This wee beastie is my latest project. I must say the purchase was absolutely painless, thanks to the Finn. An absolute gentleman.

I got BUFOS back to my yard today on a transporter. The idea is to re-assemble it basically "as is" for registration. The old EA82 plumbing and wiring will be removed and it will be powered with a rebuilt 1916 (built by Dave Becker last year). Then fix up the cockpit a bit. Put some new wheels on. Make an appearance at the Nats before we do a bit more "cosmetic work" over the winter months ready for Summer 2007/8!

The basic setup was a prototype ute design attempted by Bufori motors. The workmanship and engineering is first class. The project is really more a re-assembly and tidy up than a resto..

I'll post more pictures as the work continues but couldn't resist putting up these few..

Before



[ Edited on 19-2-07 by StenGuns ]

Now

that looks like a good project. was very tempted... but like most, too many other projects. cant wait ot see how this ends up.

OK.. Used an excuse to get out of the office for the day..

1st Stop.. Rob Penrose Wheel Emporium, Kembla Grange
Passed a couple of hours with Rodney talking over my project.. Viewed his wheel collection and walked with a decent set of Empi 15 inch rims.. Also picked up a performance clutch plate combo.. Thanks for your time and advice Rod..

2nd Stop.. Chris, Heathcote (panel guy) to talk over the basic work required to get BUFOS looking presentable.. Decided on a matt black blow over just to tidy her up.. No need for any restorative work really so any future Mods can wait..

3rd Stop.. Powder Coater, Padstow.. Dropped the Empi's off and picked a nice pearl grey (Precious Silver Pearl) for the coating..

4th Stop.. Grippy Rubber, Rydalmere.. Collected some sample rubber T-pieces for an idea I have to cap the window channel (more later).. Also grabbed some ute tray rubber for BUFOS as well as a few other bits'n'pieces..

Last stop.. My yard in Waterloo.. Time to get the old clothes on, get BUFOS up on stands and take a look!!!

Right then..
Ist thing is to get BUFOS up on stands and strip her down to see what we're playing with..

I noticed straight away that the engineering and build quality that had gone into this was 1st class..!!

If you look closely, you can see an airflow dam to pass more air into the rear engine bay


The undercarriage was beautiful.. A complet boxframe welded onto the pan to retaing strength after the top was chopped..



Nice fabrication.. Those wheels must have been a tight fit..

Here is a few shots of the 1916 that will power BUFOS




The front wiring was a work of art


But there is a shitload of wires, relays and doovalackies I've got no idea what they are for!!

Finally.. As the car has no roof for the moment, I was going to remove all the glass and just run it as a roadster.. That is still the plan but when I removed the front qtr glass housing, I felt the door looked out of shape and the top of the frame fairly weak..




[ Edited on 14-2-07 by StenGuns ]

So I'll probably keep the quarter glass.. NEED TWO QUARTER GLASS ASSEMBLIES PLEASE!!!!!

And remove the main window glass and fill the channel with a "T-Piece" rubber that will fill the cavity and leave a smooth finish.. That way I can quickly change back to glass (BUFOS has electric windows) when I get a hard top made over winter..

Thats about it.. I'll do bits through Tursday and Friday.. This weekend, I'll start the rub down and hopefully get a primer coat on..

I'm seriously going to need someme to re-wire and set all the guages.. I have no idea..

congrats mate!

This will be very interesting but u have good taste so im sure you will pull this off!

Looks better than most of the P.O.S. utes around.
Would look even better if it wasn't a strut bug.

Good luck Rob.


Contact me when you are going to do a roof, been doing a few with hotrods lately.

Quick update..

