Holden VC Commodore - Arrival of HDT
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2024
- Here is Part 2 in our Holden Commodore History Series - the VC Holden Commodore. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out Part 1 - the VB and follow along as we chart the history of our Aussie Classic Cars plus a whole lot more. Be sure to 👍Like👍 and Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks for watching. 👍
Here is Part 2 in our Holden Commodore History Series - the Holden VC Commodore. If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 - the VB. Please make sure you give the episode a 👍Like👍. It doesn’t cost a thing and it really helps the channel get seen. Please also Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode of our Aussie car history plus a lot more! Thanks for watching. 👍
Hello Mark, will you do an episode on the 1998 Fairlane By Tickford ?
Regards.
@@adriankiraly5172 Yes, they will be covered in the Fairlane series. 👍
I love how you go through all the models, all the standard equipment and a lot of the options. You explain the details very well and your voice is pleasant to listen too. Thank you very much, Mark.
Thanks very much. I appreciate it. 👍
That Shadow tone Black over Silver SL/E was actually a VB model. When I worker at Bill Patterson Ringwood, Holden sent a black VB SL/E to Patto's and had them paint the lower half silver, all done properly by removing all trims and door cards . All Holden did was update the car with VC trim for the photos. Patto's had a very close relationship with GMH. They also did the A9X body mods for GMH. Around 500 I believe. We had more parked in the yard at one time than GMH had. There were boxes of body parts in the bodyshop. Being the owner of a LH Plus 4 at the time, it got a upgraded look with some freebie genuine A9X parts, front spoiler and brake vents and Hatch rear spoiler modified to fit as the boot lid is narrower than the hatch plus a SLR grille from a Brocky race car. Enjoying your Ford/Holden series. Brings back memories of working on nearly all of them plus looking forward to the Chrysler series. [Worked on some of them as well ].
@@volvor730 would you have known Roger? He was in trucks so maybe at the Bedford dealer instead.
@@Low760 No mate, didn't know anybody from truck division . They were in Keysborough so a few miles from Ringwood.
@@volvor730 Thanks. Very interesting. Thanks for that background info! 👍
My mates Dad bought a new VC 253 manual then made the terrible mistake of leaving the keys and a 17 yr old son at home whilst off on a cruise. Within hours we were doing our best impression of rally drivers along a local dirt road until we got a bit too sideways and clipped a berm. It was then we realised that his dad's tool box was in the boot and a nice selection of heavy tools had now dented the boot skin to the point that paint had chipped off in multiple places on the exterior.....Good times 🤣
@@MitchTube I think I would disown my son although he left him the keys so…..🤔👍
Hmmm , boys will be boys 😂, that reminds me of a young bloke I knew that also used to get up to mischief, 😉.
@@mikldude9376 Yes, who didn’t do something stupid? 🤔
@@markbehr88 Well, the thing is he never knew! The car was repaired to a point where we could see it in certain light, but most
would not notice. The thing we couldn't fix was all the dust in the vent A/C system
🤨
@@MitchTube Lucky. 😳👍
Man that two tone green is fancy.
@@davidwood9966 Don’t know if I would order that combo. More Tuxedo and Silver. 👍
@@markbehr88 yeh for sure. I don’t know if I’d ever seen that green on green before. Nah I still like it.
@@davidwood9966 Fair enough. I do remember them. They came with a sick bag (just kidding). If you like it, that’s all that matters! 😀👍
@@markbehr88 haha
When i was working at Mercedes Benz Sth Melbourne in the early 80s i remember Peter Brock having his small factory at the other end of Sturt st...you could fit about six cars in there and this is where the first HDT cars for sale were being done...We would go down there during lunch break and see the cars...always very friendly and welcoming !
Cool. I met Peter quite a few times. He came along to one of our Holden Sales Guild dinners and I have a framed photo somewhere of all of us together. Fun times and I still have contact with so me of my fellow District Managers. Another time, when I was National Sales and Marketing Manager for HSV, believe it or not, I attended the opening of the Liverpool freeway, where Peter Brock was first to drive the new section. I was there as we provided the car he drove. A yellow HSV GTS Coupe. Obviously, enough time had passed re the whole HDT/HSV situation for us to agree to have Peter driving the car (it would have been around the time Peter was doing those Holden retail ads too). 👍
@@markbehr88 When i was about 15 i was taken for a joy ride in the HDT Hatchback from the Brock..Bond camp a couple of weeks before Bathurst...Fully race prepared and all...what a thrill that was !
@@romemancer7905 Wow. What an experience. 👍
Fun fact: the Starfire 4 was bought in by Toyota and fitted to locally assembled Coronas, merely to satisfy local content laws. Toyota gave it the "1X" designation.
For whatever reason, the engines in these cars didn't suffer the same derision that they got when in a Commodore. They were available with a 5-speed box, so gear ratios may have been much more ideally suited to this engine.
These engines became sought after by builders of Holden 6s for one reason only; they had beefier rods. Probably to withstand the beating that Holden knew they'd get from trying to keep up with traffic.
I had a mate who owned a VH 4-cylinder, was a Trimatic-equipped car and I can confirm, was an absolute slug. I mean dangerously slow. It did handle extremely well though. Very neutral balance. The fan shroud was comically long to connect the radiator to the fan. I think it was actually as big as the engine itself.
@@gergatron7000 Yes. Agree with all your points. I did driving lessons in a Holden powered Corona. Wasn’t too bad in that car as it was also lighter and better geared. 👍
And the funny thing is, all later 6 cyl motors had the bigger rods!
@@Low760 👍
In some full size US cars of the period, there was literally 3 feet from the grill to the radiator!
@@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars That was called styling! 👍
Driving my sisters ‘83 VH 2850 5 speeder up to QLD back in the day when the gear stick came out in my hand. We laboured along in 3rd for friggin’ miles and miles to the next town brought some araldite and just glued it back into that nylon casement chamber. It never came out again for next 15 years. Ahhh for the good ol’ days.
Nice one McGivver. 👍
in 1982, mine was a VC SLE 5.0L, with a HDT uplift. I was a special order two tone firethorn with dark carmine. It was an awesome car. Later traded in for the for XE ESP 5.8L. Love your work on these videos mate.
Thanks very much. Right? I know special orders do occur. Also dealers do mock ups. For example Mark Fitzgerald, who ran Suttons Waitara, ordered all the parts to mock up a VG Holden Caprice Ute for Laurie Sutton. I also remember (when I was National Sales and Marketing Manager for HSV) we did a special build of a Senator wagon for a customer. So I assume your car is something like that. Do you know who the delivering dealer was? XE 5.8 ESP = Excellent car. 👍
Mark you should do a video outlining your work history in the industry. You do touch on it a bit in many videos but one video with it all broken down would be pretty cool.
