VL Commodores
Been looking at VL commodores of late, i like the shape and they area really cheap.
what are they like in general, problems with teh transmission engines, after the average 200,000k on them?
rust in the bodys
how hard are they to turn into a turbo, i guess new engine, tranmission, exhaust and a lsd diff? what else is needed and is it feasable to do this mod?
your main problems wont really come from transmission, but rather your AFM's and CAS' and your sensors. The Engines are really strong, and can handle anywhere from 8-10 possibly more psi from stock.
Stock RB's are easily turned into turbo's however the series 2 engines are even easier, as they have all the holes tapped so its easier to turn a series 2 RB into a turbo. If you do upgrade to turbo, yes you will need a larger exhaust, stronger transmission, and probly a turbo diff. Im sure there are people on here who can help you a lot more than me though, but thats somewhat of a start .
Originally Posted by Not_An_Abba_Fan
The N/A MF5 can handle converts but youll need a stronger box if your chasing heaps of power. The N/A auto are ment to be pretty weak. My VL turbo had 280,000 before it was stolen all it had waS a .decomp plate. It went pretty hard
Standard N/A diffs are fine to use also.
1988 VL Berlina turbo 5 speed
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...ml#post1446411
1987 VL SL turbo 5 speed ~STOLEN~
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...ed-manual.html
Mucca Mad Boys
You will need to also put discs at the back if your running turbo and you dont already have them
yeah, i couldnt sleep the othe rnight so i kept looking at things online,
You need exactly the following
* VLT ECU ( AUTO) you NEED this to run the turbo injectors, they use a different pulsewidth to the NA engine injectors
* VLT INJECTORS (NEW) dont buy shit old 1s
* VLT INTAKE MANIFOLD (MAKE SURE ITS TURBO) its metal with turbo printed on it, if u use N/A it tends to Blow off....
* VLT T3 TURBO good condition
* VLT EXHAUST MANIFOLD
* VLT HEAT SHIELD
* VLT DUMP PIPE TO RUN FROM TURBO TO CAT CONVERTER
stock N/A airflow filter will connect upto the turbo with a lil fiddleing, also might be good to cut the box allowing better cold air
along with the other stock vl turbo items, such as a lsd diff, turbo brakes, turbo brake booster, etc...
or eqivilent, these things can be done, while im using it as a commutter before the turbo i guess.
well i looked at the white vl executive today, the girl on the phone said it was in perfect condition as her father was a mechanic and has done so much work to it, they just put 4 new tyres on it, and it had 160,000km on it, she didnt know much and said her father had written it all down for her. intresting i though, since i had a look at it nd it looked like it had some problems from the outside.
so finally go their, girl called lychy mmm, alway sa good start, uni student and drives from sydney to armidale regularly.
first up, the car has 260,000km, quickly opening the doors, theirs rust spots all down all the seals, in side the doors. not good, i saw the pannel before had a miss matched colour underneeth the scratches so been in a pring. open the bonnet, theirs bolts missing on the wheel arch guards, so its had everythign replced, bolts missing = rust insie them, rust in the bonnet, rust in the fire wall, rust everywhere. not too bad, but enough to be concerned about stripping it all back as much as possible. now, she has 3 keys, so both doors and the ignition are not keyed alike, and no key opens the glove box! in 7 years of her owning it, shes never been able to open it
engines pissing out oil out of the head gasket, all over the belts, power steering pump leaks like a civ. air conditioner doesnt work, sounded ceazed rather than needing gas. great..
open the boot, oh shit, i know where the vks were prone to rust, so the engire rear seal on the boot was crumblign away to nothing, all around the seals was just flaked rust a nudge and my finger would go through i recon.
tyres shagged, down to th ewear markers too.
started the engine, it runs ruff, and the whipers come on strait away and cant be turned off, its got buttons for the whipers.
foot on brake when starting it and nothing, vaccum assisted brakes dont work, and pumping the pedel it keeps sinking, so a leak somewhere.
motor runs ruff so on its last legs...
interiors pretty good, and its got a genuine holdne factory tape deck and am fm radio.. hehehe.
she also tells me it was officially written off in the hail storms and she brought it back, you can see some slight dimples in the roof, nothing special around here unfortunetly
under all the ash trays are rust stains, smokes all through it too.
so this is not the car or me, she ofered a test but i decliend.
i do like the idea of the vl commodores though, ive always liked them, and i think for my budget that keeps the bike, if i get somethign decent, that i can do up while it lasts me until im back on bieks, it would suit me, then i can pull the motor out and do a turbo conversaion...
i have hopes for this other one, 160 genuine km on it, no ac, but ps, nothign wrong with it, new paint 3 years ago and its manual, although i want a manual, i may not beable to drive it, its also got a 6 week old add, saying must sell this week, make me an offer 1500 ono, its been in storage for 3 years since its respray, he brought it off a mate, been unregistered for that long too. so blue slip for it.
i really hate rust, and want a good strait body to start with, as long as i can muster the strength in my arm to shift the tranny, i think i could do a manual, anybody know how smoth a stock vl manual box shifts, dont have to hammer it into gears do ya?
oh while im at it, could ya tell me where to look for rust in vl commdores.
i assume the back boot seal uder the window, like the vk;s, but where else.
Under and around front and rear windows under boot seal and maybe under the boot carpet, i had some surface rust under the boot carpet when i had my VL!!
To add speed, first you must add lightness
well im hoping since this other vl has had a full respray, their wont be much rust in it... but my bubble has gotten burst when ive found cars i want the last few weeks.
