Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2012 10:01:45 GMT 10
Hi All,
So I realise that "Modern" and "Old" don't really go together, but I guess it's one of those subjective things. My car is not really what I'd call "new" (It's 18 years old) but I guess it would fall into a "modern" design category.
This is my car. I only have one, so it needs to fill quite a few needs:
Tow up to 2T (The tow pack is rated to 2100KG Holden Manufacturer spec)
Comfortable to drive
Easy to tow with
Reasonably* economical
Fit at least my girlfriend and I, plus our 3 dogs
Have a decent stereo
Previously I had a 1989 VN Commodore that ticked all of the boxes above, it was a V6 Manual and despite being a V6, it towed really really well. It eventually kicked the bucket about 3 1/2 years ago now (Wow it doesn't feel like that long ago) and was known as "Old Faithful" as no matter what I threw at it, it always came out strong. It's sucessor, my current vehicle, has held true to that mantra.
SO what's the new car?
1994 VR SS Commodore Sedan
BTA 2100/120kg hitch receiver
Duel Fuel V8
Highway Driving - Approx 15l gas/100km - around 12l petrol/100km
Towing - Approx 20l gas/100km - petrol? Forget it!
Tidy stereo, false floor, 4 * 60W RMS front/rear stereo, custom isobaric sub setup in boot (It's loud, but not ear-bleedingly loud. Good for cruising out on the highway when it's just me in the car)
The car has taken us all over, and in the 3 1/2 years I've had it I've put on a tidy 100,000ks and it's still going strong. It did blow a 3rd/4th clutch pack in the auto about 12 months ago, but it kindly left with with 1st and 2nd to limp to the closest mechanics to get it fixed. It's towed the horse float, the tandem trailer, a hired AVan (On a 2000km round trip) and now our newly acquired caravan. The suspension IS going to be raised though, as the van we have is quite nose heavy, even moreso than out horse float.
Fitting everything in to the boot was a bit of a tight squeeze given that there's an 80L gas tank sitting up behind the back seat, but we got it all in. One advantage of the stereo in the boot is that I already have a 200A fused power line to the back of the car, that I can attach a duel battery controller to, to charge the van while we're in transit.
Even though she's 18 years old, I rebuilt the heads when I got it (valves had receded into the heads due to spending it's whole life on gas) and the bottom end is the original. Despite this, she blows no smoke, uses only a little bit of water (Hey, it's a Holden 5.0, it wouldn't be a Holden 5.0 if it didn't use *some* water) and is nice and torquey. One thing is for certain though, while it's very torquey if you put your foot down, the fuel economy also goes down somewhat if you're a little too liberal on the accelerator. It is a V8 after all!
So I realise that "Modern" and "Old" don't really go together, but I guess it's one of those subjective things. My car is not really what I'd call "new" (It's 18 years old) but I guess it would fall into a "modern" design category.
This is my car. I only have one, so it needs to fill quite a few needs:
Tow up to 2T (The tow pack is rated to 2100KG Holden Manufacturer spec)
Comfortable to drive
Easy to tow with
Reasonably* economical
Fit at least my girlfriend and I, plus our 3 dogs
Have a decent stereo
Previously I had a 1989 VN Commodore that ticked all of the boxes above, it was a V6 Manual and despite being a V6, it towed really really well. It eventually kicked the bucket about 3 1/2 years ago now (Wow it doesn't feel like that long ago) and was known as "Old Faithful" as no matter what I threw at it, it always came out strong. It's sucessor, my current vehicle, has held true to that mantra.
SO what's the new car?
1994 VR SS Commodore Sedan
BTA 2100/120kg hitch receiver
Duel Fuel V8
Highway Driving - Approx 15l gas/100km - around 12l petrol/100km
Towing - Approx 20l gas/100km - petrol? Forget it!
Tidy stereo, false floor, 4 * 60W RMS front/rear stereo, custom isobaric sub setup in boot (It's loud, but not ear-bleedingly loud. Good for cruising out on the highway when it's just me in the car)
The car has taken us all over, and in the 3 1/2 years I've had it I've put on a tidy 100,000ks and it's still going strong. It did blow a 3rd/4th clutch pack in the auto about 12 months ago, but it kindly left with with 1st and 2nd to limp to the closest mechanics to get it fixed. It's towed the horse float, the tandem trailer, a hired AVan (On a 2000km round trip) and now our newly acquired caravan. The suspension IS going to be raised though, as the van we have is quite nose heavy, even moreso than out horse float.
Fitting everything in to the boot was a bit of a tight squeeze given that there's an 80L gas tank sitting up behind the back seat, but we got it all in. One advantage of the stereo in the boot is that I already have a 200A fused power line to the back of the car, that I can attach a duel battery controller to, to charge the van while we're in transit.
Even though she's 18 years old, I rebuilt the heads when I got it (valves had receded into the heads due to spending it's whole life on gas) and the bottom end is the original. Despite this, she blows no smoke, uses only a little bit of water (Hey, it's a Holden 5.0, it wouldn't be a Holden 5.0 if it didn't use *some* water) and is nice and torquey. One thing is for certain though, while it's very torquey if you put your foot down, the fuel economy also goes down somewhat if you're a little too liberal on the accelerator. It is a V8 after all!