ETS Drift Ute – 3 years in 100 Photos

I had a request some time ago to be a part of a book, the book was on modified cars, they wanted three photos and a short story on the car, 3 photos I thought………. That should be easy.

I fired up the old laptop, it took a few minutes to come to life, bogged down with 10’s of thousands of images, I don’t think of myself as an image horder, I used to be ruthless with my photos, I usually tried to keep just a few of a certain image that depicted a stage or a part of the build.

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Truth is though, I have built a lot…… and the Hilux is the most complex of them all.

I open up the folder thats titled “Hilux build” and start to flag the important images that I believe to be milestones in its creation.

3,500 images culled to 120 later and I start to understand that choosing 3 images is going to be impossible.

If you sift back through these pages you will understand the journey I have taken, I don’t expect very many people to really wrap their head around the effort I went to and to be brutally honest I took the fun out of building cars for myself.

Why? Well you always want to better than you did the time before right? ……….. I learnt a lot of stuff over this build, found new ways to tackle old problems and came up with new ideas as I completed the old ones. I told myself to not look back, leave the imperfections and keep progressing or I will never finish what I started.

That moment that the Hilux was completed I looked back at it and I knew that it was the biggest project I will ever complete, I stepped out of my garage knowing there will never be another, from financial pressure, garage space, life hours and the thirst for adventure I knew it could never happen again.

But I tell you what, if I ever had the chance, if there was ever a moment in time when everything came together and I had this opportunity to relive and reinterpret my ideal machine I would lunge at it.

So here is the 100 images I flagged as being important milestones in my journey.

Book001

How it began, end of 2010 I decided to pull the trigger on that thing that wouldnt leave my mind, a trip to Sydney to pick up a few hundred dollar bit of steel that I didnt really need much of.

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The first time my vision became a reality, I knew there was a lot of work to do though.

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I made a jig on wheels, my garage was only big enough to squeeze it and my tools in, I had to work outside.

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My first TIG project, a steep learning curve.

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The spare wheels off my 180SX were only a test set, I picked them up in Japan for a steal, somehow the look stuck and I never removed them.

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They were produced in the year 2001 and the cabin was a 2001 model, I dug the weird “period correctness” it seemed to have.

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My first sit inside, gives you an indication of the seating position.

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2011, new house, new garage, I could work on it without having to pack up, it was amazing.

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The garage was bare, I fitted it out with everything I needed, it was heaven!

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I sanded bog for a long time, I hated it, I would do it a lot differently now.

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From this point on the progress sped up, I didn’t have neighbors to worry about, I could go all night.

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And believe me I did, a lot.

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Sheetmetal and the way you cut, fold, TIG and shape it became a passtime.

Book015

Mock up stages came and went, they were time consuming but paramount.

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I started to concentrate on the little things, footboard and fuel lines, the oval tubes were going to be water but I decided against a rear mount radiator. Now these hold the brake lines and wiring.

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When the rear guards were done I was in love.

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Every three months I would

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Strip

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It down to rustproof it.

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I could roll it over by hand.

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To create the complete flat alloy floor, again I would do it so much differently again.

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But thats how you learn.

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I didnt draw a thing, I just freestyled the entire build.

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Things really developed in front of me.

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I could never see the progress, always looking for the next job and never back at what I had done.

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But I loved looking at it, I loved how it went together.

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Each component, small to large incorporated a lot of the detail I loved.

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Colours were chosen and splashes of red were thrown through the suspension joints.

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It complemented the weld bleed, the grain in the steel and the brightness of the alloy.

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I wanted to do so much but retain the smoothness of the overall finish.

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With a mock up session over it was time for another strip down, this was a monthly event, the jig became a table.

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The welds continued to flow, late into the nights.

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Whole weeks could be poured into small items and then never used in the finished product.

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The smaller items started to find their place.

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Then once again it would slowly become a car again.

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Spacious areas became cramped, brackets became more complex.

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But the look just became more and more exciting.

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I could start to see the finished product.

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Getting air in and out of the motor, out of the engine bay and clear of the car was a challenging role.

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But done with the up most care.

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With the finishing touches well planned out.

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When a colour had to be added I made sure it was the right shade.

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I made sure it was the right fit.

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The results were astonishing.

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I searched for solutions at every roadblock.

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I called in help when it was needed.

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It came with a smile and 2 of the nicest people called my place home for 10 days.

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Bringing life to a machine that I created.

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Executed in a way so that the entire world could learn from their actions.

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In just 8 days 3 years of work became a number on a screen.

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With some small town help I managed to send those numbers to the pavement.

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Out of the garage and into the unknown.

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The moment I had been waiting for.

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Just a press of the button away.

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Nerves, excitement, pressure and stress.

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Followed by pure enjoyment.

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And a sense of achievement.

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Back home and the job wasnt done.

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Lists as long as my arm, jobs that still needed to be completed.

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In and out of the garage.

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I just couldn’t stop looking at it.

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Or driving it.

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Or towing it.

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I even made a hardlid that I have never used.

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And just like that it was stripped again.

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The oil system was spill free, a huge positive when its apart so often.

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The clear powdercoat was tested on my BMX, I ran it for a few months and loved it, the decision was made.

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Washed down with thinners, 3 years of rust prevention paid off.

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Back from the powdercoaters.

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It was perfect.

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Rear subframe.

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Front frame.

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Air intake.

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Suspension.

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All got the powdercoat flow.

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And just like that another chapter begun.

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Parts were cleaned, finished and sub assemblies created.

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The finer details started to appear.

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The mechanical beauty was apparent.

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The cleanest of clean.

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In one night I loaded all the parts into my trailer.

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And spent 24 hours assembling it in a warehouse, nearly 3 full days without sleep.

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Running on adrenaline.

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And some good company.

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Back home and time to make it work.

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It was only a button away.

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Release the air.

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Say goodbye to the rear tyres.

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Time to turn some laps.

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Its perfect.

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Euphoria.

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Followed by more work.

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Luck, timing, money.

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Transmission art.

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When two.

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Become one again.

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Testing in front of crowds, stress, anxiety, enjoyment and relief.

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Prepare.

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And pack.

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For another country.

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Where the following and acceptance was overwhelming.

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Drive.

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Fix.

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And repeat.

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The helmet becomes home for a day.

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To protect the vision and the future.

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To cement itself in the history books.

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And head for home.

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Back to where it began.

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And be involved in the biggest events.

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To wait for the next.

 

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