vxr500

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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JAMESHSV1 said:
How can the truth be missing the point
The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

JAMESHSV1

291 posts

98 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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wormus said:
The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Neither is the vxr500 exclusive!

George Smiley

5,048 posts

81 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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wormus said:
JAMESHSV1 said:
Just to get rid of remaining stock
I think this is totally missing the point. It’s part of the car’s history and they only did a few of them which for some will make it desirable. No I would not buy one now but I can see the appeal.

It’s the same difference between a HSV and a normal CV8. Same car underneath are they not?

In Aus, the special one was the CV8-Z, not the HSV.

Edited by wormus on Tuesday 26th March 08:28
At no point is this part of the cars history or heritage. Phone up someone in Aus and ask them if they've heard of the Vauxhal VXR500. The what mate?

stu vxr

276 posts

107 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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George Smiley said:
At no point is this part of the cars history or heritage. Phone up someone in Aus and ask them if they've heard of the Vauxhal VXR500. The what mate?
Think this thread is getting out of hand, we should all get back to enjoying our cars.

George probably best if you start a thread elswhere, there are plenty more cars out there for you to have a go at, can't understand your motive or comments regarding this topic.

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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Talking about the U.K market George. It was partly the VXR500 on 5th gear that persuaded me to buy my Monaro 13 years ago: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UN6FxoQEPM

It absolutely is part of the car’s history.

George Smiley

5,048 posts

81 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
quotequote all
wormus said:
Talking about the U.K market George. It was partly the VXR500 on 5th gear that persuaded me to buy my Monaro 13 years ago: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UN6FxoQEPM

It absolutely is part of the car’s history.
Tom's review was good

bonesxu1

440 posts

187 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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George Smiley said:
Tom's review was good
Tom's review was crap, don't think he has ever seen under the bonnet of a VXR 500. Supercharger runs off a toothed belt apparently.

blue666uk

690 posts

124 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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wormus said:
Quite a few bolt on 600hp cars but then a few bespoke, heavily modified ones like mine including 3 or 4 turbo cars.
yes

blue666uk

690 posts

124 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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Before this thread goes proper awry - an LS V8 in any state of tune, but preferably more than standard, NA or blown, whatever floats your boat, is one to be savoured. I have more hp's than I need, never used all of them in anger and quite possibly never will, many people have now got more still, but the joy of driving a brutal/semi-agricultural V8 in a world of ever increasing draconian laws and regulations, with new cars seemingly only produced with blown lawnmower engines means we're the ones wearing the big silly grin every time we go for a drive in our cars.

Am I bothered I don't have a VXR500 - no, should I be - no, but neither should that be a detriment to those that do have one one and cherish it. To open another can of worms, mine is technically a CAT D car, minor injury early in its life (bumpers and not by me I might add), but rectified and repaired, and had plenty of money spent on it to make it what it is today (a TT beast). Do I love it - hell yeah, as do most people that see it, hear it and ride in it. Is it a crap shabby car because it was technically CAT D - no, and neither would you know without delving into the history of it. But, if someone did, I'd most likely be fairly distraught if someone publicly savaged my car online. I don't think the VXR500 is a bad car, but perhaps it could have been executed better - most of these cars were being mod'd 10 years + after new, with continuous learning by the likes of Monkfish/Walkinshaw along the way, but that surely doesn't make the VXR500 a bad car!

The point being, these are not mainstream cars, fairly unique, and a limited buyers market to the more recognisable Mustang, but they are still worth something to a lot of people. Maybe not £45k, but I do also feel they're undervalued,

mfp4073

1,946 posts

174 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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I for one thought Tom's review was good, In fact I wish it could have been longer. Yes he made a few errors here and there, but you could tell he found the VXR 500 to be an impressive handful, and overall he really liked the car.

mfp4073

1,946 posts

174 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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blue666uk, I totally agree with every word you have said.

