Drew's VB daily runabout

[drewVHSS]

DrewVHSS's 1979 Malachite Green VB SL Commodore

I've been on here a while now and a few of you guy's have already seen my VH SS at the last Bathurst cruise so I thought now i've got the Green VB registered and on the road as my daily that I'd make a thread on it.

I bought it earlier this year at Rutherford next to the Caltex Servo.
I'd driven past it sitting parked up in the prev owners front yard for over a year and the more i saw it, the more i wanted it. Probably only because i'd never seen one in this colour for years.

$800 got me a completely unmolested car, right down to the still working factory harrison Air-Con and still working factory AM radio.
202 Red 6
Traumatic
3.08:1 Open centre drum rear
Manual Steer
It needed two strut tops to pass rego i was told... yeah right!

Two strut tops later, panhard bar bushes, upper trailing arms, re-wire heater/demister, replace exhaust manifold gasket and file out all the pitted holes on the exhaust manifold to make it seal and she finally passed a blue slip.

I decided if i wanted a cheaper car to run for work, I had to have another early girl commodore (the SS is still my playtoy!)

Car is still near stock so far, each weekend I've been doing little bits and pieces to tidy it up, so far:
Replaced the carpet (old one full of holes and can't stand that baby crap yellow!)
Chucked a cheap sports wheel on it (original had gone soft and i got sick of hitting my knees on it every time i got in the car)

Future mods:
Drop in all the VL running gear from my old VL i wrecked a few months ago.
Re-trim the interior
Tint
Not sure what dash i want to use yet, either redo the vb dash or put in a VK dash.
Get around to sorting out the paint and body work
Lower it
Definately get rid of that AM Radio and put some decent sound in!

Before anyone has a go at me about the upcoming RB30 conversion, i thought about it long and hard and decided: I have a V8 already but the SS has suffered at the hands of ppl who park next to me....., so I wanted a cheaper to run car just for work and running about that I wont get heartbroken everytime some moron backs into it! The VL running gear cost me nothing and it's better than spending money to mod what's already in the VB.

My old VL has donated a great rb30 motor and box for the vb with genie extractors, 2" sports exhaust, reco head, 3.45:1 LSD Disc rear, Power steering (the VB's a bit hard to park with it's manual rack) and lowered hd suspension.

The disc rear will be going in this weekend along with a 1" master and maybe if i have time VLT front rotors and calipers i've had sitting in a box for ages.

[chrisso 82]

Hey mate nice score there that car is in great condition ... Its the same colour my car was when i bought it!!!!!....The sl must have been a upgrade version of mine seems to have more bits to it,Chrome around windows,different dash,and door cards...... it will go great with the RB30 in it.........

[drewVHSS]

Thanks chrisso, not looking to go wild with this one, the theme for the project is to make it a classy, refined enjoyable car to take on cruises.

Thinking of using a vk calais dash and retrimming everything in a better colour, something easy to keep clean but still look good with the dark green paint.

Am waiting on a gearbox crossmember off ebay from a vh that was prev converted to rb30 (had to cheat instead of making my own crossmember!)
Funny when i looked at your car, i was suprised you had the silver face dash parts i thought only came out on vc unless i'm mistaken.
We've both got the same door handles (love the black with chrome) but my original int door handle surrounds were yellowish plastic with chrome so i bought black with chrome ones from fleabay.

I'm tempted to either steal your idea of black micro suede for the dash and centre console, with matching green velour inserts on the seats with black micro suede on the outer area's on the seats, not sure on the door cards yet.
Or try to get a white VL interior and keep a black and white theme in the inside with black/green and chrome on the outside.
The silver on the rear beaver will go either green or maybe black like the SL/E's

I'll be trialling VL wing mirrors soon to see how they look on the car, I love the VL one's on my VH SS but the vb is a more rounded car so not sure if the sharp angles on teh mirror's will suit.

