Heron's VK SL Build – LS3, TH400, Sleeper Style

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Vin – the steering wheel is actually a Nissan aftermarket one, it’s plain black and I don’t mind the style so it will stay for the time being. The shifter surround will be painted the same as the other dash bits, just ran out of paint haha

Judge – gonna do engineering in the new year, got the formal this coming Monday so will get it on the road for that then park it up while I do the remaining bits and pieces for engineering. Not the way I wanted to do it but have run out of time and cash

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Rego is done 

Been chipping away at it after work this week. Interior is alomost finished. Pinch weld is on, scuff plates are on, rear locks have been changed to the slide ones, door cards are on, rear arm rests are on, picking up the front ones this weekend, I used a couple of screws and washers along the edge of the carpet to hold it in place and trimmed a little bit of excess, the scuff plates cover the screws, still need to install the sun visors and roof grab handles, and the front kick panels. Adjusted the panhard bar to centre the diff, I’ll see how it goes on the weekend but I’ll probably get the guards rolled for extra clearance.

Some of the parts I’ve put on are a little old and discoloured, over the next year I’ll slowly start replacing old stuff with new. It’s the little things you notice while putting a car back together.

[sands vsParticipant vs commodore View build HERE Member since: March 1, 2015 Posts: 619]

Heron SSV wrote:

= Some of the parts I’ve put on are a little old and discoloured, over the next year I’ll slowly start replacing old stuff with new. It’s the little things you notice while putting a car back together.

Depending on what parts they are they can be vinyl painted if it helps.

 

Car looks great I like the subtle clean look. Its refreshing to not see another brock replica as well.

 

I think with the carpet people sometimes use spray glue on the corners

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Cheers Sands. I’ll be painting what bits I can, but there’s things like the door seal rubbers that have seen better days, the scuff plates, just little things like that that could do with a freshen up in time.

Was thinking about using glue, but I had some tek screws and was rocking out to Metallica’s Ride The Lightning album and wanted some power tool action haha

[vinParticipant saSL/LEE View build HERE Member since: June 5, 2019 Posts: 66]

I wouldnt stress about running out of paint for the shifter console bit especially after what you have achieved plus I would just leave it black

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

I don’t mind the black either, but I am also a fan of keeping things looking as factory as possible.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by  VRSenator065.

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

What a cracker of a weekend. Car is on the road, met my deadline, formal duties all done last night, kids were stoked they were able to show off in front of their mates haha.

Spent Friday night laying some spary putty on the bonnet. Built up a few layers, each layer was slowly filling in the bumps and ripples. Saturday morning came and I spent it sanding, trying to get it as smoth as possible. The bonnet is fucked, for what it will cost to get a panel beater to straighten it out properly I’ll be able to find another one and paint it for well under the price. Got it looking as good as it can get, my mate layed down some white and it got better with each coat. Ended up putting about 7 coats on it, all the coats had a bit of peel showing but the last coat, which was a lot thinner than the others, seem to fill all the little imperfections and the end result was better than i expected. You can still see the ripples when you have a close look, but from 10 feet you cant see much, especially outside cause its so bright haha. It’ll do for the time being. Put it on the car on Sunday morning, was still a bit wet in some spots cause it’s heaps thick. Lined it up as close as possible without damaging the paint, closed it, and left it like that, wont touch it until this coming weekend. Once it’s cured, I’ll give it a cut and polish, the finish is prety good, wont need to be wet sanded, plus I’m not going to waste too much time on it cause it’ll eventually be replaced.

On Sunday I was finally able to put the plates on and hit the road. Stayed local for a while to get used to driving it and see what it was running like. The factory temp guage is way out, once it warmed up it was sitting up in the red. I had an OBD scanner with me, connected it and was able to bring up the live coolant temp. It was sitting on 96 degrees, the dash guage was in the red. I left the scanner connected while I went for a drive, one of my boys was watching it and letting me know what the temps were doing. The temp was fluctuating between 96 and up to 105, got to 110 during some low speed stop start driving but didnt get any higher. I spoke to my tuner, he said anything from 100 to 110 was fine. Checked online as well, heaps of different answers, mine seems to be in the upper range of what is considered normal. Temp comes down pretty quickly once moving though. Went for another lap later in the arvo, just a cruisy loop for about 45 minutes and it stayed under 100 the whole time.

It’s very docile to drive down low, heaps of torque, gets moving very easily. Give it almost half throttle and it spins, need a progressive feed into the pedal but it’s heaps punchy. It gets up on the converter well, can accelerate quickly and short shift into second and it just piles on the speed. cruises nicely at 80-90, any higher and the revs get a little high, I got a GPS speedo and it sites on 3500 at 100ks, so it wont be the most friendly car on the freeway. 3.5 gears may have been a better choice, but fuck it haha. Throttle response while cruising is wicked. Give it a squirt in any gear and the converter flashes up, the left side of the car lifts a little, and it just hammers. Spent some time bedding in the brakes, speeding up and slowing down with different pressue on the pedal. They stop well so far.

