By Jeremy Sollars
Our local livestock producers weren’t the only ones to have some big wins at the 2017 Brisbane Ekka.
Warwick’s Carl Dittman was stoked when his lovingly restored 1972 Toyota Landcruiser ute was declared ‘Overall Winner’ of the 2017 Ekka Ute Master.
Carl bought the ute back in 2014 for the princely sum of $800 from a farmer out at Chinchilla who was leaving the land and originally planned for it to be a “bash car” for the Warwick Scouts, with whom he’s involved, but instead it turned into a restorative labour of love.
Along with dad Brian and sister Shanae Carl spent a couple of years bringing the ‘Cruiser back to life – and has since had wins at country shows around the region up until last month’s Ekka.
The ute began life as a run-around unit at the RAAF Amberley air base before the move to Chinchilla and as these pictures reveal Carl and the family have worked wonders.
The attention to detail is amazing – right down the decals in the cab – and Carl also installed a floor heater and radios, two little luxuries the ute didn’t previously feature.
Local firms were also extensively involved in sourcing parts and other components and re-machining – including Mal Wood Automotive, Windles, Ray Bunch and Mark Watts, who did the sand-blasting.
“Everything was re-built except the front diff,” Carl explained.
“It’s just been a bit of fun going to the shows – you meet a lot of different people at the ute shows, from the ‘ferals’ to the ‘B&S’ ute categories – it’s a really interesting demographic.”
We think you’ll agree it’s a stunning transformation – well done to Carl and the Dittman crew on their big Ekka win.
