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Old VN and VP Hwp cars I drove...

ringfeder3

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Now that I have worked out how to add pictures, I thought I might post a few pics of my old workhorses in the early 90s.

Both the VN and the VPs were V8s and after earlier models, the injected 304s seemed very smooth and refined.

The VPs were the first we had with IRS and I recall when you pulled the transmission into Drive, the rear of the car would drop and it felt like you were about to be propelled like a rocket....

The big fuel tanks were often damaged by rocks on dirt roads, the bullbars were absolutely essential for regular rural night shifts and the big HF aerials did little for fuel economy.

In one photo, where the two VPs are parked together, you can see one has the roofbar sitting further back then the other. The driver made this modification believing that the reduced wind drag gave him an extra 15 km/h...

Another modification I saw was on a VP V8 that had had ongoing cooling problems. Holden engineers organised for a fabricated alloy scoop to be fitted below the grille requiring removal of the centre section of the bumper. The registration plate was repositioned to beneath the right headlight. Apparently it worked but looked very Mad Max.

We all used to removed the duct to the front of the airbox for a better 'note' and make other, er, modifications in the name of street cred.

One VN I knew of had had the entire exhaust replaced with some aftermarket system. It sounded like a Nascar.

We would only keep these cars for 40000 km then they'd go back to auction. The country cars were considered a good buy, often going back on their original Bridgestone Supercats...

I'm still operational many years later ans have plenty more info like this if anyone is interested.

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losh1971

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Were you an police officer Ringfeder? Yeah early IRS and Holden still couldn't get it right, right up to the VT. Number of VT's I looked at when they were still fairly new with sacked out rear ends with the tops of the wheel leaning in was crazy. I towed a van so a commodore was never going to work for me. I had to opt for a 96 Falcon with leaf rear end.
 

ringfeder3

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Yeal Losh, I still am....
 

ringfeder3

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Drive a VF now. I believe it is being replaced by a 5 series BMW in the next few weeks...
 

losh1971

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Yeah I saw on the Net some states were changing to BMW's
 

gtrboyy

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We modded a few cop cars during vr/s era at Holden dealership...just basic stuff to make them sound or go better as drivers were fellow revheads.

Bullbar,numberplate & lights blocking main airflow through bumper bar looks shocking lol
 

ringfeder3

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Yes, but were they were deemed necessary for the areas we worked in. We didn't have any cooling problems with our particular cars but in one pic you can see that additional holes had been drilled through to bullbar to facilitate extra airflow.

The BA XR8s were the worst for overheating. Mine spent more time on a tilt tray than on the road...and it had no frontal modifications.
 

the_boozer

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My only memory of cars like that is being pulled over and fined for going 8k's too fast.
Go and hide behind a tree.
 

gtrboyy

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The ones we touched had plenty of mods they didn't need,mostly HSV leftovers from holden dealership or d.i.y mods.

There were a couple of older unmarked cars catching street racers out back then too.
 

ringfeder3

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sounds like Boozer has plenty of experience with them as well....
 
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