@@96libertytt I don’t want to put people to sleep! 😴
@@markbehr88 No mate it would be very Interesting please don't undersell yourself!
This would be an interesting vid. You should do it Mark.
@@Seiskid I’ll give it some consideration. 👍
VC Commodore was also built at the Pagewood plant untill it closed.
I walked out of there for the last time 10th october 1980
@@Mick_4591 I know they did panels but whole cars not listed? 👍
Yes, it was whole VCs built in Pagewood and complianced - I have numerous ones recorded, but they are all sedans and L or SL trim level. I don’t think Pagewood did wagons or SL/Es in VC.
I also only have AVC……S chassis numbers listed from there, no BVC……S ones, so that ties in with a 1980 closure date. It was funny how some plants only did a limited range - even in VK and VL when they were down to 2 plants. I guess it needed to be that way to reduce the number of different parts required to cover the additional trim levels and body styles. Consolidation saved money, and that was in short supply for GMH in the 80s. Acacia Ridge still did VHs to the end (and carried on doing Geminis when VH finished) but the writing was on the wall for it too.
@@commodorenut Interesting. I toured the factory in 1979. 👍
@@markbehr88 I’m thinking about it more, and I’m seeing a logical process here. When VB started production in Sydney, they stopped H-series cars there to make space for VB. When the facelifted TE Gemini kicked off in Acacia Ridge in ‘79 they killed HZs there, which left Adelaide as the sole HZ plant. They completely killed HZ production upon VC release - allowing more VC production in Adelaide. UC production in Dandenong finished in Sept 80, so this freed up production space in Dandenong for more VCs (and in VC, the majority I have recorded were Dandenong cars).
The UC finish coincides with the Pagewood closure, so it’s easy to see they sent that work to Dandenong to fill the void.
With the additional shipping from SA & VIC for significant components, Pagewood and Acacia Ridge were always under threat.
@@commodorenut Yes by George, I think you’ve got it. 👍
My first car. A VC Commodore with 253 and trimatic. Pulled the engine and rebuilt it myself with a mild cam.
Fitted 15x7's and a 2.5" single system. Nice car!
@@MikeMike-er7kn Yes, that would have been a nice car. They needed the V8. 👍
I had a VC commodore very early in my driving career, a very nice handling car, a 4,2ltr auto, previously owned by a local mechanic in Hamilton Western Victoria. He apparently had installed and mild cam and perhaps this was correct because she certainly did go quite well. Reckon around 450k's was about as far a tank of at the time 48cents a litre of fuel would get ya. A feature of comfort in my opinion were the seats, very good on say a long drive to Melbourne and a mile better than my later owned VL.
Ride & handling was improved with the fitment of GT 110 gas structs and shockers and later 215/65 Goodyear Vector tyres. In the end I had a big bore exhaust fitted sports mufflers just before the rear axle and a big pong box with a 2.5'' tail pipe, slight improvement in economy and would run on a white pipe at 100kph. Performance wise, in D for Drag she would change from 1st to 2nd at 85 and into 3rd at 130, if held in first I think I pushed her 100, 2 would redline at about 150 I reckon and topping out at 195kph. Sadly she was flogged not long after moving to live in Melbourne and burnt. A quality comfortable car for 4 or 5 years I owned, probably due more to how I drove, she liked to drink the juice, because I could and the sound on that lovely V8, used to love the roar of the 4 barrel on use of the loud peddle. There was a certain amount of throttle you could give her before kickdown at say 95kph 4/5th's of full throttle and she would stay in top gear but give a beautiful 4 barrel roar then flat from 125 to how ever fast you were game. Probably my favourite car I've owned and driven. Cheers, Andy in Adelaide.
@@gashy1000 Sounds like a nice car Andy. 👍
I had anSLE wagon in Tiffany blue and was pleased with it's performance. It was a very handy car!
@@1BIGFROGGY SL/E wagon? Must have been made up by a dealer or owner as wagons were only available in VC in L and SL guise. 👍
@@markbehr88 It was probably an SL then but it had the bigger 6 motor that went well!
Amazing content with awesome detail as always!
Thanks Mark!
Thanks very much. 👍
Loved the fully colour coordinated interiors. Browns, grey, blue, red and gren
@@rjbiker66 Yes. Me too. Much more interesting than grey. 👍
VC - my favourite Commodore..... had a VC, VS and VZ, they were all great and never gave me any problems......
@@a8nb462 Good to hear 👍
Hi Mark I think you should do the history of the Holden Ute that what made Australia over the years ❤
@@ianmccarthy4195 I will cover them in their respective models and have included them in the Falcon series. I know what you are saying re Lou Bandt etc. 👍
Thanks again for these Mark, I bleed blue Ford blood, but certainly appreciate this info on Commodore's.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed them. The Chrysler Valiant ones as worth a look too. 👍
Hi Mark, in response to you question about the aerodynamics of the VC, I believe Holden were telling wheels it was 0.38 CD. They were very proud that it was their first car under 0.40CD which is now very brick like compared to Tesla Model 3 at 0.21.
@@peter9117 Yes, times have changed. The cars certainly had more character back then. 👍
A well put together vid. esp enjoyed the HDT segment. (from a ford fan).
@@daniellebcooper7160 Thanks 👍
I had a VB SL sedan with a 4.2 litre and a trimatic. I fitted a worked over 5 litre engine and a turbo 400 trans. I also fitted it with the lower springs and bilstien shocks from the VC HDT Commodore. It also had the rear deck lid spoiler form the HDT Commodore as well. It was a great car once i had fitted these bits and pieces to it . I wish that i had never sold it.
@@davidoneil8003 Sounds cool. What colour? 🤔👍
@@markbehr88 It was dark green metallic with gold pin striping.
@@davidoneil8003 Nice. Malachite. 👍
I currently still own a VB Commodore SLE that is two tone blue factory original, owned it for 31 years. Made in 1979.
@@MarkHarris-yz7wp Maybe it was a paint trial car? It wasn’t an option on VB so yours might be a paint trial for VC planned offering. 🤔👍
I like those VC Brock cars with the flared guards and rear spoiler, they were sort of like a group C for the public roads . The power rating of them , if Ive worked it out properly, is a mere 10 ish horsepower more than my VX v6 Executive.
@@barrycuda3769 I like them too. They weren’t too over the top style wise. 👍
So funny that most Series’s landrover got the Holden 6 cylinder upgrade lol 😂
Terrible thing
It must have been an Australian thing
Owning and driving them I now own an original LandRover series 3
The blue 303 was a ball buster stuff fuel economy!
