Roar Midtskog's

1942 1/2-Ton Pickup

"Sweetest"


01 May 2006 Update

From Roar:

       Hello. How are you over there? Believe it or not, this picture and the one below (21October update) were taken outside my garage. There has been nearly one meter snow fall this winter.

       I will have my first trip this year this weekend in my pick-up. New shock absorbers and leafsprings in front, extra tail lamp and turnsignals have been mounted.

       Question: is it possible to track the earlier owner of my truck when I have the license number?

 

 

 

Best regards,

Roar Midtskog
Aberg, Gullverket
2080 EIDSVOLL
NORWAY

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21 October 2005 Update

From Roar:

       Hello STOVEBOLTERS! Here is the update I promised you.

I HAVE DONE IT!

       After 1 ½ years, the truck is on the road and finally in chip shape again. The truck was in pieces and I had to scratch my head several times. But I am proud of myself. I have never done a big job like this before.

       Maybe someone of you will ask yourself, “How did he do it this winter in that cold garage?” In the earlier story, you can see that the garage is small, with two single glass windows (you can’t see the window) and that is not good insulation when it’s minus 25c outside. But, I cowherd the gate and window with 10 cm insulation and mounted a 1000w own in the roof. So, from plus 4-5c last winter, to plus 14-15c, it’s a lot of more fun to work. Don’t ask why I didn’t do it that last winter.

       The body work wasn’t so hard. The only thing I did was to clean the parts, hand paint them and get them on. Ehhh ... not that easy as it seems to. I struggled for a long time to get the correct leaf springs in front. Now I have tree blades, and I am not sure that is correct either. (Give me a hint)

       The truck has a cool look with that lowered front, but maybe it will be a bumpy ride.

       In March, the truck was again on all four wheels, and from that time, I was in the garage nearly every day. For one hour, five hours, the whole day (ooops, angry wife).

       Everything has been checked, cleaned, and mounted with grease or oil so it will work better.

       By May 6, the time had come to back the truck out. BUT, there was a little problem. The truck wouldn’t get under the gate. I knew it because when we carried the cab inside the garage, we had to lower the truck at the rear axle, to get it over the frame. So when it was time to get it out, I had to make some wood-wheels in front. WoodYaer at the left and Firewood at the right.

       That same day, my neighbor helped me start the engine for the first time after 1 ½ year. What a sound! It was a good feeling to hear it running. The same afternoon, the man who travels to US every year, came and took the truck to his garage, because I needed help with the front and rear lights -- and some other things.

       On May 16, 2005, after nearly 430 hours, the truck came back from the garage and I took the first drive with the truck the last 100m from my driveway. IT WAS A GREAT FEELING. I knew I could now lean back and enjoy the summer in my own truck, if I got the license plate.

       Well on June 13, I got the plate in the mail. The same number as the original, C-23959! After I got the plate, I mounted seatbelts, so I can bring my two year old daughter with me in her safety chair. (Before the soccer gets here. I hate soccer.) Added another taillight at the right side, and some turn signals, for safety. At last, my wife deserves a line here, she has been wary patient with me.

       And now (October), last weekend I was at the Old Style Weekend in Sweden and this weekend I am on Drag Racing at Gardermoen Raceway, where I work at the track and driving the truck (not my old one) with Track spot, Track bite, sweeping and cleaning. The best Top Fuel time today was 4.82, and there are two more days to race. Winter is here soon and I will park my truck this weekend and take it out around April-May 2006.  It's minus 4c at the night now, and the "Sweetest" is begging me to put her in the garage.

       Here I am with my daughter, Marte. The picture was a front page picture for our local newspaper. The truck and I had been in the local newspaper four times this summer and a little picture one time in a magazine. It looks like everyone loves this little charming truck, and I could have sold it many times this summer -- for nearly $15,000 or more. It looks like there is a trend where everyone wants to drive a truck. And I understand them -- I love mine!

       I parked my truck today in the garage. It has been snowing the whole day. I will use this winter to do some small things, new absorbers and leaf springs in front. There has been a bumpy ride with only tree leaf springs in front at both sides.

       Keep up your good work. You have done a great job with the web page of my truck. I look forward to see more at your website.

 

Thank you,

Wibecke

Roar Midtskog
Aberg, Gullverket
2080 EIDSVOLL
NORWAY

       (Roar sent us a whole bunch of pictures back in July but they got trapped in Netscape mail. He's been very patient with us! This is a great story! And, Roar is part of the Chevrolet Club of Norway -- nice folks, check out their site! ~~ Editor)


26 December 2004

From Roar:

       Hello Stovebolters! After the little story about my brothers 1946 2-ton truck, I promised you a story about my 1942 1/2-ton pickup. The truck came to Norway in 1992 form Montana. Maybe from the silver mines, because the bed, frame and shock absorbers were in a very bad shape. Actually it was my brother who bought the pickup. The earlier owner didn't have time to restore it and wanted to sell it. My brother got the deal.

       One Friday after work, about 16.00, we started off from Eidsvoll (90 km north of Oslo). Five hours later, we arrived in Kristiansand (south in Norway), and then we had driven 350 km. The truck was in pieces and we picked up a lot of boxes and a 216 cid engine in pieces.

       Then came Saturday and we headed for Bergen (west in Norway), 500 km drive from Kristiansand. In Bergen we collected the frame, cab and bed. The previous owner had moved from Bergen to Kristiansand but he hadn't moved all the parts to the truck.

       The price he was asking for the truck was 20,000 NKR (about $2,000), but along with the truck there were a lot of parts that he had bought when he lived in the USA.

       Sunday we drove all the way from Bergen to Oslo (480 km). Late Sunday night the truck was safely in place in my brother's garage. So after parking the pickup with all the boxes and parts, I went home to Eidsvoll.

       We named the tour "The Golden Triangle." Eidsvoll/Oslo-Kristiansand-Bergen-Eidsvoll/Oslo -- 1510 km. If you look at a map of Norway, you will see that it forms a kind of triangle. And just so you know, Norwegian highway roads are made from the old cattle paths.

       After owning the truck for a year, my brother hadn't begun restoring it either. So I bought the truck from him, paying 25,000 NKR, but with a 235 cid engine installed. In the fall of 2003, I had finally gotten the truck in my garage. And I was very anxious!. I wanted the truck to be finished by spring 2004 -- but that didn't happen. I hate winter so restoring a truck in a cold garage wasn't tempting. I also learned that some vital parts were missing so I had to buy new ones. Lucky for me, I have a friend that works with restoring trucks and he travels to USA once a year to buy parts. He has helped me with new brakes, kingpins, and various other things when I have needed it.

       As you can see, I have done much the past year. The truck will be in its original condition with hand-painted black color to get the old impression. The engine, axles, cab, dash and all the electric's are in place. I need new shock absorbers and leaf spring on the right front side (the truck was probably crashed).

       Winter is coming soon in Norway and I will use that time to assemble these parts and some other things like doors, windows, fender, hood and bed. So when the snow melts, I hope I can open the garage door and back my pickup out.

       I promise to send you some new pictures when that happens. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Roar Midtskog


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