Null's ultimate Dream Car Thread - A CV8 Monaro in Austria
Discussion
Null,
The paint on the Monaro's wheels was pretty poor in my opinion. My car had only 6000 miles on it when I bought it and the paint was a bit flat even then. I also noticed that the area behind the spokes had no paint on it whatsoever and was black with brake dust.
I've since had the tyres removed and a professional refurbishment. The wheels were then painted wth a bright silver gloss finish and baked on.
The wheels are now easier to keep clean and sparkle nicely in the sunshine.
The paint on the Monaro's wheels was pretty poor in my opinion. My car had only 6000 miles on it when I bought it and the paint was a bit flat even then. I also noticed that the area behind the spokes had no paint on it whatsoever and was black with brake dust.
I've since had the tyres removed and a professional refurbishment. The wheels were then painted wth a bright silver gloss finish and baked on.
The wheels are now easier to keep clean and sparkle nicely in the sunshine.
mfp4073 said:
Null,
The paint on the Monaro's wheels was pretty poor in my opinion. My car had only 6000 miles on it when I bought it and the paint was a bit flat even then. I also noticed that the area behind the spokes had no paint on it whatsoever and was black with brake dust.
I've since had the tyres removed and a professional refurbishment. The wheels were then painted wth a bright silver gloss finish and baked on.
The wheels are now easier to keep clean and sparkle nicely in the sunshine.
amazing to see a Monaro halfway across the world. Being Aussie I love these things. Though I have to say the paint quality from factory isn't always the best being a GM product. The paint on the Monaro's wheels was pretty poor in my opinion. My car had only 6000 miles on it when I bought it and the paint was a bit flat even then. I also noticed that the area behind the spokes had no paint on it whatsoever and was black with brake dust.
I've since had the tyres removed and a professional refurbishment. The wheels were then painted wth a bright silver gloss finish and baked on.
The wheels are now easier to keep clean and sparkle nicely in the sunshine.
First weekend road trip of 2021 is in the books! Took the Monaro up to beautiful Gosau Lakes in the Dachstein Mountain Range.
Woke up with the sunrise at 6am, pulled the Monaro out of the garage, picked up three mates and had a fantastic day hiking and exploring
a place of our beautiful home country that we had not been to before.
Even with a full load of passengers plus hiking gear in the boot, the Monaro is still an amazingly capable grand tourer,
hauling people and cargo in style, speed and comfort!
God, I love this car
Woke up with the sunrise at 6am, pulled the Monaro out of the garage, picked up three mates and had a fantastic day hiking and exploring
a place of our beautiful home country that we had not been to before.
Even with a full load of passengers plus hiking gear in the boot, the Monaro is still an amazingly capable grand tourer,
hauling people and cargo in style, speed and comfort!
God, I love this car
Good evening fellow petrolheads,
I am sorry that I haven't updated this thread in quite some time. Had a busy summer and the weather unfortunately was nothing to write home about mostly.
Current mileage is a little under 61k kilometers / 38k miles - Which means i have driven the Monaro a little over 3000 kms / 1800 miles this year.
Less than I hoped for, but still, every single one of those kilometers was an absolute blast!
I still love it he car as much as ever and I hope that never changes. And I still believe the VZ Monaro is one of the best cars ever made in the history of the automobile!
Overall, the Monaro performed flawlessly at all times. I've managed to get it to two car shows this summer and did some day-trips with it,
so lots of great memories were made, and those will last a lifetime
I will post some more updates and pics from those adventures later. Let's start with something a bit more "basic" first
After getting the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires in the beginning of this year (which are absolutely amazing, highly recommend them!),
I had another big improvement done to the car this year - I got the massive rear glass tinted to keep the brutal summer heat out.
Tinting rules in Austria are a bit strange - nothing allowed on the front windows, but can be as dark as you want from the B-pillars on back.
As I have never been a fan of this 50/50 look on sedans and coupes, I went with a -85% tint on the rear windscreen only.
On a side note, the combination of the massive size and extreme curvature of the Monaro's rear glass was quite the challenge according to the installer.
She was very relieved when I told her mine is the only Monaro in the country so she will very likely never have have to do it again
She did a fantastic job nonetheless! I am very happy with the outcome, fit and finish is flawless, and it sure does keep the heat out nicely!
