FACTORY VISION

WHEN YOUNG TOM DECIDED TO TACKLE A FRESH PROJECT HE WANTED SOMETHING DIFFERENT. HE SUCCEEEDED NICELY

- GUY ALLEN

What possessed me to tackle a GTS-R ute tribute? Maybe I was high at the time... Jokes aside, it's been a few years since I've done a build, and I wanted to do something. My previous one was a full body-off resto of an HQ. I was about to build a Blue Meanie or similar, till I went to a car show and there are nine of them there and the only difference was white, silver or blue, auto or manual and what size Aeros they had.

As much as I love the cars, I didn't want to do something that's been done to death and the reality was you could probably buy one for less than it would cost to build it, and with a lot less effort! Then I bought a wagon (a manual V8 VR) with the intention of doing a GTS-R tribute, then along came the ute. For me, a ute is useful. If I had done up a wagon, I'd be reluctant to throw toolboxes in the back. Then the trim costs are phenomenal. And working out what or how to do a rear wing was an issue. I don't necessarily like the wing, but it has to be there.

Why do a GTRS-R? It's something that's worth building a replica of that hasn't yet been done to death. There seem to be a few sedans coming along but I've never seen a ute version.

And it was a bit of a challenge. I'm a stickler for detail.