Sunday, December 24, 2006

Project: Statesman Front

Always liked the Statesman fronts on a van and ute, so it was time give the WB the treatment.

If you are planning on doing this, try and get a Caprice front as they are more highly sought after than the DeVille. The Caprice front has a nice grill (all metal) whereas the DeVille has a plastic job. You can't swap them over easily.

I picked up a full walk off front on eBay (again!) for $1100. The whole thing was in great condition, and was still attached to the rest of the car. We dismantled it ourselves, which meant that we could ensure nothing was damaged.

After getting the front home, I checked things out, and realised that even though the radiator support panels are similar, I need the Statesman one fitted to the van to hold the larger headlights.

The Statesman support panel was painted white, so I spent $190 at the local painters and got it blasted, and then painted in 2-pack black. End result was pretty good!


After that, it was a case of painting the nose panel, dismantling the existing front, and fitting the new pieces.



Very happy with the end result!


For the full details of what's involved, click here to visit my old holden shed!

A big thank you to Ed for helping me pick up and
transport the new walk off front.