Couldn't stay away today so went down around 4:30 and stripped the cockpit.. Fishoiled the heater channels and basically every piece of metal in site.. I'll let that soak in.. May use "metal ready" and "por15" on the inside of the pan.. Pretty good already but if I have some time on my hands. I'll do that.. I've got the stufff in the paint locker and have been dying to use it

Then started the rubdown of the panels.. Got about half the car done with 600 grit W&D.. The original colour seems to be jet black with a couple of clear coats.. I was going to do the whole car in BRG but now I've decided to stick to the black.. Point it out with powder coated front blade and a few other bits in the same colour as the empi wheels are being coated in "Precious Silver Pearl" which is a Dulux brand.. Precious® Silver Pearl 57225 Satin..

So Jet Black with Silver Pearl hilights!! Sounds like a bloody hairdresser..

Bit of a ramble.. and no pix.. Sorry..

This is gonna be awesome! I remember seeing that car for sale and wishing that I could get a dig at it....potential plus!!

Keep the updates coming....would love to see what you do with it.

Quick Update..
Sanded back two guards today.. Had a go at the hood lid.. The white paint is crap and it will be need to be stripped.. I'll do that this wekend and finish the rubdown.. With any luck (and good weather) I'll get the primer coat on and maybe start on the topcoat..

The Empi's are ready at the powder coater.. Pick up at 0700 tomorrow and fit them out with Sumitomo 205/65 15's.. This is about as fat as I can go on the 5.5 inch rims.. I think it will look wicked..

NOTE: ANY ONE KNOW OF A MOBILE AUTO ELECTRICIAN THAT CAN WIRE UP THE CAR LATE NEXT WEEK OR WEEKEND?/.

A marathon session over the weekend on the Ute.. No real dramas but plenty of progress made..
The ute will need another coat and some buffing but basically what you see in these shots is it..
Engine and re-wiring happens this week.. I am chasing down the original engineers cert to get the blue slip.. Hopefully this weekend, I'll have it registered and running..

absolute love this project..
good luck with it..its turning out great

good job

Thanks.. I'm real happy with progress to date..

I may have an issue fitting the upright fan housing under the back tray.. The ute was design to run with an EA82.. When we measured the type 1 engine up, we are over by about 60mm..

Work arounds for this will be to either change the dog house shroud for something with a lower profile (type IV?) or raise the back half of the deck up.. (not happy with this option)

Re-wiring of the whole car started today..

type 3 motor or shrouding should definitely deal with the height issues. fascinating looking beast, looks great with the rollbar out.

Just spoke to the engineer that originally certified the modifications.. He has a copy (from 1994!) and for $33.00 he will send it to me.. That is a stroke of luck and saves time and $$..

best $33.00 you will ever spend!

Couple of Shots of the Re-wiring stage.. Engine goes in on saturday.. I have found a smaller shroud which we'll try

Saturday

Engine In

As expected the height is going to involve some modification of the deck..
Also the heater pipes removed

The only other issue will be designing and fitting a new exhaust.. Trying to keep this cheap so I'm guessing an "off the shelf" item will be the go.. Anyone have any ideas?

Also missing the backlights from the instruments.. They are "Elan GT" guages from "Classic Instruments" but I'm guessing (again) that the light will be a common fitting to many instruments.. Any ideas where I can go?

Also need a headlight switch 211941531E and a hazrad switch 211953235A.. I'll probably cannabilise from somewhere

Here are some shots from this morning






[ Edited on 25-2-07 by StenGuns ]

Sunday..
Need to remove the external oil cooler under the yellow dual cab (disconnected when the 1835 blew up)
Need to refashion the rear valance to make room for the exhaust system..

In this shot, the valance "tucks in" where the radiator used to be for the EA82.. We will need to cut this out..\

Tried to work on the bonnet lid but the amount of time to get it right would be better spent on other things..
So I'll drop it into the local panel shop.,.. For the $$ it cost, it will be worth it.. It needs to be straight as..

good stuff mate. nice to see you're wearing your chinese safety sandals too...

Thanks Pete.. Actually the young fella is a mate.. I'm the fat old bastard in the earlier shots..