Share You Commodore Story (From Oil Spills To Late Night Drives)

[Turismo]

Hello to all,

I have spent alot of time on this excellent website, browsing the extensive forums, learning and listening to what everyone has to say about there pride and joys. However, even though I have no doubt that you all feel passionately about your rides, I have come across very few threads that actually focus on the story of how you have acquired you particular choice of wheels and how you have, over time made them your own. Im sure that many of you have tails of hurt, pain and heartbreak, aswell as stories of smiles, laughter and general good times. I vote we share these stories and see it only fitting that, it being my idea, I go first.

So...

After relinquishing my P-Plates I came to a very tough point in the timeline line of my car ownership history. Like every car enthusiast, I found it extremely difficult to face the fact that I had to sell my first car. I dont care who you are, and what that car was, just like loosing your virginity, the first one that you get inside is usually nothing special, but you always will remember them. Mine was a 1991 Toyota Celica. However, it was time to move on. After spending several weeks browsing car yards, private ads and getting frustrated with sales staff, I found what I was looking for. It was a stock standard, un'hoon'afid' Series 2 VY V6 S-Pack Sedan. The car itself was presented poorly ie. it was filthy and full of crap. It did however have a full Holden service history (that i confirmed with a quick phone call) which allowed me to see past the dirt and grim. So I paid the lazy owner some of my hard earned green and drove home. Now, on that drive home in my smelly new car somthing strange happened, I found myself taking the long way home. Why? Just so that I could drive that car a little longer! It was instant love!

Come the next weekend, I cancelled all plans, spent Saturday morning shopping down at the local car care shop, got home and got to work. Fluids were swapped, filters exchanged, carpets scrubbed and dashboards polished. The paint was buffed and tyres were checked, coolant flushed and spark plugs traded. With my hand on a bible i tell you that the drive to work Monday morning was in the top ten best experiences of my short life so far.

Over the next year I proceeded to lightly modify my VY as follows:
-First of all the front brakes got swapped out to some slotted rotors and bendixs pads, I am a Marine Mechanic and somtimes required to tow light loads.
-Next she got a set of shinny new 18inch rims, a 25mm lower, and new shocks. Improved handling and of course a better look!
-Time for a new note, not that bothered about increased performace, I found a simple CAT-Back exhaust gave me the tune that I was after.
-After getting fed-up of seeing green, I gave the VY to Ant (wrx884) who kindly (for a small fee) swapped out the cluster illiumation and dash lights for a blue, white with a hint of red colour scheme.
-After a close call on a dark back road, the standard headlight globs had to go. Enter the power of HID. A full conversion kit was a relativly cheap to buy of EBay, yet gives a huge difference in the dark.
-Last but not final, a awesome headunit by Pioneer.

(If anyone would like anymore information on the few mods that I have done, please, feel free to contact me)

One thing as a Mechanic I see over and over again is lack of maintenance. Yes I admit paying someone your hard earned cash to work on your car, usually with no noticeable immediate benefit can be hard, but trust me a $500 service now will save you $5,000 down the line, FACT! I do however have a bit of a OCD complex when it come to taking care of my own car and it is as follows:

Every 2 weeks (give or take).
"A clean car is a happy car"
-A good clean inside and out.
-Lift that bonnet and check/top up those fluid levels!
-Tyre pressures.

Every 6 Months.
This is manly just the paint work.
-Aswell as its fortnightly wash, the car gets a good polish and wax. Easiest way to keep value on you car is to keep that paint looking fresh so wax it before the summer sun, and wax it before the winter cold!
-A general grease'n'lube.
-Check the brake pads and for even tyre wear.

Every 10,000km.
Some of you may think a minor service at this interval is unnecessary and im not going to argue with you. However, for my piece of mind:
-I add a engine oil flush addative, then swap out the oil and filter for new, also adding a addative at the end.
-I have a K+N filter fitted, so here is when its gets cleaned and re-oiled.
-Pull out the plugs. I dont fit platinum as they are over priced for what they are, this gives a great chance for you to make sure the threads arn't getting stiff, the gap is correct and it is the easiest way to make sure that motor is burning its juice cleanly. The last time I did this i found one bank was slightly darker then the other, a trip to the local dealer and for a small fee they put it on the computer to find that a o2 sensor was failing! Replaced BOTH sensors and shes burning beautifully again!
-Change the fuel filter.