Here's a quick cellphone pic of the finished product:
I am sorry that I haven't updated this thread in quite some time. Had a busy summer and the weather unfortunately was nothing to write home about mostly.
Current mileage is a little under 61k kilometers / 38k miles - Which means i have driven the Monaro a little over 3000 kms / 1800 miles this year.
Less than I hoped for, but still, every single one of those kilometers was an absolute blast!
I still love it he car as much as ever and I hope that never changes. And I still believe the VZ Monaro is one of the best cars ever made in the history of the automobile!
Overall, the Monaro performed flawlessly at all times. I've managed to get it to two car shows this summer and did some day-trips with it,
so lots of great memories were made, and those will last a lifetime
I will post some more updates and pics from those adventures later. Let's start with something a bit more "basic" first
After getting the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires in the beginning of this year (which are absolutely amazing, highly recommend them!),
I had another big improvement done to the car this year - I got the massive rear glass tinted to keep the brutal summer heat out.
Tinting rules in Austria are a bit strange - nothing allowed on the front windows, but can be as dark as you want from the B-pillars on back.
As I have never been a fan of this 50/50 look on sedans and coupes, I went with a -85% tint on the rear windscreen only.
On a side note, the combination of the massive size and extreme curvature of the Monaro's rear glass was quite the challenge according to the installer.
She was very relieved when I told her mine is the only Monaro in the country so she will very likely never have have to do it again
She did a fantastic job nonetheless! I am very happy with the outcome, fit and finish is flawless, and it sure does keep the heat out nicely!
Here's a quick cellphone pic of the finished product:
No, your eyes are not deceiving you - Two Holdens in one location in the heart on Europe!
Back in August, I met up with a fellow Holden enthusiast from Germany and his Pontiac G8 GT / Holden VE Commodore SS / Vauxhall VXR8
on the world famous Rossfeld Panoramastrasse above Berchtesgaden, Bavaria.
Never thought I'd get to see another Holden vehicle parked next to mine in my life, nor that we'd get the chance to drive up a scenic mountain road together.
We spent hours talking petrolhead stuff and why Holdens are the best
His Pontiac G8 was imported by an Opel dealer in northern Germany back in the day as a "grey import" (insured as an Opel Omega etc...)
It has the 6.0 liter L76 engine under the hood paired with a 6L80 6-speed automatic transmission and an LPG conversion.
Back in August, I met up with a fellow Holden enthusiast from Germany and his Pontiac G8 GT / Holden VE Commodore SS / Vauxhall VXR8
on the world famous Rossfeld Panoramastrasse above Berchtesgaden, Bavaria.
Never thought I'd get to see another Holden vehicle parked next to mine in my life, nor that we'd get the chance to drive up a scenic mountain road together.
We spent hours talking petrolhead stuff and why Holdens are the best
His Pontiac G8 was imported by an Opel dealer in northern Germany back in the day as a "grey import" (insured as an Opel Omega etc...)
It has the 6.0 liter L76 engine under the hood paired with a 6L80 6-speed automatic transmission and an LPG conversion.
Time for a little update:
- The Monaro hasn't left the underground parking garage since October 31st and will stay there until spring arrives in a couple of months.
- I have ordered various Polyurethane suspension bushings and parts from Pedders and Whiteline Performance, PBR front & rear brake hoses,
as well as front lower control arms from Whiteline, which I am especially excited about
Some of those parts will go onto the car in spring, some only when the stock ones are worn out.
- Also purchased a Mishimoto aluminum radiator, possibly looking into ordering upgraded brakes (discs and pads)
and a bunch of reliability upgrades & common wear items from the US.
I still love the car as much as ever and although I only got to enjoy a little over 3000 kms / 1800 mls behind the wheel this year, every single one of those was an absolute joy
One of my favorite memories from this year is that I visited my first ever car meet in the Monaro back in August - Austria's biggest American Car Meet,
known as the "Austrian 500" in pre-covid times. It is organized by Austria's biggest American Car Club.
Their founder is Mr. Heinz Peter Amerer, a pilot and entrepreneur who once operated the biggest cargo airline fleet in the country.
He also has an amazing collection of American cars, including a red Final-Gen ACR Viper Extreme, which unfortunately was not on display this year.
Mr. Amerer brought along a stunning yellow 6th-gen ZL 1 Camaro though
He'd given me special permission to join with my Australian born Monaro, and what can I say, the car was very well received.
