new idea, need advice please

[VRMan]

G'day Guys,

A made a bet with a mate that i could take the road to his farm (between Numarella and Jerangle (NSW)) in a commodore, i have a month to buy one (as i no longer have one), and build it to a state where i think it can handle it. ok heres what it needs to be able to do, get accross really bad dirt road (hasnt been graded in 5 years and snow season really messed it up), i think my dads stock VT could do it, but i wouldnt want to risk it. The hardest part though is that it need to be able to go through about 2 foot deep of water in a river crossing (eeeeek).

I was thinking, something like a VN maybe, as they are pretty cheap, it needs to be able to be road registered, what i was wondering though... it is possible to RAISE a commo, i know u can lower them but what about raising them. also is it possible to fit muddies or something to a commo, or should i go stock interceptors or 20's WIDE?

Would i need a snorkle or something?? i doubt it

please give me all the hints you can, and if someone has done this, post some piccies or something please.

Cheers,

Alex

[immortality]

possibly a problem with the water crossing, the cas is going to be submerged at that level, don't know it it's going to like that. yu could always fit somesort of 4wd tyres on some ceptors and get some heavy duty standard height springs so it rides higher. not sure, didn't some utes come with that country pack suspension?

[14secvp]

ive driven mine with the bonnet level with the water had too didnt stall or anything as long as you keep the intake above the water no problems or you could do this but that would be cheating i spose

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Would winning the bet cover the cost of buying a car and then modifying it to do the job? Not a very smart bet. Even if you won, what have you got? Unless you keep it and enter it in a Variety Club bash event in 2009, by then it will be 20 years old if you get an 88 VN.

[DANNY8]

A local here where I live has a VB wagon. It has a hiace van motor (diesel) and trans(5spd) in it. He moved the spring seats on the front shockies up to lift the whole car up, and to fit 4wd tyres under it. We asked him bout it oneday when we saw him at a hardware shop, and he told us everything he did. There's been heaps of custom fab work (can't remember wat he did to the rear) and overall he said it took him 2 weeks (altho lots of planning beforehand). He did it back in 1985 I think he said, and it's all engineered and approved. He said since he's put the diesel motor in, the odometer is on it's second cylce through the k's. It's currently on 800,000k's (in the 800's), which is the second time it's been there. He said the car has been everywhere except on it's roof. He said he's thinkin bout selling it soon, we asked him how much for and he said only a few hundred coz it wouldn't be worth much these days.

[GOTMYN]

Buy a Clapped out 253 VB or VC, Make sure it has a tight LSD and good treaded rear tyres, They go anywhere!! Tough as they come!!
When you get to the river crossing section, Wrap the front of the car up with a tarp, Cover grill, headlights and everything on the front serface of the car this will deflect the water and stop the it entering the engine bay, make sure you remove it straight after as it will get hot very quick if you dont!!

Oh yeh, take a camera and get plenty of footage for us all to see!!

[VRMan]

i got that VN today its a 90 model, im hoping that after i win this competition ill just keep using the car, it looks to be a good solid car, its missing some stuff like passengers door trim and roofling (any ideas on where to get some... wreckers???), but its running and registered, i just gotta get it checked (which means ill probably need the door trims and what not. It WILL be my bush mobile when its done. Ill make a snorkle for it, so that i dont get water in the intake and ill properly seal the dizzy, coil, spark leads and all that. should be good, how many people want pictures of its current state? AS for the suggestion for the country kit, ive thought about this, yes its a good idea, and yes it came standard on some VN sedans. if im correct i should have enough clearance from the springs to install BF goodrich all terrains or something.

[DANNY8]

Sry....I posted twice haha

[VRMan]

my project is going well so far, ive put bigger springs in it (this raised the arse end a little bit, but didnt effect the front much) ive changed all the bushes and stuff, they were all buggered, changed front rotors and put bendix ultimate pads in the front (back was fine), in a week or two im getting new shockies put in (Bilsteins), my power steering is leaking like nothing else, but ill just keep topping it up until it poops itself, then ill get a new rack, pump and hoses and all that. Thinking of putting a snorkle on it, but i dont know if anyone custom makes them or whether ill have to make one from PVC, my biggest issue is that i will have to run it pretty much to where to box is now and then out the gaurd and up the side but thats getting long and what not... will it effect air flow and what not? any other ideas guys?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

A VS SC or V8 CAI will work just as well, you need to heat the corners and shut the bonnet to mold it to the shape as the VR/VS has a different clearance than the VN.

[Morton]

Your best bet for a snorkel, would be to run your pipe out of the airbox, through the front guard, then back up the A Pillar. Then seal the airbox and any other gaps shut with sikaflex. Don't worry - when the competition is over, you can replace the airbox and quarter panel with new ones for tuppence.

Make sure you spool the diff so both wheels are bangin', and keep some good ballast in the boot - sandbags? Something to keep you planted

[greenfoam]

This road doesn't sound any worse than the Holden test track, I've seen a picture of a VN being testing down a gravel road with all 4 wheels about 2 foot off the deck

[defa]

yeah. i agree. it doesn't sound much at all. 2 foot of water isn't much. me and my brother tried to get through 2 foot of water once when i was a youngster and were doing fine till the 2 foot turned into well over a meter. then we had to walk back about 15 km's to our house.. wasn't too fun. should have taken the bypass track. haha.
if this road is dry ya shoud't have too much trouble. just keep out of wheel ruts so it doesn't bottom out... one thing ya could do is put a strong cover over the sump so ya don't bash that in. then buggering up ya oil pickup. i would be a little worried if there is any dead sand of bad bad mud..
take a can of wd spray with ya. a few steel posts (ya can use them to get your tyres to grip on.)
how many km's are we talking about. and how much is this bet for??

[VRMan]

mate the bet has more turned into something i dont really care about, im just enjoying building it for the bush. ive thought about putting a shield over the sumps and possibly the fuel tank. good idea with sandbags in the boot. The trip is only really about 200ks max and only about 50 of that is really bad. Should be a good trip, i really cant see why i would have much of a problem. Ill take it on more trips out bush sometime though

[immortality]

mate the bet has more turned into something i dont really care about, im just enjoying building it for the bush. ive thought about putting a shield over the sumps and possibly the fuel tank. good idea with sandbags in the boot. The trip is only really about 200ks max and only about 50 of that is really bad. Should be a good trip, i really cant see why i would have much of a problem. Ill take it on more trips out bush sometime though

an ex cop car (bt1) we had in the family had a sump gaurd on it, it bolted tothe cross member from memory. i have no idea if these are standard equipment however and i don't know what happened to it either

[vn calais manual]

only 200ks lol ouch. sounds funny though. would be interesting.

[defa]

so what happened with this little venture. did it end up happening