Some people have trouble finding their car in the shopping centre car park. Allan Jones is not one of those people. Nearly 10 years ago, Allan began piecing together the jigsaw puzzle that would become his unique Holden panel van. Motor Trader recently caught up with Allan in Innisfail to learn the story behind the creation of this one-of-a-kind car.

Words: Lara Wilde | Pictures: Jesse Donoghoe, Sweet Spot Photography

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Like so many good car stories, this one began on eBay. My first and only ever eBay purchase,” says Allan Jones, co-owner of Innisfail Pro Motors and builder of the remarkable, Frankenstein-like machine that is the ‘Jigsaw’, a Holden/Nissan offroading hybrid built to participate in the annual Variety Bash – the 10-day vehicular adventure through regional Queensland that raises funds for Queensland kids.

Allan, who has been a dedicated Variety Bash participant for many years, had already built a VH Commodore wagon from the ground up, and cruised the back roads of Queensland with mates, racking up thousands of dirt-road miles, plenty of laughs, and tens of thousands of dollars for charity.
But he had a dream to create the perfect car for the Bash, and after selling the VH to purchase a steel bumper Kingswood, he had a budget and a one-year deadline to get the panel van on the road and entered into its first fundraising Bash adventure.

10 years later, and with that budget completely exhausted many times over, he is ready to put ‘Jigsaw’ on the road!

It was 2012 when Allan, cashed up from the sale of that VH, went shopping on eBay to find the Bash car of his dreams. It had to be more than 30 years old, it had to be comfortable, it had to have a lot of room for signage and, above all, it had to be reliable.

In Bendigo, Victoria, Allan found a 1983 WB Holden panel van. It had originally been owned by the Victorian Government and had come stock as a six-cylinder 202, no frills work van. When Allan found it in the eBay listings, the WB had lost the 202 and had a V8 petrol 308 plonked in the engine bay with a 4-speed manual behind it. Deal of the Century. Allan paid his money and jumped on a plane to Melbourne town to drive the big girl home.

“25 times it broke down between Melbourne and Brisbane. 25 times I sat beside the road questioning my life choices,” says Allan of that challenging drive north through the eastern states.

Eventually, the panel van beat Allan and wore him out. He left the car at his mum and dad’s house in Brisbane and flew the last leg to Cairns until he could face driving the Kingswood home the last 1,600 kms. It took him a month to summon the reserves required and to fly back to Brisbane with his toolbox and a box full of parts, including a distributor. The final trip from Brisbane to Innisfail was smooth and uneventful.

Once home, Allan began to enjoy the WB. He drove it for a few months to and from his workshop at Innisfail Pro Motors and on the odd weekend adventure until, finally, the day came for him to begin the build to create the Variety Bash car of his dreams. Something reliable, comfortable and capable. A hybrid of all of Allan’s favourite cars. A unique ride that could go anywhere.

Allan had a vision to see the panel van lifted and then wrapped with a jigsaw design to reflect the many pieces that came into play.

The first step was to overhaul the running gear. The 308 motor was thirsty and clunky, the driveline slightly agricultural. Allan opted to upgrade.
A 1990 Nissan GQ wagon was sacrificed to the Jigsaw puzzle. The body was picked up and bolted down to the stock Nissan chassis and driveline. The Nissan 4.2-litre diesel donk was left in and freshened up to prime her for long dirt road journeys.

A door was ripped off an HJ station wagon to add access to the rear seats.

The interior was torn out of the Nissan and made to fit the Kingswood cabin.

This panel van has a serious identity crisis. At first glance you think for sure it is a Holden WB, maybe even an Overlander. The registration papers read Nissan Patrol. Sitting in the driver’s seat is a surreal experience as Holden and Nissan branding fight to hold your attention and convince you that they made this car. In reality the whole Jigsaw needs to be rebadged as an “Allan special”.

Originally Allan had planned to paint the WB white and have it wrapped with jigsaw pieces. A last-minute choice to paint the whole car in a stunning Commodore Karma Blue has played out well, although Allan now regrets it.

“I really wish I had painted it a vibrant turquoise colour to match the interior,” he says. Maybe next time.

“People keep asking me when I am going to put a V8 in it, but I think I am done,” he adds. “When do you stop?”

After nine-and-a-half years, Allan has decided this is enough, although there are still a few finishing touches to be done, such as mounting the spare wheel swing arms on the back and tidying up the interior.

So, what are the plans for the Jigsaw?

“I have really misjudged this,” he says. “I thought it would take a year to build a Variety Bash car. Instead, I took nine-and-a-half years and the car I have built is too nice and too unique to take on a charity cruise.”

Allan has a few more ideas like adding a turbo, but there will always be more ideas. For now, and perhaps for the next six months or so, he plans to use the Jigsaw as his daily driver before selling it to fund his idea for a new toy.

“My next project will be a 1940s era truck like a Dodge or an International,” he says.

Hopefully, that dream won’t take a decade to realise.

If you are interested in purchasing a turnkey, ready-to-rumble Variety Bash rig, be sure to drop Allan a line at Innisfail Pro Motors. Alternatively, if you have a 1940s era Dodge or International truck for sale you might have a buyer waiting for you in Innisfail.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (October 2022) 

24 October 2022