Leigh's '81 VH SL/X Project

[Vin999]

I reckon they just look much neater than the VH ones..

Some things you may want to consider as options
A tip for space .... with washer/coolant resi... get rid of your factory vh ones.

Get the VL resi and cut coolant section off and just fit washer only in place next to booster ... no need to cut old bracket out ... you now have more room for donor relays/box, carbon canister on that side ..... get a slimline aftermarket coolant overflow resi and mount on radiator under cap and above lower rad hose ..... less black pipe bs .... consider moving coil to firewall above engine for access ...don’t forget to install a catch can.

Run bulkhead fitting in upper firewall above a/c or in guard corner next to aerial...easier... where you can get to it later and then run sleeved cable down for starter/solenoid wires.... why put it under trans tunnel where you can’t get to it later.

 

[vc commodore]

What a load of bs ... for any vk/vl/vn washer/coolant bottles to fit vb/vc/vh you have to cut off the old early upright bracket next to strut tower that earlier different reservoirs screwed. Even a novice nose that

Showed pictures so I'll leave it upto the op to decide

 

[Leigh_G]

Oh wow I didn't realise how long it's been since the last update on here!
Well things progress slowly with a newborn in the house, but he's got a good routine going and I'm almost done on the VH!

@gtrboyy those white wires ended up being a crappy killswitch someone had installed..
And thanks for the tips RE washer resi and overflow @Vin999 - definitely gonna go down that track I reckon.

So I ended up going down the route of using the majority of the VS loom. Through an auto-elec contact, I was able to borrow a Holden VR Service manual from 1994, which was just entirely wiring diagrams! (I scanned many pages and will upload to a Google Drive for everyone pronto)
I spent a few nights basically going over the VS loom, stripping out all the crap I didn't need, until I was left with just the essential wiring, relays, and the fusible link box. Then I just lifted the entire array of relays off the plastic rail and dropped them straight into the VL fusebox.

From there it was just a matter of taking all the wires (about 6 in total) that needed to go to the VH "instruments" socket and extending them across the back of the bay. I ran the battery bulkhead right beside the AC connections in the passenger firewall, absolute PITA to get up behind the blower box in the passenger footwell...

Keeping the bulkhead fitting on the passenger side also meant that the starter/alt wiring was a piece of cake and keeps the bay looking empty and mint.

I got all the wiring hooked up temporarily and had it spinning over without fuel/spark, just to prime the oil but had issues getting pressure coz the engine had been completely drained.. Had to rig up an empty metho bottle full of oil, a couple air fittings and a compressor to prime the oil pump and bingo we were all good!

I turned on fuel pump, EFI etc, turned the key and... no dice - spark was there but no fuel..
I started stressing the anti-theft hadn't been disabled but then realised.. I'd put my fuel hoses on back-to-front... too much time looking at the original supply line and forgot it was now a return line.. LOL.. flipped the hoses around and she fired up first turn - you beauty!!

So that was a few weeks ago, and since then have been just tidying up all the temporary loom and finalising how it all connects for easy diagnosis and disconnection etc. Also got a VL tailshaft and merged that with the the VS front half at the CV joint - those are a bitch if you let the ball bearings fall out... lol

Hooked the tailshaft up, radiator, fan, bled the brakes and last week she moved under her own power! Took her for a quick 50m spin to check things and noticed a couple minor leaks and things needing a tighten but nothing of concern.. except for one... I only had 3rd gear..

A quick Google or two and came to the conclusion the 4L60E was in limp mode.. either the loom plug wasn't seated, or it had no power to shift solenoids - someone mentioned a blown trans fuse on the forums and I'm thinking "... s**t.. I never wired a trans fuse anywhere" - a quick revisit of the wiring diagram and I noticed I missed one last pink/blue wire in the YE51 harness plug.. pretty simple fix, used a spare fuse slot in the fuse box and hooked 12V to the pink/blue wire - yet to test this out though because the wife has banned me from testing the car due to it being so loud..

So now I'm waiting for her to duck to the shops so I can make sure I've got all my gears back!

Then it's off to get a custom exhaust fitted! Thinking of going something simple like this:

BUILD PICS COMING ASAP!!

 

[VS 5.0]

Might be a while between updates but they are good when they come.

 

[Deuce]

Might be a while between updates but they are good when they come.

Agreed.


Leigh Kids sometimes sleep through the strangest things (noises) and wake through others. Is it currently on open headers? Because that would wake your neighbours deef child and your wife is probably right.
But schedule a time with her to make noise (when she is out) and you will be all good.
They grow up and sleep better (or leave earmuffs on while 'helping')
Better yet, once the exhaust is built she will ask you to go for a drive with the child to help put them to sleep.

Keep the build updates (and pictures) coming mate.

