Franken Lander

Mark Allen combined a patrol, a Ve Maloo and an HX one tonner to build a modern-day tribute to the holden overlander

- Simon Telford

Monster V8-powered SUVs are all the rage in new-car land these days, but a Tasmanian bloke called Arthur Hayward was right onto the concept 45 years ago. Arthur took brand new Holden utes, vans and wagons and transformed them into off-road weapons dubbed the Overlander.

The Overlander was no backyard job, and started with brand-new vehicles only – at least until Holden stopped making the donor cars. While GM-H made Arthur buy complete cars, they honoured their warranties, giving the project a factory-approved sheen.

Arthur later added wagons to his product list, providing an affordable alternative to the Chev Blazers and Range Rovers of the day. In total, 120 Overlanders were built, and attracted a cult following that included a young petrolhead named Mark Allen.

“I’ve always wanted one,” says Mark. “But I only got serious about it a couple of years ago. By that time, the rarity of them meant they were hard to find in good condition, and prices had skyrocketed. So I decided to build my own version.”

While the original Overlanders were built using a bespoke front chassis grafted onto the Holden unit, matched to specially imported Dana diffs and transfer cases, Mark opted to instead employ a complete ladder-frame chassis from a 1990 GQ Nissan Patrol, along with its coil springs, live axles and GU transfer case.

“The GQ was an easy choice for many reasons,” says Mark. “The chassis is easily strengthened, the coil springs deliver a major improvement in on-road performance, and they provide an incredibly adaptable base that is easily modified from mild to wild.”