my first website :)

[slo crostic]

This is the first website I have ever made, and I would like to share it with all of you. It's not the greatest site in the world, but there are a few pics of my car restoration project (hopefully a few more soon), and a couple of links as well.

Note: please don't be too shocked by the lack of quality, I'm not quite html literate yet :lol:

 

[Buck]

Keep up the work slo, it makes for great practice.

 

[Clocker]

Lookin' good. Thanks for sharing!

C

 

[Tannin]

Slo, that is a really neat car. And a 67 HR no less! My very first car was a 67 HR. That would have been ... mmmm ... 1980 or 1981 I guess. I was about 21 or 22.

HR panel van, 161 donk, fully stock, three on the tree (no syncro on first, same as always with them), light to mid green (you will have seen the color around here and there, it was one of the better factory standard ones for HRs), dip switch on the floor just left of the clutch, somewhere around about 160,000 miles on it when I got it (it was my brother's before that), never had the head off. Sold it 50,000 miles or so later, still running as sweet as ever. For all I know, it's still going.

Since then, I've had:

Maxda RX/4 - 12A, 4-door, horrible yellow colour, great engine - I still miss that silky rotary zoom factor sometimes.

Volkswagen Golf. Yuk! Practical, but boring, boring boring. I only bought it because it was my mums and she made me one of those special family price offers that just I couldn't say no to. But after the RX/4, a gutless front-wheel auto with crap handling was just so boring.

VL Commodore wagon. Best car I ever owned. Bought it with 80,000k on the clock, ex-Telecom. Had it for 6 or 8 years. It's still in the family, belongs to my "not-son" now, still going strong.

Holden Barina. Bought that one new. Looks cute in iridescent blue, but boring to drive, poor handling (don't try anything too sudden at 110k!) comfortable except for the stupid Alpha-style steering wheel/pedal relationship that seems to think you have arms like an orangutan and dashound legs, incredibly cheap for what you get, goes forever on a thimbleful of petrol - hey! a fair-dinkum measured 50 MPG cruising at 100 to 110k on a hot day with the airconditioning going flat out ain't to be snorted at - has all the essentials, and can be parked in motorcycle-sized spaces without the slightest effort. The perfect city car. For the country, I'll take the VL. But I don't do any miles to speak of these days - I'm averaging about 8,000k a year. It hasn't got the character of the HR, of course.

Great pictures!

 

[Will Rickards WT]

You might want to remove your ftp links. They include your username and password to that site (you might want to change your password now). Switch them to http links. I'll e-mailed you the correct page.

 

[slo crostic]

You might want to remove your ftp links. They include your username and password to that site (you might want to change your password now). Switch them to http links. I'll e-mailed you the correct page.

Thank you very much for pointing out my error and making the necessary corrections Will. I'm glad you pointed it out to me before there were any serious repercussions.

 

[Corvair]

The distant General Motors cousin of your Holden HR Sedan:

1967 Chevrolet Nova...

 

[Prof.Wizard]

I'm thinking to launch my own site in about 2 months time so any more ideas for personal sites will be cool. Keep proposing mates!

 

[Jake the Dog]

The distant General Motors cousin of your Holden HR Sedan:

1967 Chevrolet Nova...

that so much looks like a 2 door version of a car we had here in '68. oddly enough it was a Ford, an XT Falcon to be exact.

 

[slo crostic]

That's a hot looking car Corvair, is it yours, or do you own a Corvair?

Could this be a distant cousin of the '55 Chev? (albeit in a rather sad state)

 

[Corvair]

That's a hot looking car Corvair, is it yours, or do you own a Corvair?

I owned a Corvair once (not the one that I use as my avatar -- that's an early '60~'64 model). The one I had was a late-model style, a 1966 Corvair Turbo Corsa, which was the crème de la crème of the late-model Corvairs. It had superb road hugging characteristics and a killer power-to-weight ratio. Let's just say that it was quicker and faster than a typical 350ci 4-barrel carburetor Camaro and absolutely no match at all for a Camaro on a mountain road. And, the Corsa's turbo-supercharger gave it even more of an advantage at higher altitudes on mountain roads.

I bought my Corvair Corsa in 1970. It's original paint had faded badly in just 4 years, so I sanded it down and painted it with grey primer. I intended to give it a proper paint job at some point, but it stayed primer-grey for the next 5 years until I sold it! In 1973, I gave the motor a major rebuild, and this time I modified it by adding a Weber side-draft 2-barrel carburetor, along with a special turbo muffler and exhaust system with a special turbo waste gate that wouldn't let allow the engine to be over boosted (i.e. -- blown up) and a water vapour injector system to control premature combustion (pings). Estimated peak horsepower at that point was 250 BHP, pushing a 950 kg motorcar (about 2000 lbs).

I also added special 14-inch alloy wheels (German-made Elektron brand) that were designed specifically for the late model Corvair (correct offset, etc), a particular model of Pirelli road rubber that the COrvair Racing Society of America (CORSA) had race-proven to be a phenomenal match with the Elektron wheel, and a complete street-tuned suspension package which allowed my to lower the chassis a tad and came with a small air dam that was designed to be used with this lowered suspension setup.

The result was a motorcar that only had two real threats (in them days) on mountain and/or winding roadways: Lotus Elan, Porsche Carrera, or modified Porsche 914. MG's were normally too underpowered, but there were a few that I encountered that could hang in there (barely). Other than that, there was NO competition other than Corvairs like mine (damned few, but there were some). All the rest of the Austin, Ferrari, Aston-Martin, Renault, Mazda RX-7, Datsun 240-Z -- er, NOPE! Camaros and Corvettes -- weeheehee!... don't make me laugh. Easily my worst competition was the Lotus Elan. There was nothing that could beat one. These friggin' things were basically go-karts! It was unbelievable that the Lotus Elan was a legal automobile in the USA. It was very low and it was very, very light in weight, at about 700 kg (or a bit less).

That's a hot looking car Corvair, is it yours...

No, the Chevy Nova is not mine. I have never owned a Chevy Nova. The Chevy Nova and its four door sister the Chevy II were hot cars in their day. I've seen plenty of hopped-up drag racing Novas over the years, but the most wicked Nova I've ever known was one that always took a lot of people by surprise (at the track). It was a Nova stationwagon! But, that was its secret, being that it had bit of extra weight on the rear wheels which the Nova SS or regular Nova coupe never had this car had great traction for drag racing. The cargo area of the stationwagon was also used to hide its truly huge drag racing slicks and narrowed rear axle through the use of some innovative sheetmetal work in the floorpan.

 

[Corvair]

Could this be a distant cousin of the '55 Chev? (albeit in a rather sad state)

Too distant, unfortunately.

Even though HR Holden is part of General Motors, I think it is a lot *more* spiritually connected to GM products made & designed in Europe such as Opel or Vauxhall than products made in the USA / Canada (Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, GMC, Pontiac).

 

[time]

Yes and No.

By far the most popular car in Australia is the rear wheel drive Holden Commodore, which uses a 3.8 litre (230ci) engine based on a Buick design, and a GM US Turbo Hydramatic transmission. The optional 5 litre V8 may be Australian, but it is definitely US inspired, and the 5.7 litre V8 is imported from the US.

Going the other way, the Holden Monaro coupe will be exported to the US and rebadged as the new Pontiac GTO.

Oz cars have more compliant suspension than US models, with a lot more emphasis on handling, so I guess that aspect is more "spiritually connected" to Europe.

However, no-one could accuse the Holden HR of handling.

 

[slo crostic]

No and Yes, perhaps?

Time, you are quite right about the buick 3.8 V6, turbo 400 trans, and gen3 V8s, but the original '79 Holden Commodore was just an Opel Commodore, with very few modifications made to it for the Australian market.
This proved to be a big problem for Holden, because the road conditions in Australia are much rougher on the suspension and drivetrain of the vehicle than it was ever designed for in Europe.
VB commodores were renowned for breaking front control arm mounts and tie rod ends, and even splitting the welds between the chassis rail and the floor pans. This almost sent Holden down the tubes at the time, but luckily for Holden, Ford didn't have a decent car at the time either.
The main reason Holden changed from the old, strong, reliable (and petrol guzzling) "Kingswood" models was to compete with the more fuel efficent japanese 4cyl cars during the early 80's petrol hike. Although, I believe the other reason they stopped making reliable cars, is because it is more profitable to produce a car which needs constant repairs, servicing and parts.

BTW Time, you are definitely right about the HR, they don't handle at all, and I don't think you could even make one handle if you had a million bucks to spend.

 

[Tea]

For an HR that handles ..... try this:

 

[Jake the Dog]

slo,

i've been in an ugly rust ridden HR that was built as a track car and trust me, it handled. it also had a ride like as stiff as a siberian board but man, did it go. the engine was a turbo 192. it also ran 12.6's at heathcote (1/4 track). not bad for a bucket of rust that isn't supposed to handle!

the trick? solid front end mounts and nolathane everywhere else. the sway bars were as think as my forearms.

 

[time]

... but the original '79 Holden Commodore was just an Opel Commodore, with very few modifications made to it for the Australian market.

Those very few modifications cost a reputed $110 million in 1978 ...

The Opel original was the Senator (or Rekord).

 

[slo crostic]

... but the original '79 Holden Commodore was just an Opel Commodore, with very few modifications made to it for the Australian market.

Those very few modifications cost a reputed $110 million in 1978 ...

The Opel original was the Senator (or Rekord).

$110 miilion! that'd be at least half a billion in todays $$$
'spose, it did save the company though!

Interesting, the Senator thing. Wonder if that's where HSV got the idea?

btw, did you see this the other day in the news

 

[slo crostic]

quote from previous link "March sales of Commodore (9084 vehicles) is the highest achieved by any model of any make in Australia since the HQ Holden in 1973."

Took them nearly 30 years to get back on their feet. :excl:

 

[GIANT]

By far the most popular car in Australia is the rear wheel drive Holden Commodore, which uses a 3.8 litre (230ci) engine based on a Buick design, and a GM US Turbo Hydramatic transmission. The optional 5 litre V8 may be Australian, but it is definitely US inspired, and the 5.7 litre V8 is imported from the US.

Going the other way, the Holden Monaro coupe will be exported to the US and rebadged as the new Pontiac GTO.

Oz cars have more compliant suspension than US models, with a lot more emphasis on handling, so I guess that aspect is more "spiritually connected" to Europe...

I wouldn't know any of this if you hadn't told me, mainly because I simply do not keep up with the goings-on of the automotive world anymore. I can't exactly say when -- maybe the by the mid-to-late 1980s -- I became progressively less interested in fiddling about with motorcars and keeping up with the various goings-on.

As for working on and modifying automotive hardware: yes, I've done plenty. I rebuilt my first motor when I was 12 -- an old 1956 Ford 260ci V8 -- and went on to build a beach buggy out of what was a free -- but wrecked and rusting -- 1956 Ford Fairlane. Years later, I shortened an old Corvair pickup for someone and made a "wheelie machine" out of it. About that same time, I dropped a freshly rebuilt Pontiac 426ci V8 (with 3-each 2-barrel carbs) with Pontiac 4-speed manual shift transmission into a 1948 Ford pickup truck with a low-ratio straight-axle differential rear axle. I also helped out dropping used Capri V6 engines and transmissions into several Austin Healeys.

 

[GIANT]

... but the original '79 Holden Commodore was just an Opel Commodore, with very few modifications made to it for the Australian market.

Those very few modifications cost a reputed $110 million in 1978 ...

The Opel original was the Senator (or Rekord).

I owned a 1970 Opel Kadet Rallye for a few years back in the mid-70s. It was a hell of a little beast!

 

[GIANT]

...Easily my worst competition was the Lotus Elan. There was nothing that could beat one. These friggin' things were basically go-karts! It was unbelievable that the Lotus Elan was a legal automobile in the USA. It was very low and it was very, very light in weight, at about 700 kg (or a bit less)...

I realised now that I meant to say Lotus EUROPA ...not Elan.


This is a Lotus Europa (what I was calling a "go-cart"):

 

[NRG = mc²]

Gary, ever pit it against a Mini Cooper S? (supercharged 1600cc, 160hp)

They still compete extremely well with cars 30 years younger and three times the price :wink:

 

[Tannin]

I used to have a special, rather scornful laugh for hotted-up Minis, never took them seriously till, one day, the driver I was working with for the week (I was on the tramways then) got tired of it. "Look", he said, "come to my house on our meal break, and I'll take you for a ride".

"OK."

We were working an afternoon shift, so we had an hour for our meal at about 8PM. This was summer, so it didn't get dark till nine or a little after. We handed over our tram to the relief crew, caught another one down to his house in East Brighton. I looked at his little toy car and laughed once more. We got in, bums about six inches above the tarmac, he turned the key.

Twenty minutes later, we got out and walked back to the tram stop. At least he walked, I sort of staggered in that approximate direction, weak-kneed and white as a sheet. I don't think I have ever had so much fun and been at the same time so utterly terrified in my entire life.

I have never, ever laughed at Minis from that day to this.

 

[NRG = mc²]

I've never driven, let alone been in one but the fact that everyone still raves on about them, the fact that they are still used for rallying even today, and the fact that my fastest lap times on the Colin MacRae 2 game are all set with a Mini Cooper S is enough to convince me.

 

[Platform]

Gary, ever pit it against a Mini Cooper S? (supercharged 1600cc, 160hp)...

I should've mentioned the Mini when I mentioned the Lotus Europa above (i.e. -- "go kart"). Yes, they are potent machines, especially at lower speeds. The Mini's main competition then was the MG Midget, which -- like the Mini -- rides like a rock. I was going to buy a Mini (normally aspirated) from someone I knew back in the 1970s, but ended up not buying because he wouldn't come down to earth on the asking price, and it would've been too expensive to maintain inthe long run -- like most British sportscars of that time. After wasting a small fortune on newspaper sales adverts, he eventually sold it to someone about a year later.

As far as racing against one: Everybody knew they had problems about handling and tractability when the road surface got a bit rough. So, as long as the speeds were up and the road surface a bit choppy, they weren't anywhere near the threat that they were on the hairpins at 50 ~ 80 kph on reasonably smooth surfaces.

I might mention another Mini competitor that quickly came into vogue in the mid-'70s was the "new" (then) Honda Civic. People could buy a Civic Coupe relatively cheap, completely re-do the suspension, add aerodynamic elements to the body (if needed), and bolt on whatever motor enhancements they could -- all for relatively modest money and have a pretty impressive Mini-like roadburner. Heh... I recall that a friend of mine went off a curve and down an embankment into a wall of granite with his, breaking some ribs and destroying his 1-year-old 1975 Honda Civic roadburner.