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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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 Posted - 07 Jan 2010 : 11:41:46 PM
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What was the first car you owned that you really cared about? Not the cheap paddock basher you got "because you needed a car" but the first car you wanted to play with. For me, it was an HQ Kingswood. A 202, Trimatic, in a colour Holden calls Nutmeg Metallic, but my mates call "dog**** Brown" Most of my mods involved an exhaust system, a 350 Holley, better audio, and some retrimming. Kept it for 6 years, and it barely missed a beat.
First Commodore I owned was an '82 VH. 173 auto, blue interior and exterior, and was almost ready to licence it. Until what I figure was mistaken identity, some #$&*wit smashed the windows, slashed the tyres, and scrawled death threats on the bonnet with a screwdriver! Offloaded that one due to a lack of will or money to repair it.
Today, I still own both a Kingswood and a Commodore, but the pics are too embarrassing of either at the moment (far too rough around the edges) will post a pic when I have some worthy ones.
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VNSVLE
Forum Moderator
1316 Posts
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Posted - 08 Jan 2010 : 12:16:38 AM
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| Have 2 many project and parts cars 2 count but the one I am keen to do some work to once I finally get a decent shed would have to be either the SV LE or the 1961 FB ute and possibly the VS Stato which I am driving at the moment and about to start stereo install. |
What's the difference between understeer and oversteer?
Understeer is when the driver is scared.
Oversteer is when the passenger is scared. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 08 Jan 2010 : 5:20:46 PM
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If you have no problems with customising the FB, once the usual "HR crossmember" conversion has been done, a VN V6 is a nice fit for them. Only hard part will be the electrical work to patch it into the very basic FB harness.
Another tech note: get an EK harness, as it already is set up for such useful basics as electric wipers. You will find that if you keep the stock FB vacuum driven ones, they are useless at speed.
Also, the stud pattern on the early Holdens is an exact match to the Vectras. So if for some reason you wanted a cheap way of putting 15" wheels on it, they fit. Even more embarrassingly, the Volvo stud pattern is the only other known manufacturer to use this stud pattern. I had the pleasure of working in a wrecking yard as a teenager, surrounded by classic cars of the 50s and 60s. A huge improvement on the usual part-time job of the day; flipping burgers for Maccas. |
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lemusa
Fully Licenced
193 Posts
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Posted - 13 Jan 2010 : 3:14:17 PM
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| First real car is my vn, before that i had a 83 mazda 323 which took an absolute beating, and a 95 nissan cefiro 3L |
Just be thankful you got two legs to stand on and hands to grab sh*t with! |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 13 Jan 2010 : 4:52:22 PM
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| Good to see you kicked the rice burner habit early. Have only owned three Japanese cars in my entire driving history; a clapped out Mazda 808 (ancestor of the 323) whose timing chain was so loose, it buzzed at idle. Another was a 77 Mazda Capella (ancestor of the 626) which was so rusty, it sounded like someone was stepping on corn flakes if you put a jack under it. Prior to the HQ, I had a '74 Corolla wagon. It looked rough, it drove rough, but was incredibly cheap to run. Had a situation I can laugh at now; its exhaust manifold kept rattling loose nuts at the flange, and had to keep replacing said nuts. Sealed them with Loctite, and they still managed to almost fall out. Annoyed, I strapped the flange to the manifold with fencing wire and clamped it with pliers. It didn't rattle loose again, but got some funny looks whenever I reached under the exhaust manifold to plug in the connector to the starter motor switch for the umpteenth time. I finally lost patience, and decided an upgrade was in order |
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lemusa
Fully Licenced
193 Posts
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Posted - 14 Jan 2010 : 3:35:51 PM
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I was never a ricer, the 323 was 500 bucks and i needed a car so grabbed it, cefiro lasted all of a month before i wrecked it out. engine popped. and my vn now, on my second engine, 100000000th set of tires and loving it.
Il be keepin the vn until its rusted into the ground, which will take a while cos there isnt a spot on it!
Also tryin to save some coin for a vy/vz, just want something more modern as well that wont be a money pit |
Just be thankful you got two legs to stand on and hands to grab sh*t with! |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 14 Jan 2010 : 5:53:33 PM
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A VY is worth about 7-$800, if you remember to screw down the dealer a lot. VZs are still worth a bit more because of the Alloytec. Main things to watch for when buying are head corrosion, bodywork, and sometimes transmission. In a manual, so long as it has a Borg Warner T5, you will have trouble breaking it. My sister's fiancee sold his, a VT with a T5 gearbox, and despite his hoonery behind the wheel, it never have him any trouble.
The minor things that go wrong with VY/VZ are the following:
Speaker grilles on doors- Very fragile, be very careful not to kick them, or your foot might go though it.
Side trims on front seats- have a bad reutation for coming loose, as the clips that hold them there are cheap and nasty
Oil- When thrashed hard, Alloytecs have been known to burn some oil; you rarely see it leak. I know this because I used to work for an Avis franchise, and had to top up those you can tell someone wrung the guts out of it.
Steering wheel mounted switchgear- Easy to replace, but be gentle, or you'll be doing it a lot.
VYs and VZs have a "full trip computer; a round cluster of switches on the dash that show trip information on an LCD screen. The top two say "MODE" and "RESET," the bottom two are arrow buttons. They also give an audble warning and a display message to remind you when the next service is due. If you want to reset the service information at home, hold down the two arrow buttons, then turn the ignition on. After holding for about 5 seconds, the screen will say "Reset items?" To confirm that, you hit the reset button, and if you've done it right, it will briefly display, "no items." I'll explain how to do it on the VE later lol |
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InSaNe_InK
Fully Licenced
125 Posts
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Posted - 15 Jan 2010 : 12:55:15 AM
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| i have had 2 vn's and the vs i have now the 1st vn had 2 cracked heads after a bit of a hard life the 2nd vn as you know was stolen and burnt out :( and the vs i have now is running nice as but i can say one thing i love the vs i have now but there is nothing like a vn |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 15 Jan 2010 : 11:19:00 AM
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| One of the best things Holden made a habit of, was what they sometimes call universal tooling in the trade. Parts can be interchanged between models much more easily than some manufacturers. For example, a VN-VS door only varies between models by what's attached to it. The tradition went back a long way. The HQ-WB was the best example of all. You could mix and match trim, interiors, body panels, engines, gearboxes, in fact about 80% of them could be swapped from one car to the next without picking up a hammer or a pair of cutters. It's possible to put a VS front end on a VN by just bolting the parts on. The only time you'd have to do anything "aftermarket" would be to change some stuff to make something electronic fit. |
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