Sill Drivers

The Sill Drivers plaque, created by Hans "Hasse" Broberg and Kjell "Kjelle" Gustad as a humorous nod to their nickname Sillarna (“the herrings”). The hand-painted design featured a fish skeleton and the text Sill Drivers No ½, reflecting their tongue-in-cheek approach to the car club culture of the 1960s. The “club” was never meant to be serious, it began as a friendly joke aimed at their friend Bo "Gamen" Sandberg, who insisted that every car and gang needed a cool name. Photo courtesy of Björn Ramsten, who photographed the plaque on Hasse’s roadster at Ekbackens Träff in 2014.

Hasse Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet Convertible of Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden as it appeared in the early 1960s. Bo Sandberg and his girlfriend Morris gave the car a flame paint job in 1962.

Hasse Broberg's Modified of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden. The build was started by Pelle Karlson, but Hasse, a member of the Sill Drivers, bought it and completed it in 1964.

Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1957 DeSoto of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden was built in the early 1960s. Hans and Kjelle belonged to a little club called Sill Drivers, and they were often called "Sillarna". This photo shows the car as it appeared in 1964.

A photo of Hans Broberg and Kjell Gustad's Dragster at an indoor car show. Known as the first dragster in Sweden, Hans and Kjell, known as "Sillarna," constructed the dragster in their workshop in Skarpnäck. Photo from The Håkan Lindell Photo Collection.

The Sill Drivers Story: Hot Rod Life in Stockholm 1957-1964 - Step back in time and experience the birth of the Swedish hot rod and custom scene through the lens of the Broberg family from Enskede, Stockholm. Filmed on Super-8 between 1957 and 1964, these rare home movies captures the early days of car culture in Sweden, from backyard builds to drag racing at Skarpnäck. The film was shot mostly by Hasse Broberg and features moments from the life of the Sill Drivers, a group of young enthusiasts who turned their passion for cars into a lifelong journey.

Order from: Sweden - Norway - Rest of the world

Sillarna (“the herrings”) were Hans "Hasse" Broberg and Kjell "Kjelle" Gustad, two close friends from Southern Stockholm, Sweden, who began building hot rods and custom cars in the early 1960s. Known for their humor and creativity, they jokingly formed a “club” called Sill Drivers, complete with a hand-made wooden plaque featuring a fish skeleton and the words Sill Drivers.

Hasse was from Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2015, Hasse told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he and his buddy Kjelle began building hot rods and custom cars around 1957. They belonged to the second generation of Swedish hot rodders, who learned about the style from American magazines such as Hot Rod Magazine and Rod & Custom. The new Swedish hot rod and custom scene was born in Stockholm, and Southern Stockholm builders such as Bo "Gamen" Sandberg, Sven Sandberg, Bengt Wennergren, Hasse, and Kjelle were among its early pioneers.

In 2015, Hasse told Kustomrama that he and Kjelle used to hang around older guys who were into hot rods, such as Lennart Djurberg, and that’s how they got started: “Me and Kjelle’s first car was a 1937 Ford Tudor that we cut the roof off, as we wanted a convertible.” The year was 1957, and they only drove it a little before they sold it. “After the Ford, we came across a 1938 Chevrolet Convertible in 1962. We installed an Oldsmobile V-8 engine in the Chevrolet.”

Origins

According to Benke Wennergren, the club name was born out of humor and friendly teasing. "Gamen thought and insisted that everything should have a cool name — cars, bikes, and even gangs," Benke recalled. "So Kjelle and Hasse founded the mad name Sill Drivers (‘the Herring Drivers’) just to tease Gamen a bit."

Instead of making fancy aluminum club plaques like Gamen’s gang, the Sill Drivers crafted their own crude signs out of ugly wooden floorboards. It was all done in jest, the group was never a formal club, just two friends with cars and imagination. One of their friends, Göran Silfors, who worked with Gamen at Yankee Custom Parts, was nicknamed “Lill-Sillen,” perhaps because of his surname.

Vendelsö Days

In 1962, CG Björk was eight years old when his family moved to Trollbäcken, near Vendelsö, where the Sillarna rented a garage. Fascinated by the cars and constant activity, young CG stopped by nearly every day to watch what the older boys, about ten years his senior, were building and experimenting with.

The Diesel Thunderbird

Sillarna were known for their wild ideas. In 2015, CG told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama about one of their most inventive escapades: “One of them was that they decided to go to Southern Spain where Hasse’s parents had a house. They found a red 1958 Ford Thunderbird suitable for the trip.” Hasse believed they got the car in a trade, but its engine and transmission were worn out. With limited funds and a long road ahead from Stockholm to Málaga, they came up with a creative solution.

