1977 Holden HZ SL 4.2L V8 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

An economical, great-looking powerhouse

Faults:

Two leaks from the auto-transmission:

-one in one of the connections which I just fixed by tightening it with a wrench.

-The other I could not get to (it was right under the transmission) so I brought it to a mechanic. The plastic inside of the pressure switch had a crack, so the was only $45.00. They said this was pretty common.

General Comments:

-As you would expect it is slow on the start, but if you floor it, it flies about half way through 2nd gear (60-70 kph).

-I bought it with LPG installed so it is just $20 to fill up 66 liters.

-Great looking, not your typical 'rice-burner'

-VERY comfortable seats with a lot of interior room.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th May, 2004

1979 Holden HZ Ute 202 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Built like a tank, as comfy as a lounge suite

Faults:

This vehicle started life in 1979 as a government car. Then was purchased by a retired man to use basically as a trailer once every now and again, so it received very little use over the next many years, until I purchased the vehicle and used it as a daily workhorse.

I feel that most of the troubles were due to lack of use.

During the first few weeks of use the car used water at an alarming rate, but there were no leaks to be seen, suspected head gasket. This did not fix the problem, however, shortly after this I noticed under the rubber mats was wet, the heater unit had a leaky core, replaced for about $100.

The next problem occurred only a short time after, while I was 100km away from home! The harmonic balancer decided to split into two pieces, leaving me stuck on the other side of town. A quick (yet expensive) trip to a close by auto parts shop and I had everything I need to fix this (this includes buying tools!) 4 hours later I was back on the road, headed for home.

Not surprisingly the engine now ran a lot smoother,... for a week or so anyway. The car suddenly became horrible to drive, another trip to an auto parts shop and $30 later, new leads did the trick.

The transmission started to slip under load. $180 for a trans service and this was fixed.

An on going problems (for the 9 months I owned this vehicle) was trying to set the idle. No matter how it was set, or who, set the carburettor up it just would not run right. The carburettor probably needed a rebuild, but I was not going to spend any more money fixing the car.

General Comments:

This vehicle was in immaculate condition (body and interior wise) apart from one small rip in the drivers seat.

The seat (one bench seat) was like driving from a lounge suite, just don't corner too fast or you'll slide on the vinyl.

The engine (when running) had heaps of power, just not much acceleration and revved very high on the freeway, And like all old holden 6's, (and most of their owners), didn't like cold mornings.

A fantastic car to drive, with loads of character, unfortunately not reliable enough.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th March, 2004

10th May 2006, 01:23

I own a Hz 1 Tonner. Have had it now for about 12 months. It runs like dream. I have only had to change the motor in January because it got tired. It was the original motor from new. Nothing wrong with it now that a new paint job won't fix!!

11th Jul 2006, 01:00

Crap get a new ute.

25th Nov 2009, 21:11

I have just bought a HZ 1 Tonner from a mate, it has a 253 motor and a 4 speed gearbox. Just wondering if anyone can tell me

1.- Are there any easy swaps to a five speed gearbox, and if so what type?

2. - How can I tell what type / ratio diff is in it currently?

3. - It runs on LPG alone due to the reco motor not having Anti pollution gear. If I get rid of the gas, do I simply put in a new fuel pump and connect the hose to the carby?

Thanks for any advice

Gazza.