Overlander's Truck Brochures

I've been doing a fair bit of research lately that has required me to read through a shit ton of Australian Government Bills .... The legal written stuff that makes a law etc.

And I know there were a few Bills around 1973 ish that were called Metric Conversion Bills and were for the conversion of weights and measures for transport

It is not over yet 60 years later. We still have 16 inch or 22.5 inch tyres with 65 psi (nobody I talk to, even the kids, uses kilopascals and every service station air hose is in psi)

They went soft conversion for a long time and it was nothing more than moronic public service interpretation. I still have my jeep left hand drive permit from 1982 from the police for registration. It says the vehicle must have painted "Caution Left Hand Drive" on the rear in letters 63.5 millimetres high. Not 60 or 65 to cater for the original regulation height of 2 1/2 inches. I never did it so it doesn't matter but I can see how that spec sheet was perfectly acceptable to buyers who still thought totally in imperial measurements.

Lang

Conversion to metric measurement wasn't until the 70's and they ballsed that up by using cm instead of the international standard of mm/metres. Timber is still measured and sold in the international standard of feet to suit the USA - it is sold in units of 300mm which is a close match.

All gas/oilfield wellhead & piping equipment is still measured in inches today as well.
Pierre

This K Series Dodge was imported by Hills Truck Sales Fairy Meadow in the late 60's early 70's and had a V8 Perkins engine.

Quite a number of these orphan vehicles, including cars, were imported by people with an entrepreneurial bent. They saw an opportunity to become the local importer and purchased a few demo models. Nearly all of them had no proper sales organisation and more importantly the capital to set up.

I know individual existing dealers imported models of their brand not supplied by the factory in Australia but with the blessing of the factory. It was a bit of a promotional thing. I remember when my Dad had the Holden dealership at Southport about 1960 he imported a number of those beaut finny Cadillacs, Chevrolets and Pontiacs. After the right hand drive conversion it was far from a money making exercise but being the Gold Coast was an advertising winner. GMH actually borrowed a Cadillac and a Chevrolet to send to the Melbourne and Sydney motor shows as crowd pullers.

Lang

Hills was one of the biggies in pommy truck stuff.....along with SMS-Sydney Motor Spares and All Diesels......they would have mountains of diffs,gearboxes motors electrics etc.imported by the shipload.............nearly forgot Gleemans......who specialized more in yankees stuff/Mack.

Information from John Major relating to the Australian K Dodges.