The car-based pickup never really caught on in America like it did in places like Australia. Sure, we got our Rancheros and El Caminos, but nothing as crazy as what our friends from Down Under got. But that can’t stop us enthusiasts from dreaming about the perfect small pickup. What car would make a great pickup truck?
There was once a time when modern America was supposed to get its shot at ute greatness. Bob Lutz of all people wanted to slap a Pontiac badge on an Australian ute, but we never got the Pontiac G8 ST and Pontiac itself isn’t even around anymore, either. Nowadays, hungry American ute enthusiasts are satiated through importing utes from Australia, enjoying what we already got here in America, or taking a Sawzall to their ride in an effort to build something like a Smyth ute conversion.
As of right now, there are only a handful of models that companies like Smyth sell conversion kits for.
For years, Smyth has sold kits to convert a couple of Volkswagens, the Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ, the Dodge Charger, and the Subaru Impreza into little pickups. That’s not a lot of choice, but yes, it does mean that you can make a Hellcat ute if you wanted to!
Let’s go further than this and think of cars we haven’t seen turned into trucks before. If you know me well enough, you already know my answer. I’d love to see someone make a ute kit for the Smart Fortwo. Custom builds have been done before, like the first-generation Smart utes that were made in Europe or the weird one-off made in Canada that’s pictured below.
Sadly, this car didn’t have two drive axles or anything wild like that. The builder just extended the car by adding a small bed and two more wheels. That makes it middle-wheel-drive, I guess? Still, I would totally daily drive this thing.
If I expand out of my little Smart bubble, I’d love to see some real oddballs turned into utes. How about a hyper luxury ute by way of cutting up a high-mileage Volkswagen Phaeton?
Maybe speed is your jam? Alright, I got you. Let’s break out the reciprocating saw and make a Chevrolet Corvette truck! Sure, tow ratings for some of these utes might be embarrassing and payloads may leave you with only barely useful loads, but let’s have some fun here. For the purposes of this question, the only limit is your imagination.
I want to know, what car would you think would make for a cool truck? Also, if that Canadian guy happens to be a reader, can you make one of my Smarts into a truck?
240 series Volvo wagons would make excellent small trucks.
I would love a Subaru Forester-based pickup. I think it would be a perfect Maverick fighter.
Compact, looks like a hiking shoe, good AWD system, respectable fuel economy, vinyl interior, and already has cred with outdoorsy people.
You know about the Subaru Baja right? You’re describing a 2nd gen.
It would probably do well in the market presently. It was too far ahead of its time.
Definitely. The only reason I hesitated describing it as a Baja is because everyone I’ve talked to associates the Baja with a converted Outback.
I’m of the opinion that a Foresfer front end is boxy and trucky enough to make it look more like a Maverick than a Santa Cruz.
That makes sense.
I still think about how I’d go about converting the ’98 I sold in 2014 into a little shortbed. It’d be an absolute puppy of a truck. I will always regret needing to part ways with it before I had the means to make that (insane, impractical) conversion (which I still don’t, but that’s not important)
Here’s an out-there thought: how about a Toyota Crown ute? Hybrid, AWD, but with some serious cargo capacity. Add in Toyota reliability, and maybe you’ve got the better Maverick?
Funnily enough, there was a Toyota Crown Ute back in the 60s that was sold in Japan and Australia!
Mazda 3 hatch, I run with the back seats down and carry 12′ 2×12 lumber in it already. I would prefer it as a low slung panel van, but would be interested in a chopped two door with at best a quarter bed, bed lining and tie downs.
Which generation do you think would look best in this configuration?
Years ago I commutted past a ’67ish VW squareback pickup. I stupidly never stopped to ask about it. I was driving my ’67 squareback at the time too. I was very well done and looked great.
For a light-duty application, a 1st gen Lotus Europa, converted into a hub-motor driven AWD EV, with a re-designed suspension, plus reinforced body attachment points to handle more mass(the bonding it has won’t be enough by itself). You can turn the back into a truck bed with a retractable cover(preserves the aero when closed) because there’s no ICE engine and transmission components in the way.
Its small frontal area and low drag coefficient also assures low operating costs and reasonable range for the battery mass selected. This could be a 150 Wh/mile @ 70 mph vehicle when nothing is being hauled and the bed is shut, or a 300+ Wh/mile vehicle when you have a full load sticking out the sides of the bed and above the roofline.
As a suburban garage queen, it does all the same truck stuff that a suburbanite would use any modern 5,000+ lb $60,000+ truck/SUV/CUV for that still never sees a spec of mud on a trail because it never left the pavement and which has never towed anything or hauled anything that would scratch the fancy logo in the bed liner or deface in any way the tow package. For a basic truck to haul furniture/big appliances/lawnmowers with or produce to the farmers market, or even tools for a small-scale landscaping/painting/plumbing/electrician/handyman/drug lab business, a vehicle this size could do most of these jobs just as fine as those aforementioned oversized things that are ubiquitous on US roads, at greatly reduced expense.
The beauty of a Lotus Europa truck EV is that when you’re not using it as a truck, you have an engaging and fun lightweight sports car to toss through the twisties. With enough power, it would still feel like a proper racing machine.
But its practicality as a “truck” would be superior compared to almost any sedan or compact CUV, since you’d have a usable truck bed when needed. Basically, a shrunken El Camino with much better efficiency, and electric. You could still use it like a 90s Ford Ranger when there’s a need to.
If you roll up in a trailer park with this, every Joe Bob who needs a truck but dreams of a Corvette, but can only afford a $500 Cavalier(that doesn’t exist anymore), is going to want it.
I’m like 90% sure I’ve seen that Prius in the lead photo, it’s not too far from Jason’s neck of the woods. Has it been discussed here? I forget, it may have been on one of the socials.
Strangest sighting in the same area was an Aveo ute that was sadly too far away in traffic for me to get a decent photo of, just to marvel at the why of it.
Volvo 740 or Mercedes 240D
The Civic Del Sol is basically a ute. The trunk is huge!
Bring back the Baja! Turn that Outback (Wilderness optional) into a ute with 2 doors.
In the spirit of Travis McGee, I would like to see a Rolls Royce Phantom ute conversion. Really, any ute conversion would be great because utes rule.
Basically any 2 door. Jeep Wrangler, Miata, etc.
All of ‘em. I mean, I’ve seen all manner of cars converted to pickups and used as farm vehicles, and I think in many cases it’s a good repurposing of a vehicle to give it a second life. Three personal examples:
-My great grandfather used a ‘55 Buick sedan to haul hay bales. Not sure if he removed the trunk or not.
-The old guy down the road had a cut-up 1st-gen Cavalier that he used to move cows.
-Talked to a guy with a SRT8 Charger with a Smyth conversion bed. It wasn’t a farm truck (bike hauler), but the fact that he used it for truck stuff was very cool.
I’ve also seen Ford Fiestaminos, Subaruaminos, SN95 Mustang-aminos, Jettaminos, Saturnaminos…I could go on but you get the idea. An old crappy car may no longer be a useful or particularly functional vehicle, but that doesn’t mean it can’t live a second life as a deathtrap pickup truck.
As far as the best? I dunno, whichever one you can get cheaply, in running condition, and you don’t feel bad about sawzalling the back half off. Also, no V10 TDIs.
The current Accord, if only because adding a six-footer bws behind the rear seats will actually downsize it a bit.
Trying to get new ideas for The Bishop I see?
The new Jaguar.
I know of an Aston DB5 pickup, brilliantly half assed thing, As a gentleman of taste and no distinction a Silver shadow trucklet seems a good idea.
As someone who’s by no means a gentleman and who lacks taste as well as distinction, I think it would be an even better idea to make it out of a Camargue.
We have plan! a giant Fiat 130 truck. a remarkably tasteless automotive mullet.
