Here is my Pontiac roadster ute project. I haven't posted it on The HAMB earlier, because its not really traditional. But there has been some interest, so here goes. If you are going to flame me for it, you'd better make it funny I've pretty much copied and pasted this from another hotrod (or is that streetrod?) forum. So please excuse any continuity errors. I bought it in December 2007 off eBay, unseen. The add said "not much rust".... Here is one of the pics from the add. I got a great deal on transport from Victoria to my place in Sydney, but the boot lid (edit: trunk lid) came off somewhere between Swan Hill and Cowra. As far as I know, its still out there. So, when it turned up in late Feb I wasn't real happy. There was rust and damage a plenty. I knew about the front being bent, but had no idea that both rear quarters were bent, the drivers door was caved in, both rear guards were bent, there was major rust everywhere, and it had been rolled over and repaired a long time before any of that. And the damage wouldn't even show up in a photo! The worst part was that the previous repairs had never been sealed from behind, so they were all now paper thin. What to do? Why, cut it up of course. Plans quickly developed to make a roadster ute out of the good bits. After getting the body out of the way, I found that the chassis was bent, rusty, had dozens of cracks, and about 2 feet of oxy welds where it had been repaired previously. And I do mean rusty, from being in many floods down by the river. As well as being wider than the front end I had for it. Not really ideal for what I wanted.Vintage chassises can be hard to find in a hurry here, so I tore ( literally ) the body off a Hilux/Tacoma and started from there. After cutting out the rusty floors there wasn't much Poncho left, so I started with some RHS and made a basic frame for the body. I beat the front panels back into shape, and worked from the wheel arches back. And then mocked it up on the chassis. So in goes the motor and box. I'm a bit of a EFI 5litre fan. Please forgive me. Also, a post 1984 engine was a requirement for registration here in Oz. And then some pedals, steering and seats. Nearly all Commodore, but Hilux brakes complete and un-moded. At this point the car was a roller, with all the controls working. The brakes, clutch, steering and so on are all done. This was about April, the one advantage of using a Hilux chassis - its pretty fast to build to this point. For some reason I stopped taking photos about this time. LOTS of boring panel work and rust repairs later it emerged looking somewhat like a car again, complete with half arsed flames Its a little further along than where the pictures show. It has floors in it, and I have sorted the loom for the EFI.
I managed to find a better front guard. It only needed 6 inches across the front, 12 inches along the back, and the whole lip between. But at least the crown was the right shape. I made a new grille for it too. Mounted the battery. The wiring needs a bit of a tidy up still. I roughed in the frames for the rear half of the body. Now I need to skin it. This shot shows the floor and door frame. I'll put in the anti intrusion bar after I finish beating out the skin. I set up the wipers on Saturday. Piece of cake. The wipers I used came out of a Triumph 2500. I used to have a few Triumphs, and had some wipers left over. But any Lucas wiper setup is essentially the same ; Mini, Jaguar, Rover, etc. I had to make the central tube a bit longer, and found that 3/8 bundy tube was a perfect fit to slide over and silver solder in place. The engine bay. Runs and drives smoothly. And an overall front shot. The "new" front guard fits heaps better. And only 3 metres of oxy weld to get it there. Still plenty to do, but I think its past the half way point.
Got a lot of framing for the back sorted out. Pretty much finished the tailgate. I used the skin off a VL Commo bonnet, to get a nice smooth compound curve. Finished up the B pillar too. And put some running board frames in place. Nice and low I'm starting on the rear wheelwells and quarter panels next. Anyone got an SV21 Camry wagon for me to cut the roof off?
Made some grilles for the guards. The one in the centre isn't staying, too plain. I wired in a Statesman dash too. Another Australian rego requirement due to the 1984 chassis. Just need to tidy up the mounting.
I destroyed a Camry wagon a few weeks ago to get a rear 1/4 panel. The look on the guy at the wrecking yard's face, when I walked up with a whole roof, was priceless I beat the back corner out of flat sheet. That's like hard work... A nice, BIG, wheelwell! And an overall shot in some primer. Now I have to do the other side, and make it match
I had to turn it around, so I got some decent pics of it side on. I ruined another Camry this week too So there is another 1/4 on the way. And I have moved the battery too, it now hides in the rear 1/4 below the tray.
After a couple of months doing other people's stuff, its back to my car. Another 1/4 panel done. I mocked up a rear roll pan from another VL bonnet over the weekend too. It didn't really work Need a panel with more crown in it. My brother is wrecking a VS next week, so I'll cut the roof off it and have a go with that. I need to get it out and take some pics from a bit further away. It almost (almost) looks like a car now
Now THAT is how you make lemonade from a lemon! Very nice work!! You're an inspiration. Keep the pix coming!!!
