Millipede Monaro (it's a bit leggy!)
Discussion
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Well "Millie" passed the MOT yesterday 
Couple of advises but nothing I'm going to loose any sleep over.
Of greater concern is the fact that I've already added another 1,000+ miles onto the clock since purchase, on what is meant to be a second / third car and I'd only insured for 3k p.a.!! Trouble is, every time I have to choose the keys on my way out, it's the Monaro one that seems to end up in my hand...
Couple of advises but nothing I'm going to loose any sleep over.Of greater concern is the fact that I've already added another 1,000+ miles onto the clock since purchase, on what is meant to be a second / third car and I'd only insured for 3k p.a.!! Trouble is, every time I have to choose the keys on my way out, it's the Monaro one that seems to end up in my hand...
Top buy. All parts are readily available second hand inc new seats - one of the benefits of being a rwd car in a wet country, people do crash them and donate parts. PM me if you need access to a breaker or 2 (not me).
Engines are cheap and yours won't go bang if it's been serviced, biggest problem is the bodywork imho.
Engines are cheap and yours won't go bang if it's been serviced, biggest problem is the bodywork imho.
Just a quick update - I've now used up nearly all of my 3,000 mile insurance limit so a call to my insurer looms, but otherwise all is well 
Current job list consists of a fractured aircon pipe by the dryer and a small squeak at idle which has developed but got no worse in the last month (sounds like a belt tensioner bearing if I were to guess??).
A new gear lever seal has quietened the road / wind / transmission noise from that area dramatically and a diff oil change has removed the low speed grinding entirely, although slip is still very effectively limited as I proved exiting a wet junction yesterday!!
Otherwise, oil consumption appears negligable and all the other levels are static. I do need to replace the nearside front tyre as, although retaining plenty of tread, it is absolutely lethal in the wet and howls comically round roundabouts at pretty low speeds in the dry. The other 3 tyres, although definitely budget brands, actually seem to perform ok in all conditions.
I also understand why people moan about the standard brakes on these now...
Current job list consists of a fractured aircon pipe by the dryer and a small squeak at idle which has developed but got no worse in the last month (sounds like a belt tensioner bearing if I were to guess??).
A new gear lever seal has quietened the road / wind / transmission noise from that area dramatically and a diff oil change has removed the low speed grinding entirely, although slip is still very effectively limited as I proved exiting a wet junction yesterday!!
Otherwise, oil consumption appears negligable and all the other levels are static. I do need to replace the nearside front tyre as, although retaining plenty of tread, it is absolutely lethal in the wet and howls comically round roundabouts at pretty low speeds in the dry. The other 3 tyres, although definitely budget brands, actually seem to perform ok in all conditions.
I also understand why people moan about the standard brakes on these now...
DHE said:
Any idea what mpg you are getting?
Yes, all fuel logged on Spritmonitor.de and it says my average since purchase is....
edited to add - as an old(er) git, I tend to drive in quite a smooth and relaxed manner most of the time, so I tend to get reasonable fuel consumption from most things that I drive. The difference between this and other stuff I've had, is just how quickly the average mpg drops as soon as I start to give it any welly!
The most I've seen on the trip average is around 33mpg, but I know it wouldn't take much effort on my part to halve that!
Edited by 99t on Friday 26th July 08:23
99t said:
With the windows closed and a light foot you would hardly know what is under the bonnet to be honest. Sounds better with a heavier foot and a few revs but is always fairly muted.
I would possibly like a little more burble when pottering around, but not if it was at the expense of it becoming properly loud when pushing on. I've had loud cars before and fallen out of love with them fairly quickly as a result. So for me, it is probably about right, but maybe just a smidge too civilised...
I had an LS2 VXR and that was also very quiet when new. The aftermarket exhausts do sound lovely but I'm not sure how they would be to live with daily. Switchable are available, as mentioned above, but iirc they're in the £2.5k territory and whilst I don't know what you paid, I suspect that sum would be a purchase-price-percentage too far!I would possibly like a little more burble when pottering around, but not if it was at the expense of it becoming properly loud when pushing on. I've had loud cars before and fallen out of love with them fairly quickly as a result. So for me, it is probably about right, but maybe just a smidge too civilised...
Don't know if the exhausts are similar but my solution was to replace the rear boxes with a pair or stainless straight-through pipes. Released just enough volume to make it clear that you were running a large V8!
Some of the Holden beards will tell you that it'll never sound like a V8 unless you change the headers and camshaft, but my solution did what I wanted.
Btw, if anyone needs a pair of original VXR rear silencers, I still have mine here which need a new home.
Mileage matters little, anything that needed replacing would have done so, so in truth most ancilliaries have done less than the milometer.
Most engines will run trouble free so long as they are oiled and cooled properly.
Looks a great car and worth bringing back to its former glory (within normal "sheadding" parameters, although I use the term loosely)
Most engines will run trouble free so long as they are oiled and cooled properly.
Looks a great car and worth bringing back to its former glory (within normal "sheadding" parameters, although I use the term loosely)
99t said:
DanielJames said:
Really? Lol
Well I did think I could restrain my usage to one day a week commute plus a bit in evenings and weekends but it's proving a tad more difficult than expected...
I travelled 12k miles in it that year and my other vehicles didn't get a look in. That was an expensive year! Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff