cruiser story

[zebedee99]

In the beginning....was working in Trinidad and Tobago, and saw a poor, neglected '40 sitting in a lot on the side of the road. I'd been shopping for a vehicle a bit more solid than the ever-present Suzuki tin can rentals, and thought it would do the job. Bought it, had it sent to a shop for a tidy up and a tickle then on a boat across to me in Tobago. 2F, 3spd box, and a vehicular love-affair that started on first ignition...



Up a few tracks in the rain-forest reserve (nothing too demanding), but wit my surfboard on the roof I was stylin'...!

Time passed, I swapped the truck for some land (that's another story), I left the island. Went here, went there.

Then I moved to NZ...

[zebedee99]

Wanted a cruiser again, saw a few on TdMe, then saw this one and couldn't resist. Sure it was deRegistered, but it looked like a hell of a lot of fun and I was a "bit" naive about what would be required to get her back on the road...



Never took it more than round the block, since it wasn't road legal, but at last I owned a cruiser again... . F engine, 3spd box - no synchro!

Started to think about what to do with it to get back on the road. Hmmm.

[zebedee99]

Window shopping on TdMe and I came across a guy (Gary) with a registered (on hold) '40 project with chassis and axles all done, certed Chev V8 conversion, front DB but rooted body. Oh, and his mum wanted her garage back and he;d kind of given up on it. But he did like my wheels and tyres. Did a trade. Came and sat in my garage (mostly in boxes) for about 6 months while I did some more thinking...

Then it seemed I was heading overseas again for 6 months. Gary was looking for a bit of work, and somewhat reluctanty offered to help put the 2 back into one useable legal cruiser. I got my hands dirty for the first time with some of the dismantling...









and so the restoration process started. had only planned it to be rough and ready but LEGAL. budget of $5 or 6 thou, maybe...

Tub off, acid dip.



and then....it all kinda ground to a halt. Gary was gonna get on with it while I was overseas (earning the money to pay for it all), but sh*t / life happened, and little progress was made.. most of the rust was cut out and new steel welded in, Gary doing a great job when he was working on it, in hindsight woulda been cheaper to ship in some replacement quarter panels etc from the USA, because the budget was BALLOONING....

[zebedee99]

Spent my time in Northern Burma where I had a WW2 era dodge M37 to rattle around in. Rattle being the operative word. 6 months later, headed back to NZ and an old friend from the UK (who lives in Africa) was in NZ and wanted to do a road trip round the south island. I was WELL up for that, had been working my 'nads off - but no FARKING way was I gonna do it in a campervan rental...

Back on TdMe (from overseas, in the foothills of the Himalaya's via a satellite connection), bought a cruiser in Christchurch, got the guy to get a service done, got back to NZ, flew down to ChCh, guy picked me up at the airport, did the paperwork, went to pick up and fit roofrack I had also bought online and which was conveniently also in ChCh, met my mate, sorted... nb, was sure i was gonna score some surf somewhere, hence the need for a roofrack. never mind it being JUNE!!









hey, i'm (an imported JAFA), but I loved the fact that farmers would stop what they were doing and WAVE. my friend (remember she lives in Africa) was not impressed that I had budget for a heater or a stereo. I bought a stereo. And a wool sweater for her... mwahahaha Dual fuel, 2F, 4spd. Lotta tracks we had no time to explore, but the perfick truck for a road trip. Once I got the battery replaced she was sweet, all the way back up to Auck....

[niblik]

awesome bud!!!

[badnuz]

so in summary you have traveled a bit, bought a fair bit and ended with 1 all legal 40 and a coup1e of "doners"!!! MINT! great read zedebee

BTW loved the sweater option!!

[cornfarmer]

Awesome mate. Now i miss my 40 series again

[zebedee99]

so in summary you have traveled a bit, bought a fair bit and ended with 1 all legal 40 and a coup1e of "doners"!!! MINT! great read zedebee

yer right. but not the end of the story.

was back in jafaland, flatting with friends and looking for a job, and sherman (the red truck, bit of tank) wasn't really suited to being a city driver - was too worried that just nudging one of those little jap micro cars would wipe it out - so sold he was. after all, i still had one (two?) in pieces to get fixed up....

...but time dragged on, and nothing happened, and i was kinda reluctant to keep pouring money into a hole that wasn't producing any results. i had a job downtown just 15 mins from where i live, so a 70cc scooter that costs $9 to fill and runs for 2 weeks on that.

and then saw another cruiser on trademe, that looked just about perfect - thought b*llocks to the ongoing project, i'll just draw a line under that and buy this one. got it for a pretty good price as it had no roof - by lucky chance i had bought a soft top for the other project that would be a perfect fit. SBC 400 on dedicated LPG, drums all round but I already had a tidy front axle with disks ready to swap over.









may do an SOA too, when I get to that.

Soft top is on, need to think about getting a cage or some kind of roll protection put in. 90L tank sits in side just behind the front seats, so need to organise some kind of seating in the rear. bonnet needs to go as it has a big cut out in the scoop and the engine gets soaked everytime it's out in the rain. have a mint steel one now just waiting panelling and painting. rear axle with FF dif also needs to be swapped in from the other project. engine has had a tune but still needs some work. block huggers ready to go on and may make some changes on the standard filter / intake and exhaust set up. have pulled about 6km of old wiring that doesn't go anywhere out of it so far

4wd course up at woodhill to do, and then join a club. but finally, pretty much the set up i want, and certed and road legal (although wof due in 3 weeks, so will see what that throws up - car came from Kaikohe, and who KNOWS what was going on with it up there!! seller was dodgy as, but I WANTED it )

[niblik]

well, that cruiser looks like an absolute hunk of shit and wont pass the next wof.. what a bad purchase. tell ya what, i'm a nice bloke, i'll take it off ya hands for a sausage roll and half a sachet of mcd's sauce... cant get fairer than that.

in all seriousness, well done!

[zebedee99]

well, that cruiser looks like an absolute hunk of shit and wont pass the next wof.. what a bad purchase. tell ya what, i'm a nice bloke, i'll take it off ya hands for a sausage roll and half a sachet of mcd's sauce... cant get fairer than that.

only half a sachet??

[rokhound]

Your'e lucky he finished the other sausage roll. Otherwise it would have been a 1/2 sachet and 1 1/2 sausage rolls

Cool story Zeebee. Guessing you quite like the ole 40's then

[zebedee99]

Your'e lucky he finished the other sausage roll. Otherwise it would have been a 1/2 sachet and 1 1/2 sausage rolls

Have always been more partial to a pie, meself....

[niblik]

Your'e lucky he finished the other sausage roll. Otherwise it would have been a 1/2 sachet and 1 1/2 sausage rolls

Have always been more partial to a pie, meself....

deal! ha!! no take backs...

right, whens delivery?

[zebedee99]

Your'e lucky he finished the other sausage roll. Otherwise it would have been a 1/2 sachet and 1 1/2 sausage rolls

Have always been more partial to a pie, meself....

deal! ha!! no take backs...

right, whens delivery?

not all pies are equal, nibs. can't even begin to think of signing her over until we nut THAT one out.... mince and cheese, pepper steak, steak and oyster...hmmm and which bakery?? i'm not settling for some cheap-as gas station pie y'know!