New toy. VU ss VZ front conversion project.

[Risky]

Sheesh elless1 you've paid a fortune there for that stuff!

You should have went online & searched for the pieces online so you got an idea on the price you want to pay. The headlights sound about right. The tail lights you can get new from Holden & they look like the VY II ones with the right connectors.

The side pillar mouldings are hard to get from wreckers & you can buy those new from Holden still. If you are buying 2nd hand, beware of cracks, wear from taking them off, dings etc. If you need a new sail plane, buy new but you'll need the $40 repair kit. If you can afford the extra cash buy one with the brake light & wire it up.

Panels & wiper surrounds, yes you have to get from the wreckers but the indicators with the flutes, Holden still has those in stock.

You might be able to recoup some of the cash back selling your old panels on eBay or gumtree.

Remember, search online first, see Holden, then see a wrecker.

 

[elless1]

I go to two wreckers that i'm pretty happy with, after spending money there
they look after me with other things. Nuts,bolts,brackets,small trim parts or things ive forgotten
i usually get for free. I dont mind the guys at the shops, theyre small fitouts specialising
in commodores of this sort of era, i go there, pick their brains and get some insight
into how to pull things apart and what not. Plus i like having a bit of a look around and see if
any new stuff has come in.

I dont mind giving them the money.

The other thing is, this year hasnt gotten off to the greatest of starts. Ive been in hospital more times
in the last six months than i ever have with health issues, and having a permanent back injury and loads
of other things goin on, the project is a distraction. Even if i'm paying top dollar for stuff i get to cruise there with the wind
blowing in my face and have a yarn with fellow commy enthusiasts. Good times.

I need to keep busy basically. As i mentioned i'm pretty impatient too! lol

Off to my panel/paint supply place tomorrow for some more primer and see what different blocks
they have, for blocking obviously. Looks like a long weekend of sanding.

I used the tin of high fill this arvo, didnt like coming out of the gun. I'm thinking the 1.8 tip might
have been a bit small. Any input on that from anyone?

My other question to anyone in the know, not that i'm doing it yet but once i shoot the paint and clear
would you bolt the parts on the car then block and buff later? I'm thinking of bolting it all up,giving it
a month or so then blocking it flat. Dunno. I think it would be hard blocking the panels down when they
aren't attached to anything.

Cheers.

 

[Risky]

If you're happy with who you're dealing with then that's ok. There's nothing wrong with haggling for stuff.

Sorry to hear of your health issues. My father ended up with a permanent back injury whilst removing debris from tunnel digging years ago but he was still active. He died horribly in hospital contracting MRSA while he was in there for something else unrelated. My mother who worked the railways in Sydney is in the early stages of Dementia & myself, I am in the early stages of Asbestosis from working on the railways. My ute has been keeping my mind off things & I can understand your impatience. I'm not married (long story there) & I have no other family in Australia to speak of as the ones here couldn't be bothered with any ounce moral support. Keep moving on & go forward, do what you can and enjoy.

At least you're having a go on the panels yourself. I didn't trust me to do it so I let the guys who painted mine do it. Before you start prepping/painting etc, make sure all the panels line up correctly first. It'll give you an idea how it all fits into place & address any gap issues. The paint & panel section here may be of help Spray Painting and Panel Beating.

You might be impatient but don't rush into anything that might cost you more later.

 

[elless1]

There always seems to be a reason why we have toys, and hey, at the end of the day,
they dont talk back, and at least whatever grief they give us,they can usually be fixed.

I'm impatient with myself mostly. The only thing i'm rushing with this project is the buying of
parts. The prep and painting will not be rushed under any circumstance. Being in pain all day
makes me take my time, and to be honest i don't want to be doing this **** twice.haha.

Not much of an update but i pulled the bumper out of the spare room and gave it a sand ready for some primer.
I also sanded the primer back on the flutes and the foglight surrounds. Cant really do much
more until i get my compressor back from the repair shop. I put up with it jamming up when i was
priming but i cant have a tempermental compressor playing stupid games when i'm laying down
colour or clear. The one way valve is playing up in it apparently.

Unless i get impatient again and hire another compressor......hmmm....

Holden definatly didnt go for the guiness world record of paint layers on their cars. Thats one thing
ive noticed,especially the bumper and bonnet underside. Maybe world record for least paint applied?

Anyway the bumpers going to need a bit of filler work. I forgot how much time it takes to do all this stuff,
sometimes i wonder why ive bothered.lol. Oh well the show must go on.

One more thing i'm doing,after finding the "how to's" section ill be doing the picasso panel carbon filter for the cabin mod,
i'll have half of the stuff apart anyway,may as well do it. Here's a link if noones seen it.
https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/vt-vz-cabin-filter-mod.208683

I also read the how to for replacing the mirrors. Don't know yet whether ill go with the vz ones.
but good to know.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Risky]

Lol yeah the paint is pretty thin. Holden had problems with the clear coat for many years on the Commodores as you've probably seen on the road. It's a pain in the backside. The Elizabeth plant upgraded the paint facilities in the mid 90's (from memory) but the paintwork was still shoddy. Even when I got mine repainted, the spray painters were amazed how thin the paint it was in places.

I used to live near the GMH Pagewood plant when it was still operating. As kids we used to watch them build Kingswoods & then Commodores before it got shut down. I stayed away from the earlier Commodores as they left unpainted panels outside in the elements & were covered in surface rust before they put them on the bodies for paint as we saw at the Pagewood plant.

Side mirrors: It's personal preference really. The VY-VZ ones are smaller than the VU ones so it's probably best that if you know someone who has a VY-VZ, sit in the drivers seat & check out the mirrors before you buy.

