Hey all,

My girlfriend and I are one of the teams on next years shitbox rally!

We will be joining 149 other vehicles in a 3500km drive from Melbourne to Cairns via central Australia. The rally raises funds for the Cancer Council and must be undertaken in a vehicle costing no more than $1000 including registration.

We are definite that we want a vehicle from the 50's 60's or 70's, but are not specific on what it is, although preference is for a rear wheel drive manual wagon.

Having previously owned a Type 3 wagon, one of these is definitely on the list of plausible vehicles, there value seems to have increased since the one that I owned, but I feel it should still be possible to get a mechanically sound but visually rough one registered for $1000 with a bit of luck. Does anyone have one available in Vic or NSW?

Also, if anyone is willing to donate a few dollars to the cause that would be great. The donations page is: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/desertsailors  and full details on the rally can be found at http://www.shitboxrally.com.au/ 

you will find one they are still out there! maybe a sponsorship deal will get you a car! ask and you may recieve!

Hell Yea, I saw them pass through toowoomba during this years rally,and I thought I gotta join that bunch of lunatics next year. Im going to find an old passat, I know them pretty well and they are hard to kill

So you're in this year? Registrations have already closed. We actually thought about a Passat, found one in the price bracket with 170,000km on it from new! Auto unfortunately and came up before we were ready to act. late 70's from memory

Is next years rally already full?

Afraid so. 2012 reached it's maximum of 150 cars within a couple of days, we were lucky enough to get selected this time, which is why we're now working away on donations, so anyone who would like to put a few dollars towards our nuttiness and helping the Cancer Council...

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/desertsailors 

Mactaylor, unfortunately the rules are a little tricky about donated vehicles or vehicles as sponsorship, their value has to be proven,so it would be much easier for us to buy one. I suppose it's been 5 or so years, but I paid $500 for the last type 3 I owned and it only needed a little rust work to get it on the road, hopefully they're still out there.

I think Id rather an HG Kingswood.....

nah, holden or ford is far too easy/common ;P . from what we've seen so far (we're still keeping an open mind) we're thinking:
VW Type 3 wagon
Renault 10
Saab 99
Volvo 140
Humber Snipe

jeez mate, you sure have a hard to find line up, HUMBER SNIPE ? where are you going to find one at the price you have set, Renault 12 maybe, wishing you luck, sounds like a great adventure.

You'd be surprised,

There was a Renault 10 with fairly fresh motor and box we could have snapped up for $700 if we were quick enough,the Super Snipes I've seen several around $2k, so I'm confident one may fall into our range, seen a couple of Volvo 140s and 164s in the price range but out of the state, The Saab and Volksy have actually been the most difficult to find so far.

Should also add Toyota Crown wagon to the list, have a real soft spot for the real early ones and the 70s ones which look like space craft are pretty cool if very rare in wagon form. Happy to take other suggestions as well!

Wow, you think there are Snipe's still around ???

I've never seen a Snipe on the road... just the one rusting away out on my grandfather's property.

Got two Super Snipe's, but they're in Hunter Valley NSW, which is a fair way from you.

There's always a few in 'just cars' classifieds. What condition are the super snipes in? My girlfriend is living in Sydney at the moment and I'm always willing to make a crazy journey for the right car

Anyone owned a Skoda 110L? I know of one which may be too much of a project, but also tempting for rear-engined obscurity

No-one on the Skoda? how about an old Transit? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220824606566&ss...

Go a valiant of some kind. run forever, tough as nails and will get your money back after your finished. Plenty for that price.
T54

I just logged onto hemi6pack to see about Val wagons and copped something close to abuse for thinking I could get a rough but plausible val under a grand, not impressed! there are a couple on Mopar market which suggest it is possible, but I'm not sure I want to promote that community after the welcome. Am getting more info on a Hillman Minx at the moment for cuteness value

Hillman's got a blown diff, I can't imagine they're easy to find?

Well my lady says thanks, I was suddenly looking for $ and a place to park it, when I was a bit (40+years) younger I prefered them over the mini. Great car. Give me the link please.

for the Minx? Here you go: http://vic.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-cars-hillman-minx-... wonderfully cute little car, if it wasn't for the diff we'd be all over it.

