Bye bye VH.....Hello Grandpa Pack VL

[sidecar44]

Hey all,
been a bit slow posting of late but anyways......
Ive had a win and found a shmick one owner VL Exec.It belonged to an old fella who had to hide it from his family as they didnt want him driving due to ill health.
Cheeky bugger had it hidden at his holiday house and never had a chance to drive it.....well only 114,000kms so I wanst to sure what to expect on my way to pick it up.

Well this thing is absolutely unmarked nor even the tiniest of dents on the body.Interior is like brand new and even has the factory cassette player.
The bootlid requires new paint as the rear end hung out a little bit from his carport and was exposed to the sun,but for a slab of VB it will soon be fixed
Came with reg and a cleanskin RWC,ie it passed first go with nothing needed.

Its a 6cyl auto that has had the headgasket and coolant replaced recently as the old fella's next door neighbour(RACV Mech) looked after its servicing from day one and was the one who I dealt with during the purchase.
Im a mechanic myself so I could see he wasnt trying on any bullshit during the sale and was a top bloke in all so Im one very chuffed VL owner.

Sadly my old trusty VH which has served me SO SO well for 8 years from towing stupood heavy loads, to doing warp 12 well the trimatic finally said get stuffed Im going to heaven motor still runs a treat
Anyways its looking a tad sad now after removing the good bits and will see its final demise on Flogbay.

Heres the new girl......to be named

RIP Stephanie

[ncass11]

nice mate very clean vl

[Jonah 101]

That belongs in a museum!

[detox_nath83]

nice clean VL man.. nice score.

Future plans?

[sidecar44]

cheers guys,its been a GREAT car to drive....sure is far more comfy than the VH.
I havnt really done a thing to it yet,apart from fit the rear window louvre.I stumbled across some VE 16' interceptors and am looking at decent rubber to fit to em.
Fitted a Hayman Reece towbar last weekend but that was a major pain in the left buttock as it was originally to suit upto VH and not the VL.....so after some slight rear bar mods it now fits a treat.

Next job is to finally get around to fitting the sound system as Ive finally got everything needed to do it......except enuff time!

Nath,
I paid $3000 with 10 months reg and rwc,probably a lil bit on the highish side but still compared to what was around at the time it was the pick of the litter.I spotted a silver one in Sydney asking $10990 as it had 0nly 27,000km on it but the interior was a bit marked,where as mine was near perfect but had a few more km's.

Apart from a sound system,interceptors,and some window tinting I dont plan on doing much as I dont want to bastardize it to much as it will lose its value.
I even changed jobs recently so Id be doing far less kms each week to preserve it a bit,went from doing 100-140km everyday to just 16km so it should be a lot better on its life.

[Beardie]

thats one super clean VL mate, looks factory fresh!

if it was mine i would get a factory turbo set up, add a front mount and run like 8 pound, that amount of boost wont stress the engine or driveline and will make the car oh so much more fun to drive. leave the rest of it looking stock and it will surprise many ppl as well :-)

[juiceie vh sle]

hahaha +1 for the grampa wind deflector on the drivers window.... it must be mandatory when ya get to a sertin age they issue you one

nice car man ya dont find to many like this anymore cant wait to see what ya do with her

[MikeCuzzy]

In the words of Mal "She'll be with you to the day you die", look after that car mate, absolutely great pick up there.

[sidecar44]

Hey guys, muchos appreciated for the comments
been agonizing as to what to do with her......first up she is here for life would have loved a Calais but this is better than a kick in the nuts I suppose.
I swapped out the dash for a full instrument type and have sorted the wheels(16x8 Interceptors(yawn)) but will wait till she needs new shoes then slip the 16's on.
Still debating as to put an audio system in her,the AM/FM cassette deck is really doing my head in so it looks likely the Focals will get used.
Have scored a discbrake diff for free,will rebuild it and slip it in over winter.
Next week or 2 Ill be doing the timing belt and a full service aswell,have the parts ready but no bloody time! lol

[fuzzy2308]

That thing is fkn mint absolute gem

[sidecar44]

Cheers guys......Went away for Easter and was pulled up by some slapper in the Mansfield Highway Patrol.We were camping and access is by 30km of dirt road,well after 7-8 trips plus some added rallytime the car was FILTHY! She proceeded to "inspect" the car.
As it had a rwc 5-6 months back I knew it was in really good shape so I proceeded to be a complete smartarse and prodded her knowledge after she pushed on the LHrear quarter and says "your Panhard Rods a bit worn" well after 1-2mins of laughing so hard I asked what function does a Panhard Rod do the rear end??? No reply.... then pushes on the boot and says its to low and shock need replacing.......First the trailer was on and the rear has 4 month old Pedders Comfort Ride shocks. I pointed out the trailer makes it sit lower and she should get on her back to check my "Panhard Rod" as its very rigid!
That made her really pissed,especially as her Senior Sarg heard it all,my mate by this stage was doubled up in laughter on the footpath.
Next was to lift the bonnet to check for my 2 famous go-fast mods,the "Nitrous Oxidization Warp Speed Boosting Unit" and the "Flux Capacitor" but alas no mods at all......not even a loose battery! I pointed out why the fark would I mod the engine let alone fit a turbo when I still have a bloody AM/FM Cassette player in it.
Well 40 mins later all that was picked was 2 scrubbed front tyres and a handbrake adjustment,I swapped tyres in 10 mins with some good spares and put 6 turns on the h/brake centre adjuster and removed the towball.When I picked up the green rwc slip and the w/shop said it was the cleanest they had seen in years.

Btw after the 40 mins with her I mentioned Im a mechanic of 23 years with past rwc exp, and watch Back to the Future....its a great movie!!!

Now its time to get some stuff happening,been hoarding some stereo equipment for a bit and the following will be getting done over the next few months.

Sony H/U (I apologize)
Focal Utopia 3ways (front doors)
Kicker KX850.4
12" Orion XTR
Kicker SX1250.1
some Stinger wiring and Damping Kit,Narva Cabling and fuses plus a 100AH battery on a Steed Isolating Circuit.
Keeping it fairly simple but reasonably loud with 400+wrms to set of Focals.
No rear speakers will be required

and thats just the beginning.....better keep this thread from the missus

[MikeCuzzy]

Now its time to get some stuff happening,been hoarding some stereo equipment for a bit and the following will be getting done over the next few months.

Sony H/U (I apologize)
Focal Utopia 3ways (front doors)
Kicker KX850.4
12" Orion XTR
Kicker SX1250.1
some Stinger wiring and Damping Kit,Narva Cabling and fuses plus a 100AH battery on a Steed Isolating Circuit.
Keeping it fairly simple but reasonably loud with 400+wrms to set of Focals.
No rear speakers will be required

Pics or get out lol. There's nothing wrong with Sony, I know a lot of people who go all crazy with car audio hate their products, but Sony are a quality brand and I've always been happy with their products. I'm sure it'll do the job.

[87RB30VL]

Man I'm jealous as haha that's one clean VL, cleanest I've ever seen, and MY mechanic said mine was the cleanest he's ever seen so he'd need a new pair of pants after he sees yours hahaha!

Keep the tape deck, never know, someone might want it in a few years!