I was absolutely blown away by the amount of attention the car got, even when parked next to a stunning C7 ZR1 Corvette.
Many people had never seen or heard of a Holden Monaro before, and the few who had were interested in how it made it's way to Austria.
The car constantly drew a crowd an I bet it was photographed a few hundred times that day
Had tons of great chats with like-minded petrolheads and got to check out all the great cars on display.
Everybody just had a great time at the meet, which was very well-organized. Definitely visiting again in 2022!
Mr Amerer's Camaro ZL1 - sans the 1LE package, since that isn't road legal in most of Europe, as you guys surely know
Fantastic Buick Riviera "Boattail"!
- The Monaro hasn't left the underground parking garage since October 31st and will stay there until spring arrives in a couple of months.
- I have ordered various Polyurethane suspension bushings and parts from Pedders and Whiteline Performance, PBR front & rear brake hoses,
as well as front lower control arms from Whiteline, which I am especially excited about
Some of those parts will go onto the car in spring, some only when the stock ones are worn out.
- Also purchased a Mishimoto aluminum radiator, possibly looking into ordering upgraded brakes (discs and pads)
and a bunch of reliability upgrades & common wear items from the US.
I still love the car as much as ever and although I only got to enjoy a little over 3000 kms / 1800 mls behind the wheel this year, every single one of those was an absolute joy
One of my favorite memories from this year is that I visited my first ever car meet in the Monaro back in August - Austria's biggest American Car Meet,
known as the "Austrian 500" in pre-covid times. It is organized by Austria's biggest American Car Club.
Their founder is Mr. Heinz Peter Amerer, a pilot and entrepreneur who once operated the biggest cargo airline fleet in the country.
He also has an amazing collection of American cars, including a red Final-Gen ACR Viper Extreme, which unfortunately was not on display this year.
Mr. Amerer brought along a stunning yellow 6th-gen ZL 1 Camaro though
He'd given me special permission to join with my Australian born Monaro, and what can I say, the car was very well received.
I was absolutely blown away by the amount of attention the car got, even when parked next to a stunning C7 ZR1 Corvette.
Many people had never seen or heard of a Holden Monaro before, and the few who had were interested in how it made it's way to Austria.
The car constantly drew a crowd an I bet it was photographed a few hundred times that day
Had tons of great chats with like-minded petrolheads and got to check out all the great cars on display.
Everybody just had a great time at the meet, which was very well-organized. Definitely visiting again in 2022!
Mr Amerer's Camaro ZL1 - sans the 1LE package, since that isn't road legal in most of Europe, as you guys surely know
Fantastic Buick Riviera "Boattail"!
With the end of winter slowly, but steadily inching closer and closer, time for one last throwback.
I attended the "Festival Gut Gallmannsegg" in early September 2021 with my Monaro, which is an annual gathering of American,
exotic and sports cars in the State of Styria, a good 500 km round trip away from me.
I got up around 3:30 am and started the drive around 4:40, the plan was to arrive there around 9am, and hit a wash bay on the way as close to the destination as possible,
so I would arrive with a clean car. This was by far my longest trip in the Monaro so far, but totally worth the 8 hours of driving time.
The Monaro felt right at home there, and i met a ton on great people!
On the way home, i took the scenic route via the "Gaberl Pass / B-road 77 ", one of the greatest driving roads in all of Austria.
Basically it is like an Austrian version of the famous Angeles Crest Highway - a 40 km stretch of twisty road up and down a mountain.
A totally surreal experience, being on a road surrounded by lots of like-minded petrolheads on bikes and in sports cars, just here to enjoy a good spirited drive.
I attended the "Festival Gut Gallmannsegg" in early September 2021 with my Monaro, which is an annual gathering of American,
exotic and sports cars in the State of Styria, a good 500 km round trip away from me.
I got up around 3:30 am and started the drive around 4:40, the plan was to arrive there around 9am, and hit a wash bay on the way as close to the destination as possible,
so I would arrive with a clean car. This was by far my longest trip in the Monaro so far, but totally worth the 8 hours of driving time.
The Monaro felt right at home there, and i met a ton on great people!
On the way home, i took the scenic route via the "Gaberl Pass / B-road 77 ", one of the greatest driving roads in all of Austria.
Basically it is like an Austrian version of the famous Angeles Crest Highway - a 40 km stretch of twisty road up and down a mountain.
