Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Piers]

"The Burb in the Bush"

Some time ago, while on another South African "safari" up near the Cullinan mine, where the famous "Star of Africa diamond was discovered in 1905, I found my own "diamond in the rough"- a rare left hand drive, 5-7 seater '61 Chevrolet Suburban. Incredibly, after lying out under the harsh African sun for the last 30 years, the body had only minor, surface rust. Granted it needed a bit of work but the only thing that really concerned me was the badly damaged, (yellow/black) curved windscreen. The owner, Monty (83), a sun baked, wily African Boer offered to sell it to me. Somewhat amused, I told him I'd think it over. and continued on my quest to track down another elusive classic - a '35 Chevrolet Pick Up.

On route up to the Namibian border, I took a detour to check out a rare '53 Chevy hearse, gathering dust in a local funeral parlour. This hearse looked like something you'd see in an early Bond film or used to "voodoo" terrorize Haitians by Papa Doc's dreaded secret police, the Ton ton Macute. After discovering I was Irish and not a "Brit" (these guys have long memories of the Anglo-Boer war!) the suspicious Boer owner offered to sell it to me. Unknown to him, I had been asked by a Cape Town production to source an unusual vehicle for a movie they were shooting. This old hearse certainly fitted the brief! Not only that but it would certainly compliment my other movie "prop" classics. Another thought flashed into my head. Maybe I'd paint it black / cream and approach Guinness (my favourite drink) suggesting they use it in a unique marketing campaign. "Dead on Time" wouldn't be a bad slogan!

Driving through the sweltering Namibian desert, my thoughts kept returning to that "burb in the bush". As a Chevrolet enthusiast, I just couldn't leave it there to "RIP" (rust in peace!) This old classic had plenty of life left in it. A few hours later, I arrived at the Namibian coastal town of Luederitz and headed to a bar to enjoy a couple of ice-cold "Windhoeks" Locals named the area the Skeleton Coast because of all the shipwrecks washed up during the early morning fog. It was also a heavily restricted diamond area where everyone entering had to have a special pass and X-rayed when they left. Who knows, if I hung around long enough, maybe I'd run into someone with a few sparklers to flog!

Sadly, on my return to Cape Town, on route to a shoot, some crazy African wrote off my white London taxi and a fire badly damaged many of my "bush" classics. I had no choice but to return to Europe for medical condition. A few weeks later, via the "bush" radio, I heard that some cheeky African had stolen the "burb in the bush". OK I was annoyed and couldn't understand how some "doff" African would go to all the trouble to steal a rusty, '61 Chevrolet, abandoned in the bush for the last thirty years! Suddenly, I saw this as a real life African "Indiana Jones" adventure! True it could be anywhere -Zim, Namibia, Angola or some dodgey township but this was the quest! Being the only lhd Chevrolet Suburban in Africa, I knew I had a good chance of tracking it down I needed a tough, rugged vehicle. The idea of buying that '53 Chevrolet hearse made a lot of sense. It was tough, roomy, reliable, easy to get parts/repair but most of all, it was thief proof.. Africans are a superstitious lot and I figured I could take advantage of their fear of "muti" (black magic) All I had to do was add a few "props" - bones/herbs, throw in a coffin and it was unlikely any African or border guard would go near my "mutimobile." Stashing my film equipment inside a coffin was pure genius - my Art Department days were finally beginning to pay off !

The adventure would begin in Cape Town and once I tracked down the "burb," I might even continue this exciting journey tracking down more "bush" weather beaten classics up to Kenya. In Nairobi, I'd do all the post production at a friend's film studio and then concentrate on pre-selling the short / doccie to TV networks like National Geographic, BBC and so on. Who knows, perhaps even ship the "burb" to Argentina, head over the Andes into Chile and up through Central America in search of more unusual vehicles! Come to think of it, maybe shipping the "burb" out of Mombasa wouldn't be too cool what with all those pirates hanging about off the Kenyan coast..... The "burb" might end up ferrying a load of AK-47 pirates around Somalia which wouldn't exactly be in my plans!

With all this doom/gloom about, viewers might like to watch something different! Here was a true life, action packed adventure - cool, rugged, weather-beaten vehicles, spectacular scenery, amazing wildlife and interesting characters, talking about their cars / lives in an Africa of long ago. I had the time, passion, experience, energy and after nine years working in the Cape Town film industry, it wouldn't be difficult to round up a motley crew of 3/4! Any adventurous TV producers or investors out there?

"Life's a journey, not a destination!"

To get some idea, check out WWW.PHOTOBUCKET.COM/PIERS. Included is the '61 "burb" and '53 " Chevy hearse + a few other "bush" classics, featured on Cape Town film shoots.

"The Piano Player" (Christopher Lambart / Dennis Hooper) movie featured (hero vehicle) one of the best vehicles I ever had, a '71 Jeep Wagoneer. Interesting movie and set in South Africa.

www.photobucket.com/piers