Vlad's rides thread

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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

Finished for now, doors all sorted and managed to pick up a good gutter mould on the way home from a short holiday at Phillip island through Melbourne.

Here is the updated list of things.


Quote

"

Problems that need addressing.

New gaskets for sump and intake and rocker covers.
New hoses and radiator and also brass intake bypass fitting, new heater tap.
Fuel pump and all tank hoses.
The usual VP defective heater core.
Replace bonnet liner.
Replace double sided tape on bonnet badge.
Replace "Holden" badge on boot.
Had mudflaps but are missing so might chuck on a set of VS ones I have, not correct but I'd prefer mudflaps than nothing. I do have VR ones with the correct logos.
Electric antenna mechanism seems to be detached inside the guard so need to take the liner out and have a look. Done.
Odometer stopped working just before I got home so I have ordered new gears for it. Done.
Left sun visor clip is the wrong colour so stealing the correct one from the shitbox. Done.
Boot lock doesn't open by cable when there is load on it, I have a spare lock I can use or buy a NOS one for about 60 bucks. Done.
Boot garnish is cracked but not sure if I will worry about it. Done.
Leaking quarter window seals. Done.
Tail light sockets. Done.
Tail lights. Done.
Replace dodgy front left door glass. Done.
Fix/replace/repair all locks and actuators. Done.
Repair door trim clips and damaged moisture membranes. Done.
Replace damaged/faded orange interior parts. Done.
Replace damaged left gutter mould. Done.




But the most exciting bit is my list of mods, can't have it stock if I am going to drive it every day.


Have new stock strut tops installed, super pro bushes all round except the rear lower control arms as they aren't necessary to change. New decent shockers. FE2 spec sway bars and nolathane front link kit.
VT front brakes and master/booster upgrade.
Pacemaker headers and redback cat back 2.5" system with both mufflers.
Mace CAI box plus my mods to it.
Replace valve springs with new stock ones, and new collets.
ZZP oil relief spring kit for little extra oil pressure.
Delete bellmouth.

The auto will get rebuilt as I never had one last past 200k.
Basically built stronger and better frictions, servo, bushes, reaction shell etc.
Stage 2 shift kit
Higher stall converter but I am not sure on what rpm to choose, thinking 2200 rpm? Maybe stick to reco stock?
Large stand alone trans cooler, PWR one I think.

"
Last edited by vlad01 on Mon Nov 08, 2021 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
In-Tech
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by In-Tech »

Maybe there is a Derale dealer nearby. Here's a Summit link to a trans cooler I use all the time and has -6 fittings :) https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-13315
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

I need 5/16 barbs. PWR have a universal kit with mounting clips for AC condenser and 5/16 barbs, perfect for what I need.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/33377970755 ... ctupt=true

I got their smaller version for my power steering on the other car.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

So I have had the car out in the weather to test for leaks. Good news is the boot is no longer getting any water in there, but as I suspected the taillights were chockers full of water despite bugger all rain.

So going to order some VN TYC taillights.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

Looks like even VN taillights are running out and becoming NLA. Can't get left side smokey ones anymore. Still plenty of standard ones but my garnish is the darker type.

Managed to find a privet listing for a new left TYC smokey one, then ordered one of the many right side smokey still available.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

So having a weird issue with my shitbox VP daily, few months ago I noticed it started warming up to full operating temp a lot quicker than normal during the cold season.

Also it started to do this weird thing where sustaining high rpm, even light load and well as high load the engine temp continues to climb indefinitely as long as I keep the rpm up. This happens even if I am moving fast and there is tons of air flow to the radiator.

So I thought, pump is like 18 months old, thermostat is not more than 2-3 years old and genuine and does maintain correct temp in normal driving conditions. So I figured the radiator must of been partially blocked. Sure enough there was a ton of solid debris on the inlet side.
I replaced the radiator with a brand new one I had sitting for years in the shed. Cooling system is flushed and clean and I can't see any blockages. Yet this behavior of temp rising with rpm continues.

Anyone have any idea what might cause that? Only thing I can think of is maybe the thermostat can't fully open and only gives enough flow at low pump rpm and low engine heat output?

Before this happened the temp never changed regardless of how hard I drove the car, only went up when sitting still in traffic. None of the other cars do this either.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

Yep! my hypothesis was right. Thermostat was only partially opening.

Boiled the old one with a new dayco one for over 10min, old one failed to open anymore than about 1/4.

IMG_3624.JPG

Pee has come to help :D

IMG_3621.JPG
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

Finally got the left tail light from Perth, took a month to get here. No more leaking tail lights. We have had lots of heavy rain over the time I have had the car outside.

Also happy to report there is no more water or moisture getting into the car since fixing the door membranes and rear quarter window seals.
VN ones don't look too out of place actually.
IMG_3671.JPG
IMG_3675.JPG
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

The white car ended up with thermostat issues as well. It had always seemed to have run on the cold side, then I took it out to the city twice and noticed on a few occasions after hitting max temp at where the fan comes on (100c) it got stuck pegged at 100 with the fan going flat out even when driving at 80km or more.
It would stay like that for several Km before slowly coming back down to it's colder than normal baseline. One time it had the fan running flat out for 20min keeping the temp just under control so I had to also run the heater in the car to give it some more cooling headroom.

Changed the thermostat today and now the base temp is a lot higher, at the usual 2.5 to 3 bars where it only ever ran at one bar before. Also I let the fan cycle several times and when it did, it had much longer off intervals than before. So it seems to be good now.

I confirmed the stat was the original, no evidence of the gasket ever scrapped off. The cooling system looks very clean and no corrosion.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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vlad01
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Re: Vlad's rides thread

Post by vlad01 »

So we had a massive rain the other day, something like 50mm overnight and I found the left tail light full of water and the boot completely flooded, at least 10L of water in there.

I swear these damn tail lights. So Checked them out again and the right one is water tight but I didn't notice the left one leaked like the factory ones as washing the car wasn't enough to show the leak. So I got a few syringes and large needles, filled the gaps of the indicator lens section and reverse light with clear epoxy to fill out the space below the two sections so that the super glue would just run down inside and not seal the gaps. Once the epoxy set and filled the bulk of the space I ran a bead of the Selly's plastic gel like super glue, did it twice to make sure it was thick enough.

That did the trick

But I think I might buy a pair of those cheap China AP? brand tail lights, they were completely water tight on my VP and the body seal was a nice soft rounded seal and not that shit square section hard rubber the factory use which often doesn't seal at the top inner corner due to the profile of the seal not matching the curved section of the body.

Once I get these cheaper brand lights I will confirm they don't leak by filling them with water to check and if they are good I will buy another 2 pairs as spare, these lights although better in every way to the TYC/Genuine lights do tend to fade after 4-5 years of continuous sun. But way better than leaking all the time.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
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