So, I bought a ute : /

[FB wannabe]

So, as the title says - I bought a ute.

I've always wanted a fb/ek ute and it was a EK ute that I first spotted and fell in love with the model.

So, I got the itch to buy another car and was actually looking at Prefects when this thing turned up on eBay. I actually bid just over 3 grand on this as it looked really good in photos and thought it would be a car I could clean up, check everything over then get it on the road fairly quickly. I ended up winning it for $2175 and it cost me about $200 to get it home with trailer hire / fuel etc. On arrival it was obvious this thing needed alot of work and was alot further away from being seaworthy than I thought. So it sat in the shed for a couple of months and just before Christmas I thought "Nup, too many other projects I'll sell it. I borrowed $1000 of the missus that she got from selling a horse, and I would've liked to pay her back and put the rest into finishing other projects. I ended up dropping the price to $2000 in the end and I got nothing but time wasters who couldn't even be bothered to come out and have a look at it. I tried selling it locally then put it on ebay. Got a bit more interest there but still no one would even come out to look at it? It's funny, on here people bang on and on and on about how the prices are just stupid and there becoming "not fun" because alot of people can't afford them anymore, there still lot's of affordable one's out there that's for sure, It's just people expect alot for their money. The ute was $2 grand, I thought it was pretty obvious that for that money you would be buying a project, but still soooo many people asked things like "is it registered" and "is there any rust" even though you explain it fully in the ad they would immediatly loose interest and you wouldn't hear from them again.

The ute has been converted to a red motor and 4 speed on the floor but the conversion has been done pretty dodgy. It still has the link pin front end and has a hole cut in the floor for the shifter, still has the colomn shifter in place etc etc. As well someone has given it a quick spray job to make it look pretty but just bogged up the rust instead of fixing it properly.

Roll on the pics











Now for the bad

Passenger side sill


Passenger guard


Drivers side sill


Drivers side guard


So, it looks like I'm stuck with it. Double edged sword this one. It would be nice to move it on to someone who has the time and skill for this but I refuse to let it go under 2 grand. So, (for now at least) it's staying. I got a bit dissapointed with it as when I first got it I knew exactly how I wanted it. Ecotec v6, bench seat and colomn shift (like a series 3 vs ute) and big wheels. But I came to the realisation that I can't do any of that sorta work myself so would have to find someone willing to take it on and then fork out what 15? 20? grand to get it all done. I just can't justify that sorta money on it, and that's when I decided to sell as it all got way too hard.

But, I've had a change of heart after seeing the Callilo FB Slammed 60. I'm liking the keep it simple way of going about it, and if it ends up staying long term no doubt it will go back to grey, colomn shift and follow the same line of thinking as Slammed 60... just without the Gene Winfield bit

[Trev]

$2000 looks like a good buy to me, I have a ute that would be in similar condition the only difference is my ute has been stripped an blasted so you can see the rust holes instead of bubbles.
I did try and sell it on eBay at $1200 and got not 1 bid, a couple of people contacted me after the end wanting it for alot less but I ended up selling my wagon first si I got to keep the ute .
I too will keep mine simple so I can get iron the road and enjoy it .

[EKH00N]

If it had original Paint u could have ask $20k

Sorry, my bad... Couldn't help myself

[FB wannabe]

No joke Trev, maybe 3 weeks? After I bought this one yours came up and I thought 'bugger' as I thought yours would be better than this one. Oh well next time

[choppedfan]

But, I've had a change of heart after seeing the Callilo FB Slammed 60. I'm liking the keep it simple way of going about it, and if it ends up staying long term no doubt it will go back to grey, colomn shift and follow the same line of thinking as Slammed 60... just without the Gene Winifield bit

Well looking at your last paragraph you've seen the light and coming back to the world of grey motors

Welcome to the dark side

Nothing wrong with kingpin front ends if they are reconditioned, I'd like to see another warm grey powered Holden back cruising the streets again. Mario's van has added more interest in keeping the mighty grey motors on the road and really setup properly they are a good highway cruiser.

Yeah I know I'm a Greyaholic

Mick

[bootlegger]

Just do a pimp my ride job on it. Pop rivet some plates on and lay on the Bondo. Vwalla brand new car and screaming chicks hanging for a ride around the block.

[Sputzwagon]

If it was closer (in N.S.W. or A.C.T.).. I'd take it for $2k and slowly get the thing back to being all steel again...I love my new mig welder!!
I think it would be a great project car to play with.

Scotty.

[CHOPPED]

geez waych out scotty youl have people linning up in your drive way wanting rust repairs

[Mick]

yep distance killed me, maybe if i had a good tow vehicle, i'de have probly just bogged the sills and red oxided it but that's a bit scarey

[bootlegger]

yep distance killed me, maybe if i had a good tow vehicle, i'de have probly just bogged the sills and red oxided it but that's a bit scarey

You would only be doing what 99% of the shonks do. I bought my current falcon and then found the front of the sills filled with plastic bags and liquid nails then bogged over. It was that bad after i dug it all out that when you looked at one side of then car you could through to then scenery behind it. Ive since reapaired it properly. If then car had an accident im sure it would have broken in two.

[Mick]

ohh there's plenty of horror stories out there i bought an EK years ago that we just about pulled apart by hand no tools other than a hammer and screwdriver to get through the bog so we had something to grab we pulled the roof skin off with no cutting, scarey part about this car was the paint looked ok it had been retrimed it was registered and they were putting a V8 in it spose in a way lucky it got to much for them and they gave up i only bought it to wreck

[Sputzwagon]

geez watch out Scotty you'll have people lining up in your drive way wanting rust repairs

,,,No worries, Chop...they'de take one look at the dirt floor in my shed and and have second thoughts REAL QUICK!! Professionals have a clean concrete floor and lots of new tools,,everyone knows that...I'm a bodgy backyard, self taught , country yokel red neck git!! I think I'm safe.

Scotty.

[bootlegger]

Scotty id get real worried if i went to a workshop and saw a heap of new tools. To me it could only mean one thing.
They have no idea how to use them.

[FB wannabe]

Thanks for the replies guys

Cheers Trev, I think it's a good buy for 2 grand also. I also think yours was a steal.

Bootlegger, Definitley no pimp my ride resto here! I always said that is my car went to West coast customs (hmmmm, probably unlikely ) I'd be getting the body work done somewhere else! Everything else they do seems to be done 100% but their bodywork is just nasty. I keep picturing all these show cars getting around now with big chunks of bog cracking out of it!

Choppedfan, I've got a sedan with a grey motor I have had for 5 years but been of the road just over 2 It was my daily for that time and I grew to really like the grey. I also got a bit more respect for the kingpin front end and I know they arn't a bad bit of gear but, my understanding with them is when there coupled to a 202 red motor they are a death trap as there just not up to the task. Besides that fact anyway it's illegal, and talking to people who have been there and done that it's for very good reasons.

Sunnytim, yeah that's pretty much the plan. Find a good grey and standard front end (this ones had the grey mounts cut off and red ones welded on) fix the rust PROPERLY and enjoy driving a ute for a while.

Mick, no worries there. I understand that distance killed you and your tow car has a dodgy trans. You confuse me with how you reckon this is scary??? I've been on the forums long enough and seen some absolute piles of sh1t that you have dragged home and 6 months later they are running and rego'd. I would've thought a car like this would've been a walk in the park for you!!

[Mick]

nah i meant by just bogging the sills instead of doing them propperly was scarey as a car to drive