Looking for VS Caprice 16" wheels, the ones with the Lion surrounded by a wreath to give it the classy look.
I've contacted a glass place and they're willing to try to either acid or laser etch the same logo onto my rear 1/4 windows which i hope will stand out when i've tinted them.

I'll be keeping the rubber moulds on the car but will delete the pin stripe.

Hoping it'll turn out nice and classy but not cop bait or "traffic light Tool" bait!

[GypsyNz]

Nice looking in that colour for sure, be doing the Rb conversion on my Vc wagon after xmas. Just going to run the Vl dash & loom in mine to simplify everything plus you get the central locking which will be a bonus. Could you bang up some pics of your crossmember at some stage, be good to see how its done Cheers....
That & sorting the heater will be the only fun bits, the rest of the conversion will be straight forward....

[drewVHSS]

Cheers mate, wouldn't mind seeing a few pic's of ur wagon, not many wagons get done up.

RB30 Conversion hasn't begun yet, only the diff got put in on the weekend so far (kept getting called in to work over the weekend so i didn't get as much done as i meant to.
I've bought and paid for a cross member from an old vh that was already converted, am still waiting for it to arrive from vic.
As soon as it show's up, i'll post pics and take measurements of the mods that were done to it. I wont know if i'll have make my own one still or not untill i get my hands on the one i've bought and find a full weekend to do the k-frame/motor/box swap and measure up the differences for it.

AFAIK there's 10mm difference in the floorpan height on the LHS so i guess the dogleg has to be cut off the VL crossmember and a plate welded to reach the floorpan on the vb-vk position.

I'll send you measurements and pics as soon as it arrives.

[GypsyNz]

Awesome sounds good be much appreciated, i was thinking the same with cutting the left side mount off & plating it to sit level. On the Vls they raised it on that side to fit that catlic converter, lucky over here in Nz as we dont have to run them. Heres a pic of the old girl, im using it as my daily for a couple of weeks while i do some work on my other run around. Shes got a 173 red with all the xu1 gear on in back to a celica 5 speed, rb3o will be so much better though i no that for sure.....

[drewVHSS]

Well didn't get as much done over the weekend as i wanted to.
Heavy rain cost me half of saturday, spent the rest of that day laying on wet ground dropping the salisbury diff.
Then the sun came out Yay! But seeing as I deliver party ice for a living and with the rain all week, all the moron's who wouldn't take ice to top up their boxes started ringing up complaining they've run out so i got called into work.
So far the VL turbo diff is all bolted up and a 5 hour drive to pickup a VL V8 tailshaft to mate the diff to the red 6 and traumatic got me by sunday arvo to the task of hooking up the brakes.
This is where things went wrong! Previous owner of the diff neglected to mention they stole the park brake assy off the RHS.
I didn't wanna run without the park brake guts in place so I thought i'd drive the SS to work for a couple of day's and try to buy the missing bits from a clutch and brake specialist.... No go, nobody has any parts or carries them. In fact, I dont think i was served by a parts interpreter who actually knew a damm thing about what i needed!

Finally scored complete assemblies 2nd hand from a mate late this arvo so I'm hoping to get the brakes done before this weekend. Lesson learn't, if you come across spare bits for the park brake assy for early commodores, HANG ONTO THEM! Couldn't believe how hard it was to get two springs, a brass adjuster and the throwout lever, even hard it was to find someone at a shop who actually knew what i was talking about! It's getting sad these days trying to get parts for older cars!

To finish last weekends task I need to: assemble RHS park brake assy, fit RHS rotor and caliper, replace the 15/16's drum master cylinder with the 1" disc rear master cylinder, fit the VLT rotor's and calipers and then bribe a mate with a few beers to pump the pedal while i bleed the brakes.... sounds easy, but then i work 12-14 hour days!

Here's some pics so far




Pic's of the vl diff in place will be posted tomorrow.

[drewVHSS]

Finally got some time off this weekend to finish off getting the VB driveable again.
Took two day's to source the park brake assy bits i needed, couldn't believe how hard it was to get two springs to hold the shoes in place!