Following on the Camry idea, there are many many 2004-2006 Lexus ES330s still on the road. Convert this, and we will truly have a Cajun Cadillac.
bit older, but a good year https://www.flickr.com/photos/guyclinch/49738520393/
A Camry, there are tons of them
We could call it a ElCamryoo
Miata is always the answer. So we’ll go with the Miata. If someone can make a Fiat 500 work, they can make a Miata work.
I’ve always wanted to convert a 1973 Hurst Olds 442 into a ute by way of a same-year El Camino body shell. They’re built on the same platform, so the only custom bodywork necessary would be transferring the lower body lines of the Oldsmobile quarter panels into the El Camino body shell. Also possibly grafting the firewall of the Oldsmobile into the El Camino to keep the Hurst Olds VIN, since doing the simple thing and drilling out the rivets to swap VIN plates is illegal, but “major bodywork” is perfectly fine totally definitely probably maybe. Otherwise, everything should bolt right up like GM LEGO.
This is the perfect union because it improves both vehicles. The ’73 Hurst Olds has an epic front end while the rear end looks horrid, and the ’73 El Camino has a spectacular rear end with a horrid front end. Combine the best parts of both and you’d have one sexy Oldsmobile ute.
Honestly though, any car with a damaged roof or rear end is a good ute conversion candidate. Ute-ify all the things! Anything to give a heavily damaged vehicle a second life.
Back in the 90’s I used to frequently pass a Sklymino parked in a grocery store/strip mall parking lot so it was someone’s daily driver. They did do a good job of putting the side sweep onto the El Camino body. It was definitely an older build as the paint was showing its age. Being a Buick fan I definitely would have drove it.
Nice! I know plenty of people have also built Pontiacaminos, which are easier as the Pontiac doors already transition smoothly into the El Camino body without any unique body lines needing to be grafted in.
Earlier Pontiac versions of El Caminos are also doable, but require specifically the front fenders from a Pontiac Tempest Safari wagon, as they have a slightly different shape where they meet the doors IIRC, which is shared with both the Chevelle wagon and the El Camino. IDK why they used different fenders from the regular Chevelle and Tempest, but apparently they did… So if you wanted to build a GTO ute, you’d need to collect parts from at least three different vehicles to do it, but it would be possible.
Well Chevy was the volume king so I suspect the fenders were the cheapest way to make a Pontiac wagon which undoubtedly was much lower volume.
The one I’d like to do is a Cougar or T-bird front end on the final Ranchero. I’ve seen a few pictures. If I had sultan money I’d have one of each built and a GS-X-amino.
Bentley Continental SC. Yes I want a Bentley pickup with a targa top.
Obviously the Fiat 500 or if you want to go hardcore the Toyota iQ
I have actually seen a Fiat one. Someone in Germany has one for sale with a matching trailer. I’ve only seen screenshots or I’d link the listing.
Edit: It seems this is an actual conversion that’s been done many times. One example:
https://www.classic.com/veh/1966-fiat-500-giardiniera-pickup-conversion-163892-47P3zXn/
Tbh I was thinking more of the new one but I’ll take it. It’s adorable.
I’m imagining Toyota marketing the iQ truck as being able to carry two whole boxes! 🙂
Not made anymore, but the HHR looked great as a truck.
Generally boxy cars, like how the Maverick was done, that’s an Escape but it totally has a truck look. So like the Venue would probably look better than the Santa Cruz, a Kia Soul they actually made a concept ute looking thing and it looked pretty neat, the Honda Element would’ve looked better than the Ridgeline, Subaru Forester already drives fairly trucklike so that’d be a good fit, probably could fit a bench in it too.
The Hornet. As someone else said, you can use it to get the parts to fix it.
AMC did at least a couple though the first was billed as the Jeep Cowboy, not a bad looking rig.
Mustang- if only Ford had a history of a car-based, rwd, v8 (available) powered truck that they could poach the name from.
But then they also left the ‘Thunderbolt’ name off the roster.
Amen. And why isn’t Galaxie adorning an EV already?
I miss the Thunderbird 🙁
Thunderbolt seems like a good name for a high performance version of the Lighting. Or the upcoming smaller EV pickup.