Holden were selling their own ute by then,the FJ. Ford had it's mainline. But Chevs and Pontiacs and so on were by then in the same price level as Mercedes Benz.
thanks for the info. i have been thinking about biulding a 56 chevy ute using a 4dr sedan and part of a 2dr wagon i know of.the roof is pretty much junk on the wagon,so i wouldn't be cutting up a good wagon. just thinkinghmmmm
Here's a 55 that I saw here in Australia. I thought the proportions were pretty good. Don't know if it was ever finished.
Interesting! Ford Australia has maintained that they made the 1st factory Ute in 1934, this seems to predate that by 3 years.
I think that you will find that the Australian Ford was the first Coupe Utility based on a Coupe roof line with a utlity back. There is a little more info here....http://www.fastlane.com.au/Features/First_ute.htm
i type bad and can't spell worth a shit so hang with me. i work for general electric. a few years ago my boss( a car guy also) &i had to go to l'ville g.e. plant. on the ride up there, i made a comment about wonder if ford ever built any thing like the truck in george's post. there is a ford plant in l'ville also. i got through with what i was doing and was waiting on him. he was white colar,i blue colar. as i was waiting i spotted a trophy case in the lobby of one of the buildings. in this case was a pic of some of the ford "trucks " pictured above. it had the story how g.e. asked ford to build them for them for delivery of fridges and appliances. when my boss came to go i showed him the pics, he said he had walked passed that case a thousand times and never noticed those pics/story. he then procceded to slide the case out and take out the pic's and story. found a copy machine and made some copies of the story/pics. some where in my house iv'e got the story and pics with the trucks having the GE insigna on it some where. i just wonder if the trucks were built at the l'ville ford plant, can't remember what the story said. any of you l'ville hambers know how long the ford plant been there.didn't mean to hijack the thread.
That's a better definition but I'm still skeptical Too bad they didn't stick with the coupe turret. This jolly jumbuckler could be the missing link
Could you go down to the local dealer and buy a GE type ute off of the showroom floor? Or was it some sort of special order type thing?. The Ford Australia stuff was available straight off the dealers lot.
I thought that was the remains of the the jolly swagman's dinner on the grille, a jumbuck (sheep). I found a couple of ponchos that fly in the face of the Ford claim courtesy of Eddie Ford (I wish someone could make Eddie's toons or the Lew Brandt concept in the last pic a reality like the Ettamogah Pub )
Did someone say something about off the showroom floor? I'll take the one in the second row fourth from the left. have it full of Petrol and in my driveway by morning. Look at all those Mercury grilles. HaHa One thing that seems very odd is that they all have license plates on them already? Over here you get the plate after you get the car. Also is there any way of tracking past ownership on my car in OZ. I would like to know who the original owners were and also if it was made in 1956 or 57 since they were licensed by series (SP25) instead of by year of manufacture.
Great picture and the three big trucks in the 3rd and 4th row are Desoto's. I have only ever seen one in the steel(rust) and the amount of Chrome trim on the front was pretty amazing. The one I saw was repowered with a perkins Diesel so I have no idea what they originally. probably a Kew built Flattie. They build DeSoto Trucks in Turkey today but these were the real Chrysler deal. In OZ there is a government insprired paranoia about information,almost as bad as Soviet Russia,but knowone has died mysteriously asking for a cars history..... yet. I have tried to research a cars history that I was restoring because all the earlier owners are long dead. I had to fill in a Freedom of information form and submit it for approval ,then there was a bunch of fees to be paid . I got my info some days later. A page covered in black lines where the previous owners ,their addresses and and dates of ownership were blanked out. You will not get any co operation from any government department in Australia when lookng for information like this. Yet insurance companies have unfettered access .Corruption is also a part of government dealing here too. If you have any idea of the state the car came from ( and many cars can move a lot in a 50 years) and you have some idea of the registration number it had or may have had you can make application with the states Vehicle registration authorities. All cars registered in Australia since WW2 are on a linked data base and that information is available to the registration authorities but not to any member of the public. I just sold off two projects which had been imported many years ago but not registered legally . There was no way i could register the cars in OZ without finding out who imported them. Again ALL cars imported have a listing on a data base but again that info is not available to the public. Your only option is to contact the exporter and see if they remember who owned it previously then track it back from there. ordinary folk here are mostly willing to help,it's only the shiny arses in power who let us down. Good luck with your search. PS,that looks like Adelaide down by the Port area ,so it's possibly a dealers yard with sold cars ready to go . Each state has it's own rego and the dealer puts the plates on the car when you buy it. South Australia was Chrysler mad for decades,the main plant being in Adelaide until it was closed by ot's last owner,Mitsubishi , year before last.
Hey everyone, I've been away for a while, was a member a few years ago. Anyway a buddy told me about this thread about UTE's. last fall I sold my 34 woody and took a 48 chev UTE in partial trade. It came from Geelong, Australia. It was rodded several years ago and it needs a redo bad. Baaaddd bump steer!!!! Especially when you are driving on the wrong side already!!! If anyone from down under recognize the car give me a holler. I am trying to find out as much as I can about the car. It has several Geelong Street Rodders decals on the car along with some Surf-Out stickers. It has a 350/turbo 350 and a 10 bolt rear out of a 78 camaro.
the surfout sticker makes it an older geelong car, I attended the surfouts when they were in ocean grove, this run got moved around 97 or 98 I think so that gives you a bit of a time frame. its not instantly recognisable but might have had a paint change/wheels etc since leaving australia. is it still RHD?
Yes, it is still rhd. I am planning on changing it to left hand drive. I don't think it has been painted in years. Plans are doing mild custom tricks...grill, headlights, steeles with WW etc. I hate to remove door handles etc. Things that are unique to Holden UTE's. It came with pretty nice red T&R with white piping. Car seems very rust free... is Geelong a dry/arid area?
There's one of those DeSotos sitting in a paddock in South Canterbury, my brother stumbled upon it after he'd become separated from his partner and vehicle in a thick fog that descended when they were scouting paper and back roads for a rally. I'm pretty sure they're Leyland Comet based. It could be a new government fleet seeing as they're registered and all the accessory visors. This is Port Adelaide I reckon. A kiwi kind of reverse ute built for International sales reps
Here is an Australian special! Had a chance to buy this one but I did not have the $$$$ to do so. I am sure they did not make a lot of these! It is obviously made with a UTE platform.
This ute was around the NZ Rodding scene in the mid 80's ,from Dunedin.I have always wanted to buy this,I believe its in storage and has been for the last 14 years. Its a 51' Twin Spinner
Come on Aussie, come on, come on Come on Aussie, come on Come on Aussie, come on, come on Come on Aussie, come on show us some utes digger
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