1981 Holden Commodore L 3.3L straight 6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Bloody decent for its age!!

General Comments:

Nothing as yet, I only purchased this wicked VC wagon running and licenced for 650 bucks. It's pretty straight with minimal rust.

I was lucky enough to find a manual one, which are getting extremely rare in the VB, VC and VH series.

Nothing gone wrong yet, it's a project car. Motor and gearbox is in good nick and has a new clutch.

Things to do next is replace the driver's door handle, replace rocker cover gasket, give it a service, alignment and that's about it.

Overall, the old Holdens are pretty damn reliable and parts are cheap too. For 83 Kilowatts it moves OK :)

So in general, I'm one happy boy for what I got it for.

Anyone keen on getting one, it's definitely worth it for their age. Happy hunting :)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 27th June, 2010

1981 Holden Commodore VH 2.85 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Overall bargain

Faults:

My VH (186) was running fine, until the other day when I rewired the interior light, and there is now no power to any part of the car at all.

I looked under the bonnet seeing that the battery terminals were in very bad condition. So I replaced them with new ones, and it seems that it has done nothing to solve the problem. So then I tried to jump start it, thinking that the battery was dead, even though it is brand new, and still had nothing.

Has this happened to anyone? Can anyone tell me how to fix it please? I need it on the road ASAP.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th September, 2007

12th Sep 2007, 02:40

I suggest you check all your fuses (under bonnet and interior panel by the footwell) if you haven't done so already. When fixing the light you may have shorted a wire out against the chassis, this is easily done. If nothing is working especially check the main fuse, this normally is rated higher than all the others.

1981 Holden Commodore SLX 4.2 V8 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Magical Car

Faults:

Vibrating tail shaft

Heater does not work (Problem was already there when I bought the car)

Water pump need replacing

Fuel pump failed, changed to an electric fuel pump as the car also runs on lpg.

General Comments:

What a beast! I drove this car all over Australia and it didn't miss a beat. The only real problem I had was a few fuel pump failures. As the car is dual fuel the fuel pump continued to run when switched over to lpg. This created a lot of pressure in the lines as there was nowhere for the fuel to go. The problem is easily fixed by replacing the mechanical pump with an electric pump wired to the dual fuel switch.

Other than that the car has been completely reliable!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st May, 2005

1981 Holden Commodore VC 3.3 Litre aspirated from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

The car is a very reliable and economical car to drive, everything on the old girl is original

Faults:

The front struts needed replacing. It had four worn tyres. And there was some minor spots of rust.

General Comments:

It handles well after I put new struts in it and changed the tyres from 14" to 15". I get about 10 kilometres per litre of fuel, and that is even with the Verajet carby. I changed the seats and console from VC to VH as I found the velour was more comfortable and didn't burn my skin like the old vinyl. I have only just pulled the motor out to replace the gaskets, not that the car had any oil leaks what so ever, but after nearly 25 years of service, I felt a change would be good. I have also noticed there are no water leaks in the cabin. I also put a new radiator in her as the old one was clogged. She goes like the clappers, and holds it's own against some of the newer Commodore V6's.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th December, 2004

15th Dec 2004, 20:26

Glad to see another happy VC owner. I've owned mine for 4 years and is my second car now (never want to sell it!). Has never ever let me down once. I do regular 5,000 kms services on it too.