Thought I had seen this years ago?

This 1959 Tempo Rapid Truck on a Craigslist add struck me as one that I had seen 6 or so years ago at an estate sale? They had a bunch of old Italian 3 wheelers and stuff like this truck.

However, as it turns out when I looked at the 1959 Tempo Rapid Truck – $1500 Craigslist add more closely it turned out this was not what I thought I saw before 😳

The yard auction I had seen before had mostly 3 wheeled trucks if you could call them that? Somewhere as rusty as this one and some had been wrecked! I could not see how someone could wreck one of these in the way that they were twisted up but, at the same time nobody would import a totaled 3 wheeler to my knowledge?

Straight from the Craigslist add-

“1959 Tempo Rapid Truck

I found this truck in a barn about 15 years ago. I bought it from the farmer that had bought it new in 1959. He said that a local dealer had imported a bunch of them from Germany and was marketing them to local farmers as utility vehicles for farm use. He used it daily around the farm, before finally parking it in the barn about 10 years before I purchased it from him. I bought the truck because I thought it was neat looking and I had never seen anything like it. I figured it would be a something for my father and I to work on and talk about. I had no idea what I was getting into, or how rare the truck really was.

We got it home and started researching it. We quickly found out how little information there was about it. There were very few if any parts available from Germany. Upon further research, we noticed that there were very few left in existence, and those were not located in the U.S. So far, I have not found another Tempo Rapid in the U.S. I have found a couple Tempo Matadors, which were another model, that seems to have been more mass produced.

It quickly became apparent that restoring this truck was beyond my experience, abilities, desire, and wallet. Over the years, the truck has moved around from one place to another. Sometimes it was stored inside, sometimes out. We always talked about doing something with it, but never did. It is currently being stored outside, with a tarp over it. I don’t like storing it that way, but currently, it’s the only space I have for it.

The truck is in pretty rough shape, but intact. All of the original parts are there, with the exception of 2 out of the 4 factory hubcaps. Even the glass is still there and undamaged. The truck has a 4 cylinder motor, made by Austin. It is front wheel drive, with a 4-speed manual transmission.The truck has no bed. It came that way from the dealer. The original owner built his own bed out of wood, which has since rotted away.

At this point, I’m hoping to find someone with the desire and wherewithal to take on a project like this. I’ve had a couple offers over the years and some have backed out after they realized what was involved with a restoration like this one. It’s a shame to see the truck continue to deteriorate. It really is a neat little truck.

$1500 or best offer. I’m also open to trades, but no projects. I have enough of those. It has to be something that doesn’t need any work.

I do not currently have a title for the truck. I am in the process of obtaining one. I should have a title for the truck in the next couple of months. If you want the truck now, I can give you the info that I have and you can apply for the title yourself.”

So it seems this truck is not Italian but, at the same time is much rarer! So maybe someone out there feels some love for this rare beauty and will restore it 🙂