Have been contemplating buying a cheap $2000 88 XF Ute which has a very good body with no terminal rust and no dents.
I have gotten some pricing to fit a recon 302C into the XF falcon ute, approx $6000 just for the motor and I still need to replace the gear box and diff not to mention some serious panel and paint approx $10 000 and I'm sure I'll run into other problems along the way. Will I have much change from $35 000? has anyone done this full conversion before? either on a Sedan or ute. What kind of traps should I look out for?What kind of gearbox and Diff should I use with a 302C?

should look something like this when I'm done http://tinyurl.com/2ewufcb

88 means you need either LPG or Cats/Injection/Polution gear for ULP. I think 86 was the last year it was easy?

You could look at a 351 Windsor instead of the Clevo, or start with an AU 200kw injected motor. Should be able to pick one up with all you need for waaaay less than the $6k for the rebuilt clevo.

The Windsors also fit into the engine bay without modifications - Clevelands take a bit of hacking with the heater box. Check www.xfalcon.com theres a load of info there.

If you do decide to go injected, There are lots of things that make a ute easy.
Fuel Tank and Pump from XG/H Utes will fit right in, as will fuel lines. you dont have issues running Dual Exhausts. The only issue with the fitment is the A/C Compressor - a little massage of the shock tower and removal of one of the Bolts usually takes care of it.

Have a good look around. There is a thread on here from XR9Ute, and if you look at www.pertheseries.com looking for the thread from XR9Van (same guy) there are lots of good pictures on the needed stuff.

Nigel