Warren's 1952 Bedford A1 pickup Project

Given his experience with British iron, Warren was confident he could turn an original, but tired, 1300cwt Bedford tray truck into a neat, rat rod-style pickup, but the resto wasn't all smooth sailing, as Warren explains.

I have always loved cars and trucks. Starting with my first car, a 1958 Wolseley 1500, which was hotted up and capable of 105mph (I don't remember being that brave!), I reckon I've owned 53 vehicles. After the Wolseley, I moved on to XH Falcons, EH Holdens and a 327 Bathurst Monaro with a top speed of 140mph. I also heavily modified another HK Monaro into a ¼ mile drag car that I drove on the road during the '70s. Four wheel drives also played a part of my motoring history. I've had a couple of V6 Chev-powered Toyota Hiluxes, FJ45 LandCruisers and even a genuine 1971 XY Falcon 4x4. I've always liked something different and that's extended to the more recent stuff I've owned, too, like a Chrysler PT Street Cruiser, Ford F150 and Dodge Nitro. At present, as well as the Bedford, I have a 1958 Austin Lancer, which is a bit of a work in progress, as well as my wife's pride and joy, an H3 Hummer.

I first saw the Bedford soon after we started to build our new home north of Toowoomba. It was painted orange, so it stood out, but to my disappointment it disappeared soon after we arrived. Some months later, it reappeared, painted olive green with a big, white 'US Army' star on the door. I approached the owner and we did a deal, so the Bedford was mine - and I test drove it home! Since purchasing it, I've been told it was bought from Connelly Motors in Oakey, QLD (it still had the car yard sticker on the rear window) and, in an earlier life, had also served as an RACQ service vehicle. A week after getting it home, the work started: tray off the back; cab off the chassis; motor, gearbox, diff, etc. out of the chassis; then getting the chassis cleaned and painted. I knew what I wanted to do, but was advised to remove all the original chassis and drop the cab and tray onto a Holden 1 Tonner chassis. Foolishly, I took that advice and it proved to be very, very wrong! Trying to match the Bedford body to the Holden chassis just didn't work! As the Holden chassis was now no good to me, I stripped all the bits I wanted and took the rest to the tip. If you try to buy a Holden 1 Tonner, they are scarce, but I'm told but if want to sell one they are two a penny. So the tip it was!

I chose to use Holden running gear throughout - 308 motor, Turbo 400 transmission, original radiator and hoses. The Holden gearbox and crossmember even fitted. As the 1 Tonner was a runner when I brought it, I only needed to clean and paint the engine, transmission and other bits I was using and didn't have to worry about any rebuilds. I did add a bit of style in the form of chrome rocker covers, oil filler cap and air cleaner cover, all of which made the engine bay look a bit flash. The motor runs a 650 Holley, extractors, twin 3 inch exhausts and a mild cam. At the back end, the spring saddles on the diff had to be removed and placed on top of the axle. The hand brake is Holden. The tailshaft was cut in two and rebuilt with Holden universal joints, a Bedford centre bearing and front Holden input shaft. This all went along relatively easy, but I did hit a snag when it came to the front suspension. I had the dropped axle modified to take HQ stubs and discs. Technically, this worked, but with leaf springs it was a bit rough, so a mate and I decided that a unit from a HT Holden was a better option. That worked (but only after a long and difficult time), and I also fitted an L300 steering rack.

As far as restos go, I've learnt to do most things, so I was able to do a lot of this build myself. However, welding, or good welding at least, has been my biggest problem. Despite this, I made the well-type body myself. I lifted the tailgate and front of the tray from the back of other Bedford cabs, so as to try and make it look like a genuine Bedford item. For a hand-built effort, I think it's come up quite well. With the aim to make the Bedford look like an old paddock truck, I deliberately left what dents were in it untouched. Rust wasn't a problem, as it was very minor. Remembering the colour it was when I first saw it, I went for an orange and cream paint scheme, with painted steel wheels and chrome bands.

Taking the colour theme inside, I trimmed the inside of the cabin in orange and black, which included the door trims, rooflining and bucket seats out of a VK Commodore. It has a 2-speed heater/demister and 2-speed wipers (cable driven). It's also been completely rewired.

It's not entirely finished yet, but in order to take the Austin Lancer off the backburner, I've decided to sell the Bedford. It still needs to have the front-end rack fitted and adjusted along with some other bits and pieces, and all the glass. Door rubbers and carpets for the interior, plus the timber to put in the tray floor, are all there, but need to be installed. It has already had two engineer inspections, but will need another when it's ready for registration. From the outset, I saw this Bedford as a bit of a 'rat rod' project, but the prospective buyer could really turn it into anything they wanted. You could take the rat rod theme even further, tidy it up to make it a clean, regular driver, or expand on the driveline changes I've done to make it even tougher. It would also make a good work vehicle. With the 308, it's got more than enough grunt, while the Commodore seats make it comfortable for regular driving, too.

It was by no means an easy project, and I reckon that's mainly due to picking a rare vehicle to restore. Sourcing parts proved to be a bit of an adventure at times. I got bits from Queensland and NSW, with some old farmers proving to be a great source of parts and information. The flipside of that is that some other farmers didn't even want me to stop outside! Similarly, not a lot of people have experience with rodding these vehicles, so it was also hard getting suppliers to understand what you want to do, getting them to do it the way you want - and not charge like wounded bulls! Bedford experts have also told me that I have another year's A1 1300 Bedford, not a 1952. These people sent me wrong bits, but that was my fault. If you build a Ford or Chev hot rod pickup, you can find just about everything to suit, with plenty of options, but with a Bedford, not a lot of mods and custom parts are out there to choose from.

If anyone was thinking of taking on a project like this, my advice would be to buy one unfinished, but with all the hard work done. My next - and more important - bit of advice would be to finish it off quickly and enjoy it, instead of spending every spare hour you have on it for years and upsetting the good woman in the process!

After putting this vehicle on the market, I've decided to hang on to it, revisit the project and see it through to completion. I reckon that once it's done, it'll look - and go - even better!