Just bought a vk 202 4spd manual, sum questions

[Philzorz]

Sup guys, am totally new to the whole doing up a car scene. Always just drove and didnt really care about mechanical work. Neways wanted to get into it and got a 1984 vk 202 4spd manual as a project car with a few mates in the same boat, never worked on a car but keen to get started. the car was only $500 the guy did have it reged but took the reg when he sold it 2 us, it has done 202,000km,s has vk calais rims if i am not mistaken with like 85% tread, lowered (assuming pedders cuz they are red) springs in the front and back and tinted windows. the paint job is this awesome red i havnt seen before, like a lighter red than ur usual, in great condition. Few questions:
1. need to replace the passenger side engine mount as it is looking really ****ty, how much work would be involved in that and any idea of the cost of getting one, either 2nd hand or new.
2. the gearbox wont mesh properly when i try and put it into reverse and about 80% of the time it grinds...any ideas? a friend told me that the vk's always had problems meshing in reverse.
3. Planning on turning the car into a bit of a rally beast, any ideas on where in melbourne i could hunt down a roll cage and a approx cost, apparently vb-vl are all the same cage so i guess shouldnt be impossible to get hold of. Anyways thanks heaps guys and i will post some pics 2morrow and you can tell me if i got ripped Take care.

[Wrayza]

Engine mounts are under $50 anywhere you go, 3 bolts hold them in. Take the weight off the original mount using a trolley jack and a block of wood covering the sump, when the bolts slide out easily you've got the jack at the perfect height.

Reverse is usually the first gear you'll have problems with when your clutch is out of adjustment/worn preventing it from disengaging completely. Check the adjustment on the clutch cable. If its the box I highly recommend replacing it with a Borg Warner M76 5spd over the Aussie 4spd.

Keen to see pics!

[Philzorz]

Ahh okies thats a worry, how much would the 5sp cost me roughly? And seeing i have never really done much on cars the process i assume would be rather involved. Took some pics today, fixed the damn gasket on the rocket cover, god those bolts were a bitch to get back to but managed to get there eventually. Anyways here are some pics of the current state of the car.



I am planning on putting a set of extractors on it, once again, never worked on a car so this will be my first shot at it. Is it an extremely involved process? What sort of tools would i be looking at for doing this? And if i was to get a set of pacemaker extractors that i saw on ebay for around 40 bucks do i need to change the rest of the exhaust system? not sure how it all works but am just doing it a step at a time. Was real proud that i managed to do the rocket cover gasket with no supervision .

[scrabet]

wow its tidyer then my vs nice pick up for $500

all you wouls need for the extractors is a socket set and a bit of wd40 to help get the nuts and bolts off,

[VL_5SPEED]

clean as **** for $500, well done. Is it a VK CALAIS???? Its got the chrome strips around the bumpers and door molds....

[Philzorz]

nah not a calais cuz the interior isnt calais...unless it's been changed not too sure. Forgot to post pics of the interior but that is also really clean, seats are hardly worn etc.. Only thing was the gear knob came off when i was taking it for a test drive lol that wasnt fun

[Philzorz]

anyone know is a 350 holley carby will just bolt onto where my one is? or do i need to do some customisations or sumfin? thanks guys, soz for being new to this whole thing.

[Tom_1569]

Originally Posted by Philzorz

anyone know is a 350 holley carby will just bolt onto where my one is? or do i need to do some customisations or sumfin? thanks guys, soz for being new to this whole thing.

Dont bother with a Holley, they just use a heap of fuel and arnt the easiest to tune.
Either go for a 34ADM weber off a ford, search around, on here and on oldholden.com caus its been done to death.
Or go for a rebuilt Varajet II, its a piece of **** to do, its just replacing your carby with a new version of what you already have, its really brang my motor alive, i went from going up hills in first in 1st and 2nd gear, struggling, to spinning the wheels up the hill up to 3rd gear, went to 4th at 40k's and she just powered up the hill nicely, i couldnt believe the difference a rebuilt carby made. You get them on ebay from a seller called suescarby for 140 bux.

For extractors, either pay some one to do it, wait a little while, or get a full system.
The problem with fitting extractors is the diameter will be different, its not a bolt up on job, normally takes a bit of cutting, and either making a sleeve or welding up with a mig. I would personelly wait till you get abit more experience before tackling this, unless you can find a complete system that will all bolt up, not one that needs welding.

[EDIT] Thats a bloody good score for 500bux to, look after it, their a great car when looked after [/EDIT]

[Philzorz]

yeah mite get someone to do it for me then, i mean i can figure out minor things but yeh if i gotta start cutting and welding stuff i will be in strife. It currently has a varajet II in it, not sure how old it is or if thats the stock one that comes with it, it read it on the side of the carby when i was changing my air filter. Any tips on some reasonably cheap mods i can do to it that wouldnt require a mechanic?

[Cobez]

You obviously have a mechanic kind of mind if you never work on cars and did a rocker cover gasket with no help. I mean, they aren't THAT hard, but they aren't the easiest thing you can do either. You will learn quickly. There isn't much to 202 VK's.

[Philzorz]

hehe thanks. Trying to get used to everything and figuring out what does what. Last question so i stop bombarding people is the speedo on the car only goes to 40 then stops, no idea what it could be, the guy at the wreckers seems to think it will be the instrument cluster but then again the guy i got the car off said he went to ringwood speedo's and they quoted him $200 but then again, mechanics try and roll u for ever cent so yeah. Not too bad to take out the dash and instrument cluster?

[Tom_1569]

Originally Posted by Philzorz

hehe thanks. Trying to get used to everything and figuring out what does what. Last question so i stop bombarding people is the speedo on the car only goes to 40 then stops, no idea what it could be, the guy at the wreckers seems to think it will be the instrument cluster but then again the guy i got the car off said he went to ringwood speedo's and they quoted him $200 but then again, mechanics try and roll u for ever cent so yeah. Not too bad to take out the dash and instrument cluster?

Varijet II is the standard carby for a VK, if its the original one, it really wouldnt hurt to either get a rebuild kit and run through it, get a professionaly reconditioned one, or upgrade to the weber carb. I took the easiest route caus i just want to drive and got a rebuilt varijet II, it takes about 5-10 minutes to put on, and the difference is amazing.

Is your instrument cluster, the digital one or just the standard one?
If its the standard one, its not hard to get to, if you have gregories or haynes (haynes is more comprehensive for getting to the cluster) then you should be right, and you can just pull out the speedo you dont need to remove the whole cluster. But the problem may not be in the speedo its self, it could be in the cable, or the speedo drive gear in the tranny.
200 is way to much to get a speedo fixed, i payed 90 bux, they rebuilt the odo with metal gears, replaced my needle, and calibrated it all, and 90 bux included registered post back. I have the blokes number some where if your interested.

[Philzorz]

yeah that number would be great to get a hold of. I am also hunting down the repair manuals. I have if anyone would be interested, the repair manuals for a vl commodore in