Never bothered with these cars loved the looks and love seeing them on the road excellent video keep up the good work
@@MegaSkypes Thanks very much. 👍
My Pop had a brown vc wagon with the Holden blue six. 150,000km paint was perfect just needed to Polish up the chrome trim . My pop bought it back in the early 80's from his friend who bought it new. It had accelerator and break paddle on the steering wheel due to my pops friend being in a wheelchair.
Sadly it got stolen by some gronks and got burnt out back in 2007. I was supposed to get the car for my P's.
He ended up getting a 1998 vt commodore wagon executive from the insurance money.
@@lochlanp Shame it was wrecked. At least he got a VT wagon out of it. 👍
That black over silver with the red pin stripe, is one of my favourite Commodores. It is a very smart car and still holds up well today. The 4cyd was a joke ! The 2.85 litre usually got better fuel economy, as people had to flog the 4cyd to match the performance of the 6cyd. The power to weight ratio in the 4cyd was very poor, and so showed in the poor fuel economy.
@@thunderbird1454 Exactly right 👍
The 2 tones also dated the quickest.
@@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars I would take a Black over Silver in an instant. 👍
Very impressive Very well presented Mark ❤😊
@@jimfashik Thanks very much. 👍
Hi Mark, a slight correction regarding the EH release date, it was August 1963.
Also I’m pretty sure the Pagewood plant in Sydney was still pumping out Commodores at the time of the VC, although I don’t recall when it closed.
Thanks for the video, now waiting on the VH series
@@jamesmcgowen1769 Yes, I was talking more generically that the EH was sold in 1964 rather than release date. I’ll save that for the eventual EH episode! 😀👍
Another great upload Mark! So well presented. I agree that the SL/E was a great package and machine for the time.
How do you think it stacked up against the XD Fairmont Ghia?
@@Luke-er6pg Thanks very much. Gee. They were so different even though aimed at the same market. 3.3 SL/E or 4.1 Ghia - I would take the Ghia. 4.2 SL/E or 4.9 Ghia. That is a tie. 5 litre SL/E or 5.8 Ghia - I would take the Ghia but the SL/E would be an excellent alternative. 👍
@@markbehr88 Yes-I too would have gone for the Fairmont Ghia too, Mark. Just would feel like you have a lot more space compared to the compact SL/E. Thanks again for your excellent response!
@@Luke-er6pg No worries. Great minds…👍
One more interesting fact. The air filter housing on the HDT Brock cars , was a leftover from the US GM. Peter Brock grabbed it from the parts bin and was heavily involved in fitting it, in conjunction with the quadrajet carby and the cold air intake. I think it is a Chevy Suburban part or very similar
@@biastv1234 Interesting. 👍
Cool video Mark.
It’s pronounced mulluctite green, or at least that’s how the salesman pronounced it when my dad was ordering his SL/E at Dusting’s.
@@Justin-hb6cg Thanks very much. Re the pronunciation. Malachite is actually a green stone and it’s pronounced as I said it Mal luh kite. You can google it. When I was at Holden the SV5000 (VN) was available in that colour and that’s how we all pronounced it, so I think that salesman was on a bit of a furphy there. 👍🤔
@@markbehr88 Ha, funny ! They usually are.
You know, upon reflection, they were a dodgy bunch there in Burwood. They sideswiped his De Ville when it was in for a service and tried to hide it.
@@Justin-hb6cg That’s no good at all. 🫣
@@markbehr88 No, not good. He “read them the riot act” as one did in those days.
P.S - my slanderous comment has been deleted already I think.
@@Justin-hb6cg Right. Must have been YT?
T-Bone Steak!!! 😂😂
Thanks Mark, how many KWs was the turbo commodore?
@@Dylan_Mulvaney_OFFICIAL I couldn’t find that. I am guessing around 130-140?
@@markbehr88 it gave the motor about 80 KWs more than stock then.
@@Dylan_Mulvaney_OFFICIAL That is my guess 👍
Hi Mark, The Commodore VC just like the last VB more up to date. I did not know that Holden made a 1.9 four cylinder for this car, there was a 1.8 OHC in the Vauxhall Carlton that looks like a grill less Commodore or Vauxhall Viceroy. I also did not know that Irmscher made wheels and body kits for Holden but I have seen Irmscher kits and wheels on Vauxhalls back in the 1980''s on Carlron's, Viceroy's , Royale's and the smaller Cavalier's , Astra's, the older Chevette's and the newer Nova's. Opels use to sell there branded cars in the UK a long side Vauxhall as some models were made on the same production line.
By 1982/83 all Opel named cars stopped and just use the Vauxhall named cars except the Opel Monza and Manta they continued till 1988. The commercial side of Vauxhall was branded as Bedford I do believe that Bedford was available in Australia and New Zealand was Bedford sold with Holden. I do like motor sport and seen Peter Brock racing on tv.
As always a great video, catch you soon Take care
Thanks Shaun. Great info there on the UK offerings. I do really like the Monza. Peter Brock imported one and fitted the 5 litre V8. One of my dealers, when I was at Holden, Paul Wakeling, had it for sale at one point. Sadly it was a one off. Yes, we had Bedford trucks and vans. I think the vans would have been sold until the very early 1980’s or late 1970’s? 👍
@@markbehr88 Peter Brock used to race a 6.0 litre Chev powered Monza in Sports Sedans during the early 1980’s.
@@Mega-G-Star Yes I love those Monzas. I have a US Monza Spyder with the V8. 👍
Interesting the white HDT car in your video was important to NZ from Melbourne many years ago. Fond memories driving that car and I did paint out the bonnet. How I know it’s the car is the small roof antenna and the bonnet was a shade off. You may know the history of the antenna, it wasn’t connected to anything. We suspected it could have been a coms antenna. Did any get used as pace cars or something similar?
Yes, I noticed the NZ plate (having been Holden NZ National Sales Manager 1994-97). Maybe it was one of the ex race cars from the Race of Champions? 🤔👍
Yes as I watched on an seen that after I’d asked. I’m picking your correct, I did pause and zoomed in on the front cars but couldn’t see any roof antennas, but it makes sense.
@@richardayrton3608 👍
There's a really good review of the VC 4 cylinder Commodore by Peter Wherett. He said the same thing as you. Outdated, old engine tech that produced little power.
@@tomy8339 Yes Have seen it. 👍
A story on a white HDT. Monday morning young lad goes into the dealer to look at the car, then says to the salesman I’ll come back and get it. Next day turns up with a brown paper bag filled with $18500 cash and buys it. Friday afternoon arrives to pick it up. Monday morning car arrives at the dealers panel shop on a tow truck, he lost it turning a corner and backed it through someone’s brick front fence.😂
@@philparker554 I hope he enjoyed it while it lasted. 👍🤔
@@markbehr88 No Mark it was fixed and he had it for awhile after👍
@@philparker554 That’s good. 👍
Mark, in hindsight, do you think that Holden at that time should have scrapped the blue engine altogether & used the Buick V6 (either imported or built here) in either the VB or VC series? I know Holden was cash strapped at the time & Chuck Chapman was in charge of Holden, but do you think having the Buick engine from the US would have been better for performance, fuel economy & sales back then?
