1974 ute build south Australia

Builds, refurbishments, restorations, upgrades
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1974 ute build south Australia

Post by James96 »

So in December 2015 I found my first G60 and first car project I was searching for a vehicle which was unique and could also be transformed into a nice and capable 4x4. When I came across my G60 I was hooked and bought it for $259 dollars
This is from when I first picked her up and had a drive
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After having a drive I began pulling all the rubbish and blowing the dirt and dust out before I could even begin dissembling her.
Once it was cleaned out I pulled the tub off and traded it to fellow member who is going to put it to more use then I would've as I had no intention on having a tub ute. Out of the trade I got myself a pto winch which to me is more useful.
The winch it's self had broken mounts and required some love.
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After removing the tub I then loaded my ute onto our truck and took into a workshop where myself and my old man began working on removing the body and later engine.
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At my grandparents farm I picked up a old Isuzu 3.9L 4cylinder diesel. Although I took away the original p40 engine I was still attracted to that 3speed gearbox just for how unique it is, so this required me to build a rather simple adapter plate which I bolted to the engine and then bolted the gear box to it. Inside I used a combination the Isuzus fly wheel with the p40's clutch this adaption was really simple. After lining it all up we bolted it together we searched for a turbo and luckily enough knowing the right guy we got our hands on a old excavator which had the same Isuzu motor. So managed to pick a turbo,rather large sump a exhaust manifold and some other Nic nacs. After assembling all the new goodies I gave it all a fresh coat of paint to match the original bluey colour.

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Placing the engine onto the chassis only required moving the front mount back and a small adjustment inwards for it to all fit nicely, once he engine was in with the gear box we decided to put the cab back on seeing how it all fit. And it was just about perfect minus the turbo just touching the passengers foot well this required only minor modifications to allow it to fit. While the cab was on I went hunting for some seats to replace the old ones. From a wreckers I found some very nice leather seats for $80, for the two.

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During the time of fitting the engine and the chairs we worked on fixing the rust which didn't take much only two small holes in the botto of each door, a hold from a spot light in my roof and a little strip down the back of my gutter which wasn't as much a hole but the rust need to be removed to prevent further problems down the track.
Choosing the paint for my car I went for the orginal ivory whitey colour before painting the cab I sanblasted it and primed it with high Quilty zinc primer to hopefully prevent any future rust.
whe painting the cab we also stripped down the chassis, sand blasted it and gave it a coat of a black chassis paint.
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Adding some extra things I made up
The stainless steel exhaust and alloy battery box
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120L alloy fuel tank
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Roof centre console with radio, speakers and my two way
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And the Snorkel
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It's now May and I've been re assembling everything putting new rubbers for everything in
Made new floor mats
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And finally today just under 6months from when I first got the G60 I finally started it and took it for a quick spin testing it all out. It started first turn of the key and it ran smooth for the next hour of myself driving it around it was definitely a great feeling.
However it's not the end the car still needs its tray and bar work built along with the bull bar
During its stage now I've been testing and fitting some 35's but that's all down the track.

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Hope you guys have enjoyed my right up and hopefully the pictures have worked
I'm happy to answer any questions about the vehicle and I'll hopefully be updating this post soon with how the tray and bar work is coming along.
And for your interest I have built every thing for the vehicle myself with the quidence of my old man I hope you guys like it
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by mdawg4x4 »

Nice work!
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by RiverPatrol »

Wow! :shock: That has got to be the record for a resto-mod. Nice job! It really looks great. I think that is the most unique engine/transmission combination I have seen. And you are pleased with the outcome after driving it, which is better still. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Fantastic pictures, too. :D
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by Johnny Roadkill »

Hey James,

firstly - $259 looks like a bidding price - was this the one in the online auction from the mine site in QLD ? If so, great score - utes are hard to find with rust free cabs !

Moving on...awesome job - love the turbo-diesel conversion, fuel tank, roof console, snorkel through the slot at the back of the bonnet, zorst, suspension with anti-inversion shackles...well, all of it actually ! Would be great to actually see a G60 on the road in SA - I'll keep my eyes peeled...

Looking forward to seeing how you go about the barwork too, that winch bar is looking good already !

cheers,
D
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by G60michael »

G'day James,

Mate its an absolute honor to you the way you transformed this old g60 around. From a dying dust collector left abandoned in a Coober Pedy yard in outback South Aus, to a now modified nothing short of a weapon g60 ready to smash up any off-road track is a true honor in its self, least it was rescued not left for dead in a miners yards :lol: Oh not to forget the short time period of Transformation, it probably the quickest turn around yet.

