Dave’s Isuzu Florian (What a GoA!)

Today’s post is sponsored by the letter F, standing for Florian. Coincidentally, it could also stand for fire truck - or a contraction thereof - as it’s being written on an iPad, my MacBook currently being f'cked, seemingly having not benefited from being left switched on, unattended, for the better part of a fortnight.

If a frozen laptop’s the only damage incurred for a couple of weeks’ driving holiday along the south coasts of Victoria and South Australia - routes known as the Great Ocean Road and Southern Ocean Drive, respectively - then continuing on to Kangaroo Island, so be it. It was worth it!

Spectacular as all that scenery was, it wasn’t the only thing to take my eye. I am a car bloke, after all; no jaunt would be complete without some car porn and a good chat with a like-minded dude!

The vehicular centrefold of this coastal odyssey came in the form of Dave Carey’s late 1960s’ Isuzu Florian, a model taking its name from the Greek god of road trips*. It’s so damned sexy that Mrs UMPH - out for a stroll and having not yet met Garage of Awesome author Dave - was about to photograph it for me, before spying the two of us sitting outside the McLarenvale pub, drinking beer and dribbling car.

Isuzu-mad Dave explained that the rectangular headlights mark his example as an early model, with later versions featuring a quad round light setup. It’s powered by a 1600 cc pushrod four pot, mated to a four-speed floor-shift ‘box. Mechanically, it shares its entire chassis with the ultra-sleek, Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Isuzu 117 coupe (please see https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2016/05/random-27-isuzu-117-coupe.html), sans the twin cam, five speed tranny and front disc brakes.

Dave’s Florian is in great nick, with nice duco, shiny, straight chrome and a very tidy interior featuring front bucket seats, and a nifty ovalised dashboard and instrument binnacle. There’s not a hint of rust anywhere. The aftermarket Superlites suit it perfectly (is there a ‘60s, ‘70s or even ‘80s car that doesn’t look fabulous wearing a set?) and the Venetians are bang-on for era.

According to Google, the Florian would seem to be have been styled by Ghia, as said Italian carrozzeria’s name was originally going to form part of its model designation - as in the Ghia Isuzu 117 Sedan. However, this isn’t explicitly spelled out in the article; there’s no reference made to Ghia’s role, nor is the individual designer attributed (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu_Florian, accessed 10 JUL 22). Either way, the upright, light-filled cabin and overall dimensions are rather fetching and quite a departure from Isuzu’s smaller Bellett.

Thanks go to Dave for showing me the mighty Florian, companionably downing a couple of beers, and the chin wag. A great arvo indeed!

Readers can follow Dave via his very entertaining Garage of Awesome instagram account. You might even find some Galant-related content there, as well as all things Isuzu, plus heaps of other classic car-related stuff.

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

iPhone images

*I am almost certainly full of faeces.

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