16th Jun 2001, 02:33

Well my Camira is in great condition. I still am of the same opinion. I have taken on N/A VL's and lost. OK, it's only by a bit, but it's still a loss. Also the Camira has no mid range power compared to the VL.

Gimme a Commodore any day.

25th Jun 2001, 04:11

Well I myself own a JE Camira and I found it to be an extremly good bargain. I've thrashed the nuts of it and the damn thing just won't die... the engine of a Camira has to be in perfect condition, because the slightest thing wrong could see you lose up to 20 per cent in power.

8th Jul 2001, 00:59

JE Camira's kick butt!!! Once again, I've beaten plenty of Commodores (VB-VL) and have also beaten my mate's 99 model Pulsar SSS.

8th Jul 2001, 07:00

I own a JE Camira and I am very impressed by it's performance and features. Mine is of the Ex-Telecom type and apart from it's lack of features when I purchased it, it was easy to make it look the part, with 15 inch spoked alloys, and FE2 front springs and Camira sedan rear springs.

Handling is one of its best fortes, fuel economy is great (even the way I drive it!) and have been asked by many if I would like to sell it. My reply is always a smug smile and a shake of the head. VL Commodores are just over-rated, and expensive to repair. I know from past experience... Long live the "Camira Race Team"

25th Sep 2001, 20:19

Don't get a VL Commodore!! I own a Je Camira and haven't yet been beaten by a standard VL. JE Camiras Kick ASS if their engine is in good condition. I agree with a statement: If they're good there good.

8th Sep 2002, 07:21

A healthy stock JE is a better performance car than a healthy stock VL or VN Commodore. I should know, I've owned all three, but it's the Camira that I've kept for 7 years so far. Less weight, much better handling, better body rigidity, and a well sorted engine/gearbox combo. Simply throw in new gas shocks, better tyres, 2-2.5 inch exhaust and cold air induction and you will further widen the performance gap - neither of the Commodores responded as well to the same treatment! And finally lay off the manual gearbox criticism! It may be notchy, but the ratios match the engine well and can be used vigorously without drama. Compared to the auto trans (my girlfriend owns an auto JE) the manual offers a much more rewarding (and faster) drive for the enthusiastic! Tip for those with poor performing JE's. Check the engine management - a lot of power is lost if the factory AKFL memcal is stuffed.

1st Oct 2002, 07:49

I own a 1989 Je Sli2000 sedan which produces 85kw in standard trim 9.2secs 0-100 and 16.8sec Quarters. It now produces 125kw thanks to a hot chip, 2and a half inch exhaust system and slightly worked cam it now hits 100 in under 8 seconds and quarters in the fifteens.

Beating Commodores and Falcon is oh so easy even SS and Xr, z bargain car and easy to modify.

7th Jan 2003, 01:01

What is a ak fl, I own a 87 je when I am going under 80ks the car gos pretty well, but after that it struggles a bit.

1st May 2003, 05:41

Well AKFL is the code given to the first computer to come out in the JE Camira, and was designed to be run on Premium unleaded, instead of normal unleaded. some people complained that the JE detonated on regular unleaded, so holden shut them up with the AMXY computer, the AMXY severely retarted ignition timing, so the power went down a fair bit with it.

Well heres my bit to say for myself:

I race a JD (early MPI 1800) Camira, and it is extremely successful against the rest of the stock fours division, full of 2L Cortina's, 2.6 Sigma's, Laser's, Gemini's, and the likes.

The car was so good that in my second year on the track, I won the points championship for both my class and my club, by 200 points for the club, and about 500 for the class win. The car currently holds the lap record at 18.78 seconds (as a comparison, V8s run around 17, Super Sedans run 16s, and Sprint cars run 12 seconds I think), and wins just about every feature race it competes in.

So overall I LOVE CAMIRA'S!!!

21st Feb 2008, 20:27

Sorry I don't believe ANY of these Camira stories. If a Camira can stay in one piece that is a huge achievement in my books!. My guess is that no one can be bothered racing people in a Camira and you all mistake this as a 'win'. An 88kw (when new) buzz box beating a VR Commodore, or VL etc? Get your hands off it, please! In any proper race you wouldn't know which way a 6 cyl Commodore went! Actually a 105kW '92 Pulsar SSS will also wipe the floor with any and every Camira in existance, no exceptions!.

10th Jul 2010, 08:14

Until I bought a manual JE SLX from a mate of mine a few months ago, all I had heard was bad stories about these cars. He was trying to get rid of it as he had bought a 2002 Astra. I took it for a drive around the block and fell in love.

For its age and original purpose, it was well optioned, and after so many years, and 280,000k's, it drove faultlessly.

He had had it lowered, sports steering wheel, custom extractors and exhaust, and dyno tuned. 1/4 mile time was somewhere in the 15's. I have raced quite a few 6 cylinder Commodores and Falcons, and to those who don't believe, in most cases the Camira comes out on top.

Even against SV6's with the 190kw alloytec, I have been alongside until roughly 100k's.

I also own an extensively modified supercharged V6 VT Commodore. Although it is an extremely fast car, I definitely prefer driving the Camira.

Gotta love the look of confusion on peoples faces when their 150kw at the flywheel Commodore is being beaten by a $250 Camira! :)

Mike.

7th Dec 2010, 05:16

Holden Camira JE 1988 station wagon. Manual SL/X. My dream car. So far so good. 22 years old and still going strong.

6th Jun 2011, 20:12

Just got conned into buying one of these JE Camira station Wagons.

After $2,000 spent on fixing everything including a head gasket, which is common to warp every few kms, I just want to keep it going long enough to trade it in. I want to trade in on anything that will drive along the highway at 100 kms an hour, let alone dragging off a Commodore.

This must be the funny site as I laugh reading these stories, the only good thing with a Camira is fuel as they never go long enough to register using a full tank of fuel.

16th May 2019, 15:58

I owned a JE Executive Camira ('88) for many years until I passed it on to another family member at 88,000km. The only things which went wrong with it were one engine mount (a common problem, it seems) and the Delco engine control module died. The engine mount was a $120 fix and the engine module was around two hundred. For all that it was a reliable and economical car to run. I had the auto and despite being three speed (with a lock-up torque converter) it ran very well. I could easily outrun early Commodores up to the VK series and also Falcons up to the EA. The secret was that the JE Camira was feather-light but the engine had a good power output. Power to weight ratio was great for its time.

Yes, the build quality was woeful, the plastics in the dash were spartan and scratchy, but then again the dash would last forever. Seating was okay and handling was great. All-in-all I was happy with the car.

It's rare to run across a JE for sale these days, but if you were to buy one, then using it as a runabout would be fine.