Except for the diff! Damm! That must be a big job?don't be picky I drive a 91 Toyota grinner 1.8 4 speed that's shorter geared than my beetle racer cost me $300 with 6 months rego,I've put some low milage oil in it and 1 oil filter and a bit of gearbox oil and I've done 20,000klms in it!get on to your local tow away for free dude you'll get a car for a couple of hundred get it regoed take a chance and make some money for the cancer council!sure a 91 Kia rio with reg for $600 ain't cool but if it gets you to the end job done!and if it's still going your ready for the next one or sell it to a entrant of the next one get your money back and donate that aswell your karma will be in a good place.see where I'm coming from?

Not being picky, but at a $900 asking, even if we were able to knock it down to $500, finding a diff will not be easy for one of these, allowing a couple of hundred for that we end up at $700, which leaves $300 for roadworthy, rego and any other parts that need replacing to get it on the road. Since the rally stipulates a max $1000 spend this car just won't work for us.

I am well aware that we could go and get a Rio or Commodore, which would blend into the 149 other cars on the rally and probably make the distance, but we are in discussion with several potential sponsors involved in industries related to older more unique vehicles, so by chasing a vehicle we will get greater enjoyment from we are also promoting the enjoyment of old cars and bringing sponsors to provide money to the Cancer Council who would never usually have done so.

just missed out on a Hillman Minx wagon, out of our price range by $60 At least we know there's some out there

Well, team Desert Sailors has taken the plunge. We did a 500km round trip today to view and purchase our 2012 Shitbox Rally car.

The rally travels 3500km from Melbourne to Cairns via central Australia. 150 vehicles costing no more than $1000 including registration will partake, each raising at least $4000 for the Cancer Council.
Our car for the journey? A 1960 Vauxhall Victor Super. Country car,minimal rust (lower edge of front guards and back corner of sills),some mechanical work already done, and the coolest dashboard ever made! Complete with an original handbook and all matching locks.

Only bit missing that we know of is a hubcap and a headlight surround - if people can keep an eye out for a headlight surround it would be greatly appreciated!

Plan is to deal with metalwork and any mechanical work left which needs freshening, give it a rally suitable paintjob, and drive it!

Not the most relaxing drive, peak hour near the city with a car trailer:

Our first sighting of our new toy:



Loading up:





Dropped the front guards on, original owner supposedly had a habit of forgetting to put the handbrake on and rolling into shops, hence the guard:



How clean is the interior!!




Key works in the boot:


Even came with the orignal handbook!:


We're pretty stoked at the moment. If anyone would like to put a few dollars to the Cancer Council (tax deductible for Australians) we'd greatly appreciate it, just pop on here: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/desertsailors  We're also currently looking for corporate sponsors, so get in contact if your business would like to support this cause and get their name out there on a very unique rolling billboard.

Spent about an hour today piecing the boot-full of parts together, pretty happy with the result!

Congrats on the Victor! Modern auto designers could learn a few things from that dash, love it.

Good luck with the rebuild and the Rally, hope she doesn't take too much to get back on the road.

Kevin

Looks good, seems to be a british version of the EK holden, same period and both GM. Hope it doesn't let ya down!

I'd been thinking of it as a little british '55 Chev, but there's definitely hints of an EK in there too, especially around the front. I still can't get over how cool the dash is!

Very exciting news today,

Team Desert Sailors are very happy to announce our first major sponsors, The LUCKY COQ ;D

One of my favourite haunts since it opened the Lucky Coq is a big friendly corner pub right next to Swinburne Uni on Chapel St, Prahran which has built a name for itself serving great original pizzas, flavoured vodkas and a top selection of local beers. The funky vibe of the venue is perfectly inline with our team and our car and we're wrapped to have them on board.

http://www.luckycoq.com.au/ 

Hi All, more exciting news, we'd like to welcome Vintage Caravan Magazine as our second sponsor.

Vintage Caravan Magazine is a recently started Australian magazine covering the classic caravan and touring world in Australia, and as well as becoming Team Desert Sailor sponsors we will be keeping their readers up to date with team updates in their coming magazines

http://vintagecaravanmagazine.com.au/