A 'virtual garage' of antique Chevy & GMC trucks from around the World

1950 Chevy 1/2-Ton

04 February 2008
# 2218

From Martinius :

          Hello, you Stovebolters out there!!
 
          Norway VCCA has a number of members who are the fortunate owners of old classic Chevy trucks and vintage cars from different epochs in industrial Chevy history. This truck, a 1950 Chevy 1/2-ton, I recently bought directly from the US. It was partly restored. I know a little about its history from the former owner.  Except for the daily using conditions, I know that the truck has its background from the state of Texas. [ interior photo ] It was in the San Antonio and Irving areas. Streetdreams, a classic cars sales company in Texas (which I purchased the truck from), is an excellent company with good references. 

          A nice day in May 2007, I went to the Oslo Port to get the truck out of the container. I was happy by the sight of the red and cream 2-tone color combination.  [ rear photo ] After I had taken it out of the boat-container, it was impossible to get it started, even though we used some fresh gasoline. My dear friend Andrzej (who is from Poland) is a car mechanic and very soon, he told me something was wrong with the carburetor. So we had to pour petrol into it from the top.  It started with lots of noise. With a lot of help, we drove north from Oslo further towards the Olympic city of Lillehammer. 

          The countryside in Norway is beautiful and the truck liked its environment very well. My arms on the other hand did not! With almost no steering function, I had to drive very carefully through daily traffic and it made my shoulders quite stiff.

          Back home on the farm in Søndre land, we were very excited. We started to examine the truck's technical condition and understood that there was quite a lot of work to do in the future in order to get it back on the road again. We found out that the front and the rear axle were in a pretty bad shape and the engine and water system had to be looked over.

          Most likely, I will change out the original 216 Thriftmaster engine with a 1955 Blueflame 235 /136 hp engine that has fewer miles on it. It was very hard to get a hold on the differential parts like the sidegears and pinion gears. Luckily, eBay auctions are very good out here.

          The truck has some minor damages here and there which need to be refurbished. No help so far but I am hopeful and waiting for the right help to come!

          It is winter here in Norway now and pretty cold. So the restoration of my 1950 1/2-ton truck will start up again this spring when the weather becomes a little bit warmer. We still have a lot of snow in the forest and ice on the fjords here.

          Next year I would like to visit the Hershey Classic set for October together with my son John and go visit some family I have "over there" in Portland, Oregon.

          I have attached pictures of the truck as it is today and will update you when the mechanical work is progressing. Hopefully this spring and summer new pictures will come.  I have a photo site with more pictures for you to enjoy.

          I am not sure if it is acceptable for the Stovebolt forum that I send you some pictures of the beautiful surroundings I live in. The pictures show the 100 years extensions of the "Valdresbanen" which is the name of the nearby railway going through our countryside. 

          The man in the picture with the uniforme is suppose to to be our former Norwegian King -- he's a "look a like."  King Haakon opened the railway about 100 hundred years ago. Many of you know about Bill Hirsch. He is a very fine gentleman, who has been traveling in his very old Packard through our country. Bill is selling Chevy truck parts and stuff.
 
          My thanks also to Chevy Duty, Tom Langdon`s Stovebolt and thanks to you American  truck lovers. Thank you for all the good help and the parts I have purchased in good condition and for reasonable prices. 

          Who knows about Chevy colors? I still could use some help from others with the unidentified colors of my truck. I need the codes for the red and the crèam colors.

Welcome to Norway and friendly regards,
Takk så mye,

Martinius Berg

          ~What a great looking truck!  Your country is very beautiful, thanks for sharing the pics!  I am sure you will find a lot of knowledge and help here on the Bolt.  Welcome! ~ Gallery Gal

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