Palle Eriksson's 1924 Chevrolet

Hans Broberg, Kjelle Gustad, Bo Sandberg and Palle next to Palle's powerful Hemi engine in 1962. Palle's Hemi was a real hot rod engine, featuring dual 4-port carburetors, producing about 385 horsepowers. This photo was taken at Vendelsö, Sandgropen. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

Palle's roadster as it sat in 1963. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

The front of the roadster was lowered by "goosenecking" the frame. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

Bo Sandberg testing Palle's rod. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

A photo of Palle's Chevrolet taken in 1964, the evening he and 7 other cars left for the French Riviera.

Palle's Ford at the 1965 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

Palle's roadster at the 1966 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. This photo was published in the "Colorod Cavalcade" in Colorod Nr 1 1980. Photo courtesy of Colorod Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Colorod Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

The remainings of Palles car after the accident in South Afrika were taken home and used in this rod. From April 1967 Hot Rod Show

1924 Chevrolet roadster owned and built by Palle Eriksson of Stockholm, Sweden.
It started at the age of 15 when a devoted Palle got a Chevrolet 1931 Roadster body from a friend who had resigned on the project.

The body was fitted to a frame from a Ford 1938 which required some modifications. It was shortened 80 cm but the rear end didn't look good.
So, the body was cut, and a rear body part from a 1924 Chevrolet was added. So now we had a mixture of both years and manufacturer.

The engine was critical for Palle. Of course it should be a big V8. He luckily could find a Chrysler 1958 that contributed with the engine (probably a 361 ci) and other parts like gauges etc. The gearbox was a Ford 3-speed
Palle finished the car in 1961, in this shape, body painted in purple color.

On a holyday trip to Germany that year, Palle got an offer to buy another Chrysler engine, this time a 383 hp Hemi with two 4-barrel carburators as stock!
Back home, the car was torn down and a complete rebuilt started, lasting two years!

In order to lower the car up front, Palle "goosenecked" the frame. By goosenecking the frame, Palle could sit as a normal person inside the car. A blacksmith that worked for Palle's dad helped Palle weld and fabricate the rod. Palle's roadster was powered by a 392 Chrysler Hemi engine, and it was known as one of the fastest cars in the Stockholm area. In 1963 Palle's roadster was known as the only car that could beat Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford roadster in a street race.

In 1964 Palle drove the car to the French Riviera. 8 cars in total started the trip from Kungens Kurva on a rainy night.

Palle's rod was shown at the first annual Hot Rod Show in Stockholm in 1965, this version was painted Deep Gold Metalflake. It returned for the 1966 show as well with a roof.

Unfortunately, Palle crashed the car in South Africa. He had brought the car with him in 1966 for a job at a Chrysler company.
The car flipped over and fell down a cliff. In order to get the deposit money that he had to pay when he brought the car in back, he had to build a new car in Africa. He borrowed a Ford Model T phaeton body from a garage that he used to make a fiberglass mold. The new body was mounted on an Opel chassis before he took it back home to Sweden. The engine and some other parts were used on a T-23 rod shown at the April 1967 Hot Rod Show, see picture. After this the parts were probably spread in many directions.

Magazine Featured and Appearances

Start&Speed Nr 1 1966
Colorod Nr 1 1980
Nostalgia 2 1998