VS ute series II... the work bus

[afstruct]

Yeap, know that feeling. My back yard isn't too bad.,I did it before we went away and hasn't hit growth cycle yet , but front yard and garden ! and maloo needs a huge clean after trip , so there's a couple of chores for the weekend

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

All the parts i have sitting in my room are getting installed this weekend.
After that im gonna have a bash at repairing the front kit.
Anyone got tips on repairing fibreglass for me. Would appreciate anyone that has done it before giving me some pointers.

 

[afstruct]

Needs to be clean for good bonds. If it's cracks you need to V it/ scolop it out, then lay in ever widening pieces of matting to build up thickness , if cracks go all the way through only do half thickness at a time and then turn over and repeat on other side. Same with edge damage clean back and blend in/ build up, you don't want to just have a plonked on bit on top . Use a release agent on any moulds .
Maybe see if vtchris can give any good tips, looking at his vt wagon he did a great job on his front bar
Make sure you don't have any air bubbles, you need to squeeze all of them out

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

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Sweet cheers mate. ill hit him up for some tips.
So found small leak in radiator. Thats out. Ill pick a new one up tomorrow. The harmonic balencer is being stubborn as ****.
My mate had a brain fade putting breaker bar on and now power steering res is in the bin... gotta grab one of them aswell. Trip to wreckers in the morning.
Water pump and tensioner are on... no dramas there.
Still got engine mounts, tie rod ends and the crank angle sensor.
Put a gates heater tap on... new radiator and the cooling system should handle everything a hot adelaide summer can throw at it.

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

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All back together and the idle has improved heaps

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

So just drove home from my mate toddy's house. He s a holden guy through and through. Got a mint VZ maloo R8. 3 VLs back at his farm.
I thought my ute drove nicely when i got it about 6 months ago. The difference between then and now is huge.
Its a completely different vehicle to drive.
I almost cant believe my odometer when i glance down while driving.
Huge thanks to Toddy for making my car feel like it approaching 150 thousand kms... when in reality its staring down 300 thousand

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

Had a heater hose let go the other day. Only clamp we didnt replace while working on the ute. Fixed it and refilled and bleed system.
Was about to head to the country for a funeral... Stopped at BP for ice coffee and to check tyre pressure. Thought id better check for air bubbles and bleeder valve snapped off the thermostat housing and hit the bonnet. haha
Knew the RAA wouldnt fix it on the spot but i wanted my free tow home.
Bloke gets out his van and says "alright... whats wrong with the old girl apart from the giant bloody airconditioner hanging of the side!!!".
Made me laugh then i showed him what i broke... He gave me a grin and said "cant fix it... you need a new housing". I said "thats what i thought you d say."
He then proceeded to tell me that "i wouldnt be allowed to work on it anyway as its too heavily modified". Guess they have rules and regulations but i ve never really thought that my ute was "heavily modified".
I know the police wouldn t like seeing whats under my bonnet but for an RAA bloke to not work on it is abit rough. The engine is un-opened... its just really hard to get one side of the spark plugs out haha. The tow truck driver was a champ though. Funny guy.
All good now though. All fixed up
Silver bullet is still going. Radiator has developed a reasonable weep in side tank. Its pretty much served its purpose as the misses just got a mazda 3 neo pretty cheaply.
Had to do a couple things to her car so havent had much time to do anything else on my two.

Have an engine crane at home at the moment so i think when the silver one runs outta rego i might gut it. Pull everything that i can use as spare out of it and send the rest off to the wreckers.
My mate said that cruise control will be easy to swap over.
My bro in law has his eyes on the pacemakers.
Would they suit his VT wagon? im not sure if any one has an answer i would appreciate it.
Also for people with more knowledge then me... What would i need to do to the motor to give it a good freshen up so its in real good shape when and if i need to put it in the ute?

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

Havent posted in ages but ive had the ute off the road for about a month.
Got 2 rockford shallow tens and have started the install.
Gotta get the amp in a couple of weeks. Ill have all the wiring and the subs back in by then.
Also relocated the jack from behind the drivers door. Will post upsome pics

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

Hey all... haven t been on on ages. Life got in the way of fixing up the ute. Got another rug rat crawling around. The silver bullet had to go as i moved house and had no where to store it. I kept the front bumper as a spare for the ute.
Got rid of the misses little mazda and talked her into letting me buy a series 2 VY Calais V8 from an older couple. Had 185000 clock but looks and drives like a car with half that. Luckily its silver so i have a silver bullet mark 2. Goes well... super comfy and has pacemakers and a 2 1/2 in twin system. Sounds nice. Also got a set of ssv s that arent on it in the photo.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s5ss8k592u7ipis/20180303_091449.jpg?dl=0

 

[Adelaidetradie86]

As for the Ute its been relagated to living under a car cover. Hidden but not forgotten. The stereo install went well and sounds awesome. The amp/sub combo are perfectly suited to each other. Can crank everything full noise all day with no dramas. Omly downside is i lost abit of seat adjustment. Wouldn t wanna drive it to melb ftom adelaide. Ill post pics up when i remember how.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h53rku7gxxgf4ib/20170313_103032.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h53rku7gxxgf4ib/20170313_103032.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ffttgh0rbunnl1a/20170311_102506.jpg?dl=0