1949 Volkswagen Type I Sedan, soon to be known as The Beetle
Category Archives: vehicle
Old Fords Everywhere…
1949 Ford
Old Ford trucks have been just coming out of the woods(work) lately here in the Interior of Alaska.
1943 Mercury
They seem to be everywhere as of late.
Steve McQueen’s 3800
Steve McQueen’s 1952 Chevy 3800 one ton pickup with camper shell is currently being auctioned. The truck looks to be in great shape and has not been restored. The odometer reads 38,920 which could very well be actual miles. The ’52 Chevy comes with the original straight six engine and 4 spd manual transmission. The camper is a custom made unit called the “Dust-Tite” out of Yreka, California.
The venerable Chevy from McQueen’s classic car collection was the last vehicle of his that McQueen rode in, as it transported him to the airport on his way to Juarez, Mexico for his final cancer surgery.
Steve McQueen died four days later on November 7, 1980. The ’52 Chevy 3800 was purchased from his estate in 1984.
As of this posting, bidding was just shy of $98,000 with reserve not met.
It’s a beautiful old truck.
The Rover gets hitched
I wanted to replace the old hitch with a receiver hitch on The Rover. A previous owner must have backed up into something, because the tab was bent upward, causing the trailer ball to lean inwards towards the truck. They must have been moving pretty good, because that is some beefy metal that was bent.
Unlike some parts that I’ve bought for vehicles, the replacement hitch mounted up perfectly. In fact, I think it was one of the easiest replacements I’ve done. My only complaint, is that if a company is going to send a set of fasteners to mount the thing, please send a complete set. And since I’m on the Parts Soapbox: If you’re going to send grade 8 bolts, why send grade 2 nuts? It’s a hitch… let’s go whole hog and make it a proper, and complete, set.
Still, it looks good and the new tow bar for the Beetle hooks up quick & easy.
Moving The Rover to the front of the line
Now that the scent of autumn is in the air, it’s time to put The Rover back together. Zipping around without the top has been fun, although it has been raining since I took the thing off. I think taking the top off will become a summer tradition. A soft top may have to be procured.
The first order of business is to replace the weatherstripping at the bottom of the windscreen. Other than the two ends, it was in surprisingly good shape. The snow leakage came from the top of the windscreen.
I probably won’t make a habit out of driving with the windscreen down, with the drag the wiper motors make.
Speaking of the wiper motor: Who would have thought that the underside of that Lucas motor would be that dirty?! It’s not like Lucas electrics leak…
When in Yorkshire…
18 year old, Dan Petch has started Yorkshire Land Rover Hire, which will rent you a new Land Rover to tour Yorkshire. The vehicles all come with on board cameras and bike racks.
There is a threat to get into “glamping” as well as Land Rover hires, but until that happens I think it’s a great idea.
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