150,000km.
I hit this milestone recently and this is what I did to get the Eco-Tec through another 150,000km.
-Changed the fuel pump. Upon inspection I found severly worn out brushes, its was a time bomb waiting to strand me at the road side.
-Injector removal and clean. Got them proffessionaly cleaned. Now, I did NOT notice any economy or performance increase but it was just for my piece of mind. However, where I did notice a difference is with a definite smoother idle, perhaps also due to a cleaned throttle body and plenum chamber.
-Auto Transmisson oil and filter change. Not a pleasent job but worth while, smoother gearbox the result. WARNING - go genuine filter, heard of two stories where aftermarket filters have broken up and lodged them selfs in valves.
-Diff oil change.
-New serpentine belt.
-Radiator hoses.
-Coolant flush.

By doing this, and not driving like a D*CK. I have prevented, so far, my VY developing any major issues. Infact, the only issuse I have has was a small coolant drip from the thermostat housing, changed the gasket and at the same time threw in a new thermostat and shes good.

So comon' guys! From you who with the stock Executive, to you with the 10 second SS. What is your Commodore owners story? Whats your opinion on my maintenance plan? Missing anything? What do you do?

Regards,
Luke and his VY!

[GothicKidd]

Cool Story Bro

Read if willing: lul

My P's were due to arrive very soon, so I needed a cheap car to run around in.. after noticing a old VN sitting out in my uncles shed, I asked him if I could buy it he agreed and the car was mine.. Now the car hadn't been started in a few months/years... And had no luck starting it we towed it home and gave it a good clean.
Got a new battery and tried starting..after a few attempts nothing. Dads mate came over and tried to get it going, Realized it was the fuel pump giving us grief so we dropped the tank cleaned up in and around the tank and where it sat, Painted everything black, Got new hoses and a pump for it.. after failing to fit the tank back in.. we gave up we took it to the mechanics to get it fixed.. couple days later got it back with a low compression in one cylinder and a $800 odd bill..(Wrong pump, Tank had broken part- New Tank) - Paid $300 Spent $800 Sold for $1000. Not bad. I now often see the car at the cop shop with defect notices.. quite often.. :3
First day getting my P's and getting the Car Regoed... I took it for a drive.. Being a typical P plater took it out Tokyo Drifting on a dirt road.. had my first experience of loosing control.. After that I behaved myself.. After a few months.. Car Served me good, but engine sounded like it was on the way out..
I wanted to modify the car and fix it up.
After discussions with parents buying a newer car sounded like a better plan something like a VT. after searching on eBay for a few days... I found a car that caught my eye, I thought the car looked amazing and offered alot better then anything else.. - I wanted it end of story..
This is when the Purple VR commdore was bought, me and my Family traveled 10hours to collect the car.. After waiting for what it seemed a life time.. we arrived at the guys house.
I fell in love.. so in love I looked past all the flaws it had. The drive home was so fun, First stop was to the first suspension shop to get new tires fitted, They suggested to get the cut springs replaced, after noticing the worst ride and knocking.. New springs was a must, after 5 hours of driving.. We arrived at the pedders shop.. Where the whole front end needed replacing (bushes and such) and new springs in the back.. $1000 later we started thinking we bought a shitbox painted with mags. Drove it home with a better ride..
After a couple of months.. Ive started realizing all the flaws this car had.
Rusted exhaust, alot of bald tires, Roughest ride, and alot of stupid-ness.. My first engine had decided to die.
In this time I bought another car from my uncle $500 this time for a car to drive around while my Commodore was broken.. and Now I cant sell it.
Replaced engine, New Lukey catback, bits n pieces... $2800 later.. Car started looking like its getting better.
Car $2800 + Repairs $4700 = $7500odd
Real value - $2000.

In the mean while, My brothers car was purchased for $7000, VX Berlina, Pacemakers, 2'5 Catback... - Started getting furious.. Im wanting to get a new car now

and this is where it stands

[GEN3RATD]

My first car was a 1992 EB XR6. Loved it with a passion, any money I had went on making it go faster. After 12 months away from it (Joined the RAN) and accuring a large amount of funds after a stint at sea, I was ready to upgrade.