 

[gtrboyy]

Think I mentioned power to trans wire early on in thread because I had did same thing on my v8 conversion in vp ute lol.

Easy to test just stall it up on brake...will start spinning tyres quickly to 2nd gear...if not working will just go limp mode stuck in taller gear no spinny spinny or tyre smoke.

Exhaust really comes down what ultimate power goals will be..setup above is ok for mild stocker although would hold it back if going stroker/cam/manifoild route or vortech/harrop blower

 

[Leigh_G]

Back again with some more updates!!

First, some progress pics from the past month or two:

The 'leaned out' loom I ended up with, ready to install:


The location of the battery feed firewall bulkhead:



Engine back out to install Pacemakers:


Tailshaft CV mating (not heaps fun aye) and getting all the loom sorted out:
. . . .

Radiator in and shroud (sort of) fitted:



Front is now WAYYY too low...



.. which is causing huge camber problems:



Video: quick test to make sure I had gears - (I had gears)



In typical commodore fashion, the PS pump decided to start dribbling fluid everywhere so back out it came for a seal kit:



I also needed to take my 'temporary' CEL/oil lights and put something more permanent in place - I didn't really want to drill holes in the dash though, then I remembered my mate has a 3D printer, so after a quick fiddle in SketchUp I had a small box with an angled face done up and landed in his email inbox.
The next day, I had a nice, black box waiting for me in my letterbox - what a champ!



The box is simply clipped to the bottom edge of the dash near the center console - the LED's are bloody bright so even though they're not right up high on the dash, you won't miss them if they light up.

Hated the big hole in the middle of the dash too, so also in went a Sony bluetooth receiver.. that brought back some fond memories of high-school.. when VH, VK, and VL's could be picked up for a few hundred bucks..

. . . . .

 

[Leigh_G]

As for the current state...

WE ARE ON THE ROAD !


Had the exhaust booked in and she left this morning on a tow-truck to get it all fitted up.
Also snapped up some new plates for her a couple weeks ago !




Ended up going with a similar set up to the above pics.
Went with twin high-flow cats, into a twin system, merged into a 3" collector straight into a Hooker Aerochamber, then 3" over the diff and a small resonator at the end with a straight stainless tip. Haven't had a chance to get right up underneath but it looks nice from just sticking my head under there - it's been painted entirely black, just like the bottom of the car so I'm happy about that.

I'll get a clip of the sound tomorrow - it's quieter than I expected but honestly I'm not sure I'd want it any louder than it is with the 3" pipe.. I had it flanged before the diff anyway in case I change my mind later and want to dump it there haha

This image popped up in my phone this morning too - exactly one year to the day!


I need to order a new set of springs pronto, the king ultra-lows in the front are no good, camber is terrrible and the toe is up the shiz too and it needs a wheel alignment BAD so hopefully this week I'll put new springs in all-round - probably will go superlow HD's and I guess I'll have to put adjustable strut-tops in too.. more $$$ lol

I've noticed a gremlin though - when I give it some stick from any gear, it seems to hesitate at higher RPM - initially I thought it was ignition as it felt like spark breaking down, but after a bit more testing, I noticed i could get it to rev out to slightly different RPM ranges before it would stutter - and then, keeping my foot down, I got it to stutter and then surge/pick up RPM again so now I'm leaning toward a fuel supply issue.

Worth noting in park/neutral it free-revs to top RPM fine, smooth, no missfires etc.

I also noticed when I switch IGN on, the pump primes the fuel system but I almost always hear some slight purging of air out of the lines every time the car has been sitting for more than a few minutes. This is also why I'm thinking fuel gremlin. The pump is brand new, supply line is Raceworks AN6 and also brand new, has a new Raceworks filter mounted vertically near the tank:

 

[gtrboyy]

I would have hooked up cel to handbrake wire as I'm lazy although with vh reckon trailer light flashing be cooler haha.

Extractors are meant to be fed in from bottom...bit finicky either drop rack or pull it & starter motor out.

As for camber it was set up for lighter 6cyl...meaning need to turn strut tops to different position.

To correct get permanent marker put dot on strut top.
Put car up on jackstands under rail or crossmember then trolley jack under lower control arm or wheel to take weight of strut assembly.
Undo strut nuts & lower just enough that studs are out of holes & turn struts...do one side at a time obviously.
Lower back on ground visually check camber/toe...3 positons car is already in one which is wrong so only 2 other positions to try hence permanent marker to mark strut top.

*can also google v8 commodore bays look at strut top positions to get idea close enough position...then only need toe checked/adjusted at wheel aligners...most won't do camber adjustment 'cos either don't know how to turn struts or don't want to do it.

More brake & convertor testing for the neighbours

 

[Deuce]

Awesome update.
And great choice with the aero chamber