2redrovers

If your battery isn't a maintenance free type, check the fluid level isn't low. I had to replace my battery just last week because I had no charge, turned out to be down way too far. You said only 6 months old but never hurts to check the basics before looking deeper.

If brakes are available locally then skip those. Gearbox should be fine as far as I know but the clutch is probably iffy so skip it if possible. Engine I'd strip it of gaskets (ie take the head off, remove fluids, should be fine). I'd possibly even go a step further and get the shell stripped (dip or blasted) before importing, partly because I think it would be cheaper to do over there. It's probably not a priority any more but it was a bit of a cash cow to pick on classic cars with asbestos quarantine checks.

It's probably just the angle of the photo but there's something about that rear end that just looks... odd? Think I'd have to modify it slightly but I'd have to see it in the flesh first to decide what to do with it. And yeah a van would be easiest to convert but I was thinking they were fewer in numbers in Oz than 2dr sedan. I think you can bring in cars from the UK now can't you? Talk with someone who deals in British car parts, get a shell brought in, put local stuff into it. I suggest it in that method because it means no worries about asbestos checks.

Yay you didn't forget me [emoji16][emoji322] It's surprisingly empty actually. It's got my N gauge coffee table layout hibernating /keeping safe in the back and a few things sitting on the bonnet but otherwise I think it's empty. There's a bunch of stuff under it though. The wheel alignment ramps being the biggest thing, had nowhere else to stack them. It might be coming off there soon so the torana can go back up in the air. I'd like to do something about it soon but I'm dying for a rest break. We'll see what happens when I get money (soon?)

Well we're off to a whirlwind start... What was it, three days ago? Mrs spots a rusty escort panelvan advertised on ebay at Harvey's Wrecker in Langwarren (about half hour from home). The listing started at a dollar and had a few bids bringing it up to $200. I've looked at esky vans for years as a yeah I wouldn't mind one of those one day.. Usually too expensive for what they are, this was just too cheap and tempting. OK it's rusty but I'd make my money back in a heartbeat if it was cactus by selling the front grill. I ummed and ahhed over it especially when it didn't climb in the last few hours. We talked it up and down and just decided it was too cheap to not try for it. A stupid low bid for a random number that I could manage (really can't afford it but after selling the spot welder this was kinda free money) and to our shock, it's ours!!! Gotta be the cheapest one around at $327 for an almost complete car. All that seems to be missing is the manual gearbox and tailshaft. BGDAV gave me a huge help by providing the trailer and second pair of hands to pick it up today. The worker said to me that it should have gone for much more but someone stuffed up with the price (assuming they forgot the reserve) and deal is done. They wanted 500 at least for it, I thought it would have been more than that at auction but there we go. A few photos at the yard.. Offload was complicated by no keys to unlock the steering so dolly wheels were involved and the winch to help out. This will be a slow project guys, so don't get too excited as I don't have any free time just yet. Only plan so far is to fix the shell and probably install an auto box, maybe update the engine in the process for daily use. I will use this in the Metalworking tutorials to teach how to do everything you need to know.

Yeah I wouldn't even consider cutting it up. I'd be looking for a rust bucket just in case things didn't go to plan with the conversion. You're cutting half the car apart anyway.

I can help with a miniature one but you'd be on your own for a real one... Unless it's possible to convert a sedan?

Came up with a few images, could be useful And hopefully this one is good enough quality to scale up

Not gone hunting for them yet, only thought about it this arvo. Some of the Aussie cars are hard to find blueprints or vector drawings. I went looking for a torana one but came up pretty much empty handed. Got lucky with the xdef. Might have luck with the escort given its popularity, thought maybe there was a chance you'd seen something on other forums etc.

I know, it's never simple or easy and every centerlink form is a trap to catch you out. You "should" be able to get the seeker payment under your circumstances even with complications as they have dropped the assets and other tests for this six month period at least. We had the dilemma of which was the best way to go too because the keeper is counted as income and seeker isn't but I have no desire to be made a hospital cleaner etc because they're short handed. I'm hoping to get time to work on some of my stuff too. Need the therapy, that's why I've been playing with that mini xdef. Crossed my mind to have a go at an esky as well. Have you ever seen any good blueprints for mk1?

You'd be able to get the job keeper payment to get some cash coming in while your work is closed down? I've got another week or so before I can think about stopping for a any length of time.

