Ashley's V8 Ute

Bastardised Rating : 9 (out of 10)

Ashley's Minor sounds like a real handful!
Apparently it started life as a (rare) Austin badged van but the guy who built it basically junked the roof and the rest of the bodywork from the doors backwards. So, now it's a roadster pickup.

Powered by a 3.5 litre Rover V8, and running and extremely low 2.5" off the ground, the bodywork was scratchbuilt from the doors back to create a smoothside pick-up bed. A pair of Traveller rear wings cover the rear wheels, which themselves sport tyres that belong on a dragster! Rear tyre size is (for a Morrie) a whopping great 255/45/15. The independent rear suspension is from a Jaguar. Ahhh, quality parts for quality cars!

The front panels have been bolted together to form a flip front. Not only does this look Cool at carshows, but it's practical too since you can get to the engine much easier. Speaking of which ... the engine is stock and has a three speed auto behind it (which Ashley wants to change for a five speed manual) but has a Holley 390 carby and a custom exhaust, so Ashley reckons it probably pushes out about 170bhp. It has been run at a dragstrip and returned an E.T of 15.40s.

Seth's Barstardised Rating is a High 9! Ashley agrees. It is 12" longer than standard and sits on a completely custom fabricated chassis (2" x 4" box section). The rear, as you can see below, is unique, and looks great with the ultra-fat rear guards. The spoiler is a nice touch, it breaks the square-ish look at the back.

I agree. A Bastardised Rating of 9 is well deserved!

Owner : Ashley (details supplied by Seth Kennedy)
Location : Manchester, England