Hot Wheels

Bernidene Fischer comes from a family of real ‘car people’. She has always loved the various cars, bikes and automotive projects that she has been exposed to growing up in a petrol head family.

- Bernidene Fischer

Her personal involvement in this project only started halfway through its story.

Originally, the project was commissioned by her brother, Wayne, and undertaken by her father Ivan Slabbert from 031 Custom Rides.

The vehicle started as a project in Hermanus that was abandoned. The owner had it on the internet and Ivan snatched it up. Ivan had originally built the Hot Rod to her brother Wayne’s specifications and preferences, with a Cummins 5.9l turbo diesel engine and 5 ton Mercedes tip truck manual gearbox.

Unfortunately her brother Wayne was killed in a car accident when the project was all but complete. Wayne had even had the final fitting for the seat position.

After this happened, Ivan wrestled with the decision of what do with the car.

Bernidene made the decision to take over the arrangement between her dad and brother. From that point onwards, she worked on the car over weekends with her dad and learnt how to weld, grind and “swing spanners” under her father’s masterful guidance.

Together they made the decision to exchange the Cummins engine for a Chevy as this would be a more realistic setup for Bernidene as this car is her everyday driver. To accommodate this, the chassis had to be shortened, the interior altered, new tailpipes fabricated, to name a few changes.