CLEAN AND GREEN

This ’56 Chev pickup was originally started by Dale ‘Daigo’ Gerrand, from Cambridge Panelworks, as one of his own. “I bought it 10 years ago as a rusty truck out of the South Island, with a big hole in the roof from a previous sunroof install. It was real rusty,” Daigo explained. Over the years, he collected the parts that he’d need to finish it, until a mate decided he had to own it. “My mate does tours through Africa, and, when he came back to New Zealand, I let him and another mate borrow my truck to take to Beach Hop. They loved the 502 big block and Jag suspension, and I sold him this one with everything I’d collected for it,” Daigo said. Every time his mate returns to New Zealand, he puts in whatever work needs doing, but the advantages of Daigo owning a panel shop should be obvious! The Jaguar front and rear subframes have been grafted into the chassis beautifully, and the bodywork has been completed to the same standard. Power-wise, they’ve gone one better than a 502, opting for a 540ci big block, built by Selwyn Coker, through a TH400 transmission and Jaguar LSD rear end. “I’ve got to do a bit more repair work on the tray, put the windows in, and finish the wiring,” Daigo told us, “and I’d like to have it finished before he gets back in three or four months.”