VH SLE - 1981 - Indigo Blue

[stockies]

Had a UPC brake kit on the VN.
343mm front and 315mm rears.'

Put better pads in them and braided lines for sure.
Also, its worth overhauling your master cylinder - the bigger kits WILL find the weakest part of your system pretty fast.

Loved the kit when it was on. Had a few issues with mine, with the calliper bolts, but that was all.
The brake pads supplied are **** though, throw em in the bin and get some VE QFM HPX ones.

 

[dgp]

Very nice indeed.

 

[Sandman]

Keen to hear if anyone has any experience with the wilwood MC. Its what I'm going to put on mine, even if it just has cosmetic benefits, looks so much nicer than the factory ones.

 

[SLE-883]

Just an update.

Was looking at brake and engine upgrades originally but have since decided to try preserve the body first. The car has only minimal surface rust on it at the moment and doesn't seem to need any panels repaired. As the pain is all original I'm going back to bare metal to get a respray done and replacing all the rubbers. Sticking with the original Indigo blue and pinstripes and want to try keep all the door molds on too.

Just wondering what rubber kits others have used. I was looking at getting Rare Spares rubber kit but would love feedback on their kit or any alternatives.

Engine bay will remain untouched for the time being until I pull out the motor.

 

[SLE-883]

Big delivery arrived today.




Body rubbers, locks, bolts and trim bits! All from Kingswood County. They've been excellent to deal with.


Also ordered a Holden decal for the rear window. quite ironic.

 

[Sandman]

Awesome to see, feel sorry for your wallet though. Rare spares gear isn't cheap.

 

[Bigfella237]

"Australia's Driving Future" would be too late for a VH wouldn't it?

I recall that was the sticker you used to see on just about every VK ever sold...

I was trying to remember what the slogan was before that, "The Advanced Australian" maybe?

 

[SLE-883]

It’s been ages since an update so here's what's happened since September.

I dropped the car off at the body shop in October 2015 for a bare metal respray. A friend of mine is doing the work at his body shop when they’re quiet so it's going to be a slow process because they’re always busy.
Car paint was stripped pretty quickly and sprayed in primer. There was minimal rust which was great news for my wallet.

The only other it of rust found on the car was a small section in the lower driver’s door that has been lead filled. There was also some pitting on the bonnet, boot and roof that got taken care of as well as the front apron. The engine bay is not getting touched at this stage. It’ll get work done later when the engine is ripped out. Hopefully to make way for a something with 400Hp at the flywheel.

During the past few months I’ve been busy searching for and buying parts. I managed to get newly chromed bars, new grill and am just waiting for the badges to come back from the guy reproducing them. I also managed to find a brand new NOS VH SLE Front Passenger side door belt! This part is pretty much non-existent. Paid an absolute mint for it but I guess the best time to buy something is when you find it. (Haven’t had buyer’s remorse yet and I’m hoping the wife doesn’t find out.)
I don’t know why but Rare Spares sell the Drivers side, and LH and RH rear door belts but not the front passengers. They’ll probably release it next week now that I bought one. I'm pretty happy about this purchase as it means that all the rubbers on the car are now all brand new.

So the car sat in the corner of the workshop in primer all through November, December and January.

As painful as it’s been to wait for the car to be finished it’s worked out well for me. The garage spot I have for it is full of building material and there's no room for it. It’s getting cleared out this week in February though and in good time because WE NOW HAVE COLOUR!
Car was sprayed this weekend. Went with the original Indigo Blue and it looks mint! It shouldn't be long now before she's all back together.

 

[SLE-883]

Finally got the car back yesterday afternoon. I'm blown away by the quality of the car.

I have to give a big thanks to Robert and Sam from E.R. McNamara Smash Repairs at St Peters. The work quality and attention to detail is second to none.

Now for the pics.

Back home from the shop





10mins after getting her home, back with the FR19s. I know they've been done to death but the just suit the car.







Pin striping is flawless. Exactly like factory. I always thought the strip was white but I'm glad I listened to the panel shop who have worked on many of these cars in the 80s and 90s and went with silver.



Mirror finish













Just waiting for the badges that I'm getting reproduced and it'll be complete on the outside.

Really want to enter her into the next car show in Sydney. If anyone knows where to find info on car shows let me know.

 

[SLE-883]

Also getting some of the badges remade out of metal rather than plastic. Here's a look at the rear boot "COMMODORE" badge. Looks awesome so far. Just need to get it sprayed satin and black.