A totally surreal experience, being on a road surrounded by lots of like-minded petrolheads on bikes and in sports cars, just here to enjoy a good spirited drive.
mercedeslimos said:
Any hassle from the Polizei that day? Looks like a beautiful place, and no sign of snow!
No sir. Never had any troubles with the police when I was out and about with my Monaro. I was stopped at a temporary checkpoint last October, they had a look at the documents and wanted to know more about the car, they had no clue what it was, but seemed to like it a lot.
Null.Performance said:
No sir. Never had any troubles with the police when I was out and about with my Monaro.
I was stopped at a temporary checkpoint last October, they had a look at the documents and wanted to know more about the car, they had no clue what it was, but seemed to like it a lot.
And I bet you they walked to the left side of the car, only to find it's a rechtslenker I was stopped at a temporary checkpoint last October, they had a look at the documents and wanted to know more about the car, they had no clue what it was, but seemed to like it a lot.
Time for a little update
I have not even racked up 100 kms of driving so far this year, but the mediocre spring weather we had allowed me to spend some time working on the car.
As many of you have already experienced for themselves, the OEM bonnet struts get weaker and weaker with time,
up to the point where they have difficulties keeping the heavy bonnet up.
After the bonnet slammed on my head while i re-installed the battery after the winter, I knew it was time to swap them out.
Fortunately, FEBI Bilstein part #27627 for Opel Omega is readily available and works as a direct hassle-free replacement of the Monaro's OEM struts.
Notice how the replacement has the compression chamber and the rod flipped 180 degrees. Still, it is a perfect fit.
Lift force on these new struts is very strong, the hood now opens up with minimal effort, almost by itself so to speak!
What a great feeling, not having to worry about the bonnet slamming onto my head any more
While I was in there, i removed the complete airbox assembly and treated it to a thorough clean an a new K&N drop-in filter.
Correct K&N part number for the Monaro is: K&N 33-2116
Lastly, I always wondered if the UK supplied Monaros have the so called "tow brace" or "V-bracket" attached below the spare tire well from the factory.
I never found a definitive answer, so I decided to have a look for myself. And sure enough, there it was, hidden behind the rear underbody aero panel!
The exact purpose of this piece is unknown to me.
While there are some aftermarket solutions out there that do allow you to mount a tow bar to this piece (who the f
k tows with their Monaro btw???),
my theory is that this bracket's intended purpose might have been to serve as a tie-down point for shipping,
with the Monaros (as most Holden vehicles) not having any factory towing points that they could have used to secure the car on the ship.
Other theories I have read out there include the possibility of the bracket being either
- a frequency isolator (must be the heaviest one ever mounted to any car, those are usually much smaller and lighter)
- a ballast to improve weight distribution (somewhat plausible at least with the heavy engine and gearbox in front)
- a chassis brace (it does not connect anything to anything, so this claim can definitely be dismissed).
Whatever, since my car won't get shipped anywhere ever again, I consider it nothing more than dead weight, so it needed to go.
Had to fabricate some plastic washers to mount the aero panel back in place.
This is what 12 kgs of unnecessary weight removed from the car look like.
I have not even racked up 100 kms of driving so far this year, but the mediocre spring weather we had allowed me to spend some time working on the car.
As many of you have already experienced for themselves, the OEM bonnet struts get weaker and weaker with time,
up to the point where they have difficulties keeping the heavy bonnet up.
After the bonnet slammed on my head while i re-installed the battery after the winter, I knew it was time to swap them out.
Fortunately, FEBI Bilstein part #27627 for Opel Omega is readily available and works as a direct hassle-free replacement of the Monaro's OEM struts.
Notice how the replacement has the compression chamber and the rod flipped 180 degrees. Still, it is a perfect fit.
Lift force on these new struts is very strong, the hood now opens up with minimal effort, almost by itself so to speak!
What a great feeling, not having to worry about the bonnet slamming onto my head any more
While I was in there, i removed the complete airbox assembly and treated it to a thorough clean an a new K&N drop-in filter.
Correct K&N part number for the Monaro is: K&N 33-2116
Lastly, I always wondered if the UK supplied Monaros have the so called "tow brace" or "V-bracket" attached below the spare tire well from the factory.
I never found a definitive answer, so I decided to have a look for myself. And sure enough, there it was, hidden behind the rear underbody aero panel!
