Hey all, Here are some pics of the FC ute.. This was built as tribute Ute to the neighbours FC Ute... They think I'm nuts but there is no suprises there..

A bit worse for wear. Came with red motor (stuffed) and five speed (alloy case - did not use). HR front and rear ends... all there mostly but in poor condition . Purchase price $1200 from wreckers...

Here you can see with the tailgate down it has had a very hard life... the tailgate was so bent it had some wood and packers to give a level (?) surface.. Had been used as a motor bike carrying Ute...

With tailgate up it looks solid enough -but was very badly damaged and full of bog...

The right side was no better than the left.

Lovely interior shot... came with no seats but plenty of rust. Note crappy trans tunnel...All what you see here was entirely scrapped.

Beautiful engine bay... With out the engine and box... This ute had just been through a flood Engine was stuffed ....

This tail gate was repaired as a bet that I couldnt. Should not have risen to the bait.Took 472 heat shrinks and a whole three days to get right. I unpicked the frame work and repaired everything then welded it all back together. Here I am trail fitting it to make sure it all was straight and happy...

Here you can see I had started to remove rust from the sill and the 1/4 panel. It got much much worse than this. Also I started cutting a sedan door to suit (note frame removed). This door was not used in the end .. too much rust.

Harold is peering through waiting for me to push it inside so he can steer it. Note the sill section I have cut out of a sedan wreck. Nothing is wasted here.This was ultimately oxy welded in. Repairs to the rest of the inner sill have been effected already.

New tailgate skin fitted. Note door on left side even though its the same colour as the one in previous shots I went to Dalby and bought this one. It was burried 6" in the black soil and was not rusty! Amazing. Also the sill in the back you can see was a repro one that was only good for small sections. Tyre door was not used I ended up buyng a very good 'Glass one I am glad I did as it is always full of water and crud now its on the road.

Ready for sand blasters. Subframe and everything else removed except for diff. Jockey wheel made up to support the front.

Another view . The Ute looked pretty solid at this stage. I had done some repairs but decided it was too hard working around all the rust. Time for sandblasting.

Back from blasters.Mounted on body pallet for ease of shifting.Drum of steel bits is for counter balance to keep it from tipping off the hoist. Also saves holding your tongue right all day.

Some repairs started again and holes in fire wall filled. Tricky bit is working out which ones to keep and which to delete.

Another view.Although you can see the mig in the pic - I mostly use the oxy for mos of my welding - its a bit neater and more controlable.

Here you can see the WB Ute trans tunnel ready for trail fitting. This is oxy hammer welded into position . A nice sized tunnel and is the most common way I modify most cars using a HQ - WB trans tunnel. I sit it over the floor and mark out where to cut. This is a two person operation and most avoid me when they see I am about to do this Kim normally helps with this one as I have her trained in this. She gets under the car with a dolly and a bucket of water to cool the dolly down. Complains of burns but sticks with it any how. She's great.

This is where it gets really scary. That is the entire rear of the floor removed, note self draining ability in these old utes.