“Mater,” named after the character in the Pixar film “Cars”, is a 1952 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup truck. We bought Mater on Ebay for $800 thinking that it would be fun to repair in a basic way, and drive the kids around.
Plans have changed. Mater, now a combination of the original truck and a second 1949 Chevy 1/2 ton, is nearly restored having been taken all of the way down to the screws, sandblasted, refinished and rebuilt, part by part.
The next step? Taking the newly installed V6 motor and drivetrain and replacing it with an electric motor and batteries. As far as I can tell, this will be the first Series I Chevy pickup electric conversion.
Traditional at first glance, modern where it counts.
Mater Gallery:
3 responses so far ↓
1 admin // Oct 24, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Today Tim Knutsen (the mechanic in Lake Forest Minnesota) is “cutting” and buffing. He tells me this is what makes the paint smooth and shiny. All of the parts have arrived at the shop and he thinks that it will be running and partially assembled by end of next week.
My plan is to take my 7 year old daughter out to pick it up and drive back together. Her plan is to try to finish the final two Harry Potter books without getting inturrupted by her 5 yr old brother.
ETA November 15th.
2 admin // Nov 3, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Friday November 2nd.
Talked with Bill, the upholstery guy from Billy’s Custom in Fargo and he has ordered the red and black leather for the seats. Tim is still buffing and cutting the paint and preparing to paint the rims and begin putting Mater back together. With two weeks left before the planned pick-up date I am getting very nervous that the truck is still completely in pieces and the motor has not been “turned over.”
3 Uncle Shark // Nov 26, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Here’s your truck’s FoMoCo contemporary.
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