The exact purpose of this piece is unknown to me.
While there are some aftermarket solutions out there that do allow you to mount a tow bar to this piece (who the f
k tows with their Monaro btw???),my theory is that this bracket's intended purpose might have been to serve as a tie-down point for shipping,
with the Monaros (as most Holden vehicles) not having any factory towing points that they could have used to secure the car on the ship.
Other theories I have read out there include the possibility of the bracket being either
- a frequency isolator (must be the heaviest one ever mounted to any car, those are usually much smaller and lighter)
- a ballast to improve weight distribution (somewhat plausible at least with the heavy engine and gearbox in front)
- a chassis brace (it does not connect anything to anything, so this claim can definitely be dismissed).
Whatever, since my car won't get shipped anywhere ever again, I consider it nothing more than dead weight, so it needed to go.
Had to fabricate some plastic washers to mount the aero panel back in place.
This is what 12 kgs of unnecessary weight removed from the car look like.
It's funny you bring this up today, I was under my car just at the weekend and considered removing that, I had taken the aero tray off to get to the nuts for the fuel tank straps as I was upgrading my fuel pump.
I mistakenly got the impression that the aero tray actually bolted to the brace and thus would have nowhere to mount to if I removed it.
It's just dawned on me that you have used the washers to mount the tray using the nuts that previously held on the brace.
I shall nip back under and take it off this weekend
I mistakenly got the impression that the aero tray actually bolted to the brace and thus would have nowhere to mount to if I removed it.
It's just dawned on me that you have used the washers to mount the tray using the nuts that previously held on the brace.
I shall nip back under and take it off this weekend
I recall monkfish telling me there would have been a tie down hook bolted to the floor just infront of this bracket that would have been removed on pdi at the dealer then the flap in the plastic closed. (Mine had been left open and monkfish told me they closed the flap when they had it for service).
The heavy bracket in my opinion is there to transfer the force from a rear end impact into the diff/rear subframe and away from the fuel tank in the boot. The fuel tank has another heavy frame bolted around it also. Probably to satisfy usa crash tests .
The heavy bracket in my opinion is there to transfer the force from a rear end impact into the diff/rear subframe and away from the fuel tank in the boot. The fuel tank has another heavy frame bolted around it also. Probably to satisfy usa crash tests .
L2VXR said:
I recall monkfish telling me there would have been a tie down hook bolted to the floor just infront of this bracket that would have been removed
on pdi at the dealer then the flap in the plastic closed. (Mine had been left open and monkfish told me they closed the flap when they had it for service).
The heavy bracket in my opinion is there to transfer the force from a rear end impact into the diff/rear subframe and away from the fuel tank in the boot.
The fuel tank has another heavy frame bolted around it also. Probably to satisfy usa crash tests .
This is very interesting input! Sounds like the most plausible theory so far. on pdi at the dealer then the flap in the plastic closed. (Mine had been left open and monkfish told me they closed the flap when they had it for service).
The heavy bracket in my opinion is there to transfer the force from a rear end impact into the diff/rear subframe and away from the fuel tank in the boot.
The fuel tank has another heavy frame bolted around it also. Probably to satisfy usa crash tests .
There are additional threaded studs in front of the V-brace where something like a tie down hook for shipping could bolt onto.
The V-brace would definitely add some rigidity to the spare tire well area in the event of a rear end collision.
A very crude solution, but the rear end sheet metal definitely would not crumple up as easily with the V-brace installed.
There is a very sturdy-looking brace mounted in front of the the fuel tank area. Disclaimer, this is not my pic, just the best i could find.
The way it is bolted to the car, it appears to have some structural benefits as well. Much more structural than the V-brace at least.
I will pull the trunk liner and have a look at this piece myself once I have the time to, and then decide what to do with it.
The "flap" was also open on my car. Nobody bothered to close it in the past 16 years, until I came along
TheWidget said:
Interesting about that hunk of metal. Interested in having mine removed before getting having underseal applied over the summer.
Roughly what dimensions do those plastic washers need to be?
The 4 plastic washers you have to fabricate need to be around 2 inches / 5 cm in diameter. M12-Sized hole in the middle (if i remember correctly). Roughly what dimensions do those plastic washers need to be?
You could likely go out and get something similar at any hardware store though if you want to save some time.
Gassing Station | HSV & Monaro | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff