guages

the old guages look great. The speedo still works a beauty - I put the drill on it and clocked over 40,600 miles!

rear springs

The 48-215 and early FJ's used narrow rear leaf springs which were enclosed by gal. covers, don't think that I can use these again!!

dash

dash is now stripped, everything unbolts easily. On the front of the glovebox is the name of the original GMH retailer in Lonsdale st. Melbourne!
Beadblasting of the interior will be easy, then one coat of red oxide followed by satin black

front glass

Wow! - fossilized windscreen seals, thank God all rubber is available repro!
Imagine if Holden went retro with commodore utes and fitted two piece glass?

front subframe

Front is off - bottom bolts were very tight. Will sandblast & paint the front subframe in black
It is so light, I wonder how V8's can be put in these cars?

front end removal

front end is out. It seems very tight and in good order, i.e - no play in the king pins at all
everything is coming apart with ease, no nasty surprises as yet! Next - front subframe

tag & bag

It is best to bag and tag everything, otherwise when things go back together there are always bolts or nuts or bits left over!

open heart surgery

everything has to be removed, replaced, repaired or simply cleaned and repainted
ratchet ring spanners are brilliant and I highly recommend them!

engine out

Removing the gearbox first made the donk removal easier. In total, a simple job that took around two hours
everything (except the handbrake arrangement!) is so simple - a pleasure to work on

front end texture

nothing that sandblasting wont fix!

donor car

loading a '51 48-215 sedan which will be ideal as a template in putting together the ute after painting.
car would be good except for significant sill rust. what is tired on the ute, is good on the car and vice-versa!

more dust than paint!

These old holdens were painted in NC(nitro-cellulose) lacquer, a type of acrylic
lots of coats and polishing from the factory to make the paint shine. being a farm ute at Culgoa, polishing , yet alone washing, was rarely a consideration
the paint simply faded away in the sun, exposing surface rust, adding to the fact that not many good examples exist today

intro blog!

my new project, its a 48-215 ute, made in 1951.
the ute has had a short life on the road, having been retired before I was born (I am 39)
fortunately it was put in the shed due to a blown motor and has not seen rain since the mid sixties
will keep you posted