Done quite a bit since the last post. I finished the left 1/4 panel, fitted a rolled rear pan, finished the left running board, fitted the fuel filler hatch, and have 3/4s done the left rear gaurd After checking out the commo roof, I decided it would be easier to just make the VL bonnet work. It wasn't the most fun, but it worked in the end. The fuel filler hatch is from a VN wagon (note- they are harder to cut out than they first appear ) And as for the gaurd, 26 hours and counting...
For anyone who wants to see how I did the 1/4 panels, here is a link to the build thread. http://www.ozrodders.com/board/viewtopic.php?p=347198#347198
I finished the rear guard, mocked up the tail lights, did a bunch of work on the fuel tank and rear firewall and made a sill. The left hand side is almost done I might have to give it a quick colour change, matt black looks terible in photos
Finished the floor and rear firewall And now have door handles that work Almost time to call the certifying engineer
I'm sure some will disagree, but I think it's traditional as hell! You're taking what you got, adding what you have access to in your part of the world, accomodating the laws you are bound by and building a bitchin' ride. Don't get much more traditional than that! Anybody doesn't agree .... screw 'em!
Finally got back into it. Now its fully paneled Might be time to call the Engineer for a preliminay inspection Took it outside for the first time to get some photos.
I had a visit from my Engineer today. Good news. He is happy with the car so far, and said, "Go ahead and finish it." WooHoo And a pic of the new dash I made for it too.
Got it all pulled apart now. Spent about 4 hours with a wire wheel on a grinder cleaning up the firewall. That was bloody horrible. Especially when my finger got dragged between the wheel and the gaurd on the grinder No damage done though, luckily. So, let the bogging ( that's Bondo-ing ) begin...
Lots of welding, grinding and painting over the last week. Stage 2 of firewall paint... (stage 1 was straight white) And stage 3. Some clear and its done. Then on to texture coat the bottom. BTW, there was a LOT of masking involved in the firewall And I got the first lot of panels back from the blasters too
Got the chassis cleaned up and painted. I'm glad that's over. Next one will get blasted for sure. I cleaned, primed, stoneguarded, and painted the underside and inside the tray. And cleaned and painted the engine too ( the bottom half at least ) Hopefully I can start putting it back together tomorrow.
And the sanding continues... And because I've nothing better to do on a Friday night ( ) some random shots from the file...
Well, after some pretty epic problems with my daily driver ( which I still haven't sorted ) I finally managed some time on the Pontiac All in Blacktown Racing Grey Keen eyed observers may have noticed that its sitting a little crooked. That's cause I finally adjusted the offset on a wheel to where I wanted it. Now only 3 more wheels to go And I added some anti intrusion bars and internal door handles. They are from an XJ40 Jag, nice chrome handles that operate via a pushbike cable
Finally the weather has dried up enough to get some paint on. One day I'll rub it back and give it a really flashy coat of paint. For the moment I'm almost out of places to keep painted panels, so I'll have to finish the front and put it back together before finishing the rest of the paint. More pics Doors in spray putty. What a sh*thouse colour Grille rubbed back ready for primer and colour Front guards painted and stoneguarded.
I've managed to get heaps done in the last week or so. Not much of it shows in the photos, but it looks it in person. Inside is all painted now. Painted the front guards, grille, doors running boards. Made up some piping, and fitted them all properly. And finished plumbing the brakes and fitted the harness back onto the engine. Its starting to look like a car again
Some more painting and assembly work done. Putting this stuff together is turning out to be death by a thousand cuts
That is going to be a very good looking, unique car. Craftsmanship and creativity are both HAMB friendly and what you've done so far shows a lot of both. Thanks for posting the photos, I enjoyed them.
Back into it After a LOT of putting it off, Windscreen glass! And padded dash top version 3.0 The first 2 versions looked like crap, but, third time lucky And most of the panels are now in colour. Can't wait for the rain to stop so I can finish painting.
Got the lights working. Turns out I had 4 dud relays The blinkers work too, but are kinda difficult to photograph Behind the dash with the loom and computer in place. I finally got around to finishing the paint on the engine. Much nicer now. I need to get some duct to go from the throttle body to the filter. And some consumer advice. I bought a set of "AUTOPAL" h4 headlights off eBay. The lenses aren't indexed with the buckets!
And that's about where I am up to as of ~ 2 weeks ago.... I still need to paint the tailgate, make up some tailight pods, put a floor in the tray and trim it. Also have to reverse another 3 wheels. Other than that, its all minor, fidlly type stuff left before rego and cruising
Thats going to be a beautiful ride but did anyone mention that you put the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car
The Jalopy Journal