Decided that now i'm running a disc rear, i may as well put on the 1" master cylinder i had laying around off a VP commodore and the VLT front brakes.
New hurdle, the outlet for the pipe that supplies the front left brake mounts to the master at a different angle to the original VB 15/16's master so i compared it to the one i pulled out of the VL, nope it's different to the vb too!
Ok i'll carefully rework the pipe to reach the slightly different location, next problem, the pipe for the rear brakes doesn't seem to be sealing in the 1" master, can anyone tell me if the flare is different between VB and VP?
Cause every brake place's website i visit lists their master cylinders fit vb-vp but the photo's i've seen match the pipe layout of both the VL 15/16's master and the VP 1" master, nothing matches the VB 15/16's master........
Time to start swearing!

[drewVHSS]

Well for now, it's driveable again. Put the old master back in it and left the front brakes original untill i source a vb-vh 1" master.
Bled 'em all nicely and took it for a test run round ettalong beach.
Doesn't seem any quicker with the 3.45:1 diff but the speedo's out by 10 kay's now untill i get sorted with the rest of the vl running gear.
Still waiting on my gearbox crossmember to show up.

[GypsyNz]

Sounding good, the lower diff ratio should have added a bit but those old 6's have had there day. Cant wait to change mine over.....

[drewVHSS]

Yeah it doesn't seem to rev much higher, but it's only slightly quicker on take off as well. Not much of a difference there so i'm hoping fuel wise it's going to be still close to how it was.
I'll be chucking a tow bar on it soon so time will tell how suitable it is for towing compared to the old ratio.

[drewVHSS]

Got an email today with the tracking number for my crossmember!! Yay, will post a pic of it and take measurements on what's been changed to fit vb-vk when it arrives.

[GypsyNz]

Sounds good, you'll be rapt when you get that piece of the puzzle.....

[drewVHSS]

Sounds good, you'll be rapt when you get that piece of the puzzle.....

Can't wait to share what mod's need doing and measurements with anyone wanting to do the conversion themselves. Not much helpful info in all i've searched through on the net.

[GypsyNz]

I so hear you there Ive searched hard and nothing....go the RB LOL

[drewVHSS]

Well, the crossmember arrived today.
I thought it was a factory one modified from what i was told by the seller...... No, even better. Instead of a hacked and modded member.....(ok bad john wayne bobbit reference!!!) It's made of box steel and angle iron.
Really simple now i've seen it but seeing as buying it cost far less than going out and hiring a bottle for my old mig (should i then borrow a mates ute to get the mig out of storage) fuel and hassle and buying materials to make my own... Far less swearing too as i normally cop a bit of welders flash nearly everytime i weld anything!!!!
So here it is:

[GypsyNz]

Awesome that'll be easy to sort, i've got a celica box in my wagon at pres with a very similar crossmember. Center mount of course but can soon weld up the holes & mount the vl mounts to it. Cheers for the pics its made my night lol

[drewVHSS]

Well today i managed to put the VL tank into the VB, blocked off the return line port on the tank (not needed for now) renewed all the vapour lines, changed wiring to suit the VL sender.

Interestingly after searching the net to see if the intank lifter pump would be suitable for running carby and reading on many forums that "it's too powerful" and it's "suitable for EFI only"I decided to check part numbers.... funny enough the internal pump for the VL turns out to be the exact same pump as supplied on the VK and VL carby V8 models equipped with a intank pump to assist the mechanical pump...... I guess on other forums, all those who said it can't be done are talking out their arse and have no idea what they're on about.... bosch catalogue is really easy to find and read!!!!
Only thing i was worried about is whether the stromberg carby on the red 6 would cope with the electric pump (rule of thumb quadrajet can handle up to 7psi fuel presure whereas stromberg shouldn't really exceed 2.5psi) and if not, would i have to remove it incase it posed a restriction big enough to starve the engine under load....
So i hooked up the pump to a temporary switch and took the car for a test run from woy woy to wyoming... Glad to say, all went well. Car drives fine up hills and under load with and without the electric lifter pump running.

