WB Ute, Injected 5 litre Project.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

I have been in the process of building this ute for quite some time now but i though i would post some info and pics of the build.

Vehicle: WB ute

Engine: Injected 5 litre from VQ Statesman

Transmission: T700 auto

Diff: VS Commodore LSD

At the moment, its has the motor & driveline all in and is driveable. The interior needs some re trimming and new carpet and hopefully i can find a decent GTS dash. It has a B&M pro stick shifter.

The bodywork/paintwork is next on the agenda......still yet to decide on the colour. I am looking for some wheels at the moment, i really want a set of Weld racing pro stars, but if funds dont permit just yet i will probably get a set of GTS rims and get some 15" bands put on the rims, 8" on the rear and 6" on the front. I'm also on the hunt for a WB statesman, so i can get some bits & pieces out of it. I want the Stato front, electric windows, powersteering, you know all the creature comforts......

All the work so far has been done by myself! Everything.....wiring, diff, exhaust (Half system) the lot!

All the bodywork will be done by me & painted by my brother.

Anyway, there are some pics attatched.

Pics 1 & 2 are what i looks like at the moment
Pic 3 is the 5 litre as it came out of the Statesman
Pic 4 is with the motor trial fitted
Pic 5 is just after the motor went back in after being painted
Pic 6 is how it sits at the moment (except it has AU thermo fans instead of the clutch fan)

[Thomas1]

Looking good Tim

When you finish this one I know of a project for you if you get bored

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Yeh....let me guess an L67 into a VS Berlina??? LOL

Trust me, i never get bored!

[greenfoam]

How did you find such a mint ute?!, did it come from up North somewhere?

[Thomas1]

Yeh....let me guess an L67 into a VS Berlina??? LOL

Trust me, i never get bored!

LOL, How'd you guess

Yeah I imagine between the Torana, Calais and now this you'd be kept busy car wise...

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Na, we bought it off a guy that restored it. He got it from a decesed estate, it must have been in really good nick when he restored it though, cause the floor pan is mint....not a spot of rust anywhere, no patches welded in, nothing! We used it as a work ute for about 3 years with a V6 in it, then i decided i wanted it to use for myself. It's got a bit of rust in it now that needs fixing, but bugger all. It is definately a good base to start with....thats for sure.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Love it!!! perfect conversion and will look sweet with stato front.
Any clue what color you will paint it?

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Still trying to decide on a colour.......problem is there are so many nice colours around nowadays its so hard to choose! If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to post them!

Progress is about to get under way again, just waiting for some rust repair sections to arrive and away i go on the bodywork. So, i really need to decide on a colour asap!

Also, scored a second hand hard top tonneau cover to go on too! Got it for less than buying a normal strap type tonneau, so i couldn't pass it up.

[eurekamad94]

i would go a deep purple looks nice btw

[Jo3_Blo]

Nice ute, looks pretty mint!

Oh god, not another WB statesman ute!!!!!!!! Really, I wouldn't do it, I'm over them.
It seems to me that every Tom dick and harry that buys a ute automaticlly goes "Wreck a statesman and do up my ute just like veryone else!!"

Lol, got nothing against them, but sometimes, to keep it as it is, wouldn't be such a bad idea.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

No, its purely because the WB statesman front is the best looking WB front ever made.....Commercial fronts look crap!

Btw, i don't follow what everyone else does/likes, i build a car for myself. If people like it, then all good, but if they dont bad luck, i didnt build it to suit everyone elses tastes.

Back on topic, i rubbed back & 2 pak high filled my rocker covers & engine covers on the weekend. Just got to rub them back and paint them now, will post pics when they are painted. Nothing real flash, just silver, but 100x better than the factory did......

[88GreenVN]

The body looks to be in good nic so a nice metallic copper brown maybe with some black markings somewhere. There is a HJ (I think) 4 door GTS Monaro in the copper bronze with black GTS markings getting around our area and looksfantastic in the bright sunlight.

I see the hatch is blue so you wont want that. Purple hmmm need lots of chrome and HP if you go with purple.

Or Yellow. (ducks for cover)

[Jo3_Blo]

Yeah, when you put it like that. Kingswood and Statesman were really the only half decent looking fronts. HQ and HZ are the best of the lot.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Holy Shit, i totally forgot i put a thread in here about this car.

Anyway, here is a bit of an update.

It's now all painted, i went with Blood Orange of a BA Ford in the end. It's the only colour my partner and i could agree on. It has come up really good, i'm really happy with the paint & panel work. I scrapped the WB stato front idea and went with a HZ twin headlight prem front. Also, went with HQ-HZ tail lights instead of WB lights.

The interior has all been retrimmed, i got hold of a VG-VS ute bench seat, which is more like 2 buckets with a small seat in the middle, unlike the original one which is just one whole seat and ultra uncomfortable. I got a GTS dash, it was in ok condition but i filled a few holes from a CB or some crap and painted the fascia, also got new lenses for the gauges too. Bought a new repo GTS steering wheel aswell. I'm in the prosess of making some panels to fill in behind the seat and kick panels.

Wheels will be getting done soon, i am going with GTS rims, widened to 15x8 on the back and 15x6 on the front. They just need repainting.

So anyway, here are some pics.













I have heap of other build pics, so if anyone wants to see anything in particular or wants to know something just ask.

[Lumps of cheese]

That's awesome that colour. Reminds me of the wb ute i had, same thing with a clubby motor but alas, never got to finish it. Good luck with the rest of your resto!

[matty88]

Sweet as project man, high quality build. Love the colour I nearly went for it on my car lol

[50LTRv8]

Well done on this project, looks unreal and will be really nice with that V8

I just wish I had some of your skills. Bravo

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Cheers, thanks guys.

[Jesterarts]

That looks bloody sensational... keep the updates coming!

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Cheers mate, will do.

[Jo3_Blo]

Love what you've done with it mate, can't wait to see it all finished.

Great choice to go with the HZ front and taillights, they look so much better IMO. (especially if you get the Premier grille, not the stato one).

And those door trims are quite tasteful too, I almost always hate any door trims on HQ-WBs that aren't factory ones, however I quite like your ones.

keep up the good work.

[smartie]

lovely looking ute mate , hows it all going now any more pics or updates

[Blown V6 Hatch]

I've done a few things, i'll post some updated pics later tonight.

[Thomas1]

I've done a few things, i'll post some updated pics later tonight.

Still waiting...

[_R_J_K_]

Looks awesome!

Couple of questions though as I'm involved in something similiar.

How did you go about the EFI setup and the computer?
And did you need custom headers?

That HZ front looks slick, but they are sooo hard to find!