If your door rubbers are worn, buy new from Holden as they have them in stock. You're looking at about $80 a piece roughly. Check the clear plastic & sealant if you're taking off the door cards. Our vehicles are getting older & the sealant and plastic will be worn & will let water in. I experienced that in a bad way.

Your bumper looks pretty good for a 2nd hand unit & with the work you've done previously, you won't have a problem.

Doing stuff to my ute & cleaning it keeps my mind off things, even if it's just for a short while. It helps me clear my head. Keep scanning at eBay as you might see something you need & it'll give you a guide on prices, especially NOS that Holden don't have any more. Obsoleteparts_australia will be a big help as they helped me obtaining hard to get stuff. items - Get great deals on items on eBay Stores!

 

[elless1]

Thanks again for the input risky. Ive become a bit of a gumtree fene,always on there
checking for parts. Havent used my ebay account for ages,been meaning to set it up again.
One week after i bought all my parts i saw someone on gumtree wrecking a black vz thunder.
Oh well guess thats what happens when you buy on impulse.

Not much to report, just chugging along with the prep. The bumper got a couple of coats of primer
and i gave the guards a few more coats then spent 3hrs blocking them back after i threw some dry
guide coat on there. The drivers guard is done as far as shaping but i found a small dent in the passenger guard.
The bumper had a few dents too so i sorted them out.

Below is a pic of the drivers guard. After all the blocking i'm doing it should all be pretty damn straight!
I'm happy with how this guards turned out, considering how banged up it was with little dents.

Going out to buy a d/a sander today, i have one but it's the fella with the big handle and its just too agressive
for sanding primer. Gonna buy a nice palm held unit and a foam pad. Also bought some foam blocks,
thinking about taking a trip to clark rubber and seeing what offcuts they have. Still trying to source somewhere
that has adhesive sandpaper tape in rolls. Ive had to use thumbtacks to hold the sheets to the blocks.

After seeing **** dropping into the paint i'm a bit worried about when i shoot colour and clear. I'm going to
have to make sure the gazebo is spotless and i'm thinking about getting a few old rugs and putting them damp on the floor
of it to catch any crap flying around. In all honesty i'm seriously considering hiring a booth but i guess
i'll cross that bridge when i get to it.

Oh yeh and i gotta thank our local city council for the bumper and bonnet stands they've supplied.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Risky]

Man, you've put a lot of elbow grease into the front bumper & it'll look fantastic once it's finished. I hope you mock everything up before you do the final painting.
I'm sure you'll work out how to get around getting foreign matter out of the paint before you apply it.

Hehehehe, you gotta love borrowing from the council.

Overall I'm impressed with your hard work, keep us updated.

 

[elless1]

Ok, so against my own idea i have semi rushed things. The bumper got sanded back today and
being impatient i just threw some colour on it. I need the garage back basically, and i also need
to hire a booth to spray the rest. Doing it in my house is just impossible. I'm going to do the prep
and take it into a booth and spray it. It's not worth me getting pissed off,agro,getting crap in the paint,
having a job i'm unhappy with,hurting myself and making a mess just so i can say i did it in a tent
on the drive.

I'm not overly happy with the bumper which doesnt surprise me but it can always be blocked,touched up
if need be and cut and polished. I'm thinking i'll end up flow coating it anyway with clear. Seeing as it's
the hardest part in my eyes i wanted to have a crack and get it out the way.

Anyway enough whinging, heres some pics

Bumper after another sand-

Some basecoat colour ( One feather coat to make it stick and two wet coats)-

And the same with the clear over the base-

Dont' know why i take pics from the same spot on the bumper.lol... anyway...

Yeh i know,orange peel central, at least i got some colour on it and i can
get it out the way to bang on with the rest. Dont worry the guards and bonnet are not
getting the "rushed" treatment.

Any advice to anyone, dont rush your job at any expense. I am in agony from my back injury
and by the time i work on the car during the day i'm already stressed and sore as i work half the
day at my day job and come home when i can't work anymore. I regret painting the bumper
today. Lesson learned. ( i seem to have to learn the hard way most of the time)

I also gave the engine covers,bonnet hinges and flutes a lick of paint while i was at it.
I'll get better shots of everything when it's dry and i'm a bit more able/willling.

Thanks for looking,apologies for the rant.

 

[Risky]

Don't kick yourself in the head with it mate. There is no way with the current tools that you have that I could have painted like that. Go to any car dealership & look at their new stock & you'll be picking the paint work on that. New cars have orange peel & these are painted by machines! With your current medical condition, you've done well under the circumstances. You can sand it back & make it better. Lol the best I can do is paint the plastic wiper surrounds with $10 spray tins! You haven't got a couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of paint facilities. Most guys here would be just glad that they have the skill you've got.

If I had bought a VU instead of my VY, I would have done the same thing updating the front end. I never liked the dash on the VU's & found them too rounded. VZ's had a ton of engines woes so I stuck with a VY.

I found a few leaks coming in from the back firewall around the drainage areas on mine & the rear screen. It's back at the smash repairs getting all the seams resealed, the glass to be replaced & trying to come up with a flange for the drainage tubes as Holden don't make them any more. I have some spare rubber plugs & we're figuring out a way to secure them on the pipes & then on the bodywork. I spent today at the smash repairs cleaning the carpets, removing bulldust & cleaning the seams. I removed some of the seams today so when the new seams goes on it'll be flawless. It might be worth your while at some point to check yours out as the rubber seams only have a certain lifespan.

Just keep going & don't rush it.

 

[sleepa]

I'm with Risky, that looks comparable to how new cars come out of the factory, and better then some.
And remember the good thing with some orange peel in the clear is you can cut it back and get a super smooth finish.