Some VK Berlina Questions.

[Dogmeat]

G'day all at the moment im looking at upgrading to a vk berlina from an executive and ive found one but after a drive i found it to be a rather heavy drive from my exec which is rather light. does anyone know if the 3.3 efi made the berlina heavier than the exec or for any other reasons why it might feel like a heavier drive??? and im under the impression as because its still a black engine it still runs on leaded fuel?? does it have disks on the front and drums on the rear?? are there any problem areas on the berlina that i should specifically look for?? the engine has also done 250,000 k's so are theyre any sort of wear and tears that i should look out for in an engine thats done so many k's?? and does anyone know how much it would cost to get it rebuit/reconditioned?? all advice is appreciated.

Cheers

 

[vkberlina]

Ok theres only about 47kg difference between an SL and a Berlina...

But thats going to depends on a few things, mainly mods from factory if your SL has aircon powersteer as well.

Most likely the case if the engine has 250,000km on it its buggered so you will be looking at a new engine. This is probably the why the car feel sluggish.
Check for oil in the airbox if theres oil, the compresison rings are buggered basically needing a rebuild.

Suspension
Next on a car with that many KM the suspension bushes are most likely worn, also the shocks could be buggered as well. The springs on the car have probably sagged and the front strut bearing caps are probably sagged as well. Also the radius bars have probably straitened out making the car turn into corners poorly.

Depending on the quality of the rest of the car would probably dictate how much you should pay.

Engine cost is going to set you back $1500-$2500 depending how much work you do and what you do tot he engine I dont think a HM Gem rebuild is a good idea.
To give the suspension and brakes a once over with new pads etc, shocks rubbers etc your looking at around $800-$1200 possibly less if you do it yourself.

Depending on the quality of the body & the interior and anything it else comes with could be worth anywhere from $500 to $1500.

EFI Berlina should be as follows
EFI 202
Aircon
Power steer
Auto
Velour interior
Electric aerial

Possibly optioned with electric mirrors

Brakes wise Front disc and rear drums


Cheers
Scott

 

[Dogmeat]

yeah my executive has aircon and power steering. the car has been lowered so i dont know what gets changed when you lower something but it was done no more than a few years ago. the interior and the paint is in excellant condition so im not mainly worrying about them. yeah it had all of those things you listed that it should have. he put it up for 2000 so i could proby get ir for a bit under that so should i just say no and stay with my one at the moment cos my cars only done 130,000 and whats a "HM Gem rebuild"? and before i said before i think about buy it i need it to go through a rwc and a nrma check pick all the crap stuff about it up or would some slip through?? cheers for your help so far

 

[vkberlina]

ok,

Well the only difference between your car and a berlina is a different interior,rear reading lights, consol, electric aerial, exterior badging & striping. This would be lucky to add the 47kg tot he car probably 20kg tops.

Just for an idea I bought a VK carbie berlina for $300, Excellent interior,the body is a little rugged, no rust just dents, engine needed a bit of work along with the suspension & brakes. I spent $1700 on parts, rego & insurance. It ended up with a rebuilt 202 (I already had most of the parts) rebuilt gearbox, a few suspension bushes, springs & rear shocks, new windscreen, bit of an external tidy up and a new CD player (pioneer) and speakers.
It could do with around $2000 spending on it to bring it up really nice but its not happening. Its just a Daily hack.

HM Gem is a bulk engine reco place there are others around personally I would stay away from them.
Basically what they do is they mass produce engine recos and the quality isnt really there as they are built to a price.

If you get an engine rebuilt do it yourself or at least organise it yourself, get the block machined by a good machine shop, buy a new cam suited to how you want the engine to perform, get the head rebuilt to suit the application and the cam you choose.
Either you or have someone reassembled it with good bearings, rings & gaskets, have the bottom end balenced use pistons like ACL duralite III or if you want a quicky a set of ACL race series pistons (lighter) use a good water pump like a GMB, JP oil pump.

The engine will cost a bit more but should last longer and be overall a better engine.

Personally I just do an inspection myself or take it to a mechanic so it can be put up on a hoist.
General First inspection
First I find out the service history and how its been looked after.
I have a look at the engine inside the rocker cover for gunk build up,
Check coolant, oil, brake fluid, auto fluid for signs of lack of maintainance or car abuse
Check out how the the car drives, brakes, rattles & clunks etc
Have a look at the tyres to see how the car has been driven buy its owner, front - if the outer edge is feathered its been consistantly cornered hard, rear - in a single spinnger see if one is worn more than the other may be as a result of burnouts etc, if an LSD both balding.
Body wise look for rust around the screens, bottoms of the guards & doors, Check for rust around the plennum (the space where the windscreen wiper motor is)
check for wet carpet could suggest windscreens are leaking.
Check for water tracks in dust in the boot, wet or damp carpet, water in the drivers side wheelwell, check the spare wheel space for evidence of dents or scrapes from under neith.

REVS check before next step

If all the first check is good depending on the price of the car I will do the following
Compression test
Under car inspection on a hoist, inspecting general under side of the car condition, suspension rubbers, brakes, ball joints, tailshaft, engine for oil leakes, gearbox for leaks.

If all checks out or i identify a few problems I make an offer or pay the money.

cheers
Scott



cheers
Scott

 

[Dogmeat]

ok cheers for all your help theres alot of useful info in there :yeah: also you said in there about taking off the rocker cover im interested in doing that in my exec as is quite noisy in there and i want to see whats going on? so how hard is it to take it off/ put back on and is there anything you should watch out for while doing this?

Cheers

 

[vkberlina]

For an inspection on a car just look through the oil filler cap and feel with your finger.

To remove the rocker cover I think all the bolts are 10mm from memory and on an EFI VK a 13mm for the throttle cable bracket. once all the screws are removed a rock of the cover left to right should break it loose.

For replacement you may need a new gasket depending how the previous gasket was put on. I recommend you use loctite #3 non hardening sealant. That way you will be able to remove the cover in the future without having to buy a new gasket each time.

cheers
Scott