Moy's Toy

JOHN MOY'S FC HOLDEN UTE COMBINES STUNNING LOOKS WITH MODERN TURBO TOYOTA POWER TO MAKE ONE SLEEK STREETER

- KIAN HEAGNEY

LOOKING at John Moy's stunning FC ute, it's bloody hard to imagine that it was nothing more than a neglected, rusty pile of metal when he first got his hands on it. "It was a very rusty car; it had no floors, the sills were severely rusted, and even the subframes were gone," says John. "Even the sand blaster bloke said to me, 'You won't get much car back when we're finished.'" 

But John, a semi-retired builder, was set on an FC as his next major project and could see well beyond the rust to the potential the ute had to fulfil his vision. "I love the shape of the FCs, especially the bonnet," he says. "I wanted a car that looked like an unassuming FC on the outside, but with something modern and unique under the skin for an engine."

That's where the Toyota 1JZ-GTE turbo powerplant comes into play, which was largely influenced by John's son-in-law. "He's mad about those engines, and showed me how capable they are with very few mods," John explains. "I also didn't want to go a V8 as it'd be harder to get engineered, and the 1JZ's capacity suited the rules for engineering here in Queensland perfectly."

The FC needed a hefty amount of repair and modification before a JZ could be installed, though. John didn't just want to fix the rust and chuck an engine in; he chose to heavily strengthen the chassis in the process. "I have a Datsun 1200 with a CA18 turbo in it that's a bloody handful, so I wanted to make sure the FC was well equipped for the 400rwhp I was going to throw at it," he says.