So I set out, had a look at a few XR8's but nothing tickled my fancy. Then I stumbled across something that would change my mind about Holdens.

2002 VXII SS. Red, Red leather, 69,000kms, $12,500. Description was a few minor scratches so I was a bit put off as to what is considered minor. Anyway I gave the guy a ring, elderly, just downsized to a ford fiesta. Arranged to have a look the next Saturday.

So I drove to Perth, and it was love at first sight. Scratches were on the underside of the front bar, no biggie. Offered him 11k and he said come pick it up next Saturday.

So after the longest week of my life, I couldn't believe I was finally getting my first V8 at the tender age of 18.

So this is my commodore moment. The feeling of picking up my first V8, driving the hour long journey home in pure bliss. Rocking up to my mates houses and watching the jealousy spread across their faces. Will never forget it.

[Calaber]

Not really my story, but that of my best mate. He was looking for a Commie wagon back in 1984, when a good VB wagz was about 6k or so, which he really didn't have. We went out to the car yards on Parramatta Road hoping for a high mileage cheapie that would fit his budget.

And we found this.

Yellow base model VB 2850 Manual Wagon. Dead stock with only cloth trim optioned. The mileage was reasonably high but not excessively so. The report on the windscreen basically said that every mechanical component was rooted, from the harmonic balancer to the diff, and everything in between. The cost was $3,000. The car was clean and straight and the upholstery had none of that tired, saggy vinyl on the doors that every VB gets. I thought there was no way a car could ever get to the point where every mechanical component was shagged simultaneously, so we borrowed a battery and got the old girl going. The harmonic balancer was stuffed and it was pretty noisy as the engine ran, but apart from that, it seemed ok. We couldn't drive it because of the balancer and it was unrego'd, but we took a punt. Paid and towed it home.

The balancer was the only mechanical fault with the car. We replaced it and it gave four years of reliable and cheap motoring to my mate, then to me when I bought it from him. It was a real steal and a bloody good car.

[vnathanx]

maintenance plan is pretty good mate, i pretty much do the same and i have never had a break down i believe if you look after your car it will look after you even if its just vaccuming it and giving it a nice polish. i love my car and it will be one sad day when i get rid of it.

[VS 5.0]

Traded my 76 LX Torana on a 78 VB SL (blue with matching blue interior) 202 auto in April 1990. I had driven the Torana from the Gold Coast to Perth. As it had Qld plates, Holley & extractors, the dealer didn't want to have to try & rego it it WA (not emmissions compliant) so I got him to transfer the Holley & extractors to the VB for free. LX now emmissions compliant and VB not. Win for me & win for him.

Unfortunately the plod pulled one of my mates over in it and gave it a canary for the Holley so had to change it back to stock to get the canary off. Had revenge on my mate though because I was driving his HQ ute one day. This car had no accellerator pedal, just the metal bit sticking out from the floor, the three on the tree shifter was missing the "top" part so was just a bit of a stub coming out of the steering column, the brakes were dodgy as and if you changed down gears while turning the steering wheel, the steering would lock. The only thing holding the car together was the paint. Pretty freaky car to drive. Unfortunately for him, there was no way he was going to get that thing back on the road. Anyway, I digress.

Got over the whole 6 cyl thing so traded the VB on a 85 VK 304 M21 ex pursuit (silver with matching interior) in April 1992. That was fun to drive. Unfortunately I bent that at Mount Ommaney near Northam on a hill climb event with the HDT Owners club. Got it back on the road thanks to a few guys in the club who helped out with parts, referred me to a smash repairer at good rates etc. Needed all new suspension, diff, numerous panels etc.

Kept that until November 1998 when I traded it on my VS which I will have had for 13 years come this November. Side note - the car dealer couldn't believe how heavy the the steering on the VK was with 235s and no power steering. Back then it was just normal to me but on reflection I see where he was coming from.

So have had a Commodore in one form or another for over 21 years now.

Oh, and my first born came home from hospital in the VS as well. It is part of the family and I hope to have for a long time to come.

