Chevrolet C8A HUP

Back in 1984 as a newly signed up undergraduate in receipt of a full local authority maintenance grant. I was away studying Engineering in the midlands came upon the opportunity to acquire a 1943 Chevrolet HUP 1C1.  What better use could there be for a maintenance grant than to purchase a rusty truck.  Has to be said that it didn’t at all go down well with my parents when this project turned up on their driveway while I was away studying.  From years earlier reading the Olyslager books, ‘Three on the Floor’ and ‘Old motor magazine’ I was familiar with the type and always had an eye for these fabulous trucks.  Then, as now, they rarely came to the market, so it really was a take it or leave it moment for me.

This particular truck, registered in Shrewsbury in 1946 came via the sales at Mount farm in Oxfordshire with a collection of Laundry trailers and was used to set up Shrewsbury’s first post war commercial laundry which operated out of 3 ex-military laundry trailers.  The truck was initially used to tow the trailers back from the sales and later as a delivery and collection van.  The family also used the HUP as a runaround towing the family caravan out to North Wales for holidays in the 1950’s.  When the truck was moved on and sold it passed to the ‘Service garage’ in Ellesmere nearby where the roof was cut and a Harvey frost crane installed and used for recovery work.  Such a shame but common place at the time.  It remained there for many years before being scrapped and recovered by a farmer in Whixall that was keen on military vehicles. He stored it for many years before passing it on to myself.

Restored back in 1983 / 1984 in time for the 1984 MVT tour of Normandy it spent most of its time after such an epic rebuild sitting in a very muddy field in France unable to move for some two weeks.  Fortunately, the Jeep was with us and we were able to exit the site each day.

Reconstruction included rebuilding the missing body work and roof, and generally reconditioning everything else.  With the paint ‘touch dry’ at two in the morning the day the ferry left for France, we set off for Portsmouth from Stoke completely untested on a wing and a prayer. It never failed once though had more than a few minor issues along the way! Fortune favours the brave they say and we made it there and back in one piece.