Ute to Panno conversion.

[Taily]

Wasn't sure where to pop this question, was a toss-up between here and the Lounge....

Has anyone ever done THIS but the other way around? That is, cut the roof off a ute and grafted a panel van top on, thus turning a ute into a van?

How are the two attached along the ute line? Is the panel van top just spotted together between the two and if I remember correctly there are a couple of small differences around areas such as the inner relief for the lower tailgate and around the top of the doors?

I had a flick through that link and saw the way he cut through the A-pillars and couldn't be sure of the legality of that one as I'm sure they're a rolled design that has some form of interior structure/strength...

Just toying with a couple of options that have presented themselves.... No, I'm not going to rip the roof off the HJ, though the thought did cross my mind to do something like that bloke who recently had his H or W series panno convertable for sale with choice of panno or ute lids..... Didn't get any photos of it but like the idea.....

Regards,

Dave

[playwme]

Lot of effort. Unless it was a Sandman van to begin with you might as well just buy a van in the first place and avoid rego issues and all that.

I reckon if I was going to that effort I'd take a wagon and graft on the panelvan turret/sides/upper tailgate to create a 4 door , 5 seat , ultimate family panelvan. Wagon rear seat folds flat to the floor so you could still have a decent load space, sleeping area when needed.

[HK1837]

You could certainly do it. Converting a ute to a tonner is pretty easy too. You'd just have to remove the roof and the panel under the rear window. The hardest bit would be the quarters where you'd have to lop off the ute roof bits in the quarter and join to the van roof at this point - you'd probably have to do the reverse of the van to ute conversion, ie cut the donor ute roof down into the van quarter, but in this case, as well as the van roof unpicked along the join to the quarter you'd have to take a donor piece below the join line to graft into the ute quarter. The other issue is the inner roof, and where it joins to the inner pillars. You have to be careful in this area especially on 1/75 onwards as there is a big support brace that runs from behind where the retractable seat belt mounts back into the inner quarter. I'm sure it can be done, but may have to be done in stages rather than as one big piece ie use 2 x van roofs as donor: one for the inner stuff off a rusty for the inner stuff and another for the outer shell. The windscreen pillar joint is normally done as a stagger joint, but if you were worried about it just do a joint along the floor to firewall join leaving the whole plenum and firewall attached to the roof.

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Lot of effort. Unless it was a Sandman van to begin with you might as well just buy a van in the first place and avoid rego issues and all that.

I reckon if I was going to that effort I'd take a wagon and graft on the panelvan turret/sides/upper tailgate to create a 4 door , 5 seat , ultimate family panelvan. Wagon rear seat folds flat to the floor so you could still have a decent load space, sleeping area when needed.

I like this idea, but done like a Gemini which the van is just a wagon with a bit of steel over where the seat goes - remove this and put the back seat in with flip front seats. I'd like to see this done to a HQ-WB van, but would be much easier in a HK-HG where the floor is already there, and on early ones you don't need rear seat belts.

[Robbo]

A guy is currently turning a ute into a van over on the majestic's site, an XB falcon ute. Doing an absolutely fabulous job of it too.

[stickthis]

bloody ell... that would be keen!

[Robbo]

He is very keen Jason, but he is doing a good job of it all. It is a great thread.

[stickthis]

Yeh I should jump on there and have a look. Oh hang on did you say ford? maybe I wont.... hahaha.... No I shoudl have a squiz! Post a link here maybe.