[Drewie]

I have had several Commodores over the years, mostly been company cars. The car I have at the moment is a VX SS I bought new in 2001, as I bought it new I have kept absolutely ever bit of documentation belonging to the car. It will probably be of more interest to the second owner when I eventually do sell it.
I have kept every thing, original rego papers/label, purchase receipts, dealer delivery dockets, stickers that were on the car like the fuel consumption sticker that was on the windsceen, bar code tags that were on the original keys, all the books and brochures that came with the car, Holden roadside assist cards, plus lots of other bits and pieces along with all the receipts for anything that has been bought or replaced over the years, along with a file that I keep on the PC with details of everything that has every been done. It has only done a little over 72,000km in 10 years, when I do part with it someone will end up with a very good car. It is completly stock exactly as it was the day I collected it, well except for a different brand of tyre. So I guess the history on mine is the interesting stuff to look through. Been serviced every 6 months, first 6 years or so by Holden recently by a local workshop that specialises in V8 Commodores.

[F l a k]

I'm still on my first car, I don't think I'll ever part with it.

My Dad bought it near new when I was about 5, and it was our main family car every day until 2009. Every family road trip, and we went on a lot, were in that car. So many memories. I did practically all my 120 L plate hours in it. Not long after I first got my red P's, in 2009, my Pop died. He had a 2000 Statesman, and it was left for my Dad. So I was kind of given the Commodore. I was always going to buy it, but I didn't want to get it like that, as I was really close to my Pop.

When I got the VR, though, it wouldn't pass for a pink slip, and was really a huge P.O.S. Since then I've replaced almost all the suspension and brakes, done a heap of motor work, cleaned it properly for the 1st time in its life, and generally made it better than it's ever been. The stereo and air-conditioning didn't work when I got it, the roof lining had fallen down, and it ran a bit rough and looked pretty average (Read; hubcaps, headlight and bonnet protectors, broken old mudflaps, big plastic rear venation). The brakes were shot and it had leaks everywhere, too.

My Uncle and I have done basically all the work ourselves at his house, and it's been great fun and good experience. Building up my car, and driving it around, really was just about the only thing that got me...well, is getting me through a really rough patch in my life, I literally live for it. I work to pay for parts, calculating my pay in what I can buy next, and spend time thinking about it or just cruising around and getting a little smile when I put my foot down.

I know it's just a VR V6 Exec, it's still slow, and not full of creature comforts, but I couldn't care less. It means more to me than just about anything else. No girl will ever come between that bond I have with my car, because after my last gf left me, I took a lot of comfort in my car. It won't be a bitch, cheat, leave me, and it'll be there for me. It's not going anywhere. I honestly love that car, and don't know what I'd do without it. I'd be screwed, and people who know me well know this. So now my whole family, everyone, likes to come see what I've done now and talk about it.

And I've only ever been pulled over once, and it was on my L's at random. Never had any troubles with the law, and I do a lot of driving, but I often drive pretty slow so... haha. Everyone seems to go faster than me lol. Also did all my driving lessons, P's test, and advanced driver training in it. No one else is allowed to drive it...except when I'm really I'll and can't drive, then they can move it from the drive way.

It's my car; I built it, for me. I still owe it big time though.
Maybe a 5 ltr conversion will even it up a bit :P

[Mirkz]

Good thread!
Here's my story so far...


My first car was a VP Commodore V6 exec.
Good car for a first car, though at the time I had my head up my ass and wanted something else (it was a gift for completing yr12).
That poor car went through a lot. I got over it within months and got rid of it.

I down sized. '84 Mazda 929 Coupe in manual.
Was a good little car, used to burn through exhaust gaskets because the exhaust was fked but a good car..
I ended up selling this to upgrade to my next car.

I'd bought a 93 Skyline. Non turbo, manual.
Loved it. Owned it for 4yrs. and during that time did a bolt on turbo conversion, keeping the high compression. There was now torque... and boost.
Ended up turning my interest towards bikes, thus the skyline had to go.

First bike, an 06 Hyosung GT250R.
A korean made thing. Great size and a good look.
Kept it for a yr then upgraded.

Next up was a 2005 ZX10R.
This thing was a weapon on wheels. I absolutely loved it and still miss it.
I had this for 3yrs, and sold it to get a car because my gf, didn't have her license or a car at that stage and we were going into winter.

That's where the VT comes in.
Someone wanted to swap his SS for a bike, I needed a car... things happened and it was mine.
The first time I heard it, I loved it. Took an ex mechanic mate to look at it, who said it looked good.
Took it for a drive and everything seemed ok.