"They visited a junkyard in Stockholm where they bought a Mercedes-Benz van. It was an old bread delivery van, with a diesel engine," CG remembered. "They removed the engine from the truck, before they sold it back to the junkyard again. Then they lifted the V8 out of the Thunderbird, and installed the more economic diesel engine."

Within a few days, the conversion was done, and the boys hit the road for Spain. The only mechanical issue on the trip was a broken generator belt. The Thunderbird cruised at around 90–100 km/h, slowly but surely, all the way to Spain and back. When they returned to Stockholm, they swapped engines again.

A memorable incident occurred at a German gas station, where diesel pumps were typically located behind the main building. "When Sillarna drove behind the station to fill up the tank, the fellow that worked on the gas station came out yelling, trying to explain that they were filling their tank with the wrong fuel," CG recalled. "When they were done, they started the car and went away, leaving the man totally confused."

The Skarpnäck Workshop

As time went on, the Sill Drivers moved their operations to a new workshop in Skarpnäck, located on a small former junkyard lot with several odd cars scattered around. When Sillarna left their Vendelsö garage, it was rented by Palle Eriksson. After Palle left for South Africa, Janne Söderström took over. Janne was an avid racer who campaigned a 1964 Chevrolet Nova, later bought by Matti Johansson, marking the start of his short racing career.

Among the strange cars once seen in the Skarpnäck yard was an old Bentley from the 1930s. "The car was in pretty good shape," CG recalled. "One day Palle Eriksson stopped by. He saw the Bentley and decided to buy it. He restored it and used it for some years. Heck, he even got a suitable dog, an Old English Sheepdog, to fit in. Unfortunately, the car ended up in a ditch. Wrecked."

After settling in Skarpnäck, the Sill Drivers also began working on their own dragster project.

The Sill Drivers Dragster

While based in Skarpnäck, Kjelle and Hasse began building what would become one of the earliest, and perhaps the first, Swedish dragsters. The car was constructed by Sillarna in their Skarpnäck workshop and quickly earned recognition among enthusiasts as the pioneering Swedish rail-style dragster.

In 2015, CG Björk recalled an early test at the Skarpnäck airfield: "A friend called Lill-Pelle was trying it out. We got in there without permission, and "Lill-Pelle" jumped into the dragster and started a burnout. A guard at the airfield came running, yelling that the car was on fire. We left, and the guard became furious."

Later, the dragster was sold to Bo “Gamen” Sandberg, who bought it shortly before the Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. CG was there when Gamen came to pick it up: "I remember that Gamen said that he wanted to borrow the paint box so he could add some flames for the show. He made it all within one hour. It was amazing to see it, he was extremly skillfull."

When Gamen purchased the dragster, it was reportedly powered by a Pontiac Rocket engine. In a later configuration, it featured a 475 hp Buick engine paired with a 1947 Ford transmission.

The Boat "Pride"

In 1965, Sillarna sold their cars and bought a 30-meter-long fishing boat named "Pride." They began rebuilding it and, to finance the restoration, launched a floating nightclub called “Club Batman.”

By 1969–1970, the boat was ready for its main mission, a voyage to the USA. The crossing went smoothly, and the crew spent time sailing around the Caribbean before selling the boat to a group of new owners. The buyers later beached the vessel, which soon sank.

Using proceeds from the sale, Sillarna stayed in Florida, where they bought several cars, including a Corvette, a Shelby GT500 convertible, and an old Detroit Electric-style car reminiscent of Grandma Duck’s automobile. These, along with other cars, were stored at Ingemar Johansson’s Motel, owned by the former heavyweight boxing champion whom they befriended. Around this time, Palle Eriksson and several other Swedish hot rodders also relocated to Florida.

Back to Sweden

When Sillarna eventually returned to Sweden, CG had moved away from Stockholm. He returned in 1985 and reconnected with them at a small yacht harbor named Navis. By then, Hasse and Kjelle had turned their attention primarily to boats, later purchasing a wharf in Saltsjö-Boo.

By that time, the pair had already sailed to the USA three times. After selling the wharf, Hasse began building hot rods again, setting up a garage in Orminge.

In 1991, Hasse bought a 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe in pieces while in Florida. He assembled the car over the next year, completing it in 1992, and as of 2015, he still owned it. In 2012, he built a fiberglass 1932 Ford Roadster, and early in 2015, he began another project, a Swedish-built steel-bodied 1932 Ford hi-boy.

As of 2015, Kjelle was still chasing his lifelong dream: finding a pickup he could transform into his own hot rod.

Members

Hans Broberg
Kjelle Gustad

Club Cars

Hasse Broberg's Modified
Hans Broberg and Kjell Gustad's Dragster
Hasse Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet Convertible
Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1957 DeSoto