David recently contacted the archive after purchasing HSV Jackaroo build number 047. This vehicle was already recorded on the known surviving list before his purchase.
Jackaroo 047 was purchased from Bairnsdale, Victoria, where it had been sitting outside and was no longer being actively used. According to the information passed on by David, the previous owner had purchased the car about a year earlier from an older gentleman who had owned it from new.
The car is rough but largely complete and still appears to retain much of its original character. David reported clear coat peeling, dirty carpet, a ripped driver’s seat, signs of poor servicing, and a number of missing HSV-specific parts. Fortunately, thanks to the work of the small community of owners, parts are available for a full restoration.
On the positive side, the vehicle remains close to original condition. This is also one of the lowest-travelled examples currently recorded, with the odometer showing approximately 235,000 km.
The vehicle has had a complete service, including the transmission. The transmission filter was still stamped 1992, so it may never have been replaced.
David’s plan is to restore the car as much as possible while keeping it original. At this stage, he is still deciding whether to repaint the vehicle fully or attempt to preserve and repair the existing finish. The interior will also need attention, particularly the driver’s seat fabric. A replacement patch is being arranged from spare original HSV Jackaroo seat material sourced from 076.
This also brings another update for the archive. David visited Harvey’s Wreckers to check whether HSV Jackaroo 076 was still available. He was told that the vehicle was long gone.
That car had already been heavily stripped, with many of the HSV-specific parts now sitting in my garage.
While it is disappointing that the Harvey’s Wreckers car could not be saved, its remaining parts have survived and continue to go back into these cars to keep them on the road. Jackaroo 047 is expected to be one of the cars that benefits from those recovered parts.