READER RESTO
ROSS REVIVES HIS WORKHORSE
It’s nearly 25 years since this ute joined the shed and it was used as a workhorse for most of that time. I came across it through work. The father of an apprentice who used to work for me had it just sitting there, and one day I mentioned I wouldn’t mind a one-tonner. He did it up so it was useable and I used it for years with the full tray. I used to like driving it – it was a good thing.
It carried the weight no problem. They are a true one-tonner and I think I may have carried more than that at some stage.
We retired it from day-to-day use about seven years ago. When we decided to do it up, we got it blasted back to bare metal, with the cab and chassis still attached. Of course there was rust and the worst part was the scuttle. We cut that out and put in a new one. The floors weren’t too bad – there were
a few holes and we were able to repair rather than replace.
Sills are another common trouble area on these and they needed a fair bit of work, particularly on the driver side.
Since we were playing with panels, we took the opportunity to fit the GTS-style gills in the fenders, add wheel flairs and fill where the hole for the radio aerial used to be.
Overall, the body got the full treatment and we decided to go with two-pack paint in Salamanca Red – a fairly famous Holden colour from the era.
The interior got a retrim. Rory, our panel-beater/painter up in Gembrook, also did some vinyl spray work on the interior, including the dash and centre console. We did however get Wayne de Vries to do most of the interior fit-out.
We needed new armrests for the doors – they were too twisted to be saved – and we picked up new carpets from Tru-Fit.
We already had the GTS instrumentation, but the lenses were shocking, so we got them replaced by an instrument specialist. They got the temp and fuel guages going at the same time. I asked about the clock, but he said they never work. Later on I went to a ute show and asked every tonner owner I could find, and not one of them had a working clock!
The Statesman front was already in place when we bought – it and the jelly bean wheels are very typical of what people did to them years ago. I like the wheels, they’re still the right diameter – they look right, maybe I’m a bit old school.
We cut about 300mm off the tray, though I have the original sides and bars put away. I can’t handle that really big overhang. A mate of mine and I tackled it one weekend and it came up alright. We got new aluminium guards to go with it.
We actually tackled the engine rebuild before we committed to a full restoration. It’s a standard 308 – I was happy to have it as a cruiser – with a Holley 570 carburettor. I was warned a bigger carb would ‘drown’ a stock 308, while a 570 would provide a good throttle response. That proved to be right. It’s also running extractors and it has a bit of a note.
Cooling is always an issue with these older cars, so the radiator is bigger than stock, with an extra core, and is running a clutch fan. I’ve learned to hate temperature gauges as you end up watching them the whole time on a hot day.
The Trimatic trans is getting a bit tired and that’s next on the list.
It was also on gas and I decided to go back to straight petrol. We cut out the tank and put the spare wheel bracket back in as part of the job.
It’s got power steering, which makes driving it a lot easier, but it’s very light and a
“IT’S A STANDARD 308 AS I WAS HAPPY, TO HAVE A CRUISER”