A fella rocked up briefly to a show I was at in a yellow Bellett ute; it was one I'd seen on the web quite a few times and it looked like this:
- Isuzu Bellett Wasp - 06 - Peter Areskog's for comparison.jpg (89.91 KiB) Viewed 218985 times
- Isuzu Bellett Wasp - 05 - Peter Areskog's for comparison.jpg (76.99 KiB) Viewed 218983 times
..albeit not quite as nice as it was in those photos.
I was speaking to another guy I'd just met called George and he said to me, "I know where there's another one of those just like that," I was intrigued and asked him what he meant - a similar model or EXACTLY like that... and he said, "EXACTLY LIKE THAT CAR, right down to the paint job..."
So after a brief chat with George I convinced him to keep that one under his hat; I was keen on a Wasp and the Mrs had given me the green light. I rang the current owner, Scott the bushie, after the show and he said he'd hold it for me. Scotty didn't even want a deposit - all he wanted to know was that I wasn't going to hot it up or anything, as he'd declined to sell it to some people previously for that exact reason.
In January 2008 Antus and I set off for a mad 36-hour dash to drive to Gulgong, pick it up and bring it home. Scott was very hospitable and we stayed there for a few hours, then we hit the dusty trail. He showed us the way back to the main town in his nostalgia rod but I blew a tyre on the way and my jack was... in Adelaide. So he dutifully helped me change the flat by grabbing a jack from the museum he worked at.
- 48 - Isuzu Bellett Wasp all loaded up.JPG (198.92 KiB) Viewed 218982 times
I was a bit nervous coming home with no spare as the Goggomobil-based trailer I have wasn't coping with the Wasp's stout weight and was chewing thru the inner edges of the tyres like there was no tomorrow. We stopped at Bathurst and bought a spare tyre, plus we did a lap of the Mountain!
- 53 - Isuzu Bellett Wasp and VY Sandman on Skyline at Bathurst.JPG (41.75 KiB) Viewed 218980 times
Once we got the car back to Adelaide, it sat for a few weeks before Ross 2ldohc and I decided to get it running. I drove it up the street and back on the handbrake as there was NO braking whatsoever. Jokingly I told people that for my 30th I'd like either the gift of eternal youth or working Wasp brakes.
As we were about to move house, Ross took it upon himself to organise a BIG present for me! He suggested we tow the Wasp to his house to get it out of our way while we moved and also secretly grabbed a few bucks of each of our friends. Then at my 30th, he rocked up in the Wasp! Basically everybody I know was in on it... It was awesome. He'd fixed the the brakes, fitted a new tyre and a new battery and the $s also bought a 3-day permit, so not only was it NOT in the way for the house-moving that was to occur one day after my birthday, but I USED it to move heaps of stuff! He'd also fixed all the lights that didn't work and also replaced the broken indicator with a Gemini one... that he stole from me without me knowing!
Here it is all loaded up with pavers... it's not any slower with a tonne of stuff in the back.... it's just not fast at any time. Incredibly, you NEED to be in third gear by about 20km/h...
- Isuzu Bellett Wasp - all loaded up with stuff during move - 02.JPG (93.93 KiB) Viewed 218975 times
Anyway, I gave it a decent cut and polish and tidied up what I could and took it to the rego dept for a number check. They passed it and I got it registered! All I needed to do was get my new plates. I've got a running theme on three of my Belletts - all 60's plates in SA started with R, so I've got RPR-020 on my sedan, RPR-091 on my GT and RKR-020 on the Wasp!
Lucky they were all available... but it's not like I was going to be fighting other people for those plates....
- Isuzu Wasp with new plates - 03.JPG (183.85 KiB) Viewed 218971 times
- Isuzu Wasp with new plates - 04.JPG (195.91 KiB) Viewed 218966 times
I like where the back plate sits - I hope I don't get picked on for obsuring my plate, but that's just how they were made!
Anyway, that's the story of my Wasp so far. There's another chapter in this - I Googled 'Bruce A Ruston' and got some info from the original owner, however that's for another day!
Cheers,
Dave