Spent yesterday cleaning everything for formal duties. Kids had a blast, picked up a couple of their mates and was giving it a bit here and there, they loved it. Couple of small skids but nothing too big, still getting used to driving it. After dropping them off at their formal, I gave it a bit on the way home, half throttle in first, hit second and gave it a boot full, wheel spin city haha. Drove it home, back into the garage, mission accomplished.

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

Awesome write-up mate, congrats on the build, enjoy.

[vinParticipant saSL/LEE View build HERE Member since: June 5, 2019 Posts: 66]

mission impossible naw not for heron , job well done superman, ah now time to enjoy until the urge for more power comes out of the shadows

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Had a relaxing weekend doing nothing on the car except taking it out for a drive for an hour on Sunday. Needed a bit of a break from it to let the body and mind chill a bit. Temp is still getting up and sitting in the 100 to 110 range, I’ll keep an eye on it for the time being and see how it goes. Will look at getting a shroud for the thermo, I think it’ll definitely help. Also need to visit Clark Rubber and get some grommets for the firewall, still have a few holes that are not being used and the legs get a little toasty after a while haha.

Didnt mount the clamp for the bonnet cable properly so the lever doesnt work. can reach up underneath the front and get it open, another thing on the list to sort out.

Had a heap of thumbs up from other drivers whilst out on the road, definitely a good feeling. Still getting used to the power, havent given it a decent launch yet, slowly working up to it haha. Going to drive it to work in the next week or so, will be interesting to see how it goes. 92km trip one way, about 80 of that is the M1 freeway so I’ll be hanging in the left lane with the trucks, not to mention the 5am start up, the neighbours will love that haha

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Drove the VK to work last Friday, wanted to get a trip in before everyone returned to work this week and traffic goes nuts. Sites nicely cruising at around the 90 mark, temp starts to creep up a little going about 100, revs get up there as well. Temp was creeping up going up hills. Temp raged from 102 up to 112 on the way to work, was a little cooler though. Coming home was worse, ambient temp was 28, got up to 116 at the peak going up some hills, came back down when it leveled out and dropped back to 108. Still too hot, need to get a shroud for the thermo and see if that helps. Not sure how much effect it will have at highway speeds, I thought the shrouds work best at lower speeds to help the thermo pull air through the entire radiator, not just in front of the fan blades.

Noticed the shifter was getting hot as well, wasnt too bad on the way to work but by the time I was nearly home I couldnt hold it for longer than 4 or 5 seconds.

Have been researching info on temp ranges for LS engines, still cant get an accurate answer on an acceptable temp range, my tuner said 100 to 110 is fine, but the temp creeping up to 116 was a little concerning. Once the road levels out a bit and I’m cruising at around 90kph the temp drops so the cooling system is working somewhat.

Will sort out some guages in the next few months, engine temp, oil pressure and trans temp. Have been using an OBD scanner to monitor the engine temp while driving but need something more permanent.

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

I think the issue is, big engine, more power so more heat in a small bay…  If I didn’t hate the thought of cutting my bonnet I think that’s the answer, i.e. venting some of the heat out of there.

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Yeah I wouldn’t mind one of the Group 3 cowls. They just bolt on as well. Could cut a hole in the bonnet and fit the cowl, but I’m still liking the stock look at the moment. Was also thinking I could fit a cowl and mount a few gauges under it to keep the interior clear, apart from the monster tacho, but so they’re only visible from inside the car

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Scored a free thermo shroud. Fitting it will be fun, not much room at the bottom between the radiator and radiator support. Hopefully I can get it on without taking the radiator out.

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

Very interested to see if it makes a difference, keep us posted.

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Indeed I will. Ordered a bonnet cable clamp cause I didnt have one and was using a small cable screw in clamp thing plus a prayer to sweet baby Jesus but it didnt work so back to the factory setup. Slowly compiling a list of all the little things that need doing before I look at the big things for engineering.

Probably a silly question but would 14 inch stockies fit over the VT front brakes? I’d love a set with some factory SL hubcaps but I dont think 14s would fit, I think I need 15s at minimum

[VRSenator065Participant Adelaide SAVR Senator LSx454 1960 Kombi (project) 1921 Nash Hot Rod (future project) View build HERE Member since: February 17, 2015 Posts: 5 777]

I reckon only way to know would be test fit one?

[cava454Moderator 93 VR BT1 View build HERE Member since: February 20, 2015 Posts: 2 390]

Don’t think they do mate.

[Heron SSVParticipant Central Coast NSW2009 Pajero Exceed 84 VK SL LS3 View build HERE Member since: May 5, 2015 Posts: 585]

Gonna get my monster tacho installed in a week or so for maximum shift light awesomeness haha. tossing up between two spots to mount it, first is on top of the steering column in front of the dash, the speedo and tacho on the dash dont work so i wouldnt be blocking the view of anything there, second is on the right side of the dash above the vent near the door, theres a space big enough for it to fit, and it’s a little higher as well so it might be a bit easier to look at while driving without having to look down. Any suggestions?

[Judge1 FrazerParticipant new zealand1983 VB LSA MG9 6060 6 speed View build HERE Member since: February 5, 2016 Posts: 775]

don’t you need speedo for engineering

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