George Smiley

5,048 posts

81 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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bonesxu1 said:
George Smiley said:
Tom's review was good
Tom's review was crap, don't think he has ever seen under the bonnet of a VXR 500. Supercharger runs off a toothed belt apparently.
If only it did have a toothed pulley, it might make more than 420horses

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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George Smiley said:
If only it did have a toothed pulley, it might make more than 420horses
You need to remember when these cars were developed, little was known about how to get power from them in U.K. In hindsight, they would have been better with an intercooled 122hh but that followed the 112 used on the 500. Mine’s had 3 super chargers (sold the first for a TVS2300) and is on its 3rd engine. First 2 blew up - don’t use a stroker crank in these without longer sleeves or the pistons break. Then the belt kept jumping off as it stretches under load, usually making a mess as it does so. The fix was to develop a damper for the tensioner, same as many OE supercharged cars have. Clutch is another good one, mine has an LS9 twin plate clutch, with a bigger VXR8 bell housing to accommodate. Spun the crap out of the TVS2300, just made heat so £800 IW crank pulley down the toilet. 2 exhaust systems, mini tub, racelogic traction control, new fuel system, I could go on...

There are loads of other things to get around but none of these come for free, taking time, money and courage to develop.

You can scoff at what others toiled to achieve. Yes you can buy some anodyne box where the manufacturer has done all the work but where’s the fun in that. These cars are amazing fun and should be cherished just for being different. Many people will not have the opportunity to enjoy one.


Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 26th March 20:29

Lincsls1

3,334 posts

140 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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I like the VXR500.
A Vauxhall coupe that could be bought from a dealer with around 500bhp! What's not to like? Bravo to both Vauxhall and Greens for importing the car and then offering such a beast.
Sure, it maybe flawed and a Monkfish S/C car maybe better, but so what. My mates, all somewhat car enthusiasts, know what a Monaro is, and also what a VXR500 is such was the press and 5th gear coverage. They don't know what a Monkfish car is.
Given the choice, they would prefer a 500 over a standard VXR and pay more accordingly. That makes them worth more.
And those in the know, who own or buy a 500 can invest to iron out the flaws to make a great car that bit better.

vxkev

585 posts

116 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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George Smiley said:
At no point is this part of the cars history or heritage. Phone up someone in Aus and ask them if they've heard of the Vauxhal VXR500. The what mate?
Actually YES they have heard of it

George Smiley

5,048 posts

81 months

Tuesday 26th March 2019
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vxkev said:
Actually YES they have heard of it
Sure, perhaps a couple of bogans have heard of one but it’s not the same as say a hsv gts

99PBATR

486 posts

78 months

Wednesday 27th March 2019
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There was a nice VXR500 in at Walkinshaw's when mine went in on Monday. So that's 2x shiny black supercharged beasts side by side (albeit mine isn't a VXR500 but a Monkfish converted one) So hello from me if it's anyone on here's

IanLWarrington

385 posts

167 months

Thursday 28th March 2019
quotequote all
Lincsls1 said:
I like the VXR500.
A Vauxhall coupe that could be bought from a dealer with around 500bhp! What's not to like? Bravo to both Vauxhall and Greens for importing the car and then offering such a beast.
Sure, it maybe flawed and a Monkfish S/C car maybe better, but so what. My mates, all somewhat car enthusiasts, know what a Monaro is, and also what a VXR500 is such was the press and 5th gear coverage. They don't know what a Monkfish car is.
Given the choice, they would prefer a 500 over a standard VXR and pay more accordingly. That makes them worth more.
And those in the know, who own or buy a 500 can invest to iron out the flaws to make a great car that bit better.
Exactly!

IanLWarrington

385 posts

167 months

Thursday 28th March 2019
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mfp4073 said:
blue666uk, I totally agree with every word you have said.
And so do I.

:-)

IanLWarrington

385 posts

167 months

Thursday 28th March 2019
quotequote all
wormus said:
Talking about the U.K market George. It was partly the VXR500 on 5th gear that persuaded me to buy my Monaro 13 years ago: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UN6FxoQEPM

It absolutely is part of the car’s history.
I echo that - in fact, at the time that I saw the Tom Ford video, I had a Silver Monaro VXR 6.2 - and the video made me pine for the VXR500 - making a conscious decision not to DIY the existing car.



I was very lucky, I felt, to stumble on an original (that had been invisible on the forums etc). Coincidentally, there was a VXR500 being advertised around the same time - it had a replaced SC (with an Intercooler), MF upgrades etc - that I rejected.

I'm glad I made the choice that I did - and I received a PM from Tom (Wookie) Ford himself a couple of weeks ago saying how much he loved that car!.

I'm with Margaret Wolfe Hungerford!