The Holden Pagewood plant by this time stopped making cars but were just making panels. I remember passing the plant in my very early teens & seeing rear door shells stacked on a pallet left out in the soaking rain. Great video & thanks for reminding me of that god awful econgauge!
@@1969Risky Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I reckon the Buick engine would have been much better but that era of V6 was not as good as the later series with the balance shafts. If they had that it would gave been a rocket. 🚀👍
A mate's mum had the 1.9L, it was even slower than in the Sunbird. Maybe if I'd owned a VC rather than my nuclear green VB I may have had happier memories? Probably not unless I'd gone for a plush SL/E! Thanks Mark.
_10:05__ a "Quarz" electric clock to be precise._
@@UncleJoeLITE Thanks. And appreciate the clock point too. 👍
Thank you Mark. I saw that Oldsmobile looking Statesman briefly in the video. This was interesting because it was a lot of good information and images. I heard about the Holden Calais Director. I recall seeing it in an American car magazine when they were talking about GM back in the 1980's.. We did not know much about Holden back then other than it was a GM brand. Holden took a Opel and turned it into its own car. I see why it sold. It could be nicely loaded as well. It was interesting hearing about your time at Holden as well. Ford was launching a comeback. Why was Holden using out dated engines is beyond me. I guess they made good use of the tools they were given at Holden. That is getting quite interesting.
@@OLDS98 Thanks Olds98. Re the Holden engines, I think they struggled to invest where they needed to but given the GM world, surely they could have manufactured something GM under licence? 🤔👍
@@markbehr88 You are right, but they still used GM engines later. I know they used the 3800 V6( great engine) and the LS1 V8's. I do see where they needed to invest, but did not. Ford was the same way too. It just amazes me how they worked with limited budgets and really made many great things. I look forward as you continue with the series. I am sure you will have more to say about the Holden Calais Director too. I am waiting on more on Statesman/Caprice and Fairlane /LTD as you progress. You did a great job with Falcon. I am watching Holden and Chrysler play out in your series. I read the other day about a Oldsmobile designer who worked at Holden as well. I know American GM people did stints at Holden and Opel. I know one of the heads of GM today fought to keep Holden as he did time there.
@@OLDS98 Thanks. It should be very interesting. Shame Holden didn’t get that Buick V6 earlier. 👍
@@markbehr88 I agree. I would have to look up the years they used it at Holden. Do you know? I know Holden is the reason the supercharged 3800 V6 got more power and that impacted all GM cars in a good way. Just imagine if Opel got it and put it in a Omega or Senator. Holden did leave a great impact in the GM family. I saw a video here on You Tube where they made some modification to the 3800 V6. I have seen videos and the brochures where it was in the cars. The Commodore left a long legacy. I know government officials in Australia rode in Holdens.( they used to do so)
@@OLDS98 We first received the 3.8 in the VN in 1988. 👍
I remember seeing the ' GROUP ONE ' BROCK Commodore fitted with the 4.2 V8 & 4 speed. People used to call it the 'CIGARETTE PACK ' because it was White with Red same as a pack of Marlborough Cigarettes. Initially there was to be a GROUP ONE , GROUP TWO & GROUP THREE BROCK COMMODORE.
@@herbnalis3723 Was this in VC? 🤔
I thought VC but it could be VH. @@markbehr88
I thought VC but could be VH.
The comments at around 6:20 about the VC handling being better than the XD sounds correct, but things changed with the XE & I would suggest (IMHO) that the XE was a better handling car than the VH is competed against. Hence the XE taking over market leadership.
Yes, I think in ESP guise that is true. Not sure a base XE GL handled better than the Commodore SL and we were talking VC versus VH. Fair to say the handling margins narrowed in the VH/XE period. 👍
Great video mate wasn’t the star fire motor shared with the Toyota Corolla of the time,and as for the 3.3 my first motor I learnt how to fix a car on the go with that one,also by the time vb/vic came they were no longer using radial tyres hz was the last one to use them for a 18yo at the time loved the Vcar😢
@@bobdown6055 Thanks. I think it was shared with the Corona? 👍
@@markbehr88 yea my mate had one shocking motor great job on Mr brock he would have been proud of that,here’s one for ya their is a video floating around of brock driving a LX8 in trurbine I ended up buying that car…..funny fact……
@@bobdown6055 Cool. Thanks. 👍
@@markbehr88yes Corona
Yes, I did my driving lessons in one. 🤔
Great content as usual Mark. Question, what is the switch on the dash to the left side of the steering wheel on the SL/E? (on the same plane as the switch for the lights)
@@gregidour7315 Thanks. Off the top of my head (if you mean the stalk) it would be the Cruise Control button. 👍
@@markbehr88earlier in vid ( 11.50 ) shows may be HVACcontrol .
@@robertmorris6529 Yes, if you mean on the lower, left hand side of the dash. 👍
The VB, VC commodores with the frount your Can fit the Brock special shock absorbers and the rear shocks is a good simple Up grade
@@PaulHayman-tq5kb Thanks for the tip. 👍
Commodore was another size bigger than the Cortina.
Similar size to Centura.
@@bluecent Very close to TF though. Commodore a little bigger. 👍
My dad had a VC Commodore SL wagon with the 253ci (4.2L) carby V8 as a company car, sadly it was stolen and then found in a lake somewhere up northern NSW, the next company car he got was a XE Falcon GL wgon with 4.1L with EFI and it shat all over the weak 253ci V8.
The "Garrett" Turbo VC Commodore was sold in Sydney by SUTTONS (GM) Holden , not sure if other states/territories had the same type set up and sold through dealerships, there was an article in "Wheels" magazine in 1981 ( think) about this particular Commodore, for a carby turbo setup it was all about mid to top end power and had serious turbo lag down low.
Personally not a fan of the "HDT" Brock SV cars from this era.
As for the "Econoguage", lol Ford had that also for the XE Falcon and it made no sense at all, but look at a HEV today with there "Charge/eco/power" gauge very similar concept.
Just on Mitshibishi in this era also, technically they were the 1st from factory to offer a "Turbo petrol" in Australia for the SIGMA Turbo, again the review was turbo lag down low then BAM boost in the mid range and all the way to 5,500rpm, now the numbers were not quick (by todays standards) however back them it was about as fast as the 302C Falcon V8 in XD and XE form with an engine half its size and most than half in displacement able to pull low 15s 1/4 mile passes.
@@351tgv I do remember the Sigma Turbo and have the brochure and booklet. Maybe an episode one day? 🤔👍
@@markbehr88 - yes please, Shame we can't access the (now former) Bauer Media website which had all the old "Wheels" and other magazine mast titles (and Motor from when ACP took control), I knew I should of downloaded all the old magazine when i had the chance, but that access site brined by he new owners "Are Media'" to the point where even if you try to access it you get booted out right away.
That’s a shame. 🤔👍
Thanks Mark, a health insurance company I worked for in the early '80's had the VC for the executive fleet (models allocated by rank of course). I wasn't eligible being way down the food chain, but occasionally I took a 3.3 SL to carry out some job, and I enjoyed giving it a thrash. GMH Marketing must have prevailed over Engineering for that 4-cylinder engine - what a dog, rattled like a diesel. I agree with you, Irmscher wheels - the ducks nuts!
@@nhilltiger Yes, I drove a VC Commodore L 4 cylinder once. Handled well but what a complete dud of a car. 😵💫
@@markbehr88Irm not scher that I was all that keen on those wheels.
@@barrycuda3769 I see what you did there. 😀👍
Those wheels cracked but did look unic lol
@@crunchytheclown9694 They cracked? , that's certainly less than ideal.
The place I worked at the time had two VC Commodores, one 3.3 litre auto and one 1.9 litre auto backfire four. The 1.9 had to be pushed that hard to keep up with traffic it actually used more fuel than the 3.3. The 3.3 Commodore was good to drive, very nice but the boss had an XD Fairmont 4.1 auto. That was much nicer, more room with effortless performance. Pretty easy to see now how and why Ford grabbed market leadership.
@@area51isreal71 Yes, I think that is a good summary of the state of play amongst those three cars. 👍
I always found the Starfire that was in the Corona's, often went a lot better than GMH's effort.
Dunno if it was different gearing or what; Pop had a VC Starfire 4 speed, and my Uncle had the same but in a Corona
@@maxrockatanksyOG I think you’re right. Lighter car too. 👍
Peter brock aussie legend keep it simple brock "n" commodores pie "n" sauce 🇦🇺👍
@@Eric-kn4yn They took that from Chevrolet Baseball, Apple Pies and Chevrolet. 👍
@@markbehr88 doesn’t surprise me. What isn’t derivative? Although it’s still cool.
@@davidwood9966cool our version was the best 🏆🇦🇺
@@Eric-kn4yn man they all are, nearly.
Cheers for the upload, I had that on the bus on my way in.
Oh lol you’re not Mark.
Cheers anyway.
@@davidwood9966 Yes and it is General Motors. 👍
Had a Sunbird SL new and put 160000klm on it and went ok and never missed a beat. Quite good on fuel for the time.
@@marklittle3551 You can’t argue with that. I thought they LOOKED good. 👍
@@markbehr88 1980 UC in Flamenco red with buckskin corded cloth bucket interior. RTS suspension. Was a revelation stepping up from my first car a wornout 2250 LC Torana 4 door.
@@marklittle3551 Even the engine performance? 🤔👍
@@markbehr88believe it or not.Both trimatics but the 138 red in the LC was probably down on compression. It was a $1499 car yard special typical of the time. Best mate at the time bought a new SLE Sunbird UC in dark metallic blue with doeskin velour interior. Beautiful looking car back in the day. Kept up with the Sigma 2.0 and Coronas etc back in the day. They were a tough little unit with the xu1 spec conrods etc
@@marklittle3551 I always thought it was a shame that UC Torana wasn’t available in a V8. 👍🤔
I can remember the 4 cylinder Commodore and Holden's flirtation with a non turbo diesel in the Gemini I think which may have been fuel efficient but had no performance whatsoever. I drove a friends Toyota Cressida and that had a vacuum gauge which I thought was pointless for every time I took my foot off the accelerator the needle went into the green zone and when I accelerated again it went straight into the red zone. Thank heavens we don't have them on cars today otherwise a message would flash up on the instrument cluster every time we accelerated "You're damaging the environment". Peter Wherrett drove the Holden powered Toyota Corona and thought it was very mediocre. His test is here on YT.
@@AussiePom Yes those Econo gauges. Chrysler had them on the ELB cars and the little repeater light on the top of the fender (indicator light) would come on one side when you put your foot down too much. That was better than some big gauge that replaced a tacho. 👍
Nowadays you'd have a picture of that petulant Greta thunberg showing up on the dash saying you've given it more than 20% throttle
That would make anyone back off. 😀
Gemini diesel would've been excellent with a turbocharger. The Gemini was the best little car.
@@Dylan_Mulvaney_OFFICIAL My mate had one in green and liked it. Very economical but sloooowwwww. A turbo would have made a big difference but the $ would have made it unviable. 👍
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a vc wagon in the last 20 years
@@josephpsmithe Yes. It’s been a while. Now you’ll probably see a few. 👍
Hi Mark. GM is not my thing, but your show sure is. Celebrating Aussie manufacturing. What in hell happened?
Few school mates when we all got apprenticeships after school had used early Commies 88-90' and had some bad luck with them. Mostly self-inflicted.
In '90, one had a tidy looking 4 pot his parents made him get that would have had the odometer wound back. Let's just say he didn't keep it long. Wouldn't pull the skin off a rice custard, and he was expected to 4-man car crew it to work on his drive.
Another mate had a crappy black flogged to death SL 308 auto, real POS overpaid for, that got pinched and burnt (think he was relieved, not sure who burned it), another a white 253 auto that went like hell, he kept smashing the crappy diffs in it until he had enough fun and moved it on (that guy could drive).
One that was interesting, though not sure of the year, was a Commodore Royal that commemorated a Royal visit of some type in the early 1980's. In my locale, they were advertised heavily at the time by Young and Green Holden in Newcastle - maybe a dealer only option? One of the boys got one of these used in '90 IIRC. Royal blue, with gold decals up the sides. He just about destroyed it going through a give way intersection, but insurance wouldn't right it off. He only had it back 2-months sans decals and did the same thing one street over, and it got scrapped. He was lucky to survive the second time.
Local small-time pot dealer mid-80's had a gold turbo. It was a nice car. He old man was a cashed-up truckie who hauled coal, not sure it looked the same as the ones in the video, but we're again talking mid -80's, wasn't a current model.
@@coalfacechris1336 Thanks. Glad you are enjoying the series. I try to put competitive stuff in them too so there is broad interest about the market back then. Wow. Plenty of Commodore stories for sure! 👍
Thanks Mark. Meant I still can't work out what happened as Australia had an amazing ability to manufacture back in those days, regardless of the marque. Most of the guys I talked about had apprenticeships at the local BHP steel works in Newcastle, coal mines or the Aluminum Smelters. All long gone, that taught and retained skills. Other than Tomago Aluminum and the ever-diminishing number of mines in the area, we've turned into consumers not producers.
Good stories and fun times in those Commodores for sure. The guy with Commie "Royal", spent a fair bit of time in hospital, incidentally his name was Mark also lol.
@@coalfacechris1336 Yes. We had a great industry. I reckon the Royal was a Singapore export model. 👍
GMH when they make VB VC commodores they really improved the steering and suspension and handling I would go to say could have been in the Audi A6 class
Peter Hanenberger was a German engineer at Holden (you can see him in the VB episode photo in the ski fields). He was ex Opel and was responsible for the Radial Tuned Suspension for HZ and later Commodores. After going back to Germany he eventually returned to Australia as Managing Director. 👍
@@markbehr88then in his stint as MD , was prevented from saving Holden by US management . Think the story was in AMC 12 mths or so ago .
@@robertmorris6529 He definitely pushed the organisation. 👍
@@markbehr88 yes , imagine anything after HX as being the measure of ' handling ' !
Interesting looking back how bad interior dash panel fitment was. I remember my VB nothing lined up, but the cars here are photographs from brochures and they're just as bad. I guess it was a different age, because the competing XD and XE falcon dashboard fitment was nothing special either.
But we still love them hey? 😀👍
Brock said the 1 spoke steering wheel was a horrible wobbly thing can you cover brocks controversial electronic black box to harmonize the " auroa" of the HDTs cars ?.
@@Eric-kn4yn Personally I liked it and have single spoke wheels on my Citroen GS cars. Great for visibility but maybe as a race driver he felt they offered too much flex under heavy use? Yes, will cover the Polariser in future episodes. 👍
@@markbehr88 ive hired commodore last series with HUD not new tecnology goes back to WW2 a/c gunsights but really effective for safety keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. should be mandatory few vehciles have them steering wheel be damned
Yes, I used it in one of the last Caprices. 👍
Single spoke wheel came with a sticker inside that said it was not to be used on cars without power steering. Having owned a couple without power steer, it’s easy to see why. I never had any issues in normal use in any of my SL/Es (I even had a tuxedo/aztec shadowtone with grey interior & full options incl rear headrests, cruise etc). But when they tried to steal one of them, and yanked on the wheel in an attempt to defeat the ignition mechanical steering lock, they bent it half way towards the passenger side on an ovoid shape.
"horrible wobbly thing" reminds me of my ex wife.
Remember people doing the SLE shadow tone paint jobs on LJ Toranas at the time.
@@marklittle3551 Really? Not sure I saw those? My mate Pete had a Gemini Sand Piper. That was two tone Gold and Cream. 👍
@@markbehr88LJs with the shadow tone effect weren't factory. I worked with a guy that had a Vh 5 speed with the starfire 4 and he had a turbo put on it. Think it was a Garrett kit. Went well and he loved it.
@@marklittle3551 Interesting. I am looking forward to doing VH. 👍
@@markbehr88I vaguely remember Wheels or Modern motor transplanting an astron 2.6 and five speed into a VH after bagging out the available 2850 4 speed VH. Guessing because of this GMH offered the Borg Warner 5speed with the 2850 mid model and Ford did same with the 3.3ltr falcon.
It would have gone much better based on my time at Mitsubishi driving GK GSR Sigmas. 👍
driving the vc & xd back-to-back as rep cars years ago the commodore always had better ride, steer and handling while the xd was roomier and had more torque from its six. The xd did about 22mpg on the open road while the vc did 24mpg.
I am surprised at that fuel consumption. Most tests I have seen put the Falcon in front. 🤔
@@markbehr88 dont forget, xd was 200kg heavier.
@@SoHeresTheThing-jl9mz Yes, although the engine was more efficient, especially with the alloy head. Per my episode a 4.1 auto Ghia achieved better economy on a test than a manual 3.3 standard model Commodore. 👍
2:52 Popularly known as the "Misfire"!
@@lundsweden Yep 👍
Or the "shitfire"
@@restoblastrestoblast154 😅
@@restoblastrestoblast154 I think I prefer Misfire? 🤔👍
@markbehr88 apart from the Conrods, it was a piece of 💩 and yes, very slow, you had to rev its guts out.
It’s a shame they didn’t release the blue engine with VB.
Also a shame they didn’t build the Monza hatch after Sunbird finished….
I have a great name for it. Could have been called Torana Hatchback!
@@jgsheehan8810 yes, although I do like the name Monza! 👍
Mark I would like to knew how many VB , VC commodores aree Stil working and are still regestored I have asked the RTA can't get a answer
@@PaulHayman-tq5kb I don’t think it would be that many? 🤔
Glenn Torrens aka GT has cornered the market I reckon
@@michaelhart5886 Possibly. 👍
@PaulHayman-tq5kb Government Depts do not give info to the public , " due to privacy concerns "
Who i used to call the Opel Dealer Team
@@peterflynn2111 😀👍
I remember when these were everywhere and then by the very late 1990s they became forgotten and hardly seen anymore.
The grill always reminded me of the HZ Kingswood mesh.
I only recall one ride in a 6 cylinder SL and thought out was very quiet and sounded modern. It must have been those individual outlets for each cylinder you talked about.
Yes, General Motors was a big fan of the egg crate grille. It featured on many US cars. It came from Ferrari. Many senior GM designers often owned Ferraris (I am talking 1960’s and 1970’s). Leo Pruneau, being an American designer, would have been influenced by that also. 👍
@@markbehr88 Im not but these Holden ones are an exception.
@@jamesfrench7299 I quite like an egg crate grille 🤔👍
@@markbehr88 case by case.
Eg first AU not fanatical about.
@@jamesfrench7299 That’s not really egg crate, more waterfall. 🤔👍
Bloody Toyota started putting fuel economy gauges in the Camry instead of a temperature gauge. Last May I bought a 2017 Camry and it’s the one crappy change that they’d made up to that point. The temperature gauge has been relegated to the little digital display which also has fuel economy on it. So I don’t understand that.
I’ve never seen that gauge move either, it’s like it’s fake.
I’m not complaining about it. Then again yes I am.
Okay back to the video.
@@davidwood9966 Yes, I agree. Bin the econo gauge. 👍
Would love hp stat's as probably anyone watching this is older like me. KW sounds weird lol
Yes, normally I do but you can just google it. 👍
3 kW = 4 HP
Another great effort Mark, inspite of the questionable subject matter, cough.
A couple of curiousities, at 10:05 it shows the clock in one of these cars and the script on the clock reads "Quarz". I thought that Quartz was spelled with a zed.
Dunno what is going on there.
The 4 millionth Coomode looks like it is being driven off the line by Sir Laurence Hartnett.
What say you?
For me, the less said about brock, the man who rooted his best mate's wife for years, dog act, the better.
And for those who say he could drive, his demise speaks loudest about his driving skills.
Thanks. I will have to check that. Like you, ai thought it was Quartz. Maybe it was a cost saving? 😀. I think you are right re Sir Laurence Hartnett. Good spotting there. 👍
@@markbehr88 Your stuff is so good I am compelled to watch it very closely.
Thanks for your efforts Mark.
@@nkelly.9 Thanks very much. 😀👍
@@markbehr88 possibly a prototype mock up dash with a German supplied clock unit face ?
@@robertmorris6529 Could be?
🥝✔️
@@deanstevenson6527 👍
Would like to find my vc from years ago DZH 611
@@Shearer71 Maybe it’s still out there? 🤔👍
Did rego check last seen in st kilda 10 or so years ago
@@Shearer71 Probably not a good sign but you never know? 🤔👍
It's been put through the wreckers years ago.
Probably or parked up in a shed (here’s hoping). 🙏
Ahhh, I remember my yellow 3.3 commodore L. Totally gross brown vinyl interior, slow as a wet weekend and the terrible floor pan tearing under the seats...worst commodore I ever owned.
@@lancegraham7722 The man has spoken 😀👍
Let me bother you one more time to recommend another producer here on RUclips called Ruairidh MacVeigh. He’s a planes trains automobiles guy with a focus on British cars, it’s excellent TV and at this point endless content.
We’re at the point we can throw away the antenna, it’s all here on RUclips.
Govt has eyes on utube to censor unfriendly views.
@@davidwood9966 Thanks. Maybe you can promote my channel on his channel too? 🤔👍
@@markbehr88 can do :)
@@markbehr88 I sorta wrote that with good intentions, just telling ya about another car guy and not considering whether it’s a breach of etiquette or not. Sorry man.
@@davidwood9966 No. all good. I didn’t take it that way. 👍
4pot larger cars back then not so good today with turbo chargers 4pots have overcome the complaint.
I always thought the Sigma did well enough, that had a pretty big four in it and a couple of them came and went in our family.
@@Eric-kn4yn I think it was more ancient engine technology in the Holden. An EH engine with two cylinders lopped off! 😵💫
@@davidwood9966 Yes, it was a good car (Sigma). 👍
@@markbehr88 2*6 litre sigma engine option thats big not sure of KWs over standard 2 litre engine
@@Eric-kn4yn I dunno if it’s still the biggest four ever in a RWD car made here? That’s me remembering stuff Dad said though.
Was that antipollution gear even effective ?.
@@Eric-kn4yn It was…….at strangling the engine. Probably would have put out less emissions if it could run without all that stuff. 🤔👍
Is it true usa sent australia their unwanted ineffective anti pollution add ons.
@@Eric-kn4yn We couldn’t afford to do our own but Ford certainly did a much better job in that area. 👍
for human health ADR 27/27A were very effective, I don't know what the ADR is for unleaded only, burring leaded (103RON) might of been good for making power and keeping engines from overheating but very bad for health which is why "lead" petrol and paint were both killed off.
As for 27/27A for cars, the issue is GMH had zero budget to do engines for the VB or HZ Kingswood, so those "RED" engines with non-cross flow head and awful intake/exhaust combo manifolds and carby with no auto choke, as Mark mentions it was not until 1980 when GMH moved away from distributor with points to a Electric Control Dizzy (which still have single coil to fire on) but the big change was the manifold ports for intake and exhaust were no longer matches they were independent, problem was over-heating was now the big problem (seriously engines were being replaced with refirbed ones in this time frame).
GMH were stuck with the "Blue" engine until the VK got the "black" carby and the "red/black" EFI (more on the GMH 3.3L EFI engine when Mark gets tot eh VK series), hot take: but the GMH 3.3L "red/black EFI" engine was to me better the the Nissan RB, just a shame that GMH could not make it work for unleaded and yes I have driven a red/black EFI 3.3L VK and it needs 98 RON to get it to work best, its a dog on 91 or 95 RON.
@@351tgv ADR 27/27A looked like a mess of plastic cans and tubes designed to fool the public smoke and mirrors .?
In my humble opinion, Holden dropped the ball by trying to stuff a Kingswood into a Euro style vehicle.
Imagine if Holden had both Kingswood & Commodore.
@@herbnalis3723 kingswood wasnt areodynamic. Like our retired F111s werent stealthy both a must have in the 21C
@@royferntorp When I do WB you will see some really cool cars that never happened. 👍
@@herbnalis3723 They did. See Ep 1 VB Commodore. 👍
@@herbnalis3723 - well they sort of technically did until 1984 with the "WB" LWB cars/utes.
Mark are you going to do the "WB" Series vehicles from GMH? even though I am Blue and White Oval all the way those GMH"WB" cars/utes were some of the best from GMH team.
HDT was formed in 1969
@@chrish4469 Yes, I know. I was referring to the car manufacturing element. 👍
With Chrysler soon leaving and the petrol crisis and two of the four children, going off to university - we didn't need a 6 seater big V8 wagon anymore, so we finished our relationship with the hemi V8 Chrysler Regal wagons. There ELB DID work !
So we had to choose a Commodore or Falcon sedan, still with a V8, because we towed a large boat. Falcon 4.9 too big and guzzled. Power Steering - horrific - still so in the XF. Seriously Ford ??
Also the XD did have the famous Lemon article from Wheels. And on having a early line production XA Ford Fairmont 500 purple wagon with V8 - and overheating when towing the boat and x6 people and roof rack luggage over the Waterfall Way near Dorrigo, and having a plastic bag attached to the dashboard to put all the items that fell off, EXCEPT for the entire front bench seat, which came off its bolts, whilst being driven - we played it safe with a VB and VH Commodore sedan, auto with tow packs and other brake/engine options. They both had the 4.2 V8. The difference between the two, was staggering. VH was much more taunt and spritely. Steering European. Build quality not good - the plastic trim surrounds on the interior door handles would come off - as they did on our VL Berlina Turbo. All council cars. Both stranded us in the middle of nowhere.
The VB with a fuel line seal, separating and pouring fuel all over the Kiewa Valley HWY from Falls Creek to Dedarang. It also wouldn't turn off one day, to the amusement of the local Holden dealer. The VH electronics - bouncing Voltmeter - left us stranded at night on the side of the Victorian Hume HWY between towns, before mobile phones and the T-bar selector had a pin on its stalk, which can dislodge and prevent it being moved. At Young - teen son worked it out and we were on our way. Did struggle a bit, towing the boat compared to the 5.2 litre Hemi V8.
