Bought this today

[heavyduty1340]

I have lurked here for ages, and finally picked up this project today

Spent too much money modding current Commodores, so its time to add an oldie to the shed for some variety!

Plan is to drive it, and get to know it for a year or two while collecting parts and knowledge to do an ls1 4sp auto conversion


















Apparently the car was bought this way from Qld this way approx 6 yrs ago

Paint is ordinary now, but body looks prety honest

Interior is really good

Any info on ls1 conversion would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Faedy

[customFC]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new addition.
Looks like a unique FE you have.
Good luck with your planned mods.
Enjoy the participation of the forum.
Regards
Alex

[Stash]

Looks great. Welcome to the forum.
As a fellow newbie, I can highly recommend the site for the now ledge pool and the incredibly helpful members.

[heavyduty1340]

Cheers

I will chew your ears, dont worry

Its good to have an Ol' Girl again.

[Stash]

That would be "knowledge pool" - damn auto correct

[DN2168]

Looks COOL, hope you enjoy cruising in her.

Dean.

[heavyduty1340]

Done a few km in her now, and am slowly finding all of her faults/features

The 202 is pretty tired, but will survive for a while yet

Windows winders are really hard to use

Windscreen wipers - well the look the part, but thats all

Steering column is about 6 inches too long (what a problem to have!!)

Steering (with hr front end) is soooo heavy, and I need two footy fields to pull a u turn)

Brakes are ok, but I'd like better (Im used to Brembo's or Alcon 6 or 8 piston set ups )

key doesnt open glove box

keys dont operate door locks

rear air shocks drop air every few days

I want to work my way through the list, starting with door locks first

Im leaning towards a supercharged v6 motor since Im only allowed a 253 v8 in it over here

Have been thinking about looking for a complete vs or vt commodore as a donor

[fcwrangler]

Thats a cool looking set of wheels, if you go the V6 option you will have plenty on the forum who can guide you along as this is a popular engine swap. As the other guys have said, welcome aboard and don't be shy in asking questions, as thats the only way to find out if you are doing something the right way, it helped me when I started and in turn I have helped others and no doubt you will do the same.
Regards Jim

[FCV08]

Nice pickup.

welcome to the forum and good luck with your plans.

Cheers

Craig D

[heavyduty1340]

What would be the best combo of brakes to use if I was to put a V8 or super6 into her.

I like brakes that have good pedal feel, and a nice "safe" feeling when applied, not the sort that are either on or off?

I have some Std VT V8 brakes, as well as some 320mm 4 piston PBR Monaro/GTO brakes kicking around - has anyone tried these before?

Cheers

[mcl1959]

The feel you get is from the master cylinder choice. A 1 inch bore master cylinder tends to give a nice feel but not combined with VT calipers. I personally don't like the VT calipers because of their piston retraction system which was built in to try to solve the rotor warping problem. The Monaro brakes are much better but more difficult to make brackets for. Using a twin bore master out of a VT or later will give a better feel and a bit less pedal free play if using the VT brakes. The majority of the Hoppers Stoppers brake kit conversions that I designed used The AU falcon caliper which looks similar to VT but without the piston retraction system. A much nicer caliper.

All of these brake systems use a minimum 15 inch wheel - The monaro may even be a 16 inch wheel.

Ken

[FE 4 ME]

KEN nearly everytime i read your posts i learn something in depth

you sure are an asset to this forum and ALL HOLDEN enthusiasts

KEN... You've done it again !!!!


FE 4 ME

[heavyduty1340]

Ken

Thank you very much for the info

I have 2 sets of Monaro brakes and rotors in the shed, but I think you would need either 16's or 17's depending on dish of wheel

I have a set of VT V8 calipers as well - what is the piston retraction method of them that you dont like? I have them on a drag car, so you have got my interest now!!

I will look into the Hoppers stoppers Au set-up

[mcl1959]

When you take your foot off the brake pedal in a VT the piston retracts slightly due to the geometry of the piston/rubber. This draws the pad further away from the rotor, but means that when you next apply the brakes there is a small "take up" where the piston pushes forward again - hence the "fast fill" or "2 stage bore" on the VT master cylinder. Running a straight 1 inch bore master with VT calipers gives a soft pedal till about a third of the way down until the free travel is taken up. Not overly dangerous but it does take getting used to and doesn't provide the "feel" that you desire.


Ken

[JB]

Ken, so from memory the only way to keep the 'feel' with VT calipers is for the use of the VT booster, correct?

[FC427]

When you take your foot off the brake pedal in a VT the piston retracts slightly due to the geometry of the piston/rubber. This draws the pad further away from the rotor, but means that when you next apply the brakes there is a small "take up" where the piston pushes forward again - hence the "fast fill" or "2 stage bore" on the VT master cylinder. Running a straight 1 inch bore master with VT calipers gives a soft pedal till about a third of the way down until the free travel is taken up. Not overly dangerous but it does take getting used to and doesn't provide the "feel" that you desire.


Ken

I got around the displacement problem when using VT brake calipers .by using a Subaru Forester 1 1/16'' bore master cylinder on a reverse mount I made and  fitted to a Hotrod under the dash as it was a little smaller than the VT one...probably  no advantage over the VT if space was not an issue    ......FC427........

[heavyduty1340]

Well I just had a VS holden rack front mounted to a fully rebuilt HR front end, along with a 3" shortened and collapsable steering column added to the old girl.

Wow how easy is the steering now

We have had a Qld bloke move over here (Phils diffs and suspension) - he made up the column for me

The next step now is to drop in a commodore diff, and swap all brakes and suspension, and we are well on our way to getting the old pig to handle/steer and stop.

Im going to go the commodore stud pattern as rims are freely available for that style.