This was built as tribute Ute to the neighbours FC Ute... They think I'm nuts but there is no suprises there.. Date: 21/02/04 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..
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... Date: 21/02/04 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... Date: 21/02/04 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... Date: 21/02/04 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..... Date: 21/02/04 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. Date: 21/02/04 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 .... Date: 21/02/04 Beautiful engine bay... With out the engine and box... This ute had just been through a flood Engine was stuffed ....
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... Date: 21/02/04 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...
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 27/11/04 Ready for sand blasters. Subframe and everything else removed except for diff. Jockey wheel made up to support the front.
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 21/02/04 Some repairs started again and holes in fire wall filled. Tricky bit is working out which ones to keep and which to delete.
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 21/02/04 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.
Date: 21/02/04 This is where it gets really scary. That is the entire rear of the floor removed, note self draining ability in these old utes.
Date: 21/02/04 Here you can see the rust repairs I have done to the door pillar and sill on the front. That took an amazing amout of time! Floor is ready to be dropped out.
Date: 21/02/04 Here is the view from within - rust as far as the eye can see.
Date: 21/02/04 Here is the new and the old. I have cut out a floor from an FE sedan wreck I was given .(I was doing this on that famous Sept 11). This floor need repairs too and was an easier operation to do this out of the car.You can see where I have been here. Floor braces underneath had to be replaced too with good ones.A very lenghty repair here.All is sand blasted and etch primed with wattyl black etch.B4 welding braces back in etc.
Date: 21/02/04 Entire inner and outer sill was rusted. This was removed completely. At this stage I considered seriously scrapping the entire project. Moral was low and I was fast running out of Ute! Perserverence was running mighty thin. The whole thing was getting very floppy and there was no where to add bracing to, that would not get in my way. I flipped the ute on its side to stop it from waving in the breeze.
Date: 21/02/04 I cut another rusty sill/pillar corner from a doner car and painstakingly over 22 hrs commenced a operation involving removing a small section hand fabricating a new piece, oxy welding it into place and removing the next rusty peice. this is made up of dozens of peices. All hand made and metal finished, very time consuming and very finnicky. Here you can see the old and the new, the old is about to be cut out using a reciprocating hacksaw.
Date: 21/02/04 A close up of the pillar cnr. This shows the inside of the item. All internal bits have been faithfully reproduced as well. Note where the subframe bolts on. When all was said and done it fitted perfectly.
Date: 21/02/04 The entire sill is fitted inner and outer from doner vehicle (EK sedan actually). Even though its not seen I also replaced the bracket bits that tie it all together. Most would not bother but I want it right am obsessed with perfection at this point and am not nice to be around.Madness continues...
Date: 21/02/04 The subframe has been powdercoated (Very poorly!- had to repaint it all myself later in satin two pack ) and the 186 S engine has been built. Trail fitting taking place here.
Date: 21/02/04 Trail fitting continues. Notice no powder coating under outrigger ! I was mightily pissed of at this and I wont mention the name of the LOCAL powder coaters that pissed me around, I just post pics of their poor quality control. I dont recommend them and I tell others of their poor work. They never wanted to remedy the work and it was too late once it was fitted into the car. I just painted that area. The price went up as well to add insult to injury and they lied to me about the powder priming they reckoned they did as well. You can plainly see that there is bare steel there -no priming. Also the subframe had powder coating over grease! Crappy job that I had to re -do myself. Moral: use the people you have always used, dont fall into the trap of convenience.
Date: 21/02/04 Doodle (Graham the Kiwi painter that works with me) gets caught in the frame. Handsome bloke he will tell you -let you be the judge of that!
Date: 21/02/04 A door and a guard in bare steel The door was made from a sedan door on this side.I sandblasted them and run the 3m clean and strip disc over the areas that were starting to rust again . These then get EPOXY PRIMED witha high quality very exspensive two part (not two pack) EPOXY PRIMER (Glasurit) You CANNOT put this stuff over acrylic etch. The inside surfaces with wattyl black etch is covered with a normal two pack primer (Glasurit again in this case)
Date: 21/02/04 A second FC mud guard was obtained that was in better nick than the one I started with, so I repaired it as well. A panel shop snapped up the first one for $350 for an insurance job.I get asked for these all the time and they are not getting any cheaper.I get annoyed at guys that offer me less for panel beaten guards and other good quality parts, so be warned! I would like to see them get it done better and cheaper!
Date: 21/02/04 Its all coming together here. I have ommitted a lot of boring rust cuting stuff Note the tyre door fitted and tailights squared up. All that black etch has to come off. Its the way it comes back from the blasters- so I cant do much about it. Its full of grit as well, so I would not want them putting my epoxy primers on!
Date: 21/02/04 This is a process known as oxy hammerwelding. I am fitting a new fabricated bottom section to the lower of a FC guard. This one did not end up on the Ute, but shows how I normally repair panels.