Wasn't until a few weeks later I started noticing things the more I worked on the car and the more time I spent in it.
I felt like I'd been ripped and ended up with a lemon. I'd sold my love and gotten a lemon.
I was pretty pissed off for months, there was a knock in the front end, a severe knock. Got it checked... Pedders said there was near 2k worth of work to be done to the front end.
Fk that I thought..
There was also a rattle in the exhaust.

A few months go by... I crack the shits with the sound in the front end and decide that I'm going to get new shocks and drop the car a bit.
Purchase the kit off ebay and my bro and I spend our first time working on cars together since I had the skyline, we had fun and the difference was enough to change my tone and want more.
Next up was the exhaust, slapped that all on the credit card to get it done and out of the way, the moment I picked it up I was ecstatic. It roared, it thundered, it had been transformed into a beast.

Gradually I've been fixing things up that have come up and bit by bit the car is getting better and better and to where it SHOULD be, rather than the lemon of a thing it was when I got it.

This is where I'm at.. Much happier with the car, but a lot more things I want to do to it before I am truly happy.
Very happy with my progress so far, and it's been just under a yr since I started playing with it and about 18 months since I've had it.

[Turismo]

Hi all,

First of all im am greatfull for all you responses, it has made for a intreasting evening read! Thank you!

I got a question regarding the difficuilty of the HID headlight installation. I thought I would post on the thread rather then PM back, so that everyone can see.

The conversion kit that i purcashed of EBay was a Hi/Low beam 6000k 55watt kit. There were some higher Wattage kits avalible for a smilar price, however with a bit of research I found a few instances of these higher wattage globes burning slightly hotter and thus melting plastic headlight housings. True or not, I decided 55watt would be enough.
As for the installation, I myself do have basic electrical knowledge through my trade and found it fairly simple, yet a fiddly and time consuming job. Perhaps could have been done quicker, but like all things, I like to do it properly the first time every time! Here is how it went (the best that i can recall):

Step 1
-Remove the back covers from the headlights. At this point I quickly realised that it would be easier to remove the battery from down by the drivers side to allow easier access.
-Remove the 3pin headlight plug from back of the globe and remove the old globes.

Step 2
-First thing I did was to find a suitable place to mount the ballast. Take note that usally the 'ballast to globe' cable is normally quite short, therefore you cant go mounting the ballast in you boot! For me, I squirted a nice big blog of stikaflex to the bottom of each ballast glueing them to the inside body of the engine bay. The driver side was bellow the battery under the headlight and the passenger side was bellow the airbox under the headlight. At this point i grabbed a beer and let the stikaflex dry. Also to note is that I wasnt sure how well sealed the ballast were, so I ran a bead of silicone sealent around edge of the ballast where the two halfs meet.
-Next I found a suitable place to mount the relay modual aswell as a place that I could earth the ballasts. For me, I earthed the ballast to the bolt holding the top headlight mounts and mounted the relay modual to a nice spot just left of the top radiator hoses.

Step 3
-Connect it all up. This involved running wires along the top of the radaitor. For a bit of protection I coverd these wires in split-tubing and drilled small holes in the plastic radiator cover allowing me to cable tie the wires up. Also dabbed a bit of grease on all the rubbed seals on the electrical connectors just a extra protection againts moisture intrustion and corrosion. I was also impressed how the kit simply pluged straight into the origanl headlight 3-pin plug!

Step 4
-Not a nessacery step, but i wanted to put the covers on the back of the headlights. So a simple 1inch hole in the back of the cover allowed me to past the 3-pin plug through. I know that it is no longer water resisant with the hole, but cant help but feel the light is a little more protected.

Step 5
-Drive up to you the front of that annoying naighbours house, put you main beam on and see a x-ray of his living room!

Hope this aids you guys thinking about doing this,

Regards
Luke.

