hey guys
currently trying to work out what my next step should be
1. do some more work on the magna and throw in some cams, pistons, valve springs, streetfighter manfold, piggyback ECU etc
or 2. buy an old one tonner and restore that with an tyre shredding engine in it
what can i say, i love the sound of a nice lumpy cam :D
not looking at buying a house atm as i may have one already teed up but need to wait acouple of years, it'll be worth the wait :)
so yeah kinda dont know which road to take, would love to do up the magna abit more but would love the one tonner
opinions please?
cheers rob

i'm voting for the magna due to the added costs of a second rego and insurance and such. down the track it will be costly to maintain...

Meh, you need to consider that sinking money into any car really isnt the greatest thing to be doing, granted, if you still want to, forget the bolt on NA crap, bolt on blower gives you better bang for buck then a Manifold, cams combo ever will

i vote the 1tonner, your magna looks great but it'd make an awesome daily, the money you'd put into those power upgrades would go unnoticed and generally unused unless you go to a track
a 1tonne would be a head turner and something different for you i suppose.

afterall its still a magna and you wont get any of that money back generally.

bare in mind most people on here will tell you to work the magna, because it's only natural for them to

bare in mind most people on here will tell you to work the magna, because it's only natural for them to

second that.

Meh, you need to consider that sinking money into any car really isnt the greatest thing to be doing, granted, if you still want to, forget the bolt on NA crap, bolt on blower gives you better bang for buck then a Manifold, cams combo ever will

i know that i wont get most of my money back when i go to sell the car
it's only just ticked over 40,000 k's, so i'll be keeping her for awhile
not really after the power, just the sound
but a supercharger may be bolted on later ;)

i know that i wont get most of my money back when i go to sell the car
it's only just ticked over 40,000 k's, so i'll be keeping her for awhile
not really after the power, just the sound
but a supercharger may be bolted on later ;)

if your just after the sound then whack some nice lumpy 294deg duration cams in ya car like what is in my magna (thats if tighe can make ya a proper set lol) and people will look at ya and go WTF! Dont worry about the rest as you are only after the noise :P

magnas arnt worth investing money into unless you plan on keeping it forever or you dont mind loosing it all.

if you look at current trends in hte market place. the old chool cars esspecially muscle cars, but also your old tonners are fetching some real money and i dont see that changing any time soon.

Go the one tonner atleast you know you will geta major percentage of your money back when you goto sell it. and hey there is NOTHING like the sound of a lumpy V8. and rear wheel drive is fun for as you say SHREADING TYRES

Shredding tyres? Do you go to the track or the strip a lot? Because that's the only place you can shred tyres these days. "Driving in a manner that causes excessive noise or smoke" is a $320 fine. Alternatively, under the hoon laws, your car can be confiscated depending on what sort of copper you get.

If you must, spend some money on the magna, but just bolt a Raptor supercharger to it and put a 3 inch exhaust on it.

Any old car is going to be a total nightmare to maintain.

make a magna 1 tonner!!!

Shredding tyres? Do you go to the track or the strip a lot? Because that's the only place you can shred tyres these days. "Driving in a manner that causes excessive noise or smoke" is a $320 fine. Alternatively, under the hoon laws, your car can be confiscated depending on what sort of copper you get.

If you must, spend some money on the magna, but just bolt a Raptor supercharger to it and put a 3 inch exhaust on it.

Any old car is going to be a total nightmare to maintain.


actully if you are willing to do teh job right in the first place and then just look after it, there is no reason an old car wont be just as reliable as the magna. just think how many magnas do you think will be around after 40 years?? ther eare plenty of tonners still rolling around. and as fair as maintaining them they are as cheap as they get as they are so basic and every mechanic knows them back to front. far cheaper then any magna parts. have you changed a clutch or a timing chain lately??

actully if you are willing to do teh job right in the first place and then just look after it, there is no reason an old car wont be just as reliable as the magna. just think how many magnas do you think will be around after 40 years?? ther eare plenty of tonners still rolling around. and as fair as maintaining them they are as cheap as they get as they are so basic and every mechanic knows them back to front. far cheaper then any magna parts. have you changed a clutch or a timing chain lately??
Oh dear, here we go.

So how much to rebuild an engine and gearbox in an old ****box to get it reliable? Then all the brakes, tyres, suspension, exhaust, interior, possible rust... I know a guy with a HQ Kingswood ute, 253, sounds good, but the gearbox breaks every other day and costs $2,000 each time.