Date: 21/02/04 Starting to take shape FE grill is used for holding the front together only. Brakes and front end have been rebuilt and most mechanicals finished.
Date: 21/02/04 OK, Keen observers will note that the right guard is an FE - Until I could find a FC guard, which eventually I did. None of this front was actually used. There was nothing wrong really with it- I just found really mint panels on another car I bought later in the projects life.
Bugger.
Date: 21/02/04 my good mate Marty Dean Making the 2/12" Mandrel Stainless exhuast.
Boy this thing is Loud! (thats an understatement!- Kim)
Date: 21/02/04 Tig welding is an exacting process. Marty makes this look easy. I am often asked what the machine is in the background; its a guillotine.
Date: 21/02/04 Bog work where necesary is done over the epoxy primer. This acts as an adhesion promotor and is far superior to bogging over bare steel, where it can sweat and delaminate. As a mater of interest I dont use much bog.I panel beat then after epoxy priming I will use a final glazing putty for the minor imperfections. All rust repairs are first primed and then given a thin smear of fibre glass bog to ensure that any moisture cannot get through to the bog work through tiny pinholes in the welding process.Bog is hydroscopic so this fibreglass filling first is a very important step to take.
Date: 21/02/04 Another view of the Ute -no bog work done as yet here.Notice the weld on the lower front of the 1/4 panel near the door.
Date: 21/02/04 The floors and tunnel have been done the dash is a FE item I hate the plastic crap on FC dash's. Steering wheel is restored as is the column which is shaved of its shifter.Note how the tunnel fits the floor. I later re- did the welds on the floor to dress them up a bit better. I metal finshed BOTH sides of the floor as well as fabricate a member to run under the floor to continue the sub frame bracing.To answer KIWIS Question this whole project consumed 16 months and over $80 000 of shop time @ $50/hr Net material cost was $15000 approx for all the parts put into the project. Now you might know why I wont sell my cars.
Date: 21/02/04 Not the clearest of photos but shows the dash restored and painted (parts of it anyhow)
Date: 21/02/04 The green primer is the Glasurit epoxy primer the grey is PPG epoxy primer. I normally dont mix brands but as I know the products are compatable this is not a problem.
Date: 21/02/04 Another angle - ute can be started but not driven
Date: 21/02/04 Front floors being tackled... I took a break from these repairs and did other things to the ute. It had to be done eventually. All was oxy hammerwelded with the wifes assistance.
Date: 21/02/04 The ute has now been fully dissasembled and loaded back onto the body pallet. It has been Spray polyestered (spray bogged) to find any irregularities and then epoxy primed one last time. That was then covered with this tinted blue primer and is ready for final rubdown.
Date: 21/02/04 Rear view, the floor has been made and this will be covered with Aqua fleck along with the rest of the load area. All the load area had to have rust removed as well.This is getting to the more interesting stage now.The black paint you see is a guide coat for rubbing down. This allows us to make final repairs and adjustments to the utes surfaces.
Date: 21/02/04 Graham is checking for minor details after it has been wet rubbed. Note ute is now on axle stands for stability and ease of access to all surfaces to be painted.
Date: 21/02/04 All is now carefully masked off. This is to ensure that any dust is kept out of the paint from the inside.
Date: 21/02/04 Base coat colour being applied by GRAHAM.
Date: 21/02/04 Painters DO bend their backs. Sometimes- Graham is careful to get plenty of coverage.
Date: 21/02/04 Its important to have the vehicle at a comfortable working height. Note the protective gear for two pack painting. At this stage this is only the base coat and the clear is the two pack part. This is why two pack cannot be sprayed at home. Very carcenogenic with free organic isocynates. Is only a hazard in spray form. Not a problem when its dry nor is the dust ... the dust can cause irritations and other problems ... so best left to the professionals...
Date: 21/02/04 All is now painted and dried.
Date: 21/02/04 Another view-note guards in back ground outside -they have been stippled on the inner surfaces.
Date: 21/02/04 This is worth getting X-cited over. The rebuilt 186s with celica five speed.
Date: 21/02/04 Well this is how I put em together. I fit the engine and box to the fully assembled front...not unlike Holden did. This is moved around on the engine crane.
Date: 21/02/04 At this point I have a video I made of this final assembly If any one wants a copy I will be getting some done. Its a bit amateurish but effective. Subframe going on here. (after I repainted the jolly thing !) I will give more details elswhere of this video and time of availability expressions of interest welcomed at this stage.
Date: 21/02/04 This is how Holden did it. Steering is installed and the whole lot lowered onto the driveline/suspension.
Date: 21/02/04 Another view, this whole processs took less than twenty minutes. Holden would probably sack me for taking so long. B4 any of this took place I sprayed the under side in stipple finish black as well as seam sealing all joins and rustproofing any thing that stood still long enough.
