RA65 ute ??? Tell me what you think

[MOOKIE]

Ok Well
I rolled my RA65 as some people may know and finding a shell in tassie is impossible.

So i'm going to have to bring another car down from the mainland which of course means more money

So in the meantime my Celica is sitting in my drive rusting away while I'm stuck watching local events intead of being out on the track with everybody else.
Here are the photos i have of the damage









Now my plans being:
Cut the roof off at the top of the windscreen and everything forward of that stock
and everything forwards of the doors stock.

Behind the front seats:

Cut the sides and rear off so i'm left with the flat floor.
Lay checkerplate down over the floor to stiffen things up
Use metal pipe to cover the edges and to add support, these will be tied into the roll cage.
The rollcage is where the strength will be, I plan for it to incorporate a rear strut brace
Seal off the "cabin" area with a panel behind the front seats. The panel will include a lightweight window.

This isn't going the ever see the road only the track.
So spare tyres and those kind of things wont be needed.

Anything i've missed or ANY comments are welcome.

Thanks mookie

[WDE_BDY]

Keep the standard roof at least back to door pillars, put capping around top of tray area to retain strength, porta power/bash out anything bent that is still attached to the car.

Callum

[Screamn_Sleeka]

Isnt that the RA65 with a 1JZ-GTE?

[Draven]

agreed. keep the front part of the roof - bash it with a hammer and tack it to the cage or something. I think it's be a hell funny idea. No idea on how well it would work, but it'd certainly be original.
Oh, and ugly. very, very ugly (in an awesome way... like proboscis monkeys and cactus)

[The Witzl]

+ rep for insanity and originality.

Im going to agree with the guys above.... cut it from behind the doors so that it's really just the hatch turned into a ute... kinda like if you just removed the hatch. Then attach the roof to the cage

Go with it!!

[MOOKIE]

Yeah its the one with the 1jzgte
Sorry danny

I"ll be getting another shell (in very bad condition) but the roof is fine so i'll just replace the bent part of the roof and cut the hatch off.

Is that what u were saying witzl ?
keep the roof over where the rear seats would be and have the "tray" area in the boot ?
if that makes any sense at all.

[The Witzl]

Yeah dude that's EXACTLY what i'm saying. - it makes perfect sense to me

[MOOKIE]

Awesome it makes more sense than my idea.
+ rep

[kristian]

yeah i dont like ra65 celicas or any of the sprinter shaped celicas, but this would be cool,

[HRV-00S]

Kind of like this I reckon.

Chop it, beat it, bar it out and plate it up



and no I'm not an artist, but thanks for asking

[NeoNasty]

Hey as a ute it turns into an oversized AW11!

[The Real Roadrunner]

that is disgracefull.
+rep

[kremsra28]

lol, ummmm...

a mate of mine has just bought a supra (dunno the model but same shape as yours) and its been converted into a ute, as far as i know it has a 94 triton tub welded to it,its all 1 pce wit the rest of the body, the factory sunroof still works, thnk it still has the 5m engine in it, he plans to put in a 7mgte (or wat ever they are).

its F***ING damn near the ugliest thing i have ever seen!!

i will try to get some pics of it so you guys can make up ya own mind, but damn its ugly!!

krem

[joecoolmk2]

There's a RA60 for sale in devonport at the moment for $2000 i think negotiable. It's a complete car in very good condition, 1981 model. same colour as yours too

[joecoolmk2]

lol, ummmm...

a mate of mine has just bought a supra (dunno the model but same shape as yours) and its been converted into a ute, as far as i know it has a 94 triton tub welded to it,its all 1 pce wit the rest of the body, the factory sunroof still works, thnk it still has the 5m engine in it, he plans to put in a 7mgte (or wat ever they are).

its F***ING damn near the ugliest thing i have ever seen!!

i will try to get some pics of it so you guys can make up ya own mind, but damn its ugly!!

krem

slap him silly, and sell me that RA28 on your front lawn who am I? ha har! i'm a friend of kendrick's.

[MOOKIE]

There's a RA60 for sale in devonport at the moment for $2000 i think negotiable. It's a complete car in very good condition, 1981 model. same colour as yours too

It needs to be an RA65 as i've only got rear disks for an irs and not the solid axle setup in the ra60.
Cheers for looking out tho mate.

[kremsra28]

slap him silly, and sell me that RA28 on your front lawn who am I? ha har! i'm a friend of kendrick's.

a friend of kendricks huh?? lol are you his mirror?? lol

na kendricks ok, havent seen him for a while tho, ra28 on my lawn not for sale mate, i have another 1 that will be in a while tho, full custom candy red paint, tan interior and custom stereo, new suspension and wheels but no motor or box, wont be for sale for bout 12 months tho, will keep ya posted.

krem

[joecoolmk2]

i thought you might be interested in it to restore your 65 to it's former glory.

[Starfire]

Converting the busted 65 to a ute will cost more than reshelling it more likely than not.

I know where there are heaps of them here in Adelaide, that can probably be had quite cheaply. Getting one to Tassie might be an issue though.

[MOOKIE]

Yeah thats the main reason i'm chopping the back off.
I'm not going to be able reshell it for less than 5 grand i dont think.
I could do it cheaper but the shell has to be rust free.

But to make into a ute is pretty cheap when u think about it
.Roll cage - $1500ish
rear cab panel - $50
checker plate for the rear $300ish

I can do a fair bit of the work myself
I've attacked the car with the marker to work out my cut lines already i just need to get rid of my tonsilitis so i can get to cutting