Palle Eriksson's Trip to South Africa 1966

Featured Stories - Sweden

After two successful years with his Hot Rod in Sweden, Palle was still hungry for more. He ran the car on interim registration plates, but it was never approved by Swedish authorities. That meant his plans always pointed south, to countries where you could actually drive a roadster year-round.

A Dream Come True

While working in Monaco, Palle met a couple from South Africa. They followed him back to Sweden and stayed at his place for a while. When they saw his Hot Rod and his Chrysler 300, they didn't waste much time. "In South Africa, we have hot rods and car racing. Why don't you come down and bring the Hot Rod with you?" They wrote to a man named Buddy Fuller, who ran sprint car racing in Cape Town. Fuller wrote back: "You are very welcome down here, we can host you. Unfortunately, we cannot finance your journey, but I have shipping contacts who can get your car and you over by boat."

Preparing

Palle sold a small cottage he owned and bought himself a ticket. The car was not registered in Sweden, so he had to sort out his own paperwork. He assigned it a unique license number, B117. At the time, you could pick up individual letters and numbers for license plates at the local gas station. Through some careful copying and scratching, he put together a round windshield certificate and a registration document with the car's specs. A chassis number (VIN) was stamped on the frame. The car went by the name "Chrysler Special."

The car was loaded in Gothenburg, and Palle got a cabin on the same ship. The voyage took almost a month.

First Time in Cape Town

In January 1966, they arrived at the port of Cape Town. Palle made a customs declaration and got a carnet for the car with a one-year residence permit. He settled near the racetrack in Killarney, where a workshop served the local sprint car scene. The shop did repair and paint work on vintage cars and also built cars from scratch. It was called "Saffy's Panelbeaters," and they ran a sticker with a T-bucket rod on it: "Saffy's - For T's in kit form." To cover his living costs, Palle worked in the shop welding and building frames for racers and other customers.

His Hot Rod got a lot of attention. He was invited to race with his own rod and also to drive other sprint cars. The local press ran several articles in Afrikaans, impressed by the Swede and his car.

• All images kind courtesy of Palle Eriksson.
• 

  A shipping transportation magazine put Palles rod on the cover while loading!

• 

  The hot rod landed on the Cape Town Clifton Beach with a surfboard on top!

• 

  Probably the Table Mountains in the background.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  Racing at Killarney International Raceway https://wpmc.co.za/

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  There was some improvised Drag racing on the track.

• 
• 
• 

  Sprint car racing was very popular with much action!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  The shop where Palle worked.

• 
• 

  The mechanics were very skilled and did quality job on all sorts of cars.

• 
• 
• 

  The no. 6 car - 'Lucky Strike', was driven by Palle on the tracks.

• 
• 

  The shop crew.

• 
• 

  Press clip from a newspaper (in Afrikaans language)!

• 
• 
• 

  Beautiful model Elaine Bruins posing with the car.

• 

The Crash

The days rolled by, and Palle was having a good time in Cape Town.

In July 1966, during a fast run well above 150 km/h with a friend in the car, one of the link-arm mountings on the front axle broke. The front dipped down and pulled the handbrake wires tight against the rear wheels. The rear end locked, the car spun, and went into a ditch. The rear axle tore loose and flew clear of the car, taking Palle's friend with it. He took a hit from the axle on his lower leg and foot. The rest of the car went down in the ditch. Palle was shaken but relatively unhurt.

The crash was never reported, and nobody touched anything until Palle came back a few days later to collect what was left.

• All images kind courtesy of Palle Eriksson.
• 

  Not a pretty sight. The guys were lucky to be alive!

• 
• 
• 
• 

  Many things could, of course, be saved, such as the engine and drivetrain.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  The passenger friend in the hospital. Helmet on! He was one of the best Tennis players in South Africa at the time! Later career unknown!

New Car Built and Return Home

The customs carnet required that any car brought into the country also had to leave it. That meant Palle had to build a new car. Luckily, he was a handy man and definitely in the right place to pull it off. A new frame was welded from 50x100 mm steel. A body mould was taken from a customer's car that was in for repainting. The new T-bucket came together fast, with plenty of parts carried over from the old car.

Palle and the car were shipped home from the port of Durban in the fall of 1966.

• All images kind courtesy of Palle Eriksson.
• 

  The customer car that Palle used to fabricate a mould for the T-body.

• 
• 

  Palle welded a completely new frame prepared for a rigid front axle and the Chrysler engine.

• 
• 

  The new T-bucket body painted.

• 
• 
• 
• 

  At the same time, the shop produced several similar complete T-buckets for local customers.

• 

  This one with a Buick nailhead engine.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  The interior and top could be re-used.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  First test-run on the streets!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  Some decals for the shop, Palle's own plate on the radiator top, and the registration plate.

Back to the Palle Eriksson bio - Palle Eriksson