Date: 21/02/04 A big leap foward here, ute is nearly finished and is going to trimmers. This is the only time it leaves the place other than for rego. All assembly is covered in video. Only time it sees a trailer as well. Brakes are not hooked up and wiring not completed. Was a bugger pushing it around at the other end.
Date: 21/02/04 Finished eng bay. Note use of recessed radiator allows for fan and even a fan boss. This makes the red motor installation look factory.
Date: 21/02/04 A look inside. FB seat with cut out 4 shifter. Navy blue retractable seat belts custom ordered. Cd player in glove box plays its tunes through the single 6x9 speaker in original housing, modern speakers are a perfect fit here...
Date: 21/02/04 The finished article and the ute that inspired it in background . It (the old ute) still rusts in peace today across the road. I used the interior light lens from it and some other bits were used on the FC Coupe.
Date: 21/02/04 A significant moment here are the friendly neighbours that belong to the Old ute I took inspiration from The last time Mrs Zsolczay sat behind the wheel of a car was over thirty years prior, she sat in behind the wheel of the old ute hoping to learn how to drive. She quickly abandoned this idea and the Ute soon ground to a halt where it sits today. Ironic I thought as I took this picture, here she sits beaming her enjoyment at trying out my Ute for size. Her son Peter was also very impressed. Both think I 'm quite mad to do this tribute ute but childhood memories drove me to it. This moment made it all very worthwhile.
Date: 21/02/04 Im sure they think I am presenting them with the Ute as a gift- had to wrestle it back from them!
Date: 21/02/04 Same utes. Different lives.
Date: 21/02/04 If these two could talk I imagine there could be some tales swapped.I used the old ute for a template for the tonneau cover for the correct number and place ment of studs. Many thanks go to the neighbours for the inspiration and letting me take liberties with their Ute. Not to mention the few bits and pieces I was able to save.
Date: 22/02/06 After 4 years on the road and miles of smiles it was time for the streetneta collection to be downsized. A painful decision to make - which ones do you let go? well as we will have the HG Ute - the decision was made to let the FC ute go - but not b4 one final make over. I could not bear let the car go with out looking its best. Some minor contamination of the paint in this area saw me ripping all the repairs out - looking for rust - didnt find any - so re -repaired the area and then hi fill primed it.
Date: 22/02/06 Thee was a hinto of a rust bubble in the rear so I dug this out to have a closer look - turned out to be virtually nothing so I repaired and primed this area as well. In the mean time the seat was sent to the trimmers to have a broken spring sorted . Its funny how you put up with these things until you sell a car.
Date: 22/02/06 The doors didnt really need removal . The new owner had plans on replacing the FX door rubbers I used with NOS FC items - but in the end we decided it was nicer to have doors that closed rather than take the risk with new rubbers.
Date: 24/02/06 After a good rub down with some 800 - a considerable amount of time was spent masking and reassembling all the panels. Ready for some new paint here. Why did we need to paint this side as well? Ask Glasurit! The Glasurit MS (medium solids) clear went yellow in a few places. I wont be using that product again..especially as Glasurit never came to the party with the replacement paint in four years of hassling them. So much for paint warranties!
This time we used PPG HS (HIGH SOLIDS) clear
Date: 24/02/06 The crook paint was on these parts as well- Although it stayed fine on most parts of the car - some parts it was quite distinct- like under the hood and the tailgate. I removed my signage too of course - but if the paint had not discoloured there would have been no need to repaint these items.
Date: 23/02/06 We cant blame Glasurit for this one -the tappet cover was starting to peel and the stickers looked second hand so the tappet cover was blasted and given a fresh coat of orange and some new stickers.
Date: 25/02/06 All back together again and I was surprised how much the fresh paint really lifted the appearence of the car.
Date: 25/02/06 I left the tonneau cover off so the paint could cure up properly. Just this simple 5 km trip down the road attracted no less than four thumbs up , a woo hoo from some chicks and an old bloke walking his dog shook his head at me for making so much racket...heheh..its all good.
Date: 02/03/06 Some one got carried away ordering a tow truck1- they sent the whole bloody car transporter!. This meant that We had to load up down the back of the farm... oh well one last excuse to drive it.
Date: 02/03/06 Hopefuly the Ute turns up at the other end with the fuel tank in this condition.. Even though I have used this Ute for the last four years - Its stood up well- the underside is still rather new looking for the most part.
Date: 02/03/06 I insisted on tie down straps to preserve the cars underbits.
Just a point of interest here- I planted those pine trees in the back ground with my family as a toddler. I remebered them coming home in the back of our then new HG Ute, at the same time the neighbors were belting across the paddock in their Blue FC Ute...memories are weird things....
Date: 02/03/06 She's all yours now Fast Eddie...

Bye bye Blue Ute.....
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