This thread has been dormant for awhile. And as a double Ute owner this was good reading and with the photos of the finished utes it drove me to work on ours. But like all hot rodders I am always on the look out for other models and have dreams of 'one more Ute" ( but tell my wife). But I have noticed that vintage ute's must have all been either in the hands of hot rodders or crushed as when I plug in Ute into searches, not much and what is there are American transplant 'utes' (trucks). So guys from Down Under, are they all gone from the paddocks and back yards? And don't me get into Sloppers.
Well since this thread started I got another 2 project utes. One is a 40 Ford Coupe Ute, and the other is a little newer, XC Falcon Ute. Wont post that one as its not Hamb Friendly, but here are the pics of the Coupe Ute. Yes, it needs work!
Friend of mine has been trying to sell this one on the Hamb and the Ford Barn but no takers. Another good 46 in the USA.
Selling Utes in the US is tough, a lot like them but too weird to own. If you own one you have to be ready for the 50 questions at every stop. And right hand drive is not for everyone. I tried selling my 53 ford for what I had in it at Pomona Swap, didn't even get stupid low ball offer. We were crazy enough to go to Aus and look for one to bring back. PM the info on the 46, I do know some people not on the HAMB that ask me sometimes. We sold a very nice running 46 Ford Ute about 8 years ago to a gentleman that had a 46 collection and always wanted a Ute to finish the collection,,, one guy.
I agree that the Aussie cars in the US do not have a wide appeal. There are quite a few more than even I expect sometimes that are in the network so to speak. Not as bad as the 32 Ford RPU crowd at times. Like most cars though, you build one because you like it. I can think of a handful of Aussie cars I would love to have. The dollar conversion right now is good and with a good shipper that can be a good process as well. As I tell most people who want to buy a car, do your research, learn about them and you will know good from bad. Plus folks in the US do not get that the Sedan is the official car of Oz in most cases, not Coupes. I continue to rub elbows with someone here that knows them. I would have bought that 46 Coupe Ute, but I have enough projects right now.
Good to see this thread get a new lease on life. I've seen a few decent early ute projects for sale on Facebook lately (one 52 chev ute in particular ), if only I had time, space or money for another project.
As shown above, the 46 is really the best deal in the US on the West Coast I have seen. Even a little bit of shipping to OR is less than the cost and head ache of shipping from AUS to the US. And remember from the back of the door forward the body is basically a 4 door sedan. door, hood, fenders, trim are US spec. And on the 46, the back window is 41-48 coupe window so not weird like our 50 Chevy.
And not to mention the wide five hubs/wheels on the rear. Ken1939, can you tell us more about how you acquired this car? Reason being I had a '39 Standard Ute which I sold in the mid 1980's here in Australia. I heard it changed hands a few times and then apparently wound up in the USA. I wonder if this might be it? I had sandblasted it and primed it. I had also removed the lead loading from the joint at the rear of the passenger compartment where joins the bed.