Comments: 1-15, 16
As far as manufacturing faults really none at all. The WB Holden is a heavy large car. When driving in built-up area's the cars weight and size lets it down slightly. The fuel economy is fairly poor and parking the vehicle can at times be a bit hard at times. It takes time to get used to the Statesman, but once you have the vehicle is very comfortable and easy to drive. The vehicle comes with power steering so even tight corners or confined parking area's can be handled with a degree of ease. The caprice comes with electric side mirrors as standard, which helps.
The WB Statesman is a "dated" car falling in line with large American cars of the 70's and 80's. Holden have tried to put "gadgets" into the car like power mirrors and a trip computer, but it really does not stack up against other vehicles in the same class. I think if leather trim, electric seats, a four speed
transmission where added as standard equipment, Holden would have sold more units than it did.
It is a very comfortable car to both sit in and drive. The vehicle's ride is slow and gentle, even with the 5 litre V8. The three speed automatic transmission is really not suited to the highway driving however the car's fuel economy is very good. The vehicle's fuel tank holds 91 litres and on highway driving will travel between six hundred and seven hundred kilometer's. I like the Statesman and later models have improved a great deal. The WB was "top of the range" at the time and it is good to see that quite a number of examples are still on the road today.
I have had my 1984 WB Caprice now for 14 months (at Nov 2002). It has done 300,000 km and is in excellent condition, having been resprayed several years back. The Trimatic auto trans is a pain though as it clunks and shunts up and down gear on steep inclines (despite a recent full service). Nonetheless, I enjoy driving it immensely and even the kids grudgingly join in. Unfortunately the wife absolutely hates it, mainly because of its size and the nice note the extractors make. She prefers a Saab!
The car is solid, well built for the time and reliable. the 308 ci is a good motor with plenty of power, even though it was never 'fast'. A great touring car with classic style.
I have a 1982 WB Caprice that used to belong to my grandparents. They gave it to me when I was 16 with a bit of rust and dents. For my 18th birthday, my dad got the rust and dents fixed and a total respray. Now I just need new bumpers and it will look brand new. It is a great car to drive and I'm used to driving such a big car now that I find it really easy to park. It is so comfy inside and great for road trips. My mates and I are going to take it on our road trip for schoolies week in a couple of days. The 308 has never failed me yet.
I bought my WB series 2 DeVille from a good friend when he purchased a lil BMW 316. At the time he acquired it, I owned (and still do as a matter of fact) a '65 Bel Air. Having experienced that kind of power, he turned his eyes towards the locally made v8. We jokingly became members of the "Thunder Club" ie: V8 owners. In its time with him, The "General" underwent numerous changes, the inclusion of a decent Sony Cd player, custom steering wheel and Streetlites shod with massive 10's on the rear and 8's at the front. The Engine is stocko, having been rebuilt and now accommodate's the now almost compulsory Gas converter. The body has had rust work done in the sills, doors and rear quarter panels, common trouble spots in the big V8 thumpers. Interestingly, he decided to discard the huge side moldings which always struck me as rather tacky. In their place the clips were removed, smoothed, filled, sanded and painted, giving the large shoebox shape smooth lines and some much needed curve. The exhaust note of the 308 has always been particularly sweet and coupled to extractors which feed into a 2-into-1 system, it has a healthy burble. The interior is in average condition, the standard trim comparable to potato hessian sacking. I plan to get it reupholstered in Bone with maroon inserts to match the duco. also the Streetlites will be swapped for centrelines. The General is a cruisers car, jam packed with comfort and luxury, it gets you where you want to go in comfort and style, but can still raise the hair on the back of your neck with judicious and frequent application of the right boot emerging from sweeping corners or just overtaking on the Freeway. Although I didn't "need" the car, I hated to see it go to someone that didn't appreciate its qualities. The Statesman Deville, worthy successor to the Brougham.
I own a 1983 WB Statesman De Ville Series 2 it's metallic green with green tweed interior.It's stock right down to the stainless exhaust with five muffler box's.Great cruiser with 215000 KM'S and tight body.I've owned it for 5 years.It's just used for long country trips and cruising around. Most comfortable seats around. Holds great road presents.
I have just purchased a 1984 Holden Caprice, my first foray into the Statesman product. This one was in need of TLC and has already had many hours spent in bringing it back to a more original condition. It is White with the green velour interior. It is also, thankfully on LPG, I love working on it as I am able to do most things myself, Loving it!
