DoRun - Only ONE ever made! Restore a HOME-BUILT project from the early 80's

History: This home-engineered, one-of-a-kind, petrol utility vehicle was created at Millerton, on the rugged West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand. It was built in the early 80s by Possum Hunter / Engineer / Gold Miner Geoff Hill, (with a little help from me), to his unique design using aluminum sheet over a hot-dipped galvanized frame, on a 1977 Suzuki 4 wheel-drive LJ50 chassis. We called it the "DoRun", the name being inspired by the smaller “Duzgo” of Whataroa fame.

From the first road-trip in 1986, with our 10-week-old daughter, Chrissi, and her 83-year-old Great Aunt Olive, this handy, rugged, little workhorse carried hang-gliders and kayaks, bikes and camping gear around New Zealand. In the early 90s it towed Geoff’s gold mining Plant on and off his black-sand beach Gold Claim.

I eventually became it’s 2nd proud owner (after Geoff and I separated), and kept it on the road for 8 years until 2000, when I got too ambitious and failed to seal the brake lines to new master cylinders. It has languished in the garage ever since but the registration MC5615 has been kept on hold. Geoff died last year, so being without any hope of his expertise, I am now looking for a new owner who has the skills and time for a unique and interesting rebuild challenge, as it would be a shame to waste such an inventive vehicle. It was a great little traveler, and having been registered 13 Jan 1986, it is now in the 30yr old vintage category.

Specifications: HOME BUILT on 1977 LJ50 (series 1) SUSUKI CHASSIS, with 120Y Datsun motor.

The vehicle was designed for easy access to all of its mechanical parts: the tray tips back to expose the rear diff and axle, the bonnet tips forward and can be removed so all of the motor parts can be worked on, and boxing inside the cab can be lifted to work on the transmission and gears. Four-wheel drive is engaged manually by hub change on the wheels and 2nd gear stick, and was only suitable for loose surface such as dirt roads. It has a tow-bar, a front tow point, and there are two spare axles. It has 3 doors (2 on passenger side), and seats 4 adults. There are some really unique solutions; aka the steering column derived from a Landrover universal joint (see photo - difficult to get good views where it is stored). This was a vehicle with considerable character and charm that made heads turn!