[Denz.K VS]

great thread!!

my first car i got when i was in year 9. it was 1990 VN exec stock as rock. i was shopping around for a while for a car to learn to drive on as i was getting my L's pretty soon. my uncle who is a spary painter, told my old man that he new a guy who owned a commodore wreckers who had a vn he just got that was too good wreck.
soo on the weekend we went down to check it out. after the short drive( which seemed to go forever lol) i walked into the huge shed filled with parts and bodies of dead commys, there in the corner underneath a tarp was the car. i instantly fell in love and as soon i heard the engine fire i new that it had to be mine. 1500 bucks with rego and roady and a week later it was parked in my garage ready for me and my dad to start doing a few mods to.
started off doing the usual stuff such as a good clean, service, stereo and all that stuff.
as i had the car longer and longer the more i loved it and the more i loved doing things to improve it and make it better. that car taught me so much and actually bought me and my dad closer together. i really think that working on cars brings people together and there are so many good times to be shared by bonding of a common passion like the one me and my dad shared. the car was used by dad as work car who travelled a heap of kms and the car didnt miss a beat was more realiable than all our cars in fact. as i got closer to geting my p's my parents offered over to me a recently purchased VS exec. it was the hardest decesion i felt i ever had to make but in the end chose the VS. the VN was stripped of all the stereo and other good gear and transfered to my VS. the vn then sat on my lawn for a while untill my mum started using it for her cleaning business. i slowly watched my car deteriotate as my mum began neglecting it untill it was completley wrecked inside. it became the family work horse and even towed my girlfriends dad's ford after it broke down ;P. up untill a month a ago the car was still being used by me and parents untill it was finally time for the rego to be paid and we decided it was time to sell it the wreckers. my heart sunk on that day when i handed the keys over as i new it was my 1st and that i would never find another like it. it was an amazing car and its true to say that dont make em like that anymore. man i still miss it lol

now for the VS
VS exec V6 was given to me by my parents as a gift. it was also a stocko when they bought but i've slowly transformed it into what it is today. its panta mica lowered on SL springs. 15 inch stockies with chrome trims and center caps (tuff lol). its got 2.5inch redback cat back exhaust system with twin dump tip and smoked up and pinstriped tail lights. inside its various statesman interior pieces, a huge stereo, and retro fitted VT calais front and rear seats as well as momo wheel. theres so much more ive done to it and absolutly adore it. a day wouldnt go by were im not cleaning it, maintaining the engine, or moding it in some way. all the work ive done to it has been on my own and if it wasnt for my VN i wouldnt no half the stuff i no now. im absolulty commodore crazy and the faze will never die off.

thats my story

[MikeCuzzy]

Excellent thread - reckon it'll be one of the big ones. So here's my contribution, apologies if it's long:

The year was 1999, my Dad had owned his VL Commodore since I was born (91) and it was starting to show it's age and size limitations. With a family of 3 kids, my parents realised they needed a full size car to compliment their Laser and the VL wasn't doing it. My Dad, a Commodore man now, went looking around dealers. He came across a VT Executive Series 1, it wasn't love at first site, not by a long shot - rather it was a reminder of how little his rusted out VL was worth (still got $4000 for it) and how hard he would be working to pay off this new car. When he bought her, it was $28,000, had been driven by a Church somewhere and was in virtually perfect condition all over. By now we were living a decent way from the city and Dad was staking on the kilometers quick, around 35,000km per year - mostly on the freeways though. We moved house a few times over the years, in my eyes I grew up in this car, it was the one thing that was always there. Years of school runs, it took me to soccer games on a weekend, down the coast on holidays and when it came time for me to learn to drive, it was the first car I had ever driven. After years of spending several hours a day in this car, Dad grew to love this car, and made the choice to drive it for as long as he needed too, rather than replace it after a few years. I always got to sit behind Dad in the car, that was my spot, always felt safe no matter what. Late at night, driving through fog near the river couldn't see 20 yards ahead, wouldn't matter cause Dad was driving a car he new better than anything else in the world. When the 2001 Bushfires swept through and it was 40*C, the car brought us from our Grandparents house on the south coast, nearly 400km back home- we drove all day trying to get into town and it never skipped a beat not even when a fire crossed the road right in front of us.
Skip ahead a few years, the Commodore is now "The Old Girl", and my Dad has bought his new baby, the VE SV6 *epic voice*. No it's not an SS or even supercharged, but it's my Dad's beast. I was on my Red P's and studying, so the VT is now mine, the car that had first sat in when I was 8 years old and dreamt of driving was now mine to drive. The first time I got in it by myself was greatest sense of freedom I had ever felt, like the world was open to me. It put a smile on my face like you wouldn't believe. Over the next 18 months my parents paid for services, I paid for fuel. Finally, just last week, I finished my study and my parents gave me the choice to keep the car, she'd done 450,000km without a rebuild on anything, balding tyres and many a leak, but the only way someone would take this car is from my cold, dead hands. So $500 later the car was in my name, Ive poured my heart and soul into this car, repairing it, keeping it clean and looking after it.
My dream car may have only been a VT Exec, but it was mine now, this car means the world to me I don't care how much she costs to fix. It never let me down, and I will not be letting it down. My family think I am nuts, my girlfriend thinks I am nuts, but it doesn't matter, it's my car and my money. I look out in the morning, or catch a glimpse in the morning and it puts a smile on my face that it is my car. If I got a new car, everytime I look at it, I would feel a sense of dissappointment.

