1982 Holden Commodore SL from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Front disks were not crash hot at purchase. $150 plus $48 for new bearings solved the problem.

Wear of front felt window glass channels: c$29 per window to replace.

New front shocks (c$100)

New water pump (not faulty, just for insurance!) : $80.

Air conditioning charged and updated ($20 for a drier receiver, $28 for a pressure switch and c$40 for new gas/oil)

The car cost $500 to start with.

The car has lots of power, even compared to a '91 VN Commodore I had previously.

Fuel consumption on Canberra - Bendigo trips (two done to date) is at 9.5 l/100kms. Around town it is 13 - 15 l/100kms.

With the 5 speed box it sits comfortable all day at 120 or 110 kmh.

I also recently bought a VHS LE 202 bored out to a 253 for $500 I've spent $200 so far on a wing, some paint work and had the engine bay painted and detailed. I find that it is lacking power on take off and can't find a reason for this. some ideas on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

I too have a 1982 VH SLX Commodore with a 4.2 Lt (253) in it. I find that it is also a little slow on take off, however I find that once the revs get above 2500 - 3000 RPM then you can feel its power. I've been told that there are several factors for this situation, one of them being the diff ratio and the other is the stall converter that is installed with the 3 speed trimatic. A lower stall setting will have the above effect.

I also find that it is quite heavy on fuel and from 55 litres of LPG I only get about 200 Km on a mixture of main road/High Way/City driving.

Still unable to determine the cause for the lack of fuel economy. Maybe it is just a a thirsty engine design?

Can I just ask, for those VH's with AC fitted, how well does it cool if the car has been sitting in the sun for a few hours. Mine worked well if the car was parked in the shade and you put the AC on before you take off, but forget it if you were parked in the sun on a hot day, it would never cool the car down before you got home.

I too have a 1982 VH SLX Commodore with a 4.2 Lt (253) in it. I find that it is also a little slow on take off, however I find that once the revs get above 2500 - 3000 RPM then you can feel its power. I've been told that there are several factors for this situation, one of them being the diff ratio and the other is the stall converter that is installed with the 3 speed trimatic. A lower stall setting will have the above effect.

I also find that it is quite heavy on fuel and from 55 litres of LPG I only get about 200 Km on a mixture of main road/High Way/City driving.

Still unable to determine the cause for the lack of fuel economy. Maybe it is just a a thirsty engine design?

Can I just ask, for those VH's with AC fitted, how well does it cool if the car has been sitting in the sun for a few hours. Mine worked well if the car was parked in the shade and you put the AC on before you take off, but forget it if you were parked in the sun on a hot day, it would never cool the car down before you got home.