By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Jake Sigel’s 1929 Ford pickup began its life as a coupe and has been assembled from pieces he collected over 20 years.

The pickup started its life as a coupe, until someone converted it to a pickup, Sigel said.

Sigel said he believes the coupe was converted to a pickup during World War II when gasoline was so tightly rationed it was much easier to get if you drove a pickup.

He bought the frame, the cab, the fenders, and the bed separately and put them together.

The engine, exposed because the engine bay does not yet have a hood, is a new 350 Chevrolet that runs on unleaded gasoline.

“It’s a work in progress,” Sigel said.

The son of one of Sigel’s friends drove the pickup to the Marion prom.

Sigel said he owns 70 antique cars and pickups that are stored in Florence, Cottonwood Falls, and elsewhere in the area.