Ballzups VH SL/E Restoration. (Valentine)

[Ballzup]

Hi all,

Thought I would share a little about my ride and the progress of my resto.

The car itself is the last one ever built. Was manufactured as a retirement gift for my grandfather who was the foreman of the GM factory in the 80's.

After buying it back from the kid my grandmother sold it to 5 years earlier it's been garaged with me for about 7 years while I saved up funds. Currently has 180ish on the clock.

Needs some minor panel beating, bare metal respray ($$$!) and fresh cosmetics.

Still in the disassembly stage of the job at the moment but as someone who knows very little about cars I'm really enjoying learning how everything works.

The goal is to have it almost in original condition with just a few tweaks to it. Eg neaten up the engine bay, maybe a really subtle reduction in height and a modern sound system and a few bits and pieces to give the motor a bit of extra power.

Will post a few pics below as the job progresses.

Would love to have any tips from anyone that's done one of these before.

 

[Ballzup]

The day before she was sold off approx 12-13 years ago

This is how the paint was when I bought her back

And after being off the road for 7ish years

Glass and most of the interior out

She sits a little high at the front end at the moment

 

[DerekP]

Jeez it looked immaculate when you grandfather sold it!! Well done you mate for keeping it original and for taking the time to resto it, love your work! Is it an 8, 253 or 308?

BTW since you intend on installing a modern sound system I would be interested in buying the original cassette deck if it is in as good a condition as the car originally looked if you want to sell it that is...

 

[Sandman]

^^ Bummer you beat me to it haha. Looks like a tidy base either way, certainly see them a lot worse in condition. Keep the updates coming.

 

[RACE5L]

A good start to a project Looking forward to updates as the owner of a blue over silver SLE myself

 

[uglyGMH]

hey re last ever built - would be interesting to know if this is the last one ever built... if it is, keeping it completely original would be better, even down to the radio...

 

[Ballzup]

Cheers for the comments everyone.

As for the cassette deck, sadly it's in pretty poor cosmetic condition as my grandmother was a heavy smoker and the smoke coming from the ashtray has perished all the buttons and yellowed the plastic over the dial.

That being said I'm looking for a radio too as I want to keep an original in the dash for looks. New one will go in the boot.

But after the paint is done and I start refitting/replacing bits I'll definitely have things for sale.

In regards to it being the last built, I'm trying to figure out a way to get evidence of it. Suppose Holden may have a record somewhere based on VIN numbers. Would be good to have a cert or something. But in the end the car is never going to be sold so it would just be for bragging rights. Lol

While I'm here, seems the outer door moulds are impossible to find. Anyone know of someone's that's had them manufactured? Thinking that's my only option.

 

[Ballzup]

Today we pulled out the complete wiring loom, roof lining, carpet, dash pad and all the heating gear.

The heater box was a huge pain in the arse to pull out. We spent ages trying to figure out why it wouldn't budge even though we were sure there was nothing holding it in place.

Turns out 30 years of being pressed up against rubber sound insulation will render a heater box almost immovable. Like it was cemented to the firewall.

Took the time to go mental with the label maker to mark every plug on the loom as I reckon that will be the slowest and most tedious task of the re-assembly.

Carpet can't be salvaged but the roof lining is in good condition. Dash pad is cracked badly but can be repaired. Anyone in Melbourne know of a good place to get new carpet and/or dash resto? Pics to come shortly.

 

[Ballzup]

She's pretty much ready to get painted now. leaving the steering rack and diff etc in for now so she's easy to get on the trailer.

Going to some paint shops for quotes on Saturday. Hopefully they stay under the $30k i was quoted in November.

Few recent pics below

Under the windscreen is the worst of the rust (except for above the boot)

 

[Romyn]

Hi mate, I look forward to following this project as I've just paid a deposit on an SLE and plan on doing a resto over time, just need to work out the cheapest way to get it here as I'm in WA and the SLE is in tassie