Slowly getting bit by bit all the various VL parts into the VB in preparation to the RB30 conversion whilst keeping it a running car, No dead ducks here!!!!

Still looking for a VB-VK 1" master cylinder... every listing i see on fleabay from so called "Brake parts suppliers" have pictured late VK-VL-VN-VP 1" master's saying it'll fit vb-vc-vh.... none have the port for the left caliper at the correct angle to suit the VB nor match the original one on my VH SS. Really frustrating trying to get the right parts from idiots who have no idea what they're on about and insist the "wrong" product being the correct part!
Looks like I'll have to find time to go scrounging at the wreckers!!!!

[GypsyNz]

That'll be right, to many cowboys out there talking through a hole in there ass. I reckon the main problem we'll have to sort is the heater wiring. After those crossmember pics i no im sweet there so only mission left will be that heater, i'll probably put mine into a sparky to sort instead of modifying the plenum.....

[drewVHSS]

Wiring should easier for you if you're going to use the VL dash.
I'll be keeping the VB HVAC setup with a VK dash, my a/c mate has already sussed out he can adapt the vl engine bay setup to the vb setup.
Wiring custom setups aren't too hard, they just take time and heaps of diagrams!!!

[GypsyNz]

Yeah i'm going to use the Vl dash But keep the Vc heater & heater controls, apparently theres a bit of buggering round with the vents but that dont worry me. A sparky will soon sort the electrics.....

[GypsyNz]

Any updates on this?? Started on mine, sold the Hotwires & the running gear. Got the Vl diff in mine so far, just pulled the engine & trans out of the Vl today so going to get the Vc into the shed tommorow & start stripping her out. Going to fit the engine & set it all up to running stage then haul it back out to paint and detail the bay, picked up a set of 16x8 Roh 5 spoke mags for $100 for the old girl for now.....

[drewVHSS]

Not much to report, work finally slowed down enough that i had last weekend off to play with the car.
I installed a tow bar, put in 2 10" subs, a spare old boss 4200 amp to run them, a JBL GTO amp for front and rear speakers.
Made a parcel shelf and mounted an old pair of crappy jvc 6x9's
ran all the wiring.
Painted one of my armrests to see how it comes up whether or not i'll have to retrim them in material vs painting.
Am waiting on work to ease up a bit more before i drop the rest of the running gear and do the transplant (dont wanna get halfway thru and get called into work thanks to all you good ppl out there buying bags of ice for parties and fishing!!!!)
Still looking for a VK dash surround/crashpad.
And last but not least, my deadbeat mate to finally get around to returning my engine crane!!!

Gypsie, yours looks to be coming alone nicely, i might have to bring forward my march start date to get it done to much sooner so i can try to get it done b4 u!

[GypsyNz]

The sound system sounds the goods, all ive got in the wagon at pres is a cheap kenwood cd player & some old crappy house speakers in the rear & yes it sounds like crap lol.....
I'd say ill have the motor in mine by next weekend at the latest but that's just to start setting everything up, ill get the 2 dashes out and swap the frames over first. Just put a new motor in my daily so least im still mobile, going to try have this back on the road by the end of February but time will tell on that.....
Dave

[drewVHSS]

A little more progress so far, I finally got my Alpine IDA-x303 head unit with bluetooth module in the mail yesterday so i spent the afternoon pulling the old AM radio out and hooked it up.
Have to say the old subs and the JVC 6x9's wont stay long... in fact the sooner i blow em up the sooner i have an excuse to get decent speakers and subs!
Still waiting on my in car Uniden GPS105 Uhf to arrive.
Tried 3M's version of satin black vinyl paint.... VHT's much better (if i dont get dud can's like last time!)
Bit by bit she's slowly taking shape.
Hoping in a week or two i can have the spare time to begin the RB30 conversion, till then little bit's are getting done one at a time.