1981 Holden Commodore VH SL/X review from Australia and New Zealand

I bought it in bad condition, here are the items not working or in bad condition before the car was registered:

- Starter motor worked sometimes - replaced.

- Doors full of rust, replaced and repaired.

- Headlights has a dull colour in the background so they were disassembled and cleaned and new parts of better lights were added.

- Leak in front of engine - replaced front main seal.

- Needed service bad, new points, plugs and leads; filters; big de-greasing; and adjusting carby.

- Interior was very bad condition, upgraded to VK.

- Electrical problems, such as boot release, heater fan, dash lights, oil and voltimetre gauge, and rear de-mister.

- Air conditioner condenser leaked, so did some of the air con hoses.

- Belt moulds had hard rubbers - replaced belt moulds (easier than trying to put new rubbers on old moulds).

- Window channel moulds were hard and missing in some spots - replaced with goods ones from a VK.

- Window glass for all 4 doors scratched bad from hard belt mould rubbers - replaced.

- Drivers door locked by itself sometimes when trying to open it from outside - annoying if you left your keys in the ignition - replaced a spring in the door lock to fix problem.

- Both front door windows slipped when trying to wind them up - replaced window regulators.

- Rust around the rear window seal and back mudgaurds.

Things since it has been registered:

- Needs wheel alignment every 2-3 months.

- Neutral safty switch cooked itself 2 times.

- Leak in auto gearbox.

- Speedo stopped working, replaced cog in gearbox.

- Fuel gauge works sometimes.

- Handbrake needed adjusting.

- Leaked water through windscreen seal.

I bought this car off the police for a very small price. It was in very bad condition, and had the full works done to it. Most of the parts on it were in bad condition or missing, especially the interior. No major engine modifications though - just 'bolt on performance'.

I got 4 other commodores and made mine the best out of them by getting all their good parts. Plus many other parts from the wreckers including a 5 speed manual.

It received a re-spray; a VK Berlina interior (except dash - I still wanted to keep the VH look) ; mag wheels; 2.5inch sports exhaust; tinted windows; replacement of a lot of serviceable engine components; re-gassed a/c (don't do this - increases your fuel consumption considerably). Most of the parts were picked up free or very cheap. I got the 4 other commodores for free - bonus.

It came out looking quite spectacular and I have sold it for exactly 100 times the price I bought it for making a comfortable profit.

These are nice cars to drive, look good with nice paint (red looks the best I reckon, with black around SLE taillights and windows - kinda like a group 3), but unfortunately use lots of petrol. They don't require much servicing, but when they do parts are very cheap!