Blue 253

[daggett]

Hi,
I have just purchased the VH SL/E 4.2L baby and know basically I am after things to look out for on the motor (problems and the alike) and also things that I can improve on the motor.

Any ideas, thoughts and comments would be appricated.

[Reaper]

Hehehe it's a bit late now - you have already bought the thing!

Most of those motors are starting to get very tired. You can freshen them up and bring them back to being a good thing. By now the carbys usually need a rebuild, heads can be very tired, cam lobes could be almost round, water pump has probably seen better days, vaccumme leaks, fuel pump & so on.

It really depends on how far you want to go but my first step would be to freshen the motor with atleast a rebuilt carb, cam/lifters and also look at the heads (assuming the bottom end is still in ok cond.)

If it's an auto I'd also replace the fluid and filter at the very least. Check out the suspension bushes & shocks, those cars can be made to handle quite well with a good spring/shock setup.

If it has drum brakes check that the rear wheel cyls are not leaking and odviously give the rest of the system a once over.

As far as further mods are concerned the sky is the limit really dependant on your budget. It is possible to make the 253 quite a good little motor but ditching it in favour of a good 308/4 will be a more economicl way of developing some power.

Hope this helps
Michael