Convoluted story, but the other day Leigh rang me; he is on the forum as BettyBellett.

Turns out this dude had rung his son to say he had a Florian.

Leigh wasn't told what condition it was in, only that it was there!

I rang the owner and he was happy for me to come and get it; no payment required! Well, that's always a win. He sent some photos of it; it was pretty rough, but I enlisted Antus and we went and picked it up.

Wow, is it rough.

It apparently he drove it up from Tasmania in 1999 and parked it under a tree. It was not a kind tree.

Here it is the night we got it...





The daylight didn't help it much...



I noticed the mirror had fallen off since we arrived back at Ross's. He came out that morning and it had committed mirrorcide. Notice how the sill is made up mostly of air.



Here's the chassis number. Am yet to check it against my good Florian. Come to think of it, I didn't check my chassis number against Mr Flibbles either! Add that to the 'to do' list!



Here's the engine. Bart has claimed it for his Bellett. It seems to have good enough compression but did not want to start - unusual for an Isuzu motor! It will need a water pump though, given the owner said it would... and also because he pulled about 50 water bottles out of it before giving us the car.



For some time, the front passenger door was the only one we could open. The front driver's side door seemed stuck on it's clasp, while the back one was just full of gunge or something. We eventually got it moved. A bit.



The steering wheel is good. And some other bits. But not most of it. And it smells.



Headlights. My precious.



Another rear quarter shot.



Florian badge is OK. Bootlid had a rust hole in it!



Ever wondered what a banana skin looks like after 13 years on a dashboard?



Remember how I said the driver's door was stuck? I wasn't sure if the lock was seized in the locked position, so I unscrewed the lock knob and used some pliers on the threaded bit to see if it would come up. I tried pretty hard and it didn't move, but I did slip off the thread and punch myself in the face. Here is the blood.


I am not kidding.

So yeah, it's a sweet parts find and the price was right. The poor thing has had a hard life and has more rust than metal, but it's essence will live on!

Pretty sad. Guess it won't be ready for the Nat's, Dave?

but there is always next year, Glenn

what, prey tell, constitutes a "happy" Florian then....?

Looks like a great donor car!!

still looks better than mine does, but then mine did start and run like a purrrrring kitten and even moved under its own power for a few metres!!

just a little bend on one side

the one i got before my good florian was local and parked under a tree too, it was a much friendlier tree as nearly all the panels were straight, just the roof was alot more removable than normal! i kept as much of it as possible, but most of the interior was toast! your interior looks way better than mine was in that junker, and i paid a heck of alot more for the rust i got!

nice score anyway! always good to get spares for these remarkable beasts!

You make funny posts.
Nice pick-up Dave. But I'm amazed you're going to part it out! It's fairly complete and all.
If it were a GT in the same nick it might well be saved, and these are rarer than GTs!

There are quite a few holes there though, I suppose it would be a bit of work. A big bit.

White upholstery, haven't seen that before.
That chassis number is about 4500 earlier than Aunty Mary & about the same newer than the early girl shootin buggy. Puts it as an early '69 I guess.

Oh, sorry to see the blood, I hate it when that happens! Thing is, just as I slip I realise it was bound to happen. Then I feel dopey. Then I get the penno.

Thanks for showing, new parts source logged into brain.

Cheers, Matt.

nah matt....
pull out all the bits that will keep Belletts alive and push the rest into the harbour so the little fishy's have somewhere to live is what i always say!!

All the glass is good, BUT won't fit a Bellett!!!

YOU CAN DO IT DAVE ...LOWERED . BIG ..MAGS ...PAINTED BLACK . DARK TINT WINDOWS ...TWIN CAM MOTOR ....ALLWAYS REMEMBER 2 OWNERS CARS 1. ORPHANAGE ''PATCHES '' AND 2. WALDOS LITTLE PROJECT AS WELL ..FARMER HAS SPARES I KNOW WHERE THERES 2 FRONT DOORS AND BITS ..NEVER SAY DIE ..CHEERS DAVO

Gotta love that enthusiasm, Davo! It only requires will or wallet!

Brett, you know yer Dad said that to me once (the first time I met him!) and I thought, "Thats whats happened to all those little cars I've never had the pleasure of driving. Poeople like this have got to them!"

I've gotten pretty used to driving Mary now, and I went for a run in the Bellett last week and it seemed.......small. And........firm. And I turned too early for a street corner because there wasn't the half turn of wheel play! And the windscreen fogged up and I had to rub it with the back of my hand. And I didn't have to lean so much on the bends.
They are so different, but I love them both!
And the set is not complete without a Flo.
Now, to find a good Florian ute and coupe.........

Cheers, Matt.

Yeah sorry to say guys, but the car is probably more valuable to me as parts than it is as a complete machine.

It would be a BIG project for someone and, let's face it, despite the enthusiasm the boys and girls have here, it would be a big ask for even someone here to resurrect it.

While I'm not planning on crashing my Florian any time soon, I do like the feeling of having some spare headlights at the very least... just in case.

The car has had all the hanging panels removed bar the left doors and we'll get to them soon enough. Although the doors are dented and rusty, am keeping them complete as I don't really have the time or inclination to strip the glass etc out of them.

Yeah Dave M regarding Florian glass, aside from the tint, I reckon side glass could be replicated and the front glass may even still be on the books assuming it's the same as Chevy LUV!

Back glass is almost flat, but not quite...

Just to confirm, the windscreen is the same as Chev Luv/Isuzu kb, right up to 1980.
Fitted a new screen to Aunty Mary before she went back on the road - Tinted, laminated with the blue band at the top, $160 delivered to Boorowa, fitted, sealed, chrome still in! Baaaaaaaaaargain! AND on 2 days notice.

I'm going to have to start a Florian thread in 'parts interchangeability'.

Cheers, Matt.

always good to know what fits a florian!
I was lucky that all the doors and front panels from the florian i stripped were reasonably good, i too left the doors intact and just took them of completely! (yes i kept the headlights too!)
might have to compare to see has what in the way of florian spares!

Im with you farmer i want the full set of florians, sedan ute and wagon....... will have to wait for the bank balance to increase before i look at a wagon though!