That's my story, I'm insane, but oh well - everyone is a little bit.

Mike.

[Adds_05]

>was 17,bought a 1 owner vk berlina with reco EFI 202 off an old bloke for $1000 who only drove it to the local shops on pension day and to church on a Sunday.
>covered in dents and faded paint but had an immaculate interior.
>drove it around for just under a year,young and silly, didnt service it or check oil until it started ticking on the freeway,didnt do anything stupid like burnouts/flog it etc, it was my baby
>only replaced the thermostat in it when it over heated one night,didnt need anything else
>sold it to my druggie neighbour for $1200 just before rego who gave it a hard time and wondered why it kept breaking down.

>bought my vn executive,was my new baby, did the usual lowered/exhaust/cai/wheels.
>serviced it,replaced anything that needed replacing,paint started to fade but cut and polished it so it came up pretty good
>had it for 4 years

>bought a vq v8 stato 185,000kms,great interior
>dents in every panel/paint faded.
>found problems everyday for 3 weeks after getting it,ranging from oil leaks to gearbox slipping which wasnt when i test drove it. (did witness the bloke selling it rip a skid in his vr v8 that he was selling at the same time though)
>kept having problems,lost faith in it,broke down on me in the middle of nowhere,sold it

>bought current vr ss cheap,needed blue slip,needed a power steering rack and one or two minor things,285,000kms,goes/looks/more reliable than the stato,
>numb nuts here swapped the old crappy looking ignition module from the ss into the stato before i sold it as the stato one had been reco'd in 2008,
>turned out the reason id broken down in the stato was because of the ignition module.
>now had broken down in the ss,replaced it,she runs beautiful again
>throw 19s on it,s pac lip on the boot,slowly modify it.
>service it all the time,replace anything that needs replacing quickly.
>open the door
>get on the floor
>everybody walk the dinosaur

[bogan_vk]

great thread!
my first commodore i bought was a vh, absolutley loved that thing it had sle everything in it lowered,custom paint and had a very angry 202 in it for a 6 it sounded and went amazing but it wasnt a v8 so i went out and bought from a wrecker a complete vc sle 308 auto for a v8 conversion to go into mine ,big mistake because it wasnt a 308 as i was told by the wrecker when i bought it..... it was a 2 shitty 3 still i was hooked by the sound of this v8 so i converted my vh to a 253 auto and sold the 202 motor spare yt head etc i had for my 6 that was a big mistake! as the 6 went so much harder than the 8, the auto in the 8 blew within 3 weeks and motor died not much after that so i had to get some new running gear for my vh ,i had an old rusty lh torrie lying around which a mate wanted to swap for his 2 good running 6 cyl vh commos so i did and converted it back to a 6, only stock this time as id already sold my angry little 6 when i converted it to an 8 all this trouble with this car because i was young and stupid at the time and was dying to have an 8 in the end the car got sold for bugger all after i went sideways into a pole "being a dick" crushing my sle bar end and killing the back quarterpanel big time, since then theres been a long list of commos ive owned mostly early girls.

[Parabola]

cool thread of long reading

i got my first car in new Zealand when i was 16 it was a WRX sti, thing was a beast and i loved it so much, had to sell it 6 months later as the family was moving to auz so out she went.

So i got to Auz and realised there were "engine restrictions" i had my eye on an XR8, but of coarse good old QLD i wasn't aloud it. As i only had my red P's. Me and Brother went halves in a mitzi magna, thing was a piece of shit, but was cheap while we were unemployed. we named it the chick manga, and we thrashed it everywhere untill it blew up.

Then i got a job, and was heading to work and a VT Holden on the road, caught my eye, stock as a rock. so i brought it. and every singe cent i had went into it. big stereo/leather/rims lowered the works. soon got bored and sold it.

Since i the loved the VT/VX body shape i brought another VT, but i went to the S pack and i still have it this day and loving it. and finally off my P's and planning an ls1 conversion.

[tHe_sTiG]

Hey mate! Thanks for sharing your story! Its really nice when someone takes their time to write such a long article and share all the experiences they have with their rides.

My Commodore Story:

I got my first car 2 years ago: Commodore VZ Executive. Great driving the car. She has had her downs from time to time... but I find myself loving her more and more as the days go by. Just did an oil change and washed her thoroughly... then went out for a few hours on a beautiful drive The experience is priceless.

Back to the story. I grew up in Saudi Arabia. Never heard of Holden then. They're badged here as Chevrolet. Dad bought a WM Caprice a few years ago. Then one day, just stopping by the dealer for a spare antenna, they told us they had to ship it from Australia. Going deeper into the matter, they introduced Holden to us.

I gained more and more interest in Holden, and ended up getting a VZ Commdore as my first car. Now removed all the Chevrolet badges and got the Holden ones fitted on. Click the link in my signature to see my car. Nothing too fancy about it, I haven't modified anything in it yet... but yes, the steering wheel's on the wrong side haha!

[elmaso]

woah, some pretty good stories in here, i'll just throw mine in for shits an giggles.
lets just start with the history of my car.
it was first bought by some bloke who towed shit around, they had it until about 2002 smoked like a chimney in it, but still in fair nic.
then my brother in law bought it from the auctions for his new family car, apparently it was tip-top all your perfect options you get with a berlina.
he had it do all your family duties, including kids spilling stuff in it, scratching the tine and breaking interior parts.
before it was offered to me, my other brother in law needed a car because he put hes VS ute into a ditch, i feel sorry for the poor ol' thing, because that must have been the hardest 4 months of that cars life! lol so he pretty much had smoke poring out from the guards when ever possible.

anyhoo, this is how i came across it.
back in early '10 i was with my mum and her boyfriend, we where at his sons (my brother in law) house, me and him standing around talking shit about cars as we do.
then a burgundy-ish VS commodore comes up in conversation, i thought alright, cant be to bad so we decided to go have a look.
when my eyes locked onto the dirty, faded paint, i just wanted it, dont know why, i just looked at it and said how much!?

with a few weeks of me working my ass off to get the $1000 to pay for it (ialso paid another $1000 for a root load of parts).
seeing as our old house was pretty cramped, it wouldnt fit in our drive way, we already had 2 cars, a caravan and a light truck (at times) to park.
so waiting until i could finally have my own car, (that took about 4 months) we where having a little BBQ and what not at home, sitting out side i could hear a sound, a great sound, went out front to see my dirty, faded VS berlina parked on my front law, sitting on 2 statesman wheels and 2 stockies.
all i could think was, holy shit, i finally have my car!

the next week when it stopped raining, i took my entire weekend to clean it all up, with all of the dirt and mess gone, under it, wasnt a bad looking car!
with a quick look under the bonnet, checked the fluids, and just about everything was ####ing empty!! it came from the other side of melbourne to geelong, with about 1.5L of oil and barely any coolant! so toped it up, cleaned the bay up a little.

the next week being on L's, we took it out for a quick drive, and my god was it probably the breeziest car i had ever driven, the berlina seats where the perfect and comfortable, and suited me well.
but that wasnt my favorite part, as i would hear the note the exhaust produced as i tapped the accelerator was awesome, an put a small smile on my face, it still does sometimes haha

believe it or not, i've been offered cars and bikes for my car, but i decline. because this is my car, i've done all of the work to it myself, and every little thing that makes it mine, from the faded bonnet to the scrapes on the side, i love my car and hope to see it in a much better condition soon!

[ari666]

my story:

i bought one. drove it around. spent more time fixing it/modifying it than i did driving it. sold it and now i will never buy one again

the end.