856 in Adelaide and built its first body in 1914, the year General Motors Export Co. opened an Australian office. By 1923, Holden's had exclusive Australian rights to assemble GM cars but continued to provide bodies for others. Among them were roadster pickups that, like the later American versions, were roadsters with cargo boxes behind their passenger compartments.

GM bought Holden's in 1931 to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd., which built its first coupe utility--a ute in Aussie parlance--on a 1935 Chevrolet passenger-car chassis. As on the Australian Ford that preceded it, the Chevy's box was part of the body shell, unlike the contemporary American car-based pickup that substituted a separate box for the rear body or placed a very small box in a coupe's open trunk.

General Motors-Holden's eventually moved the ute to its Holden line, the last Chevrolet ute coming in 1952. When John Milton bought the example shown here in 2000, it was nearly rust-free, and the frame wore factory paint, but every panel needed straightening. During a year of restoration, Milton found peculiarities such as the single MG taillight (he added a second) by Lucas, the GM-Canada electrical components and the right-hand-drive-modified 1949-50 Chevrolet dashboard and mechanical linkages.


A picture of FREE

Milton said he'd adjusted quickly to right-hand drive, and several miles on back roads and four-lanes near his Vestal, New York, home proved that he was right both about driving from the wrong side and about the three-speed's column shifter.

"You've got to shift with your left hand instead of your right hand," Milton said. "The turn signals are on the right. I'm always hitting the shift lever when I'm going for the turn signals."

After its complete restoration, the ute feels virtually new, with tight suspension and no body noise. Configuration aside, it's as simple and familiar as a 1952 American Chevy sedan, which makes it easy to be surprised by other drivers' reactions. An extended-cab pickup passed us and then slowed as its occupants turned to stare; maybe they noticed the steering wheel, but more likely, they took the ute for a custom. Milton said it happens frequently. Since the sheetmetal forward of the B-pillar is that of the American sedan and since utes are rare here, it's a common mistake.

Milton recalled a state trooper who stopped him, approached what he thought was the driver's door and told Milton's wife, Lisa, that the taillights were out.

"He never acknowledged the fact that she wasn't driving," Milton said, "never talked to me."

"He was worried about the car having no taillights," Lisa Milton added. "You'd think he would've said, 'And I can see you have no steering wheel, either.'"

DOLLARS & SENSE

ORIGINAL LIST PRICE: $2,000 (est)

CURRENT MARKET VALUE*: $30,000 (est)



This article was last updated on: 06/19/08, 14:28 et


Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20080627/f...6#ixzz0gPmaH5qZ

 

[alloriginal1]

uffin:

 

[alloriginal1]

uffin: :420:

 

[ivan619]

Originally posted by alloriginal1@Apr 10 2011, 10:11 PM~20307887
uffin:  :420:

very nice , diggin the rooftop! :h5:

 

[alloriginal1]

THANKS uffin: uffin: :420: :420: :420:

 

[alloriginal1]

ESCAPE ROADS: 1952 Chevrolet Ute
GM's early Australian import
By BOB TOMAINE
A picture of FREE Chevrolet's 1959 El Camino followed Ford's Ranchero by two years, but Australia's passenger-car-based pickups by then were more than 20 years old.

Holden's Motor Body Builders began as a leather supplier in 1856 in Adelaide and built its first body in 1914, the year General Motors Export Co. opened an Australian office. By 1923, Holden's had exclusive Australian rights to assemble GM cars but continued to provide bodies for others. Among them were roadster pickups that, like the later American versions, were roadsters with cargo boxes behind their passenger compartments.

GM bought Holden's in 1931 to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd., which built its first coupe utility--a ute in Aussie parlance--on a 1935 Chevrolet passenger-car chassis. As on the Australian Ford that preceded it, the Chevy's box was part of the body shell, unlike the

 

[Mr. Antiguo]

:biggrin: