[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.

[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]

cava454 wrote:

Meh. They were all junk after the VK anyways.

Fixed it for you 

[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.

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

I’m on here and JC virtually daily. I rarely post on JC, just the odd comment here and there. I’m more active on here, but mostly on my thread when I’ve got stuff happening. I read most of the threads on here, but only a few on JC cause a lot is repetetive or stuff I’m not interested in.

This forum has a different feel to it. All of the members are happy to provide advice or their own point of view without being a prick, you can tell how different this forum is by how often a moderator has to step in and warn/ban members or clean up a thread. It feels more like a group of mates down the pub chatting about their cars. I’ve learned heaps from here during my build, and like putting my experiences up, both good and bad, to help others doing the same thing.

[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

[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.

[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]

VRSenator065 wrote:

Mate thats awesome, if you ever to decide to sell them…

Haha I’ll keep you in mind.

Off to the RTA tomorrow with my blue and green slip, hopefully walk out with a set of plates

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

VRSenator065 wrote:

Do they have map pockets at the rear of the front seats, they are the exact material of my VL Belina, like rocking horse poop to find, especially in that condition!!

yep they have the pockets. They’re out of a VL Berlina, they’re in great condition for the age, a few cracks in the top of the rear seat vinyl but that’s it. Have the matching door cards as well, that’s why I am putting slide locks in.

Thanks Judge, heaps happy with it. The interior looks different depending on the light.

My mate is booked in for sat to paint the bonnet. Let it dry overnight, fit it Sunday morning then hit the road

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

Dash paint is cerulean. The seats are from a VL. the dash colour varies slightly depending on the light when taking a pic, I’ve seen heaps of pics of freshly painted dash parts and they can range from looking green through to blue. It’s definitely the right colour in person though. I definitely recommend the BCS spray can I bought off ebay, they have a great spray pattern and the paint flows nicely. Definitely need two cans to do all interior plastics though, could posibly do them with one but thats without having to go over some spots a few times.

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

Cheers Cava. Yeah I’m liking the plain style more and more, the grey is a nice contrast with the white body. Rear spings have settled a little and it’s sitting at the exact height I was after. Gotta adjust the panhard bar cause it’s sitting a little too close on the drivers side, only need to move it over about 10 or 15 mm.

Also need to get another can of cerulean paint to do the shifter surround and the seat belt covers. Plus get a parcel tray.

Everytime I look at the pics I remember other bits and pieces I still have to do haha

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

What a massive week that was. She’s almost ready to hit the road. Need to swap the rear locks, put the door trim on, pinch weld, weather strips on the top of the doors, tidy up the edges of the carpet, sort the bonnet out and paint the grill at the same time, plus the door moulds. Got it all buffed up yesterday, came up pretty good for a garage paint job. Can still see some peel through it but only if you look close. It’s shiny as, heaps bright in the sun. Here are a few pics as requestsed:

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

I’ll put some pics up on Monday when I’m back at work.

latest update: all seats are in, front slide locks are in, had to relocate the central locking motors so the rods for the slide locks fit in properly. Haven’t done the rear ones yet, might just take the lock motors out for now and put the slide locks in and leave them manual for now. Went for a quick squirt up the road yesterday, it’s toey as fuck, spins easy as haha. My mate is coming round tomorrow to buff the car.

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

Pin 48 on the black connector is the tacho output. Apparently you can run a wire from that and connect a resistor to that wire and a 12 volt wire to boost the signal enough for it to work, but the ECU is mounted way up in the footwell and I’d have to pull the heater box out to get to it. My tuner said he can wire it using a trigger pulse from the injector, said it should take an hour or so, so between 100 and 200 bucks. Other option is an OBD adapter from Dakota Digital that connects to the OBD port and you run the normal tacho wiring to it, that’s about 200 bucks.

More progress, have installed the carpet, finished the roof lining, put new front windscreen in, drivers seat, rear seat, have to modify the front passenger seat rail cause it’s a VL seat before I put it in, external door handles are in.

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

Had a few solid days so far. Front and rear bars are on, ended up giving the rear bar another coat of colour then a few more clear coats, came up mint. Roof lining is in, what a cnut of a job that was. Got most of the wrinkles out but can still see a few. It’s all glued in. Only found three of the four rods needed, ended up using some of the brake line hose I had left over. The missing one was the rear one so it was just a length of rod with a bit of a curve, the brake line worked fine. Can still see some dodgy bits but it’ll be right haha.

Went and bought a heap of of detailing stuff ready to get it looking micky mouse. Got some Autosol and have been going to town on the chrome trim, came up looking great. Got all the trim on except the weather strips on top of the doors, the clips are a bit rusty so I’ve ordered some new ones from rare spares.

a mate came round to help put the front and rear windscreens in. The rear went in easy as, got the front one in, one bit at the top was sticking up a bit, my mate was tapping it to get it into place and cracked it. He’s grabbing another one tomorrow so we’ll get it in later this week. Shit happens haha

Pulled out the dash, going to clean it and start painting tomorrow hopefully. Also going to throw the carpet in and maybe the rear seat.

Anyone wired up a monster tacho? Spoke to my sparky who didn’t have a suggestion except for the harness you can buy for a few hundred bucks, I’d rather not spend that much.

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

Roof lining has arrived. All set for a busy week getting as much done to the car as I can.

Can anyone recommend a GPS speedo? My gearbox doesnt have the internal cable drive gear so I’m thinking i’ll just get a GPS one. Jaycar have one for 99 bucks thats rechargable, cant find any reviews on it though.

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

Thanks lads. Ordered the roof lining today, picking it up on Friday.

left the bonnet off the list. That will take some swearing and cursing to get looking slightly straight.

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

Carpet has arrived. Had a quick look inside the packaging and it looks mad.

Picked up a set of four VK doors yesterday. I need the slide locks to match the VL door cards I have, a mate of mine said he has a full set, went a round to pick them up and he gave me the whole doors. He’s also giving me a set of the longer Berlina front arm rests as well. Top bloke.

Finished wet sanding the bodywork over the weekend and mounted the front guards on with shiny new bolts and rivnuts. Gave it a quick wipe down to get rid of some of the runs from sanding, it’s come up mint, paint is flat as considering how much peel it had. Just need to sort out the bonnet now. Going to get it buffed either this weekend or the following weekend. Took next week off work to get stuck into it. Still have to do the following:

• Pull dash out, clean and paint
• Buy roof lining, install, then fit front and rear windscreen
• Vacuum out interior, clean up any shmutz, start fitting carpet, seats etc.
• Remove slide locks from spare doors and install, then fit door trim, arm rests, window winders
• Fit external door trim pieces – any tips on what to use to clean the chrome?
• Fit front and rear bars – check clear coat, might need to re-coat so it can be buffed
• Trim excess end bits off the old fuel line and charcoal canister line
• Trim rear seat belt bolts and adjust the diff to get a little more clearance
• Get a wheel alignment and balance
• Mount charcoal canister
• Get handbrake stuff from the wreckers and fit
• 357 things I have fogotten about
• Maiden voyage 

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

Marc wrote:

Cheers Heron, thanks for the response. I like your way of thinking, I’ll add the Corvette filter to the (ever growing) parts list. Nice car by the way, I enjoyed reading through your build last night.

Cheers mate, I’ve learned heaps from asking questions on here so don’t be afraid to ask

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