I have recently purchased a BEAUTIFUL series 2 Caprice to replace my other BEAUTIFUL Series 2 Caprice that was stolen. I am an absolute WB Caprice addict and am not happy driving anything else (except for my 1968 Chevrolet Caprice, but that's only a weekender). The car is appointed with enough to remain reliable as an everyday driver and is fantastic on the open road. This car has 209,000 KMs and has been looked after all it's life. It is white with a blue velour interior (the last one was white with blue leather) and I have recently had LPG fitted. I was at pains to put the LPG on, but at $1.50 a litre for premium unleaded one has to be sensible! I highly recommend the WB Statesman, particularly the Series 2 Caprice as it is better appointed than the Deville, to anyone wanting a good solid car at a reasonable price. You will get an excellent example for $5000-$6000. Try and work out what else you can get for that money. A Commodore? Please!!
Wb caprice what away to go, I have had three, still got two.
First one: 1981 white with a red interior, stock as a rock, with 120,000kls.
Second: 1981 fully restored with mods inc efi conversion to original 308, head work, cam extractors, tricked th350, lowered and rebuilt suspension, lpg also fitted, sage with sage interior.
Third one was sold last year - 1983 white with red interior, rebuilt 308, and tri new suspension lpg etc. Was a great daily driver.
I now drive a VK 308 wagon on lpg with mods, or a VL Calais Sedan lpg, and gen 123,000klms or an old dunger VK Sedan LPG, low fe2 extractors, mags etc, but prefer to be behind the wheel of one of my wb's.
I purchased my 1981 WB Series I DeVille in September 2005. It is Cerulean Blue Metallic with a beige trim. It has the usual 308 V8, coupled up to a Turbo 350 3 speed auto as well as being a fully optioned DeVille with all Caprice features. Naturally it runs on LPG. It needed some serious TLC when first purchased. After fitting a Caprice dash, Caprice wheels and Caprice Grille, the car now looks a million dollars. I would not get rid of it for the world, and hope to have it fully restored for my son who is only 4 years old at the moment by the time he turns 16. I am also the proud owner of a 1 owner HQ sedan that my father purchased brand new in 1974 whilst working at Holden in Fishermans Bend in Melbourne. That vehicle is also fitted with a 308 V8.
I have owned statesmans all my driving years. I have recently acquired a 1981 buckskin WB De Ville. It came from a one only lady owner in country NSW who used it to go to the grocery store and that was it. It has 58,000kms on the clock and everything is original and immaculate. Not a mark on it anywhere. Not even wear marks on the drivers side floor nor chips or rust spots in the paint. Got it extremely cheap, (less than 1500) because someone she new put the hand brake on a little too tight and she never used the hand brake. She thought it was always free (as you know it falls loose to the floor once on) but could not work out why the car was locking up all the time and the engine would struggle to pull the car!!! I feel bad because I never told her about the handbrake, but took the deal and said thanks. The car is priceless. One of the best rides out of all my statesmans (98 VS and 02 WH)... Would not sell it for the world.
I own an 84 wb caprice and I love it.. got it as my first car.
Great for long trips and has so much potential.
Just the shape and style that I can't get enough. Plus the quadra jet carbie goes off on high acceleration.
Great can't wait till I'm off my P's so I can pimp it out.
I've had many old school holdens including big horse power toranas, tonners and hq-z sedans, but allways had a thing for statesmans. I was constantly looking for statesman gear to tart up my usually standard looking models so I thought buy a statesman cause you get all the fruit with the car. I was originally after the hj-z stato because I never really liked the ass end of the wb's, but one weekend in a country town I happened to stumble across this imaculate condition wb caprice an old fellow owned who was thinking of selling it. I bought it for a song and loving every bit of it.
It hasn't got the get up and go like my previous cars, but I just like that big cadillac tank feel to it with all the luxuries and being an 81 model with the TH350 behind her the gear changes are smooth as. In my driveway I have the WB caprice, a 5 litre VL calais and an original windowless HX sandman panelvan, but everytime its cruisetime its keys to the stato!
Hi, I purchased a s.h. Holden Statesman Caprice in 7/1992 and it had done 150,000kms.As it was the last of the series 1 it came with a trimatic transmission, which was a surprise to me and my mechanic when I sent it to him for a service.
The vehicle has now done 600,000kms and looks great as the paintwork and body have stood the test of time.
The original 308 engine was rebuilt at 417,000kms due to overheating, causing blown head gaskets etc. The transmission has been repaired twice in 15 years and the cost was reasonable, considering the work done during that time frame.
The front suspension has been up graded a few times during these 15 years, but at minimal cost. The car is of course, dated by to-days standards, however it still receives many admirers, from those people that remember that it was the car to own (if you could afford it) in its heyday.
As the vehicle was dual fuel from my purchase date it has not been expensive to run so far, but as the price of LPG is increased, this may not be the case in the long term. Spare parts (mechanical) are still available from many auto-houses, however body panels and trim and Caprice special add-ons, not so plentiful. Some Caprice trim, when available is extremely expensive and I do not purchase unless necessary.
Overall, the WB Caprice is still a delight to drive and still maintains its Classic appeal too many. The supreme trick is to keep the body rust free and the coachwork shiny and you can easily keep the running gear in good working order with a bit of preventative maintenance and old fashioned TLC.
In closing I will just say that this particular model had so many extras for its time that it can be a task to keep them all in working order as time and much use can take its toll.
Subject is WB Statesman Lower Control Arm Bushes:
As I have owned this particular model for many years, I have found it necessary to replace the control arm bushes on more than one occasion. I have had no luck with the Nola-thane Bushes as they appear to be too hard and wear out quicker than the rubber bushes. I have better results by purchasing SH, but original lower control arms, complete with rubber bushes from my local auto dismantler. Maybe I have been unlucky, however I would appreciate your comments.
Generally the vehicle is easily maintained, provided that you attend to a potential problem when first diagnosed.
Mechanical parts are readily available at normal GMH prices as many components were used on other GMH models over many years.
The cooling system must be kept in good repair, particularly the radiator, as many models came with air-con.and if still in operation, this is a must as overheating can cause expensive repairs.
Good luck if you own one these iconic vehicles, as they will still give great service if maintained correctly.
As a kid I loved these things. In high school I used to waste time by drawing them. Up until August of this year I'd never even sat in one. I'd been looking around for an old Holden to do up and cruise in on weekends, something to collect and to have in the future. When looking I saw a low k WB Caprice for sale cheap and I thought, well that's the car and now's the time.
This car is a series 1, and it is immaculate and it was the first and only one I looked at and have ever driven. It has a special order factory paint job, so it's rare. The interior is as new and the car itself is all original matching numbers etc. With the TH 350 and the standard 5 litre this is about the smoothest and most comfortable car I've ever driven. My daily driver is a KJ Verada, which is put to shame by the Caprice.
I had to get the suspension fixed and a new steering wheel.
The best thing about this car is that no matter where I go (I only drive it on weekends if the weather OK - we call it the "picnic car") someone always has to come up to me and have a talk about it. Even teenage and younger kids find it more interesting and "cooler" than the latest commodes, WRX's etc.
Its the one that appears on wikipedia as the example of what a WB caprice looks like, so it's immortalised on the web as well.
This car will never be for sale!
I've owned two examples of this legend, the first I towed a 17ft caravan for 7 year through all the states, it was normal to be overtaking $100,000 4wd caravan packages up hills.
The mods to make it tow were cheap, I went the heavy duty raised rear coils, gas shocks, but for practicality should of went to air shocks with standard springs for when not towing.
I did have vaporisation problems on hot days, but overcome this by changing the exhaust from standard to two into one, as the right bank goes too close to the fuel line, when it goes over the axle.
Other than that with general maintenance this car took me wherever I wanted.
I still own both 1st 83 series2 DeVille, the 2nd, 82 Caprice, full opp vinyl roof, leather and crushed velvet, 160,000klm, 2nd owner. This car is an absolute dream to drive, and I get a euphoric feeling every time I get behind the wheel. I've driven a lot of late model cars, including the 2006 cv8 Monaro, nice, but for $60,000 plus Ill be sticking to my stato anyday, much better ride and you can see out of it.
These cars are hard to get cosmetic parts, but other than that they're reliable, stylish, and draw attention everywhere. I couldn't sell them, they've got no computers, so basic is always the best, plus how much do you spend to get all the luxuries this car offers? Holden don't make cars like this anymore, I'm keeping mine!