Went to XF after the VH that was an SL/X with the old VC SL/E alloys in dark metallic brown with triple gold pin stripes. Looked great and interior. VB was dark blue SL, with silver pin stripes, and after market Aunger mag wheels. Dad did option the SL/E headlight wiper/washers - as seen in your video on the SL wagon.
But you guessed it - firstly trying to operate them without a separate switch was amusing. Two, they never worked in unison or sat back correctly. Plus - lol 😂 - the washer jets, were not properly attached to the bumper, so they sprayed everywhere, except onto the headlights. This, a brand new car. !?
We learned to never buy a new release - wait for the first update and then some.... but, when it is a govt. car and you have no say on the turnover cycle/date and it falls every time on a new release, there's not much you can do, but enjoy it being one of the first.
With the demise of the 4.2 litre sweet V8 ( which was the base V8 for the original SS Commodore VH ) and the fuel injected 3.3 six, not having the required torque figure of at least around 300 nm, we had no option but to go for the XF Fairmont 4.1 fuel injected 6. Local content requirement for fleet. No other option, anyway !
Very impressive - torque and fuel consumption. Ride. Handling not too bad. Still bloody awful steering !. Fantastic rutted dirt road steering rack damping. Excellent full house Pioneer standard radio/cassette player. Good seats - air cond to the back with the awesome, simple ball vents. Chunky steering wheel. Embarrassing little car syndrome horn. But on the first day, all the air con knobs, came off in your hand. The interior mirror eventually came off - just glued. Various screw head covers disappeared from door trims. Violent boot opening and the lever for the boot release wanted to fly into the back seat area. 😂
In the first two weeks, a warranty claim for the engines tappets. Fixed, never a problem again. Recall. But it did show a total brake fail light when trying to reverse our boat on the ramp, into Dartmouth Dam after fully loaded trip up winding mountain road. Car completely shut down on the ramp. We weren't popular. 😂 Discovered it was a protective system when brakes get too hot and started again when they were cool. Then the VL came out and unleaded arrived. Falcon lost some efficiency and new Nissan six not enough. V8 too much. But then we heard about the turbo and four speed auto and co-developing with Nissan for durability not performance, hence no intercooler etc, but water cooled turbo. Torque was 296 nm, so we got that. Maroon Berlina. Plastic cover of rear pillar lights cracked. Door handle trims, still come off after x8 years. Seats very good and steering. Pin stripes for Berlina on bumpers and side mouldings were applied very badly. Paint finish not good. Power aerial didn't like being left out of electronic action 😂 Though fun and could trim it. Stereo so far behind Fairmont but good patented long range reception for radio. Very good brakes, but would fade after one lap of Bathurst ( grew up in Blayney ). Dunlop tyres were criticized and were swapped for Goodyear Eagles. No sudden loss in the wet. Fantastic engine: refinement. Turbo whistle and waste gate whoosh and turbine sound of inline six. Had best fuel consumption and performance. Handling good but still felt like the front was twisting in relation to the back ?. Had lag from rest when towing, but would easily overtake with boat on HWY at 100 kmh. Impressive. Went on to do over 300,000 kms without overhaul except for new ECU. Transmission as new, after gasket replacement. But cooling system wasn't disclosed to owners. Low bonnet, radiator - Skyline used different system. Was eventually stolen with the key system that any Commodore could open any other Commodore. Recovered but claimed by RACV. Payout was excellent due to market value at the time and sought after vehicle. Two Holden Apollos after that: 600,000 kms and 700,000 kms with NO overhauls. Very impressive - services doubled and HWY kms.
Would see quality long-term in a FG ll or FG-X Falcon XR6. ( LPG dedicated, if LPG still widely and easily accessible - tragedy ! 😢 ).
@@adrianmclean9195 Interesting to hear your experiences. Agree the availability or lack of, LPG is crazy. I guess it is a gas and these days we are told Gas = Bad. 😳
@@markbehr88 yes, true. Wish the Territory had have had a LPG system - don't know why ? - it needed it more than the Falcon and the diesel has turned out to be a nightmare, according to servicing mechanics and sold more, as Ford took away the AWD for the petrol 6. ?
@@adrianmclean9195 Would have made more sense than turbo.
@@markbehr88 yes
@@markbehr88 I suppose the FX-6 will definitely be a collectors item.
Brock was early commodores saving grace younger guys favourite to hot up wannabes HDTs
@@Eric-kn4yn Yes. True and keeping the V8. 👍
Exactly. Dropping the ford V8 for around a decade lost them a huge chunk of fans.
Yes, big mistake. 👍
Stuff fuel aconomy bring on the v8 lol
@@drifterdrifter9558 Absolutely 👍
Ah the hideous Starfire engine. 😕
@@chuckselvage3157 Or the Misfire. 😟
Watch a crash test 😂😂😂 you would never sit in one..
@@5150TJT I saw it 😳
@@markbehr88 VC and VK are my pick of the Commodores but seeing that crash test was scary..
@@5150TJT I like VH shadow tone. 👍
@Oz673 - shitbox.
@@joydivisionboy1 So, a fan hey? 😀👍
this era was absolutely terrible for Holden.The 6 cylinder engines were not significantly evolved from 1963 (149, 179 red motor), and the V8s' weren't much better. Cold start performance was awful, air pumps and a weird butterfly inlet heat system was fitted to the non crossflow manifolds. everything distorted, leaked, and just plain failed .A very poor time for GMH
@@leighhaberl981 Yes, it started with HX. A horrific response to ADR27A. 🤔👍
HDT's were the most underpowered, average handling over priced cars ever. As soon as the V6 VN's were released they wiped the road with them. The VN ss made these otherwise stock cars really look like a money grab pathetic wife basher of a brock car, lol
@@stevenkirk8401 The VN was almost a decade later (1988) and for the time the output was good. 👍
The "Buick V6" imported by GMH for the series I VN were:
- serious torque monster down low
- serious pile of junk
What the F were GMH thinking having an engine where 90% of peak torque was made at 1,200rpm with P175/75/14 (so 14"x5.5" steelies) tyres and open rear differential. with that awful 4 link panhard rod live axel rear and a granted highway 3.08:1 open differential, it was undriveable when it rained.
GMH did refine it with the "Australian" made Series II VN and then with VP and VR and changed it with the VS with "Ecotec" tricks from Europe and Supercharging from the US with a primitive version of direct injection.
@@351tgvHZ RTS were 14x6 steel rims VNs 14x5:5 ,???
@@351tgv I joined Holden at VN and have to say I liked them. 👍
@@markbehr88 VNs many were stolen to bait the police in high speed chases.