Rainier Arangies is a Commercial Helicopter Pilot and businessman who owns and operates an aviation company which owns several helicopters (of which the HUEY is his favourite) and flies out of Namibia. Rainier is a big Classic car, Muscle car and Harley Davidson collector but he does favour anything American.
Rainier found the 1957 Chevy Apache lying stripped in a field behind a workshop in Grootfontein. The pick-up had seen better days and was missing a motor and a gearbox as well as some other special bits. The inside was literally a rats nest – their favourite spot being the original seat.
The body itself was seasoned into a natural patina he always wanted with glass and trim that was left in fair condition.
Once the Chevy arrived at the shop where he keeps all his other toys which include a few Rat Rods and some Harleys, the work started. Rainier wanted to keep as much of the original pick-up as possible. Once they had removed the years of dirt off of the body and chassis, they fitted a 350 Chevy V8 with a Jaguar manual gearbox which included overdrive. A shiny new aluminium radiator and Fly fan blade were fitted to deal with the Namibian heat. All the old wiring was pulled out and replaced with a 12 V system. All the headlamps were replaced with LED lights all around. Parts like the braking system, hand brake and suspension were all completely overhauled. The decayed metal in the load box was stripped out and replaced with wooden planks. With regards to the exhaust, Rainier went for a set of chrome stacks with top flaps to give that proper old school look. For wheels, a set of Smoothy chrome deep dishes with 325/70/16 tyres were fitted which finish the look of perfectly.
This story is from the Edition 91 edition of SA Hot Rods.
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This story is from the Edition 91 edition of SA Hot Rods.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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