When Harry Strange is bored on his family farm, he goes to the tip to find motors he can fix.
The 11-year-old lives with his parents and two brothers at Bruce Rock, 240 kilometres east of Perth in the heart of Western Australia’s Wheatbelt.
Harry has made a habit of bringing old motors back from the farm tip and fixing them up.
But one afternoon earlier this year, he found something special.
Harry Strange, with the help of his dad, restored the collectable ute at his property in WA’s Wheatbelt. (Supplied: Dee-Anne Strange)
“I went down the tip hunting for a little engine to restore and while I was hunting around I found a 1970s FJ45 Toyota LandCruiser and I thought, ‘I gotta have that,'” he said.
A restoration years in the making
However, the car was owned by family friend Colin Turner, so he needed to be tracked down first.
Mr Turner said he had been given the car 15 years earlier.
“I planned to sort of restore it, and anyway, that never happened.”
When Harry asked if he could take it to have a go at fixing it, Mr Turner had no qualms in saying yes.
Harry and Leigh Strange working on the ute. (Supplied: Dee-Anne Strange)
Getting the engine running so they could get the car back to the Stranges’ shed was easier than Mr Turner had expected.
“I said to Leigh [Harry’s father], ‘I think the motor’s buggered, you know, probably will never get any life out of it.’
“But lo and behold, when we got a little bit of petrol down it and cranked it over,” he said
Harry then gave himself a deadline to get the car ready for the Bruce Rock show.
Three months of hard yakka
Harry estimated he spent four hours a day refurbishing the ute over three months, working every day after school until dinner.
His fascination with engines began when his father, Leigh Strange, brought home a couple of knockabout buggies for the farm.
“It first started when we got some buggies and they weren’t right, they weren’t running good, and Dad took us down the shed and had a crack at it, and we got them going,” he said.
Harry Strange spent hours after school each afternoon restoring the ute. (Supplied: Dee-Anne Strange)
Most of the work done on the Toyota was completed by Harry under the watchful eye of his dad, who said Harry watched videos online to learn many of the skills he needed.
“He has got a real mind for motors,” Mr Strange said.
“He’s learned a lot off YouTube over the years, a lot of different channels there, mechanical channels,” he said.
“He was doing up stationary motors and a couple of old chainsaws I thought weren’t going to run again, he got them running.
“He’s picked up a lot there, and then I sort of just helped him with the finishing.”
A desirable prospect
Toyotas are one of the most popular vehicles in regional Australia, with farmers having a love affair dating back decades.
Vintage car valuer Aaron Lofts viewed the photos of the FJ45 and was impressed.
“Some kids are just out there playing Clash Royale or scrolling TikTok, and [Harry] is out there restoring cars … it’s really impressive,” he said.
Mr Lofts said the FJ LandCruisers were really desirable with four-wheel-drive enthusiasts.
The ute was restored and taken to the Bruce Rock show. (Supplied: Dee-Anne Strange)
“What you might have there now is something that’s probably at the bottom, where it’s sort of $15,000, and it genuinely could be upwards from there,” he said.
It does not matter how much it is worth, Harry says: “I’m never selling it.”
The people’s choice
Harry’s Toyota FJ45 won the people’s choice award at the Bruce Rock show.
He said his classmates were “pretty amazed” by his efforts.
Even though he is not old enough to drive it on the road yet, Harry’s first car is already turning heads.
Drag racing champion Rosco McGlashan, Harry Strange and the ute’s former owner, Colin Turner, at the Bruce Rock show. (Supplied: Dee-Anne Strange)
And the vehicle’s previous owner, Mr Turner, was impressed too.
“I was blown away,” he said.
“When I came in I said, ‘My God, look at that!’ I was really gobsmacked when I saw it.”
Harry’s parents said they were proud of him for sticking with the project.
“The amount of work that he has put in, probably more the fact that he’s stuck with it, he hasn’t got bored with it.
“You’ve been pretty determined to finish it, see it through.”
