[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

Very new to the forum and already found my favourite build thread :D

 

Awesome build up.

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

Transmission cooler going in…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

While at West End Motorsport…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

While the engine bay and air intake was being re-painted…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

sands vs wrote:

Sounds nice at idle, good little lope to it…

Yeh sounds pretty nice. Running a 3,000 stall also so it sounds after than what it really is haha

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

VRSenator065 wrote:

If you go LS, you don’t have to go turbo to make good power/torque

Yeh I know, but if i go that far, ill turbo it also and go all out.

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

VIDEO: Start up…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

sands vs wrote:

Ah yeah interesting thats cool. So did it have the smoothed out base on the manifold and the two large ports rather than the four? Yeah bang for buck ls1 is the way to go. We have a worked 253 here thats stroked out to 310 ready to go in our vh something different.

Never looked down the manifold to check it haha…

Yeh, LS is the go, but a tough 355 carby just screams tough. Depends. This may stay as is and ill work on another project for all out power.

Yeh, 253’s can get up and go if modded right.

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

sands vs wrote:

Would you consider running efi/ stroker?<span style=”line-height: 21.8182px;”>

</span><span style=”line-height: 1.5;”> </span>

Possibly go stroker 355 but will leave it carby. If I ever went big power combo I think id join the LS + Turbo brigade.

<span style=”line-height: 21.8182px;”>

sands vs wrote:

</span><span style=”line-height: 1.5;”>What was “hdt” about the 253?

</span>

Apparently the vehicle was modified by HDT originally. 4bbrl “Brock” manifold, Quadrajet Carby.  I got the plates with the car and have just kept them. They have been personally signed by Peter Brock and id love to sell them, but no one wants to buy them haha

• This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by  MickStephens.

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

The engine bay…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

At West End Motorsport getting the engine installed…

Engines in…

Tight squeeze with the TH400…

New booster and Master cyl…

All finished…

Broke down on the way home…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

The block waiting to be prepped…

Decked block…

All parts prepped before assembly…

Heads stripped and rebuilt…

Re-surfacing heads…

CC’ing heads…

Heads copped the full treatment…

Inlet manifold got some treatment also…

Almost ready…

 

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

Back from the painters…

 

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

Off to the painters for the bay…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

On the road to recovery…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

When I removed the engine many years ago. Sat on this stand for years…

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

This is how far I took the car back. Stayed like this for many years and lost motivation at this point due to lack of funds and other issues.

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

Below is a photo of the push rod which made its way through the rocker.

The cam came off second best. Cam lobe was ground…

 

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

<p style=”line-height: 19.2px;”>

VRSenator065 wrote:

Bloody fantastic, always love reading a story like yours of how you see a car, eventually buy it, all enthused, has some mechanical issue, falls in to neglect for a while due to changes in personal circumstances, then you get the time and enthusiasm back to get stuck into it again. There early girls are starting to really ramp up in popularity and collectability. Btw mate there’s a better way to post up pics so they are larger if you can, I did a post describing how to here http://www.commodoresplus.com.au/forums/topic/posting-images-using-photobucket-attachments/ 

</p>
<p style=”line-height: 19.2px;”>Thanks for the kind words.

I usually use photobucket but havent logged in for years. Will upload some photobucket links soon.</p>

sands vs wrote:

What a great story nice clean car too. Notice a fair few sneaky sl/e bits on there too. Any plans for a sle interior to make it way in there one day seats wise? Hows the new 308 perform?

The last owner had plans to make it look like an SL/E. I have no intention to make it a moke up. Id rather spend the money on performance instead but who knows, I might change my mind as I tend to do so. haha

Yeh, the car goes ok with the mild 308 in it. Needs tuning and some gremlins sorted but sounds nice enough and spins the wheels pretty easy. Will stay with this set up for a while.

[MickStephensParticipant MickStephensVH SL/X View build HERE Member since: November 25, 2015 Posts: 24]

This is how the car looks today. From the outside the main changes have been the wheels and ive also removed the mudflaps. I cant find the mudflaps now and want them back on…!!! haha

 

• This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by  MickStephens.

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