1967 VC DODGE UTE

[Martythetrimmer]

While you didn't get these in the US they are based on the 1967 Valiant and share many parts...the utes only come with a slantie with the base model (Dodge) only having a manual trans option, no heater and painted bumpers and hub caps....the body has extra reinforcing and came factory with big block bars and heavier leaf springs, the Valiant version had the option of manual trans but most were auto, they had chrome bars, hub caps and cutter moulds....this started out to be a quick tidy up to use while I build my 1962 Plymouth Valiant, but there was more work than first thought, so I decised to do everything to it now instead of just getting it going....
this is how it looked when purchased...

we picked up the ute in a small town just out of Sydney.....brought it back on a Isuzu truck powered by a 408 small block Mopar.....

 

[Martythetrimmer]

once home I had a closer look at the rust problem, bad enough but I've seen worse and as there was only 900 odd Dodge utes made I decided to repair it all....there was a small rust problem in both the A pillars, replacement pillars were bought and after sand blasting and some repair to the right hand pillar, they were refitted

after trying pre made patch panels for the bottom of the pillar, which didn't fit, I made my own

 

[Martythetrimmer]

the rear floor was inspected, as was the back wall of the cab....water can sit behind the wall and rust out the tray where it meets the wall, the bottom of the wall itself and of course the floor....the floor hab been patched before and needed more so the easiest way was to cut it all out, fit a rust free floor from a doner car, I then made a new back wall which is mounted 6 inches further back to allow the seat to move back further and for storage behind the drivers seat and room for the audio system with an amp rack right across the cabin and a sub woofer behind the passengers seat...this is what it looked like when the lower section of the wall was removed....these are based on a wagon floor pan so the rear wall finishes 4-5 inches infront of where the back seat would be...

made sub frame connectors at the same time....

as the rear wall was going to be flat I made a frame to carry it to keep it solid...

 

[Martythetrimmer]

as the front of the tray had also started to rust where it meets the wall and had a few small rust patches where the centre insert of the floor goes, it was easier to cut the tray out and make a new one....I had it folded from plate that was 60% heavier than standard, and had an extra lip made to make it stronger....I welded in load supports before doing a trial fit....as it's on a wagon floor pan the area that would be the rear seat is just waste space so I made a trap door with a gas ram so the duel batteries, ropes, tools etc could
go in there...

also welded in mounts for a pair of LED light bars with a pin switch out of the way up the front...

 

[adiffrentcity]

Bitchin!

 

[Martythetrimmer]

they went very lighty on the sealer around the cutters in the factory which lead to water seeping into the seams....this was the reason so many of these utes have rust in the A & B pillars as well as the corners of the rear window support.....the outer skin of the B pillar had a couple of small rust spots showing, once I started to cut the outer away I found the inner skin had issues, so I cut away a large section of outer and replaced what I had to of the inner

next was onto the back of the pillar and the window support....

 

[Martythetrimmer]

the window support was then finished before final install...here's the lip for the seal & the water deflector being made...

I'm making a hard cover for it so started with a 1 inch box frame....it has a magnetic read switch on the hinge for LED lights and lockable catches

hinge sections against the jig...

frame mounted with gas rams...

 

[Martythetrimmer]

currently working the skin for the hard cover.....I've made a plug from MDF to make a mould for the raised section at the front of
the cover...

the bevel around the step downs has been fibreglassed

first coat of paint....now going to extend the sides 6 inches so the entier front half can be made from the mould...

everything is just sitting there but will give you an idea what it will look like....

 

[LocuMob]

Wow, do I feel lazy just looking at all the work you have done! You guys down under sure aren't afraid to do whatever it takes to get those utes back on the road!

 

[Martythetrimmer]

onto the console construction next....
these are my mounting brackets set to centre of the car...I use 3mm MDF mounted to the side of the braket to make a faulse wall for the carpet to go up and under the console when installed...this is later replace with a piece of 1mm steel

base board marked out and main uprights to show the hights of the different sections

next I construct the main pocket/armrest....I use 140mm wide 19mm pine for the uprights & 3mm MDF for the sides

the sides are cut from two layers of 3mm MDF each side so they can be formed to the shape of the base board

a ring is made to fit inside the console as a tray for sunglasses, phones etc. every components must be made allowing for the multipul layers of vinyl the covers each section...
@ 1mm or more it mounts up, there are 8 layers in the rear compartment to allow for!

