vk rebuild

[domino]

Hi, I have never been on any forum or site like this before so I’m not sure how to post questions

I bought a new VK LM 5000 in 1984, 308 black motor, B heads and standard HDT mods, drove it for about 12 months then had a play with it, fitted roller rockers, double row timing chain, bigger ports and polished heads, rebalanced the motor, bigger valve springs, upped the compression to about 11.5 :1, bigger exhaust, various oil coolers, upgraded Quadrajet ( Brockshop rebuild and mods) cold air intake, new camshaft from Ivan Tye etc, ran it on 110oct avgas made about 400+ hp

Drove it till about 1990 did just under 70,000 klms, got married had kids, started a business and put the car on blocks under a car cover in a shed for over 20 years till about 1 week ago, I have got the urge to put it back on the road.

It is in good condition, only has two spots of rust in the usual place , the bottom corners of the rear window, other that that it was on a hoist to get checked out and the body is perfect. The panels are gun barrel straight and due to its only bit of bad luck when it was caught in a hail storm in 1987 it had a new turret, bonnet, boot and door skins, the body was seam welded and all joints lead sealed when it was repaired.

As I have worked on Diesels for the last 20 years so I have lost touch with the latest performance gear and guess that there are many improvements in todays products

I would like to ask the following questions and get some opinions from people that are more up to date with restoring these cars

1/ I wish to replace the ignition system and would like to know if anyone has used the MSD 308 kit, that comprises of Dist, coil, spark box and leads or similar branded items

2/ as mentioned I have lost touch with the latest brands and as I will freshen up the engine, as it has not been touched or started for over 20 years I would like to know what people are using in the way of Brands of rings, bearings, gasket sets ( felpro etc) valve springs, clutch etc

3/ the car only ever had the electric in tank fuel pump, NO mechanical pump at all and did have a fuel problem at high revs, but I never got round to modifying it ,
Does anyone know it I can get rid of the intank pump and just run the high volume SLR5000 mechanical pump ( of similar Holley pump etc) as the camshaft has the drive lobe on it. If this is possible , is there a fuel tank fitting that just has a pipe pickup off an earlier model Commodore that I can adapt my fuel sensor to.
Or do you just braise a new length of tube to compensate for the length of the old electric pump

4/ I will rebuild all the brake calapers, buy a new booster and master cylinder, can you get braded brake lines to replace the rubber lines and are there upgraded front disc rotors that anyone recommends, I don’t want to go larger diameter as I wish to keep the 15’ Irmisher wheels

5/ can I get some advice as to what fuel you use in these cars now. I have heard that the E85 has a high octane rating, but do you have to use an octane booster and lead substitute . If all else fails does anyone just run a modified Carb and valves and methanol.
Thanks in advance for any assistance

[ari666]

1/ I wish to replace the ignition system and would like to know if anyone has used the MSD 308 kit, that comprises of Dist, coil, spark box and leads or similar branded items

i have a mallory blaster coil, mallory 6AL, bosch steel leads, custom graphed bosch dizzy and NGK irridium plugs. couldnt recommend this setup more. it generally improves all aspects of engine operation. easier starts in the morning, easier to tune a lower RPM (smaller throttle opening at idle means more accurate vac readings. with a big cam, idle vacuum is a bit of a problem) you can run a larger gap plug and a colder heat range plug so higher CR's dont become a problem. etc etc

2/ as mentioned I have lost touch with the latest brands and as I will freshen up the engine, as it has not been touched or started for over 20 years I would like to know what people are using in the way of Brands of rings, bearings, gasket sets ( felpro etc) valve springs, clutch etc

im using regular ACL bearing shells on big ends, cam and conrods, hastings moly rings, multi-layer steel head gaskets (felpro are a bit meh IMO). the valve springs will come down to your cam and heads. you will need to get springs that allow full lift without coming close to coil-bind. also if you are running a big lift cam, you may need taller springs, which will mean your valve install height will need to be changed. stock cams or holden upgrade cams are generally ok with stock springs. they usually go to around 460 lift and stock springs are ok to 500.

3/ the car only ever had the electric in tank fuel pump, NO mechanical pump at all and did have a fuel problem at high revs, but I never got round to modifying it ,
Does anyone know it I can get rid of the intank pump and just run the high volume SLR5000 mechanical pump ( of similar Holley pump etc) as the camshaft has the drive lobe on it. If this is possible , is there a fuel tank fitting that just has a pipe pickup off an earlier model Commodore that I can adapt my fuel sensor to.
Or do you just braise a new length of tube to compensate for the length of the old electric pump

the intank pump is only a low pressure unit (4psi or so) but it also is a freeflowing type which means its ok to install an additional pump while leaving it in the tank. it wont block off the flow. i was running my carter black for about a year with the intank pump still fitted but not powered and it ran fine. i took the intank out a couple of months ago and it made no difference. but yeah as long as you have the pump lobe still attached to the cam i cant see a problem with throwing a mechanical pump on.

4/ I will rebuild all the brake calapers, buy a new booster and master cylinder, can you get braded brake lines to replace the rubber lines and are there upgraded front disc rotors that anyone recommends, I don’t want to go larger diameter as I wish to keep the 15’ Irmisher wheels

blah. nothing wrong with a well bled stock braking system.

5/ can I get some advice as to what fuel you use in these cars now. I have heard that the E85 has a high octane rating, but do you have to use an octane booster and lead substitute . If all else fails does anyone just run a modified Carb and valves and methanol.

lol. meth on the street? thatll be $$$$ BP ultimate 98 is fine. you dont even need unleaded seats to run it. my car LOVES it. i have tried a few tanks of optimax and i swear everytime i used it she cracks the shits majorly. pings her face off and then starts running hot. so now i avoid it like plague.

hope that helps.

[domino]

Thank-you ari666

[vkberlina]

I run ACL Race series bearing shells better groves for oil distribution, you can buy an ACL race series rebuild kit, just specify your bearing, piston etc sizes and they put a kit together.

Talk to Yella Terra for your heads and cam

Romac balencer

Biggest brakes you can fit inside your wheels are VL V8 or VL Turbo, buy a new 1" master cylinder and vacumn booster to suit. I have a set of rotors, calipers for sale for $50 if your interested, I would put a kit through the calipers and they would be good to go. A good brake shop can make you up lines.

Be good to see pics of your car

Also only run BP ultimate 98, I can post pics of the inside an engine of mine after 180,000km after running ONLY BP ultimate 98 oil changes every 5,000 with Pentrite HPR30 and you can still read the info stamped on the top of the piston and still see the alloy. Virtually no carbon build up. Search for my posts on fuel additives and what fuel to use it will bring you up to date.

Cheers
Scott

[Jonno]

id love to see this mate., post some photos?