fbekholden.com

Hey guys, I thought I'd put some photos up of my ute for those that are interested. I've only been working on it for a couple of months and its progressing nicely. I have bought a vn commodore for a donor car, v6, 5 speed, will use diff etc. Heres some pics of whats been done so far. not sure if the photos will work?

Day 1






Because i'm bagging it i removed the front springs and found that it still sat 5" off the ground, so I decided to raise the front end 3" closer to the subframe by making new mounts
old mounts removed

Adding internal strength



New mount

Front and rear strengthening

Ends tapped around

Front and rear bracing

All welded


Fianl product, lowers the car by 3 inches


Comparison of before and after mounts, also single leafed with new mounts


After adding drop spindles it nows sits on the ground, onto the back
Plasma cut some new rails with 7 1/2" more kick up than factory, as I will be running a 28" tall rear tyre

spacers added


Extended to tie into the subframe for strengthening, no spacers yet

Plated top and bottom, 1/2" flange eiter side on the top for the factory look

Welds ground back

Cut the rear out and trial fitted





And this is how it currently sits, these wheels are only for mock up, will be getting steelies and whitewalls, currently in the process of stitching the rails in.




It's been a great learning curve as I've only just turned 18 and this is my first build, any feedback/advice is more than welcome. Thanks, hope the photos work for you.

Cool as

Welcome to the forum Mick, love how she looks sitting like that

welcome to the forum mick thats some radical work your doing to the ol girl ,keep the pics coming

Great fabrication work there Mick, welcome to the forum.

WOW
what part of NSW are you from looks like a small country town similar to where I am, but then they all look pretty similar

Looks good

Wow....

I can't believe how little rust is in the ute to start with either.

man thats cool... be watching this one for sure.



Cheers
Nathan

Mick wrote:WOW
what part of NSW are you from looks like a small country town similar to where I am, but then they all look pretty similar

I'm on the Vic/NSW border in tocumwal

The rails were both rusted out but we were cutting them out anyway, there is a small amount in one guard and a bit behind the back bumper, both doors, bonnet and body are mint, and the patina and sunburn is in all the right places

Looks great! Looking forward to watching this one progress

awesome mate
your first build I look forward to seen more
don't paint it leave it as is
it will get more attention that way
paul

Thanks for all the feedback guys, Paint will definitely be staying as it is, only going to add some sign writing on the doors. Progress should pick up now that I've finished all of my yr 12 exams

Clear coat it with a lattened clear should elp it last a lot longer!

Got the rails mocked up in their final position, rear tyres are 275

cut and bent them so that they follow the same contour as the floor

this is where they tie into the subframe, will have bolts and a plate across the top so the subframe is still removable

we then took some measurements and cut the floor out

removed the inner sill, now we will sand blast in here, make new sills and will then be able to put the rails back in and start making crossmembers to tie the sills to the rails

also got the template made for the new windows

this is how its looking at the moment, completely stripped

and a quick picture of dads old EK that he built mid 80's, complete with shaved rear handles, FB grill and electric boot popper haha


thanks for looking guys

My new favourite build thread - after Finny finishes his wagon that is