Readers Rides

1928 Chev National – Reader Ride

Jaymin McEwan's 1928 Chev National was once painted pink and it was grand-dad's

My grandfather had it for 55 years before me. When he got it, it was cut down to a flat-bed ute. He painted it pink with house paint for a parade.

I saw it in the shed at his place and it sat there for years. As a kid I used to drive it around and when I turned 21 he gave it to me and I immediately started restoring it with the help of the Darling Downs Veteran and Vintage Motor Club.

It took about seven years and we gradually went through the whole kit and caboodle. We stripped it down to every nut and bolt, re-leafed every spring and restored everything. The motor, gearbox and diff have all been completely redone and I rebuilt the body from scratch.

The name on the side is Ian Thomas Housing – that is my grandfather’s name and he is a builder. I am a carpenter and the number plate is DIG 028, as his nickname is Digger.

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I drive it everywhere. I drove out to Roma for Easter and though it isn’t a daily driver I do drive it often. I don’t take it to any of the jobs because I actually work in an explosives factory.

I love driving it and people are surprised when they go for a ride. The driveline is all original and the engine is a three-litre four-cylinder overhead valve with a crossflow head. It drives through a three-speed crash box so I have to double clutch on every shift up and down the box.

It surprises people how much like a normal car it feels. You can really only tell it is an oldie when going up or down hills, which you do at about the same speed because you don’t want it to get away on you. It doesn’t have much in the way of brakes!

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I was asked to enter the Chev in the Robert Shannon Foundation, that is open to anyone under the age of 29 no matter what their car is. You put in an application with your car restoration details and I was thrilled to win.

 

Valuation: Similar era vehicles start in the mid-20s and climb much higher.

Photography: Guy Allen

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