Your Ute is definitely one of the better unmolested and unrestored cabs prior to you fixing her up yet most are rooted, yours was an absolute bargain at $259, Especially with that tub 8-)

Anyway mate, Hopefully this g60 has created a lot of life long memories for you mate, and you are guaranteed to get a lot of attention once she's back on the road, everyone looks and waves and they even give way to you and come bail you up if you stop for more than 5 seconds :lol:

Oh as for the Tub, is it for sale ? :?
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by Swerve »

Very cool, build, one worth watching for sure.
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by James96 »

thank you to those who commented on my post, its been a absolute pleasure working on this old G60 with my Dad. apologising for the late reply but i have many new updates and even some final photos of my road worth G60

continuing on from before. during the assembly period we refreshed some of the cars wiring and wrapped in some conduit housing, while adding the we chucked in the new air filter which connects straight from the snorkel into the turbo.
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under the air filter the plumbing was added for the rather hitec air conditioner which most G60s probably don't see, removing the older heater system from the passengers foot well gave plenty of room for the new heater/cooler system. vents from a Tatra truck were added as these were small and could be rotated for blowing air in the cab and onto the window for a demister. the to control the air and modified switch was placed neatly under the dash to look nice and neat.
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after the tinkering around and assembling the bar work and tray was built and finished off in a hammer tone silver. the bull bar rolls back onto a side bush bar then to some rock-sliders for some protection. Atop the rock-slider we added a checker plate side step also applying as a mudguard stopping mud from reaching the door. also as a nifty little touch a folded piece of stainless was added to hold my floor mats down and to stop shoes from rubbing away paint
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finally a the leather seats i picked from a old Volvo were fixed along with a console picked from a landcruiser
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not long after this the tray was attached, bull bar and side bars went on, her new set of 33inch tyres on some black alloys rolled up and well it was looking a lot like a final project. we choose to go with 33s for now as it was more suitable for now and still finishing it off nicely. atop of my roof rack i added a single row LED light bar for some added light when offroading and for the high ways i added two small LED lights which are perched in the bull bars hoop.
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some small additions
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a high lift jack secured under my tray

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a alloy battery box behind the driver seat giving more space inside the cab

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and of course a water tank

the custom stereo and 2way console added to the roof awaiting some roof lining
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a few shots of her at night
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underneath the 120L fuel tank sits up nice and high. also pictured the pto shaft running from the gear box
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some engine shots for those who enjoy the engine conversion sitting in nicely the 3.9L Isuzu diesel gets the job done
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and well finally the last build photos where she gets her number plates back after a long 12 years. another G60 om the road and cruising happily at 90-100 and even giving some new modern 4x4s a run for there money.
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this project has been the biggest pleasure working with my dad and learning so many new skills. not to mention ending up with what id call a dream car.
however for this post i will upload more photos as she get the last little squeaks and creeks cleaned out and makes her first few 4x4 trips. i hope you enjoy this post update. and a huge shout out to my old man for making this possible
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by RiverPatrol »

:clap: :clap: :clap: Very awesome. 8-) Everything about it was done so well. The A/C looks like it belongs there. The bull bar and custom tray look fantastic. All of the extra details looks great.

I think the only thing you'll be unhappy with are the seats. They're a bit too tall and deep to work properly in the G60; it doesn't leave you much leg room. Good seats are difficult to fit in a G60. Someone found some seats that worked well once but I can't recall off-hand what they were, possibly from a Suzuki Samurai.
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by James96 »

thankyou and yeah the a/c fits in nice and snug leaving plenty of leg room for passengers.

and the chairs are a little bit big for a tall human definetly but being on the shorter side of life i find them nice and comfy and quite up right :dance: .
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Re: 1974 ute build south Australia

Post by Johnny Roadkill »

Hi James96,

super impressed with this, really like everything you've done to it - thanks for sharing ! :clap:

Looks like you're on the northern side of Adelaide - the opposite side to me - but I hope to see you out on the road in it sometime.

cheers,
D
'71 P510 Wagon - the smile generator.
'74 G60H - strawberry farm patrol.
'78 G60H Ute Cab - the cherry on top.
'80 G61H - the start of things to come.
'92 Pulsar Ti - my SR20 powered daily driver.
'01 Kessner 7x4 - the pack horse.
'07 Challenge Camper - home away from home.
'09 Prado - the family fourby and her daily driver.
'14 200EXC - a chainsaw with wheels.
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