fbekholden.com

Hi,
New to the forum.Have a question for you all.

Have a fb holden ute that could be worth restoring but I am interested in knowing your thoughts about when it is cheaper to buy a restored one or restore my old one.
I have 2 vintage car restorations under my belt and I mean 2 complete restorations/bare chassis,reco everything,paint,bodywork ,upholstery etc. The main job left to the professionals are the basic motor (short) and have a mate who does upholstery part time and his jobs are top notch and my cost will be significantly reduced.When I restore,I like it 100% reliable but it is restored to be able to drive it.

But I do know the costs involved and quiet often now it is cheaper to buy a good restored one than restore yourself.
I have seen some of the restoration work done by members on this site and it is major and I expect the costs will be two and I am interested in knowing the point where you walk away.

My old fb ute was in use around 17 yrs ago as a shooting ute.Been parked on side of hill for the 17 yrs till now.We are in a low rainfall area. Threw a battery into it yesterday ,a bit of water in the radiator and some oil down the plugs and it fired straight up.That old leaded fuel is still good after 17 years.Was a very good runner prior to being parked.The grey motor with the 3 speed box and diff were all in reasonable order.Tyres are flat and of course no clutch or brakes.The sun has damaged the upholstery,hoodlining and window rubbers.
From what I can see the body has one dent which I can fix.It has rust in the lower front and upper top guards,a little bit where the ute body meets the doors on the bottom corner of ute body,some in the wheel arch above the rear wheels.Has a bit in the front floor,and it looks like a bit in a couple of floor supports and possibly some in the supports near the frontspring hangers on the rear springs.It looks like a s bend structural part.The sheet metal under the tray area is good.Wont know if any more till I get it on the 2 post hoist and poke around with a screwdriver.
The ute is complete except for a few minor parts and have a spare EK ute body of worse condition for parts.
If I was to restore it it would be back to original.
Whats this worth roughly to sell with the EK spare and what price range for a good neat fb ute?

I have 2 other easy restorations waiting (42 chev truck and 49 vauxhall) and I am wondering what to do with the ute.
Cheers
Rusted

Hi rusted and welcome. It would probably cost more to restore your ute than buy one already done but, if you do the resto work yourself at least you know that it has been done to your standard. Unless you know what you're looking for you can't always tell what's under the surface of a "restored" vehicle until it's too late and the rust starts to break out. Having some vintage work under your belt you must have some good experience with cars which might have been considered "basket cases" ?
I've seen lots of restored cars with various quality jobs done on them from great to as rough as goats nuts
Bill

if i'm reading it right you can do everything bar the engine bottom end assembly and trim ? if this is correct i would say it would be cheaper for you to do the resto, if you have to farm everything out it would be cheaper to buy one BUT as reidy said you never know what yor getting doing this
cost also depends on if yor happy to fabricate sections yorself or if you want to go chase NOS parts

putting a price on what you have without seeing them is kinda like asking how long is a peice of string
at a ruff guess $500-$1,500 this can also vary on where you are as most people will not travel to get things, this price is in asis condition not restored condition but i think you'de figure that out

Unless you are looking at making money out of it as soon as it is finished, it is not about what the car is worth to the market, but what it is worth to you.

Cost depends on how good/bad the vechicle is in the first place & what standard you want, the price you pay for replacement parts - some are very hard to get - some not & there are many more if's but's & maybe's - eg 2pak paint jobs can cost round 8,000 -10.000 grand.

I agree with most of what everyone else said.

If you were in my shoes, where I would have to pay someone else to do ALL the work, you're better off buying one already restored. If, as you say, you can do a lot of the work yourself, it would probably be cheaper to fix up your one.

Fully restored FB/EK's aren't exactly cheap nowadays.

Hi All.
Thanks for the replys.
Like I said,I will drive it around up to the 2 post hoist and have a look at the rust condition first.Have a mig and oxy set and a couple of anglegrinders .Mechanicals arnt a problem as most of the work I can do myself from a basic rebiuld up to a full mechanical rebuild.Just dont have the gear to bore cylinders and grind cranks etc but have a lathe and most other shop tools.As for paint,I can lay down a pretty good coat in 2 pack.Have been using polyurethane on a coulpe of other projects which has been coming out great off the gun.The only problem is wearing the supplied air face mask and dont have the luxurys of a spray booth,just an old shed .Preparation of the body is the most important part.That is where all the time is spent.
Anyway will have a good look and no doubt will be back on the forum asking more questions.

Just come back from the Winton historic races.What a great event.Gee,they can hake those grey engines howl.

Hi

if the vauxy is a h or j model with a 6, I am looking for a rusty one that is a runner. I built an ali boat tailed roadster body and need a 6cyl chassis to plop it on.

Cheers

Damo