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Vehicle Tests > The Incredible Hulk: Commodore Ute
The Incredible Hulk: Commodore Ute
Issue: May 2006
Words by Glenn Torrens Photos by Mark Bean
It's named 'DA HULK' but with a Commodore body and Nissan chassis, Gary Gibons' creation is more like Frankenstein's monster.
Question: What do you get when you mix a Holden ute with a Nissan Patrol? Answer: A 4WD Holden ute... like this one built by Queenslander Gary Gibons.
Like many modified 4WDs seen in Overlander 4WD, Gary's is built for competition. But instead of winching over rocks and crawling up rain-rutted slopes, Gary's 'Hulk' has been doing the rounds of modified car shows such as Australia's biggest, the Summernats in Canberra. But a look underneath this monster Holden - plus an offroad drive with Gary - proves this largely self-built truck is more than just a show pony.
This 2003 VY SS is Gary's second highsteppin' Holden ute. It was preceded by a 1991 VG V8 ute plonked on an MQ Patrol chassis four years ago. Knowledge gained from the previous project - plus an unhealthy addiction - gave him the confidence and knowledge to screw this one together right the first time.
Body building
Gary bought the Hothouse Green SS ute brand new in May 2003. It racked up several thousand kilometres over a couple of months as a 'stocker' work truck in his landscape supply business before Gary unplugged the wiring harness, stripped out the mechanicals, winched up the body and rolled a Nissan Patrol chassis underneath.
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"I cut every mounting bracket off the Nissan chassis," says Gary, who bought the chassis from Southside 4WD Wreckers at Acacia Ridge, Brisbane. "Then it was just a matter of fabricating new mounts for the body to sit on." He explains it like a kid playing with Lego, but the measuring and welding between Commodore shell and GQ Nissan rails soaked up an estimated five months of after-hours time, spread over nearly two years, in his big backyard workshop. As far as possible, Gary's new mounts were designed to transfer load into the strongest sections of the Commodore's shell and required surprisingly little chopping for its new role as a 4WD. A HiLux steering shaft mates Commodore column to Nissan gear. Good mate Brad Owens helped out - as he did with the first of Gary's first hybrid Holdens.
After the body was cut and shut over the wheels and wheelbase, Gold Coast-based Fabtech manufactured the wheel arch extensions. The front mudguards are one-piece fibreglass replacements - with the guards cut and dummied into place over the new wheels, very little steel remained. The nose, tail and sills are also Fabtech pieces and were colour-coded by Gary's mate Buddah. If you want to build a similar truck, there might be some problems as unfortunately Fabtech are no more. Well-regarded car artist Wayne Harrison from Sydney's Advanced Air Brush applied the amazing graphics.
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Words by Glenn Torrens Photos by Mark Bean
It's named 'DA HULK' but with a Commodore body and Nissan chassis, Gary Gibons' creation is more like Frankenstein's monster.
Question: What do you get when you mix a Holden ute with a Nissan Patrol? Answer: A 4WD Holden ute... like this one built by Queenslander Gary Gibons.
Like many modified 4WDs seen in Overlander 4WD, Gary's is built for competition. But instead of winching over rocks and crawling up rain-rutted slopes, Gary's 'Hulk' has been doing the rounds of modified car shows such as Australia's biggest, the Summernats in Canberra. But a look underneath this monster Holden - plus an offroad drive with Gary - proves this largely self-built truck is more than just a show pony.
This 2003 VY SS is Gary's second highsteppin' Holden ute. It was preceded by a 1991 VG V8 ute plonked on an MQ Patrol chassis four years ago. Knowledge gained from the previous project - plus an unhealthy addiction - gave him the confidence and knowledge to screw this one together right the first time.
Body building
Gary bought the Hothouse Green SS ute brand new in May 2003. It racked up several thousand kilometres over a couple of months as a 'stocker' work truck in his landscape supply business before Gary unplugged the wiring harness, stripped out the mechanicals, winched up the body and rolled a Nissan Patrol chassis underneath.
read on below advertisement
"I cut every mounting bracket off the Nissan chassis," says Gary, who bought the chassis from Southside 4WD Wreckers at Acacia Ridge, Brisbane. "Then it was just a matter of fabricating new mounts for the body to sit on." He explains it like a kid playing with Lego, but the measuring and welding between Commodore shell and GQ Nissan rails soaked up an estimated five months of after-hours time, spread over nearly two years, in his big backyard workshop. As far as possible, Gary's new mounts were designed to transfer load into the strongest sections of the Commodore's shell and required surprisingly little chopping for its new role as a 4WD. A HiLux steering shaft mates Commodore column to Nissan gear. Good mate Brad Owens helped out - as he did with the first of Gary's first hybrid Holdens.
After the body was cut and shut over the wheels and wheelbase, Gold Coast-based Fabtech manufactured the wheel arch extensions. The front mudguards are one-piece fibreglass replacements - with the guards cut and dummied into place over the new wheels, very little steel remained. The nose, tail and sills are also Fabtech pieces and were colour-coded by Gary's mate Buddah. If you want to build a similar truck, there might be some problems as unfortunately Fabtech are no more. Well-regarded car artist Wayne Harrison from Sydney's Advanced Air Brush applied the amazing graphics.
next page »
