When Restorers hit the wall.

[Mike K]

In the mid 80's , I was chasing a army 1940 Ford O1Y roadster cab 1 Tonner .... in reasonable shape , it had nice straight front end panels grill and cab, but ute body on it only good as a pattern. The owner , around 60 , lived in a bungalow on his own , had never restored anything in his life , was surrounded by many 1930's and 40's trucks he had scavenged ... these were the vehicles of his youth. He left the O1Y out in the weather where it slowly disintegrated ..the ute sides fell off because the timber frame rotted away, the cab floor rusted out . As far as I know , it is still there. He had some nice CMP's there , including an amazing C60 cab 13 , in original WW2 faded paint...a very original unmolested truck. And a neat C15A ex bush fire truck that ran like a swiss watch. Don't know what became of his treasures .
Mike

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

This is all too true. I remember the time I spotted a GM dash jewel on a 12 cab wreck, probably the only salvageable part on it. Neither the truck nor any of it's parts was for sale. Except to the metal scrapper that got the whole lot a few weeks later. Then there was a pair of brothers with a lot of nice CMP and carrier stuff somewhere in the near north of Ontario. They never sold anything because, if they, did, the visits from prospective buyers would stop. They liked the company. The only nice thing I can say is that a lot of stuff has been saved because of these hold outs.