Little big truck: Datsun 1500 ute

One of the coolest campsite cars at Chopped 2024 was Axel Magor's Datsun 1500 ute

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Photographers: Chris Thorogood


Taswegians Ben Magor and his son Axel have a gasser-style XM Ford Falcon ute in the build for racing duties at Chopped. It’s going to be a super-cool unit, with Ben owning the car itself and Axel suppling the 6/71-blown Windsor.

The Falcon wasn’t ready in time for Chopped 2024 though, so the pair cruised up (via the Spirit of Tasmania) in Axel’s super-cool, ex-CAT service body-equipped 1975 Datsun 1500 ute.


Axel acquired the then-traybacked Datto from an old bloke who was used it to drive to the cemetery on Sundays. “It was a cool experience. He had to teach me how to drive the four-speed column-shift,” he said.

“I don’t like the traybacks, and replacement tubs are too expensive, so we found the service body from the wreckers for $500. It had been on a Ford Courier CAT service vehicle. It was a four-man struggle to lift it on.”

The lads treated the Nissan J15-powered ute (an engine most famous for its use in forklifts) to a backyard panel-and-paint makeover in Palm Green, fat rubber and a bunch of cool accessories – including a matching mower/BBQ. Top speed: 120km/h downhill!

The guys have a bunch of other projects on the go, you can follow along on Axel’s Instagram.

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