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new2vn
P Plater
23 Posts
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 Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 03:20:03 AM
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Hi Everyone,
I have a friend who's Father likes police cars, I have bought one off him before - a police blue 1981 CM Valiant 265S Pursuit car that went like the clappers for 18 years after the police had done their mods to it.
Anyway, I know where there is a 5L VN Police car in storage in a carport under a canvas drop sheet. It was purchased from police through government auction in about 92 by the old guy who still owns it. It is untouched and has not been started since 92. Anything rubber looks a bit perished, the roof lining is stuffed, it has a fair bit of wear around all 4 doors and seats, bolt holes and gun hanging brackets still installed, CB radio. All the police lighting and siren switching is gone, it was an auction purchase direct from the police about 4 months after new. I think it has just over 30,000-40,000 kms on the clock.
All round a low KM car, pretty straight. I think its white?
Don't remember otherwise it is blue...
Have these cars all been pre-thrashed by the cops? - stupid question I know... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBbkZFtS6eA
Are they chipped? and what does this mean?
It looks a bit lower, unless it is just all the carloads of donut munching cops who bent the rear coils... Has it had suspension mods?
Any other mods you guys know about on an SA or VIC police pursuit V8 AUTO VN cop car?
There was some talk of the car originally being used interstate by the police (possibly Victoria or WA) as a police "Interceptor"??? Whatever the hell that is... Mad max or what? Some type of highway pursuit car anyway. I thought that might be a VL?
He wants $1200 for it, unregistered, no plates, no battery, bald tyres, unstarted...
It won't even roll, brakes or bearings are stuck or rusted that bad.
I reckon it is going to spray oil, water and trans fluid from every gasket, seal and hose if it is to be started for the first time since 1992.
Is it really worth digging out a nice condition 5L Holden from 1991 these days and rebuilding the whole thing from scratch? Unless you are a VN enthusiast of course. It all looks good but a 20 year old unstarted V8 is going to be expensive to get up and running properly, then fuel bills would be huge anyway - my V6 is enough already!!!
It has a huge trans in it with some kind strange chrome T-bar shifter - looks like T400 or something? (Parts of the floor are missing around this huge trans to fit it in) I don't know if the police or the old guy and his son were playing around with the trans.
(He is very old Italian man, is hard to hear what he says and he is deaf too, so it makes "T400" a bit difficult.)
He also said it was a "Group N" (I think) whatever that means???
What do you guys reckon? A good buy or a Head***k?
It is a lot of work.
Ben.
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VNSVLE
Forum Moderator
1316 Posts
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Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 09:50:32 AM
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sounds very interesting buddy. If it is a cop car I believe the speedo should have smaller increments as in every line is 1km instead of the standard 5km. If they are genuine km's that would be good value but you would have to go over it with a fine tooth comb just to know exactly what you are in for if you do go ahead with it. See if the engine is free. Check all the oils for signs of moisture.
I would start by offering low and negotiate from there. |
What's the difference between understeer and oversteer?
Understeer is when the driver is scared.
Oversteer is when the passenger is scared. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 01 Apr 2011 : 1:00:23 PM
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If it's a WA cop car there are a few details that identify it as such:
-Centre caps instead of hubcaps, regardless of whether it's a marked or unmarked
Fog up the windscreen around the rear vision mirroe, you may still see the silhouette of the fleet identification number sticker
-standard equipment on all WA Police Commodores were the stock "wide" pursuit rims
-All extra aerial mounts in either an external bracket mounted where the towbar would have been (usually to the right) or in the rear gutter of the boot.
-Owner's manuals. It was only in the mid-late 90s that the WA police ever leased their vehicles.
-If it was a marked car, the signage silhouette (bits where the white paint didnt fade) is a 150mm line from front to rear, with a 300mm x 600mm rectangle on the front doors. As well as two letters and three digits on the rear quarter panels |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 01 Apr 2011 : 7:21:54 PM
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| One other thing: all WA marked police cars were white in the VN series. Unmarked units were always metallic colours, intended to be inconspicuous, yet rarely were due to the lack of wheel trims. Police patrol cars tend to be a mixed bag; if they came from a country police station, chances are they're a lot less thrashed than a city patrol unit, but that can vary too |
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new2vn
P Plater
23 Posts
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Posted - 03 Apr 2011 : 08:54:12 AM
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I lived in country WA for a while - trust me, the cars out there get thrashed. If they need a Land Cruiser for the job "Better take the Commodore then". I have seen the things buried in mud in forests, plowing through pine plantations, basically emu chasing.
This "Ex-Police" car looks like a waste of time. It needs a full rebuid from the ground up, despite the lack of rust (looks like it is a Queensland car???)
Who is going to do a ground up restoration on any VN unless it is a rare L/E or something? Who can really afford to run an engine that big anymore?
Especially when I see the fuel economy figures for the new SIDI Commodore. My car (Stock VN V6) has very similar fuel consumption figures to the new large V8 (6.3L is it?) I saw a review on the news and I was shocked. It was about 12-13l/100kms in a 6+Litre wagon.
When they did the same test on Ethanol, the economy went out the window - 20+L/100kms!!!
So, I am thinking of moving back to the 4 cylinder cars, fuel just hit $1.52 in SA. Not a bloody Opel 4 cyl Commodore either!!!! |
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VNSVLE
Forum Moderator
1316 Posts
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Posted - 03 Apr 2011 : 10:09:06 AM
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| My old SV LE when it was on the road used to get between 8-9 litres per hundred. They are not that bad on fuel unless you flog them. As with anything. |
What's the difference between understeer and oversteer?
Understeer is when the driver is scared.
Oversteer is when the passenger is scared. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 03 Apr 2011 : 2:05:38 PM
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| I knew of a handful of WA cop cars that strangely were treated like limos. Thereis an occasional fastidious cop that doesn't push his car hard to catch people. One in particualr, a country shire to the north of Perth (Moora) if this particular cop still has his own assigned car, getting it would be like getting an "old codger special" |
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VNGRPA
Fully Licenced
426 Posts
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Posted - 05 Apr 2011 : 9:36:10 PM
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| Ive never thought of buying a ex cop car i didn't think there was much difference between the normal vn and bt1 apart from that bt1 sign, and i would of thought that they all would of been flogged coming from cops after all there the biggest hoons out there and i know coz my cuz is a cop and lets just say he doesn't like me much |
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