once the top has rounded corners routed and a base plate screwed for underneath it can be temporarily sat in place

the sides are to be fibre glassed to give some more shape....I Hot glue a piece of 6mm x 12mm MDF to the side and fill in with 12mm polyurethane sheeting, again Hot glued in place
it is then cut with a hack saw blade to make a bevel to the sides...it is then sanded to shape...the product is very soft so sands easily

once hardened it is cut to size and sanded

filled with builders bog and sanded smooth....this needs to be good enough to paint as any marks will show through the vinyl

the finished console.....21 individual pieces to cover it

inside the front pocket

inside the rear pocket/armrest

many days went into constuction, then more than a day to cover it, and every measurement had to be to the milimetre, ...so that's why you don't want to know the price!!
with this and the pockets on the doors I have quadrupled the storage in my ute

 

[docdodge]

Dude, ya blew me away!!! What do you do for a living? NO.... wait, unless you are restorig old iron your skills are wasted!! what you did and are doing is on par or better then the guys in the states that have all the latest tools!! Man... Im speechless!! Any idea how much to ship my projects to you?? Man o man what a job!!!

 

[Martythetrimmer]

thanks docdodge.....I'm a motor trimmer (car upholsterer) by trade....Jack of all trades when it comes to cars!!

it's almost ready for paint....custom cab extention with third brake light...Valiant has a small cab extention but Dodge have nothing!

this was made by moulding a backing from the cab....glueing on urathain foam & shaping it before 2 layers of 450gsm fibreglass

 

[Martythetrimmer]

a pet hate of mine is seat belt bolts right though the B pillars......this is how I made caged mounts for mine.....

 

[docdodge]

Dont know if you got any of them down there, I saw in my "GOODGUYS" mag. a wagon that been modified into a sedan delev. Seems this company wanted a fleet of 6cyl Valiants wagons and wanted them converted to 2 door. This guy got one and thought it was a cobble job. Had to do major repairs, but has the only I ever heard of. I gotta hand it to you, dude your work is AWSOME!!! Ya really need to think about your own shop!!! Only bad thing about that is sometimes ya gotta do stuff to put food on the table. YA GOT THE TOUCH!!

 

[Martythetrimmer]

as I'm not a fan of painted door tops I made full length door trims for the ute......I started by takeing a moulding from the top of the door...I taped it up to act as a release for the fibreglass....

I then attactched the capping to the backing board inplace on the door for correct possitioning & bonded them together...

I wanted custom armrests and pocket at the bottom of the panels....these are the MDF backings...

foamed ready to be shaped...

final shape ready for fibreglassing...

test fit...

finished product...

semi complete interior...more to come...

 

[Martythetrimmer]

as I'm fitting a V8 eventually I removed the factory hood springs as they get in the way with a quality after market dissy....I fitted gas rams instead, I would have run them into the guard cavity but as I'm also fitting a compitition level audio system I need that space for the front speaker enclosures...so I ran them like a lot of late model cars do...



I reinforced the top of the inner guard with a plate that was plug welded in place...



the top mounts aren't fully shaped as this hood is to be replaced, finished ones will be better but these work!



later I plan on converting to a V8 and fitting rack and pinion steering....picked up a 318 for a case of beer!

 

[docdodge]

Kinda glad you stayed with a 318. there very good at what they were made for. They are cheap and easy to get and get parts for. It will do well at getting you from point a to point b. There very solid motors. A few dress up parts and you can win at any car show. I built a r/b 833 abody and while its fun, its hard to drive. As always, I am astounded at your long term work. How do you plan to deal with the rest of the drive line? Case a beer?? was it tall boys Fosters? Good scarf!!

 

[wanta68cuda]

I love Aussie car's! This one is sweet. Can't wait to see it finished!

 

[LocuMob]

I'm surprised you're not going to paint the car after all the other things you have tackled so far. "A man's got to know his limitations" but something tells me you would pick it up rather quickly. Anyways, awesome work so far and I can't wait to see this one finished.

 

[docdodge]

Did you guys see the right hand steer?? That would just F..k me up trying to drive!! Thats the side of a slant WITHOUT any room. It leans that way. At least the exhaust is not a problem ah?? How hard is it to work on the Dist.?? Boy I bet a starter is a breez!!