Station wagons have ferried passengers to railroad stations, carried campers and worked for tradesmen. In 1948, one covered the length of Africa.
Henry Donner was a professor of astronomy and geology at what was then Western Reserve University in Cleveland, when he and his wife drove a 1947 Chevrolet through Africa while studying geological formations and comparing star measurements with those made on previous trips. The car had heavy-duty springs and fan, a winch, dual batteries, spotlights and a skid plate; it was outfitted with a bed, screens and curtains, spares and extra supplies.
The Donners and the Chevrolet wagon sailed from New York to Le Havre, France, then traveled on to Paris and then to Marseille, where they set sail for Algiers. There, English travelers leaving in four-wheel-drive military vehicles predicted the Chevrolet's defeat. The Donners and one English truck followed and were joined en route by an ex-military Dodge. After fighting sandstorms, searching for gas and food, getting stuck, breaking the winch and pushing for hours in first gear, they caught up to the Brits who had doubted the Chevrolet. In 74 days, across 9400 miles, they reached Bloemfontein, South Africa.
The car, which was owned by the university and used later by Donner on student trips to Colorado, was sold several times through the years. In 1971, Larry Nagode bought what he thought was simply a 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Special Deluxe woody. He was told by the seller that Western Reserve had owned it, and traces of the name remained on the body, so Nagode learned the car's story from the school.
"I started to clean it up," he recalled, "and when I took some of the molding off, it was packed with red dust. All these things started to make some sense."
He contacted the Donners and arranged to meet.
"He was very happy to see the car again," Nagode said of Donner, "because it was his home for many, many months. He was crying when I pulled into the driveway."
The sheetmetal was repainted in 1955, and most modifications were removed, but Africa left evidence behind; lettering remains barely visible on the wood, and the fenders show waves from the ships' lifting slings. Plating on the rear bumper's corner is worn away from having served as a seat during the Colorado trips. Nagode is in no hurry to change that, and mechanically, the car has needed only exhaust replacement and front-end work.
The Chevrolet is easy to drive. The steering demands little strength, and the brakes stop the car smoothly and quickly in a 1947 way, with heavy pedal pressure. Vacuum assist helps the column shifter through the standard three-speed pattern with only gentle direction. The car's gearing is low enough, though, that shifting is infrequent. Like most Chevrolets of its time, it would make any competent driver comfortable, something Donner recognized.
"Our choice of vehicle," the professor once wrote, "had proven a right one."
DOLLARS & SENSE
ORIGINAL LIST PRICE: $2,084.83
CURRENT MARKET VALUE*: $20,700 (est)
*Source: Old Cars Price Guide via autoweek
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