Page 5 - SAACAC

Cover Car Stories
Jerry and Cathy Doell - 1947 Fargo
I tried to buy this truck 20 years ago.
The guy that owned it lived in
Vauxhall. He got called out on a service

call when we were to meet. I got called
to a project up north. When I returned
the truck was gone, he couldn’t
remember the guy’s name. I
discovered it was our nephew that

bought it when he asked me to haul it to Lethbridge for him. Fast forward 15 - 20 years. He became
overwhelmed with all the work. He had sandblasted any body parts that were salvageable. He also
installed a Mustang 2 front end complete with rack and pinion steering and a Ford 8.8 differen5al and
four link suspension. When I discovered he wanted to get rid of it we made a deal and I had all the parts
in my garage the next day. I boxed in the frame from front to back, installed an in frame fuel tank at the
back. Bought a 5.3k motor c/ w4160 e transmission, and the electrical harness. I built and installed
motor mounts and tranny mounts. A friend took the wire harness and stripped out all the wiring not

needed. Another friend programmed the ECM. Spent about 6-700 hours pounding out dents, welding
fenders, built the tail gate, roll pan and front bumper. I did the limited upholstery myself. When the 5me
came to test fire, I put in 5 gallons of gas, turned the key on, made sure
the fuel pump pressured up, hit the starter and it fired up instantly. I
have had it on the road now for almost 5 years and have driven it 19,000
km trouble free.

Byron and Jo Matlock’s ‘58 Aus3n A35 - The Flying A
Currently under construc5on in Byron’s workshop in Victoria, BC is a
1958 Aus5n A35. Byron has had this car since he was 16 years old and
working as a work-experience student at Vulcan Motor Products (VMP).
George Richardson, one of the owners of VMP at the 5me, gave Byron
the car aoer Byron expressed some interest in the car. The Aus5n had
been silng in the back corner of VMP for around ten years and likely
George wanted the space more than he wanted the car!
As the Aus5n wasn’t running at the 5me, Byron hauled the car to the
farm where it sat in the corner of a shed collec5ng dust and cobwebs –
and likely more than one mouse family – for 41 years. (Mind you,
during these 41 years, Jo had asked Byron more than once what he was
planning to do with the car and suggested perhaps it would be a good
car to restore.)
In the fall of 2017 Kelly and Gord Nelson, friends and fellow car
enthusiasts, were planning on travelling to the lower mainland with an
enclosed trailer to pick up a car project. The scheme was hatched to
haul the Aus5n to Victoria in their trailer then bring their project car
back to Alberta. (As an aside, of course a stop was made at the Radium
Car Show. We were driving right by!)
The Aus5n is a great car for Byron to be working on in Victoria as his
shop space is quite limited. Every nut and bolt on the car has been apart. As the engine that came with
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