Hey guys ute to be painted next week so while im waiting im starting on the tray boards. my ute came with nothing when purchased so im unsure of the correct set up for the boards
I was thinking of laying a thin piece of masonite with the planks of polished boards on top attach some chrome strips and screw to original holes at least the boards would all be in one piece compared to seperate as per original
Any ideas...pics...explanatins would be very helpful at this stage
regards Adam
Ute tray boards
Ute tray boards
FB-EK Holden Car Club of Victoria
Hello Adam,
We went through the same exercise last year when our FB ute's original tray finally gave up the ghost. :-(
Q: Do you want to make the tray original?
If yes, then the original tray was a special kind of very hard and durable masonite overlaid onto planks. From looking at the FB and EK sales brochures (which has artists' impressions, not photos) the tray, strips and shock absorber cover plates were painted brown. However, I don't know for sure ... at some point, our ute's tray was painted another colour. I've also seen photos of original utes where the tray and cover plates were brown but the strips were (most likely) zinc coated.
If you don't want to keep it original, then a 12mm marine ply board cut to size works like a charm. That's what we ended up doing for our ute. We got the strips and cover plates re-zinc'ed.
Here's the link to a very nice EK ute that was sold recently on eBay. There are some good shots of the tray.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOLDEN-EK-UTE_W0 ... dZViewItem
And here are some photos of our ute (before and after):
Original tray:
Close up of one corner of the original tray - you can see the masonite and underlying planks:
The new marine ply tray painted the same colour as the original tray:
Lastly, here's the picture from the original sales brochure (this is from an EK brochure, but the FB brochure is pretty much the same):
Hope this helps!
Cheers .... jacquie
We went through the same exercise last year when our FB ute's original tray finally gave up the ghost. :-(
Q: Do you want to make the tray original?
If yes, then the original tray was a special kind of very hard and durable masonite overlaid onto planks. From looking at the FB and EK sales brochures (which has artists' impressions, not photos) the tray, strips and shock absorber cover plates were painted brown. However, I don't know for sure ... at some point, our ute's tray was painted another colour. I've also seen photos of original utes where the tray and cover plates were brown but the strips were (most likely) zinc coated.
If you don't want to keep it original, then a 12mm marine ply board cut to size works like a charm. That's what we ended up doing for our ute. We got the strips and cover plates re-zinc'ed.
Here's the link to a very nice EK ute that was sold recently on eBay. There are some good shots of the tray.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOLDEN-EK-UTE_W0 ... dZViewItem
And here are some photos of our ute (before and after):
Original tray:
Close up of one corner of the original tray - you can see the masonite and underlying planks:
The new marine ply tray painted the same colour as the original tray:
Lastly, here's the picture from the original sales brochure (this is from an EK brochure, but the FB brochure is pretty much the same):
Hope this helps!
Cheers .... jacquie
Hi Guys.
Holden finished the floors in utes & vans in different ways.
The panel van floors were almost always painted Mundi Brown, but utes were usually finished in body colour. This was probably because the ute floor was always open to the weather.
Smooth would know more about FB/EK in particular, but other series utes were slightly different depending on which plant they were built in. Some have the strips painted while the board was left natural, while others just have the whole floor painted after the strips were fitted.
It would be interesting to hear from ute owners in different states as to how their floors are finished.
Dr Terry.
Holden finished the floors in utes & vans in different ways.
The panel van floors were almost always painted Mundi Brown, but utes were usually finished in body colour. This was probably because the ute floor was always open to the weather.
Smooth would know more about FB/EK in particular, but other series utes were slightly different depending on which plant they were built in. Some have the strips painted while the board was left natural, while others just have the whole floor painted after the strips were fitted.
It would be interesting to hear from ute owners in different states as to how their floors are finished.
Dr Terry.
Thanks, Dr Terry. That would explain why our ute's tray was painted. Though, something's odd - the artists' impressions in the FB sales brochure shows the ute with a brown floor and strips (same as the van). Also, the original shock absorber cover plates off our ute had brown paint, albeit much scratched. They're not the ones shown in the first photo, BTW ... long story!
I'd be very interested to hear from other FB ute owners who have the original trays intact.
Cheers .... jacquie
I'd be very interested to hear from other FB ute owners who have the original trays intact.
Cheers .... jacquie
as im in the trade of workin with wood (cabinet maker) i did mine in 12mm mdf then routered grooves the lenth of the floor to match the inner tray panels id post some pics if i knew how but if any one has photos of my ute feel free to post them up ow yeah forgot to say then painted it in matching body colour 
HEY IT WASNT ME
My ute was restored a while ago by previous owner/s & was painted body colour as was the metal strips & shockie covers, but going to paint my floor a chocolate brown and strips body colour - (can't find colour code for Mundi Brown & Mundi Brown was a chocolate brown) as there's too much body colour for me if all painted same - need some contrast.
The only reason for time is so everything dosen't happen at once.
If Macca's home delivered there'd be one less drunk on the road.
If Macca's home delivered there'd be one less drunk on the road.