This article on the 1932 Chevrolet BA Confederate coupe restored by Big Shed Customs appeared in the Marlborough Express.
The lowdown
Who: The Metzger Family (represented by Adrian)
What: 1932 Chevrolet BA Confederate 5-window coupe
What else is in the garage?
On the family farm near Tapanui we also have a 48 Dodge 3½ tonne truck which all of us learnt to drive in.
What was your first car?
That was a 1973 Morris Minor truck which had no heater. That is something you notice in West Otago.
Road rage – what makes you see red?
People who won’t get out of the way when you’re passing.
Your best driving memory:
It has to be when we drove this home from Blenheim very recently. We drove it down the beautiful West Coast to surprise my parents, who knew it was being restored but didn’t know it had been finished.
History of the vehicle:
My Grandparents bought this car new in about 1932, at the time it was touring around A&P shows as an exhibit. My family lived in Arrowtown then and it took my grandmother about three weeks to drive it there from Invercargill visiting all her friends and family on the way. It was transferred to my father when he was 17 and he used it till the early ‘60s, then it worked as a farm hack for a good few years thereafter.
Tell us about the project:
It was pushed into the stables on the farm in 1971 and pulled out in 2009; it was all there but obviously in need of a lot of work. The engine and transmission were done in Invercargill, the radiator was custom-made in Auckland and seeing as I travel a lot between the US and New Zealand, I brought a lot of parts over, including new fenders made in Ohio from the original stamps.
We shifted it up to Marlborough for the bodywork and finishing to be done by your local ‘car artist’ Mark Stead, who has done a wonderful job. His craftsmanship was key to the project; plus I have a childhood friend who lives here and kept us in the loop on progress.
Why a Chevrolet?
Because of the family history and its place in the history of the district, it’s now back in the same shed it was housed in during the 1930s.
Would you sell it?
No, never, it will be staying in the family
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