Just another set of plates and a vehicle for discussion (HX)

[Valencia]

Lupine, have a look in the tray behind the cab and see if it has the correct drain holes either side, if it was a van they may not be there or have a look on the A pillar for a weld or herringbone type of join where the new roof my have been joined or as mentioned the rear of the cab. Still a nice ute all the same even it has been cut but dont forget, vans were all utes once apon a time on the production line. ( that should get a few bites)

WHAT

[Wombat7051]

Lupine, have a look in the tray behind the cab and see if it has the correct drain holes either side, if it was a van they may not be there or have a look on the A pillar for a weld or herringbone type of join where the new roof my have been joined or as mentioned the rear of the cab. Still a nice ute all the same even it has been cut but dont forget, vans were all utes once apon a time on the production line. ( that should get a few bites)

Yea they all great things start somewhere

The door handle don't look to be black so it might be a re-body

[Sandaro]

I guess we'll just start photographing and getting a good look at more stuff as we pull it down to address the rust issues. It also has 2 compliance/modifications plates... Codes are LA1 and LB1 on a plate dated 2006. Other plate is code LH7 from 2001. One would be related to the engine swap I would imagine. But the other 2 I've no idea.

I know that bucket seats were recently replaced with a bench/folding armrest.

I know the dash has been replaced/or otherwise not correct through the presence of the auto tranny indicator.

In QLD those first 2 codes are for substitute engine and trans (originally a manual- now an auto?). The other is for body/chassis mods. Probably accounts for the stuff you know has been changed since original. Also look for signs of the original paint (sienna is an orangy/brown colour I think) in hard to paint or overlooked areas, a suggestion take off the vent in the door jam near the catch and look up inside

[Wombat7051]

Sandro if that is the case the LH7 may be the cut down to a ute. ???

[Lupine]

Thanks for the efforts of replying everyone.

Re: keep lookng around, this ute kind of fell into our laps through friends with a reasonable pricetag and it's more of a "may as well do it up/nostalgic thing" than a "we are enthusiasts looking to make the one" if you can make sense of that. It'll be the first and last project car we ever tinker about with and if it takes another 20yrs to find the $ and time to complete then so be it.

Re: other places to check for colour we'll have a look when its being pulled down. Under the blue is a orangey/red visible in places on the tray as well as behind the seat. Were the undersides or inside the foot wells painted with body colour or some other across the board colour/protectant?

Re: looking for welds there's really not any sign of anything other than a ute being a ute
Re: drain holes yes they are present.

Yes its had a VR commodore V6 and auto transmission put into it << which will be changed again at some point back to a V8 and manual, any suggestions on that?

[jason.ruff]

While it is a touchy subject it is possible to rebody back to panelvan with the right donor. Fit a correct date coded engine and you are close to being original. Depends on what you want and how deep your pockets are.

[Sandaro]

Sandro if that is the case the LH7 may be the cut down to a ute. ???

Yeah, that's what I thought, or if its a body swap to ute and an inspector has seen panelvan on plates and says it needs mod plate

[wbute]

If it has the drain holes then it's a ute body. Not van cut down. Unless I am mistaken. Plus they normally didn't put the tonneau clips on a cut down van.

[Lupine]

So all things aside then there's a few options for making something nice.

Thoughts on what makes better sense colourwise? Matching the plate or going to something else.

If we had it plated back to a van (if suitable donor and work done obviously) would that be better than leaving as it is?

Just looking for opinions while we kick ideas around. So put yourselves in our place, where money isn't an issue because there's all the time in the world to save and bargain hunt with pretty much all the various tradies as mates.
What would you do with it?

Also I'm not looking for detailed valuation but what would people say its worth as it sits now with the issues here and in fair-average overall condition?

[Big Rob]

If money was no object then I'd buy a great van body (good luck) and rebody your chassis back to a van, then paint it the original colour and restore it. However..... you could possibly spend $50-$70k doing it.

You have a cool ute that has it's own identity now, so you have to ask yourself what YOU really want.

If you want a ute, stick with it.

If you want a van, maybe selling the ute and buying a good van is a good option.

Think about it for a while..... time is your friend in this case.