S3 xj6 would mean only the six cylinder variations, so the 4.0L? Yes? Otherwise it would be xj12

Good results then [emoji108]

Dean, do you know the answer to this one?

SPArKy_Dave may have researched this before? I haven't worked on au series much so I'm not sure if it follows convention. Often airbag wiring is bright yellow or sometimes white and clearly marked as such to avoid accidental triggers. If it was optional to have a passenger side one the there should be a plug in spot most likely behind the glovebox. Usually just a small two wire plug with heavy sheath. I have no idea what the dummy would be or where it's located. It could simply be plugged in the loom where the bag would normally be plugged in. Once that's figured out the errors might resolve itself or may need to be reset with a code reader. Same goes for the persistent service tag.

To remove the donor you can just use a normal type drill bit through the spot welds. For the rusty one, if you want to drill it off in one piece that's cool or you can cut the bulk away first leaving just the edge to drill out. Use proper spot weld bits for that one so you only go through one layer. Swapping the skin let's you clean and protect the frame under it which you normally can't get to.

That's correct, the skin is the easy part just takes time. I've done plenty of roof skins over the years. The reference to "turret" can mean everything from above the top of the door skins. That's a much bigger endeavour, but doable.

For the roof skin itself? Yep and in/under the rain gutters. Lots of spot welds and a few mig bits too but less work than properly swapping the a/b/c pillars as well.

Haven't done much on that vintage, can't remember if there's a join at the dashboard level where the base of the windscreen meets the lower pillar. I'd start looking there, take the guard off to get at it. When you say turret swap your talking about swapping everything from bonnet/boot level upwards? Genuine question, why the whole thing? Personally there would have to be pillars missing big chunks to contemplate the procedure. If it's a rusty roof panel and assume c pillar, I'd be stripping the paint off and unpicking the roof skin for a swap and keep the structure under it in place. Patching what needed to be done when the skin was off and rustproofing everything before putting the newer skin on the car. To swap the whole structure, I'd be taking everything as low as possible. That means the whole b pillar and as far down the a & c pillar as the first factory joint. Preferably not cutting through any pillars if possible. If there's no way to unpick the pillar without having to take the lower a pillar then any cuts MUST be staggered by at least 50mm per layer. As in cut through one layer then move up or down by 50mm and cut through the next layer. It's hard to explain but basically the cut through the inside should be at a different height to the cut on the outside to increase strength and reduce possible cracking.

I showed the Mrs and I get... ".. Your obsession with utes leads to some fugly cars..." Sooooooo you don't like it then?? ... If anyone wants me, I'll be in the refrigerator........

Yep that would be fun, give me a street version with a normal front bar

See, not so crazy after all. The blue one isn't right though, too short and just looks like a cut wagon. Silver one looks pretty much the way I drew it. They didn't make the tray taller but looks like they grafted on a ute tail. Ford should have made that concept. That's almost exactly what I had in mind when I thought "if I had money, I would replace the wagon with...." (long blank pause coming up with nothing newer that I'd actually own) Edit: I had a closer look at the cars in the links, they're all good options but I had problems with the aesthetic of each in one way or another. The blue is closest to the mark because it has the details of a normal car, just needs a slightly longer tray. The silver one is probably the right size but the ute graft LOOKS like a graft despite what the article suggested. I would keep the lines, bumpers and details of the original wagon I think. I don't like the way they did the rear window/ute join up. The bit that is up above the wagon roof, nope. The concept has the desired dual cab silhouette. I like the suicide rear doors idea, don't like the front bumper treatment or particularly the raised clearance look. Or the colour [emoji13]

I had a half thought again... Dangerous I know.. Came from the notion that a four door ute like the commodore thing would be useful at times but I just couldn't buy a crapadoor if my life depended on it. So, photochop to the distraction, I mean rescue... Lengthened the tray area by about 8-10 inches and raised the sides by I don't know, maybe 6 inches or so. It's sloped a bit so it's deeper near the front and down to the tail light. You can see it's a reverse light higher there. ... Dunno, I think I'd drive it, not sure exactly how useful the back would be but if I could carry a welding gas bottle without a trailer it would be worth it lol

Maybe they won't show and you'll get a second chance

The forum doesn't doesn't support direct uploads so you will have to upload your pics to a host like imgur.com or Flickr and then link them to your posts. If you use your phone you can try an app called Tapatalk which will let you upload directly from your phone. (personally I use an old version of Tapatalk which works better for me than the current version. v6.5.4)