1985 Holden Camira SLX review from Australia and New Zealand

Broken engine mounts. Exacerbated by an overdue transmission service which caused the transmission to jolt when changing between gears.

Prematurely worn out drive-shaft bearings, due to heavy cornering.

Broken CV joint. This occurred within 12 months of fitting. May have been due to heavy cornering.

Warped brake discs. Due to severe braking and not allowing a cooling-down period.

Broken return spring in brake master cylinder. Overall master cylinder reconditioning and replacement spring and soft-goods kit gave far better performance.

Blown head gasket. Believe this was due to running unleaded petrol when super is required.

Starter motor solenoid stuck when the engine was very hot. Replaced with a reconditioned starter motor. Problem is far less apparent.

Gear selector cable seized. Replaced with a new cable. New cable cost approximately $145.

Kick-down cable mount broke. Repaired existing one with wire.

Plastic engine temperature sensor lug broke. Bought a new sensor lug and replaced.

Engine temperature gauge and fuel gauge are intermittent.

Driver's seat frame broke. Replaced the seat with a second-hand seat.

The engine is reasonably powerful for its capacity and vintage.

The car does not handle extremely well. Even with new shockers it still tends to lurch around corners.

The car can perform well, but should not be considered a high performance car. It is an excellent commuters car, if all service requirements are met.

If this car is driven hard, it will cost a great deal more to maintain. It was not designed for hard driving.

It is very smooth on the highway, and has reasonable power for overtaking if the electronics are well maintained.

The car's braking is heavily reliant on the front brakes. Full metal brake pads overheat the discs causing them to warp and subsequently lose performance. Hybrid brake pads seem to work best. The auto-adjust mechanism of the rear brake drums seems unreliable. Adjusting these manually will enhance the overall braking of the car as doing so will reduce any "slack" which must be taken up between the rear shoes and drums, before the pressure can be exerted on the front discs by the pads. This is because the left rear brake drum and right front brake caliper are hydraulically linked. Likewise the right rear drum and left front caliper. I strongly recommend this procedure immediately prior to going on long trips.

This car has taught me the importance of regular maintenance and not letting problems go unchecked for too long. Problems left unattended will often lead to other, more expensive problems.

It is my experience that regular servicing is vital to maintain a good level of reliability of this model. Much of this servicing can be done yourself. Much of the necessary treatment comes down to common sense. Common sense is often gained via experience.