HSV VN ss fraud no
VT ss no $
VL exec rust bucket, no
sigh, im enjoying car shopping though, something i havnt done in years.
last time, we looked at two car places, first one talked us into a 04 magna wagon, then i found another one at night that just came in an 05 same thing, except 05 came with 5 years warrantee not 3 years... real car shopping lol, i just threw money at them and brought i for asking price too. wife wanted it, and we had a baby a few weeks before, and the camry blew the tranny so wanted to off load it before it got any worse, gave me a good trade in too, even though i told him about it, said its going to the whole sale auctions, didnt care what condition it was in. got a good trade in but no $ off the price.. evens out i supose..
hey you could always drop a 304i v8 and matching tranny couldnt you, they came with a factory carby v8 and traumatic, which i have considered, as it was thier tow car, but fuel usage would be too much for too little power...
Rollin
well for a start, you dont need too run a VLT ecu.
my setup i have bolted too an A6 which is series 2 block but n/a....
it has the following:
stock ecu
stock injectors (have brown top turbo injectors too go in)
N/a inlet plenum
T04E Garrett turbo bigger then stock t3
Front mount cooler BIG ONE
Custom Turbo Exhaust manifold (Extractrors)
Stock AFM
Stock MF5 Gearbox (5 speed Manual)
VLT LSD diff
Bigger brake booster off a vlct which is 1"
Stock VLCT Fuel pumps External and Internal
I hit 20psi of boost and it when well but i have put an adjustable boost controller on and is now running about 12psi
For a standard bolt on job you DONT need
*VLT ECU
*VLT INJECTORS
*VLT INTAKE (N/A flows better and the VLT doesnt say "turbo" im 90% sure you reffering to the cross over pipe which is anciant history you want a intercooler
1988 VL Berlina turbo 5 speed
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...ml#post1446411
1987 VL SL turbo 5 speed ~STOLEN~
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...ed-manual.html
:):):)
it seems easier and cheaper in the long run to get a VLT. in the first place.
sorry but im just stating the obvious
yeah, finding a vlt that isnt painted pink, or worked beyond drivability is fairly hard these days.
if i found a nice vl turbo stock origonal, in my price range id buy it.
that vl respraed manual isnt on country cars anymore, ads been removed, so not sure if its been sold or not.
found another one in the local paper, old retired guy who brought it off the origonal owner as a deceased estate. said its got 330,000km on it, its got lpg which he just recertified, hes not allowed to drive anymore apparently. automatic. its red, i like red, but he said its got some clear coat over the top of it which is pealing off. said hes got all the log books and its always been serviced too, but 330,000km is a lot of km in my book.. but it is auto..
1986 HOLDEN COMMODORE VL BERLINA for sale in New England, New South Wales on countrycars.com.au Cars&pcode=C&makesel=HOLDEN&maxprice=5000&modelsel =&minprice=0&order=T&body=ANY&seller=A&keyword=Key word&neworused=U&location=A&pcode=C
what do you think, as a project car
RUST RUST RUST RUST RUST
That is what you look for in VL's
Another VL Driver
Sea Dogs Champion!
a heap of Ks on it.
unless your rebuilding engine. i would try find a VLT check ebay haha there are a few
1986 HOLDEN COMMODORE BERLINA VL Cars For Sale in NSW - CarPoint Australia
how about this one, for totally origonal vl berlina!
TICK TICK TICK TICK BOOOOOOM
lol any ways if you wana build something dont buy something thats been painted as you never know whats under the paint where is if you buy something thats faded chances are its all origional and a good start
ive just finished building my vl motor i enjoyed it very much im running a series 2 motor that has been converted to turbo im very happy with it 200rwkw on 10 psi cant complain
Another VL Driver
Sea Dogs Champion!
very nice man... glad all is good. :P
very nice L u have
well this is the vl berlina im looking at, ive scraped 1000 bucks together, so going to godown on wensday and if i like it and its as he described it, ill offer the 1000 bucks, hes got 1500 on it..
he describes it as a genuine vl berlina, lpg, i think he said new motor and transmission, at 330,000 it would have to have had one. hes old, the previous origonal owner was old and died with it. zero rust, origional berlina as it came from the factory except the lpg. will fix the paint up pretty easily.
ive got all the tools and am in good at this stuff, its fun..
yeah ive looked into the turbo bit, its coz the na one has a higher compression. ill probably try and grab a genuine turbo motor and rebuild it. basically i wana turn the berlina into a genuine vl turbo mock up.. as the turbo was the option, just option it up, of course it wont be genuine :-(
hey can i still do a turbo set up on the normal motor if its got lpg duel fuel?
the photos that he sent me, i think it looks fairly clean except the paint, like to know whats under the seats of the sheep skins, and the dash for cracks.
looks alright.you can run it on gas and convert it if thats your thing.personaly i wouldnt touch that vl and this may just be me but i dunno why people cut holes in there qauter panels to fit gas fillers when they could fit them into where there fuel fillers are
The Future.
look like a winner, the lpg is what makes it cost more no doubt.. needs a new paint job mate, and shes good!!
yeah ive got all the tools at home for a respray, although never tried a whole car before, but i think a rub back and respray it, i think its called becon red that holden colour.
as for the hole for lpg, yeah, not a fan of that either. but hes got it for 1500, will offer 1000 and see how we go maybe upto 1200, cheep car for my budget atm and this way i get to keep my bikes, and ill spent a fair bit into it as we go along. i love the fact its totally stock apart from the lpg...
should 330,000km scare me?
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