New Gear Shifter Boot

After changing the gear know, I decided that the leather shroud around the gear shifter also needed to change. Compare the older photo:


To this one:


'nuff said!

Project: Knob Update

You know - I never really thought that the gear shift know installed on the old Aussie 4 speed really suited the van, so I decided to make a change.

Check the black/brown shroud. That needs to be changed too!

I hunted around some of the Auto parts stores, and found a SAAS timber look knob which matches the SAAS wheel.

Installation is a simple job, and you can click here to see the full project in my old holden shed.

I'm sure you will agree that it was a job worth doing!

Project: Roof mounted aerial

One of the things I've always liked on HQ-WB Holden is the roof mounted aerial. So I decided the time was right. A couple of hours and the job was done.

This aerial I bought at one of the auto parts stores (can't actually remember which one!) for under $20.

I'm pleased with the end result, especially as the aerial it replaced was one of those guard mounted extendable jobs, with the spring at the base.

To see the full detail of the project (including lots of pictures) click here to open the project in my old holden shed.


You can probably just make out the temporary plug I put in the guard. Repairing the hole is Whole other project!

Project: Wiper facelift

Time for the first project on the van. One of the things that was very obvious from the day I picked the Panel Van up was that the wiper arms were in need of some work.

Check the original photo below:


Like I said - obvious! So I set about cleaning them up and repainting them.

The after shot:


If you want the step by step instructions as to how it was done, or just want to know how to remove the wiper arms click here to see the whole project in my oldholden shed.

I was very happy with the result, and it cost bugger all!

Rear Bumper

One of the things which I particularly like to change is the rear bumpers on the panel van.

The standard Holden Van has two small "bumperettes" which protect the corners of the van. They are functional, but don't look particularly good. The picture below shows another van with the standard bumpers:



I picked up (again, on good old eBay) a very used HQ Station Wagon bumper for the top price of $10.

As you can see from the above photo, the bumper had a few dents - these are easy knocked out with a block of wood and a hammer.

After an afternoon of removing the old bumperettes (rusted bolts!) and fitting the new station wagon bumper, the job was done - and the number plate flap which pulls down conceals the LPG filler perfectly.

Early changes

While the van was in pretty good condition, there were a few things that needed to be done early on.

Early changes included:

• Window tint - darkest legal tint on the driver and passenger windows, and ambulance tint on the carry space windows. Made a huge difference to the look! Cost: $300
  
  
• Exhaust - The van had a set of extractors and a single pipe, which sounded LOUD, but were obviously in need of some work. We wanted twin pipes, so we Johnny Mac's exhausts in Moolap (Geelong) put together a nice set of extractors and twin system which suit the van really well. Nice work! Cost: $800
  
  
  The original exhaust
  
  
• Stereo - the radio cassette player had to go! We wanted a good quality CD player with MP3 capability, and installed a Pioneer unit, along with some new 6" round speakers in the doors, and 6" x 9" jobs in the back. The whole thing cost about $400 - good value!
  
  
• Spare Wheel Cover - I bought (eBay again!) a spare wheel cover in black which was from a WB Statesman. While I'm not a fan of the spare wheel being in the back of the van, I won't drive without a spare (I don't like being stranded!). At least the black one looks a bit better. Cost: $10
  

The beginning

Where's the best place to start? At the beginning, so here goes! We were on the lookout for a van for quite some time - the preferred choice was a WB on dual fuel, V8 without side windows.

This van showed up on eBay, being sold by a fellow in Daylesford (Vic) who has owned and driven it for quite some years.

The photos below were taken when I went and looked at the van, before we bought it.

Standard WB front, with GTS guards

Leather Interior

Wood grain wheel, GTS DashROH Alloy Wheels


Carpet trimmed interior (with spare wheel)

After some negotiation, we paid $5,500 - which included a roadworthy. We had to wait for a couple of weeks while the roadworthy was organised, but we think it was a pretty good buy.

As you can see above, the spare wheel is in the cabin because of the LPG tank. This van is a 253 4-speed, on dual fuel!