As a child, Clyde Schuster used to walk past a garage where the owner used to have an Impala in the showroom and he vowed that one day, when he was all grown up, he would own a car just like it. It took many years but finally, he had one. This is just one of the many dream cars that he has but this one is extra special as it is the fulfillment of a childhood dream.facebook.com/sahotrods.
Clyde found the car in a store on a farm in Nelspruit. It was advertised on social media. When he saw the ad, he asked his son to negotiate with the seller. He arranged a car trailer and left the following morning at 4am for Nelspruit with the trailer in tow. He then made contact with the seller, loaded the car and returned to Durban via Joburg as he did not want to travel any narrow roads which could lead to an accident. He slept over at a hotel, completing the trip the following day.
The plan for the car was to restore it to as close to original as possible. The car was in a sorry state and Clyde’s wife was shocked when he arrived home with such a sad sight loaded onto a trailer. There was doubt as to whether the car would even ever run again but, eventually he proved them all wrong.
The rear quarter panels and rocker panels (sills) were rusted and patched so badly that it was decided to replace them all. Some of the removable parts were sandblasted and one was stretched so badly that a replacement had to be found. Floor panels as well as lower rear quarter panels were imported. The body of the car was straight and the rusted panels were removed and replaced. It is difficult to say how long the bodywork took in total as various work was undertaken at the same time, but the entire build took 20 months. Clyde, his friend Johan and his son Francois did the majority of the work in a carport next to his house.
This story is from the Edition 104 edition of SA Hot Rods.
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This story is from the Edition 104 edition of SA Hot Rods.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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