If you think an old one tonner ute will be as reliable as a near new Magna, you have rocks in your head mate.

Oh dear, here we go.

So how much to rebuild an engine and gearbox in an old ****box to get it reliable? Then all the brakes, tyres, suspension, exhaust, interior, possible rust... I know a guy with a HQ Kingswood ute, 253, sounds good, but the gearbox breaks every other day and costs $2,000 each time.

If you think an old one tonner ute will be as reliable as a near new Magna, you have rocks in your head mate.


My dads had his tonner for 35 yrs..... ok its been through 3 motors and 4 gboxes and half dosen diffs..... but he clocked that car about 4 times doin trips around australia... pig hunting bush bashin you name it!!!!

that thing was the most reliable car i ever knew!

Not to mention, get parts anywhere, cheaply aswell and you can do most of the work even as a halfwit!lol

Oh Back on topic...


I say go for the tonner.... see depending what you want to spen there are conversion kits avail to bolt in the 5.7ltr into the tonner, inj, more than enough powahhh for the light rear end for fun, and reliable aswell.

Or old school 350 with some mild power upgrades....cams, mild port and nice hi rise manifold, and some good flowing headers and exhaust. :D would be a nice daily aswell.

So you have money to burn? heh? Which ever car you decide to spend the money on your not going to see most of it back in your pocket.

It doesn't matter to anyone which car you decide on. Its your choice a the end of the day. However if it were me, you already have the Magna, start modding that first.

I say go the one tonner. You already have a nicely modded magna, try something else.
I know my next car wont be a magna, purely to excite me rather than doing the same thing again.

if your just after the sound then whack some nice lumpy 294deg duration cams in ya car like what is in my magna (thats if tighe can make ya a proper set lol) and people will look at ya and go WTF! Dont worry about the rest as you are only after the noise :P

haha the car will still be a daily driver, so i'll need to make sure its drivable
i was thinking maybe some 272deg duration cams

the one tonner would be nice and yes theres abit to maintain in older cars
after being at motorvation (perth car show) there was a few of these around and they sounded nuts
it was funny watching the bonnet move while the car was idling :)
as for money, i've got some but not alot
im looking at doing this in the next 6 months or before then

BRICK - Would magnas be around in 40 years? I dont see why not. Nothing different to these old 1 tonners. Things will need to be replaced to keep it going, your point is invalid. You put time and money and effort into any car and it will be around for a long time to come.

i didnt vote. its up to you. i would personally go for the magna out of those two choices purely on the fact its different. but i would change the colour. most magnas i see are silver or that champaigne colour.

just my 2 cents

your never going to have a different one tonner, theres so many been done so your car will never stand out... but they are still pretty cool

well, i've decided to throw some money into the magna
currently working on the exhaust system to get that sounding good again
then i'll look into either the raptor supercharger or doing a n/a build
i've got a few grand saved up but might save alittle more, got acouple of goodies coming in the next few weeks
then might go for some coilovers once that group buy comes back
looking at getting some front 380 brakes as abit of an upgrade as im in need of brakes soon

Single turbo FTW dude.

I would have gone the one tonner route....

*sigh*

Even if im a ford person :redface:

http://www.houseofkolor.com.au/images/news/summernats2008/HQ.jpg

I would have gone the one tonner route....

*sigh*

Even if im a ford person :redface:

http://www.houseofkolor.com.au/images/news/summernats2008/HQ.jpg

hmmm yeah well dont think i'll be able to run two cars
with the rego and insurance, plus im only 21 so yeah
spending some on the magna is kinda the way to go, plus i also wanna be different ;)

Dare to be different......

Hrm, something like this????

http://www.houseofkolor.com.au/images/feature_cars/magna_610.jpg

lol mate im not made of money, nor want to take out a loan

Hey it was just to give you idea's :P

Too bad Mitsi didnt make a 2 door RWD magna :cry:

That car isnt even a real magna its just a shell sitting a custom chassis lol

That car isnt even a real magna its just a shell sitting a custom chassis lol

It is a TL shell sitting on a modified TJ chassis.

It is a TL shell sitting on a modified TJ chassis.


its was a TJ chassis once a long time ago but was heavily modified to fit a V8 and rear wheel drive

Yup and its the best Magna ever.....

Where can i buy it ? :P

Ask Sony Australia, or Darryl McBeth lol

Ask Sony Australia, or Darryl McBeth lol

Got their numbers handy? lol

Got their numbers handy? lol
Hush you and pay off your loan first :P