The insurance company has written off my ute as a "reparable write off"( PREVIOUS THREAD) which means that I can repare the damage and have the vehicle inspeced and re licenced- the problem is....

Too much work is needed before they would even consider re licencing the ute.
I've been looking for a replacenent shell over the last few weeks ant there aint any about (Perth) so the desision has been made to restore the ute.

Biggest issue is structural rust around the rear spring mounts and sub frame ...solution?
tear it all out and fabricate a whole new rear sub frame. While I'm at it I'll probably continue the rear sub frame forward to meet up with the front sub frame to allow for proper gearbox mountings ( slapped in a rough mount for a celica box and I don't think the coppers would approve that one...)

Food for thought....
Re use rear leaf springs ( springs need replacement) or fit a four link?
ute diff will be retained if I can find another ( bent axle form impact)

I have managed to find a rust free sedan to chop up for replacentment rust parts like the external windscreen support panneling , doors and a few other bits and pieces.
Photos to come.
J.

Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!!!

Grab a rust free shell...chop it up..so that you can weld in the rust free pieces into another shell that had rust...in order to end up with a rust free shell!!! Makes perfect sense...

If you paid yourself $5 an hour...and included all the expandables you will use..do some simple maths and you will find that you (and the sedan) would be better of buying a $3000 ute that had little rust in it...and that way you could leave the sedan alone.

I'd have to agree, keep the sedan and buy another ute if the ute is already rusted out.
Use the good bits out of the damaged ute and put into sedan.
Then you will have 2 good 1200's, instead of one busted ass money pit.

Quote:


Well said

yeah isnt the idea to find a dead shell to cut up, not to kill an already good car

i say just drive a sedan, much cooler

sorry guys, should have explained a bit more about the sedan.
Although the sedan is almost rust free its un licanced has no interior , dash, seats, motor, gearbox, pedals ( brake, clutch) and the biggest problem is the sedan has not got 1 single peice of wire left in the whole car. The owner has completly stripped every last wire from the car for the purpose of seling the copper for scrap. Where basically talking a completly stripped rolling sedan shell with a couple of doors .

if you have a little experience in wiring things up the wiring bit should take only a weekend and all of the stuff out of the ute will go in with out to many dramas

meh... i say chop up the sedan and hav a sic ute!!