CLASSICS LOCKER
Story and photos by Christopher Moor
A BEAUT FROM 1946 This 1946 Chev has spent its entire life in the North Island and still runs its original motor (though not for much longer). It’s a fantastic restoration that transports all who see it back to another time.
D
ean Tredrea’s prized 1946 American AK series Chevrolet half-ton pickup truck is a conversation starter. “Everywhere I go, someone wants to talk to me about it. They are very popular,” he says. The truck isn’t used as a promotional vehicle for his glazing business, and he has no intention of this happening, ignoring the suggestion that he paint ‘The Glass Shoppe’ on the doors.
He has owned the Chevy for about two years and describes its current upgrade as “a work in progress”. Since he has owned it, a wellside tray, with a spare wheel on the passenger side, has replaced the wooden flat tray, and a sun visor fitted over the front windscreen. His plans for the Chevy include adding a cab to the wellside and fitting a bumper to the rear of the tray. “I still want to keep it looking how it did originally,” he says. “The military
wheels won’t be changed.” Dean chose the location for this article’s photographs at the car park by the Hutt River at Silverstream. After parking the Chevy, a damp patch on the tar sealing saw the pick-up hastily moved on. The wet surface would have given the wrong impression of the truck leaking oil. Since the photo shoot, the Chevy has been stripped down, ready for an engine refit to give it more power. Dean had no issues with the 90hp
