1932 Bedford truck

Hey all, new member to the forum scene, has anyone had anything to do with these old girls?
Going to look at one next week, apparently 99% complete parts, ready for paint and engine refit. Seller is asking $1000
Will post some pics once I see it.
Any info or opinions would be helpful
Cheers
Dan

Hello DDM,
Welcome to the Forum. That Bedford sounds too good to be true. The 1932 Bedford was the first model made. Being owned by an American Company (General Motors) production of the 1932 model started late 1931.

Check it over very carefully, specially if this will be your first restoration. Just because a part is there, that does not mean that it works or can be repaired. If possible, take an experienced restorer with you and be prepared for honest negative criticism. Don't wear your Rose Coloured glasses or you could be in for huge costs repairing or replacing parts that you thought were OK.

Don't worry too much about the wooden tray, all the timbers will probably need replacing and as long as you have the old ones as patterns, it is straightforward.

If you are not experienced, tell us where you are and an experienced person may volunteer to come with you.

These comments are not meant to be negative or to put you off, but to help you carefully check out what you are buying!

Thanks for your input Morris much appreciated, yes first resto, taking a panelbeater/restorer mate with me. I'm a mechanic by trade so hopefully between the pair of us, we should get a reasonable idea of what we're in for.

Story from current owner is:

-Timber work all been replaced
-New rubber kit in box supplied
-All glass intact
-Original headlights and mirrors good cond.
Ready for rub back and paint
-Has VW front end fitted
-Original front end, and driveline supplied
-Previous owner claims barn find 3 years ago
-Owner needs to sell it by end of month, as it's in a mates yard that sold the house. No room to store. Hence price.
-Garage full of original parts

If the hotrod builders find it,it will be gone.....they pay 2K+ for rust free early 30s truck cabs ,with the required couple of bits of original chassis.....I see several early Bedfords made into "rat rods" quite regular,going past.

Hi all have some further info on the bedy, is actually a 1932 british bedford coupe pickup body by holden, here are a few pics i snapped, originally fitted with a stove bolt 6. It doesnt actually have vw front end fitted. Chassis no is ???005, i have to clean it up further to confirm. Hopefully pickup in the next few weeks,
Cheers
Dan

Also after about 10 hours of searching i found an original photo too.
Dan

Hello and a Happy New Year DDMmechanix,
I have tried several times since your last post to send more in formation but each time, my message disappears before I have finished typing. This happened about three minutes ago, when I got to the end of the first sentence. Some garbage about windows 7 came up. A couple of times, I have asked the moderators of the website to try to find and correct the problem but have not had any results.

Your Bedford with ute body by Holden is highly unlikely to be as early as the one in your picture. The pictured one has wire spoked wheels whereas photos of yours show EasyCleen pressed steel wheels. EasyCleen wheels were offered on many British mass-produced cars from the late 1930's even until the early 1950's. My 1939 Morris Ute has them. I think the body panels on yours may also be different from those on the picture of the 1932 Ute. Yours is not likely to have had the Chevrolet "StoveBolt" six, which was fitted to Chevs from 1929. My 1929 Chev Ute has one. Apparently the American buyers called them that because the sump was held on by (if I remember the size correctly) 1 inch by quarter inch bolts, a size common in American woodstoves of the time.

Yours almost certainly had and probably still has, an engine from a Vauxhall car of the time, probably a 10 or 12 rated horsepower four cylinder but if they considered Australian conditions, possibly a six cylinder, of which they made several sizes up to 25 horsepower. As you probably know Bedfords were built by an offshoot of Vauxhall Motors, a Company owned by General Motors.

A friend of mine recently bought two 1937 Bedford Utes but unfortunately a previous owner had removed the Ute sides and fitted non-original type wooden trays. These two have EasyCleen wheels, Vauxhall engines and Vauxhall hubcaps with two trademark narrow "V" with the point near the outer edge and the "top" part of the V, near a stylised nut in the centre, the same as on my first car, a 1948 Vauxhall 10.

Well, with an awful lot of good luck, you may get this before it disappears!

Hello Dan,
The only photos I have of our 1936 Bedford taken with it's replacement, 17 inch tyres, six cylinder Bedford motor.
David.

The Bedford 6 had four main bearings from the start in 1929........the Chev six had only three mains up to 1936.The Bedford had full pressure oiling,the Chev was half and half until 1956,with the familiar bigend knock for a minute or so .........on the earlier Chevs ,the oil pump was an optional extra.

Thankyou to all, finally got the old girl home and roughly mocked up

_{Ya gotta remember to click on inser to get ya Pickchas in the frame...... Sarge.}