01 Caprice

[Husky]

Is there anything tha can be done about the gap between the bottom of the grill and the bumper? Or is it meant to be like that.

 

[WHCapriceHBD]

Quite a few Granges have that same gap- and some Granges don't. I've spent time looking at why, and I've had the bumper on and off multiple times but its no better than most Granges.

I'm part of a Grange/Caprice club and other Grange owners talk about why the gap is there on our cars, and nobody has ever found the definitive answer. And some of these cars have never been in a front collision, or had the bumper off, yet they drove out of the dealership with the gap.

 

[uniacidz]

Looks like its drooping.

Going back to this post
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/vt-vx-vu-wh-v2/235264-01-hbd-wh-caprice-26.html#post2823800

It happens, and mine did that and right side bumper area clip is buggered so pops out.
Bumper fun

These bumpers for the era and variants are known to be dodgy
But can make them line up a bit better.
Mines quite good now and the side clip part is held in nicely with a big mofo of a cable tie and some twine/rope.

Also moved the bumper upwards by creating new holes on the bumper, so it pushed up more.

Anyway, good luck.
A job to look into next time bumper is off.

Just annoying.

 

[WHCapriceHBD]

I know, but believe me the Grange bumpers are different to SS or Clubsport and they are flat underneath that section- no ribs or anything that sit up on top of the steel crash bar and lift the bumper or anything like under say a VX SS bar. The Grange bar is smooth plastic underneath.

I've looked at lifting it, but its too stiff and it just does not want to go up in the centre without the rest of it going waaay off. I spent about half a day swearing when I first fitted it, and just let it be, as I found that many other factory Granges are the same- here are a few others:

I will say that its definitely more noticeable on silver Granges, as the black gap is more prominent than on a black Grange.

A great deal of them have it, and I'd nearly say its a factory defect, but you do see the odd car that has a perfect gap. But they are less common.

 

[WHCapriceHBD]

The other thing to notice on WH Granges, is where the bonnet comes down the sides of the grill to meet the bumper (the red circled area). None of the WH Granges ever fit well from the factory here either. Its just manufactured mis-shaped. The bonnet sticks out weirdly and the bumper piece is the wrong shape to meet it. And bear in mind this was supposedly a $90,000.00 Holden back in the day. Yet every one I've seen fails miserably in this area too. I've had other people in the club ask "Does yours do this in the front where the bonnet meets the bumper?" Yeah. Yeah it does. Just like the rest of them do....

What has been seen, cannot be unseen. Next time you're near one, have a good look. Holden dropped the ball badly. And now look again at the four examples in the above post... Notice it more now?

 

[uniacidz]

The other thing to notice on WH Granges, is where the bonnet comes down the sides of the grill to meet the bumper (the red circled area). None of the WH Granges ever fit well from the factory here either. Its just manufactured mis-shaped. The bonnet sticks out weirdly and the bumper piece is the wrong shape to meet it. And bear in mind this was supposedly a $90,000.00 Holden back in the day. Yet every one I've seen fails miserably in this area too. I've had other people in the club ask "Does yours do this in the front where the bonnet meets the bumper?" Yeah. Yeah it does. Just like the rest of them do....

What has been seen, cannot be unseen. Next time you're near one, have a good look. Holden dropped the ball badly. And now look again at the four examples in the above post... Notice it more now?

An idea.
That marked section, how about making it black?
To test, electrical tape

Cos of the gap under the grill, this will tee up with that section in mind.

The thing that stands out is how you can see that gap, blacken it and looks like meant to be.
Just an idea.

Did a quick photo adjust and have a look. (is hosted on my photobucket and if you wish for me to remove, i will. Didnt wanna upload to a public hosting site)

Now, to me, looks better with that marked section blackened.

Its only an idea to a bumper crisis that affects us in different ways.
See example below of before and after + filters

 

[Risky]

I like the Grange front end but you're right about the panel gaps.

The cheap option is to use that vinyl to blacken it that you can buy at most auto stores.

The expensive option is to go see a panel beater to see what they can do. Maybe a bit of plastic welding there to close up the gap.

It just seems to me that the gap at the bottom of the grill has drooped. If I bought one of these new at the dealer & spotted it, I would have gotten them to fix it.

 

[BorisL]

Seems to me that the bonnet is also sitting slightly higher because of the new lights with relation to the guards.

 

[WHCapriceHBD]

^ Yeah, no. Every VT VX WH has adjustable rubber bonnet bump stops. Mine are adjusted up higher. Bonnets dont ever sit on lights.
Especially not factory lights.

Moving along.

14th May:

Oil changed. Nulon, 6L.
Oil filter- Baldwin w/o bypass.
Fuel filter changed.
Air filter changed.

What I've just bought now:

3.73:1 LSD diff.

The car still has the 3.08:1 LSD from factory, but due to the tune and multiple dyno sessions, the factory LSD has blown a pinion bearing. It began whining a few weeks after the last dyno session was done. The whine developed into a massive scream and now you can't hear anything except the whine at 60kmh upwards.
Put it on the hoist and ran it in gear and the nose of the diff is screaming and dripping oil out of the snout.

Rather than be soft about it, I figured a 3.73 ratio would be a good upgrade, so its on the way this week.
Kickdown into 2nd gear at the moment in the dry, and it spins the rear tires and the trac light comes on solid. So a 3.73 should help it along a bit more. The auto shifting in power mode is quite "solid" due to the upped line pressure and the other stuff. I'm surprised it spins with the 3.08 it has, but everything can be improved..

 

[Husky]

That should be a nice upgrade. even in my VX ecotec wagon I noticed a nice change when I fitted the 3.46:1 LSD. It would be even nicer behind an LS1.