G'day all, I'm 18 and I'm looking at buying my first car. Being the poor b*st*rd I am, I've decided to go with an early commo, specifically the VH. I was looking at this (http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?vehicle_id=2205298¤t_rec=4&used_rec=0&total_rec=22&sort_type=2&total_rec=22&sort_type=2&make_id=10&model_id=19&keyword=VH&state_id=7&search_distance=25) one and I was talking to a mate about it. It seems good, but I've been told there were problems with the blue engine such as warping of the inlet and exhaust manifolds due to the use of different metals (therefore different expansion/contraction rates) and oil leaks. So I was wondering what your collective experience with the old bluey is and whether you would recommend this car, keeping in mind my low budget. I might do some work on it over the years because I'm partial to the older commodores and I wouldn't mind eventually having a VH SLE cruiser with a 308 or something... but that's a long way off. Any help would be much appreciated. edit: added asterisks.

hey buddy, i recently bought a vh with a blue 186 in her. a couple of minor oil leaks around the rocker gasket but thats it! runs like a dream for a 23 yr old car if u ask me. also cheap to buy and not to mention parts, as holden 6's are abundant at wreckers. i bought mine for 1000 with 12 months reg, and only need 2 front seatbelts for roadworthy! i hanvt had alot of experience with older commo's, so this MAY be a one off. but im extremely pleased at the car for its age.

Great to hear... dunno if you followed the link, but this car has had a tranny conversion, so I'll check that out before I commit to anything. Rego expires this December, but the bloke is fairly confident it will pass roadworthy. I'm mates with a couple of blokes who can check it out for me anyway. How serious were the oil leaks? Did you have to replace the gasket? And have you found any evidence of warping of the inlet and exhaust manifolds? edit: Oh, and I didn't see this before - the car I mentioned in my first post is dual fuel. Score! Petrol reached 1.24 near me today.

Quote: Originally Posted by Psi_Wagon hey buddy, i recently bought a vh with a blue 186 in her. a couple of minor oil leaks around the rocker gasket but thats it! runs like a dream for a 23 yr old car if u ask me. also cheap to buy and not to mention parts, as holden 6's are abundant at wreckers. i bought mine for 1000 with 12 months reg, and only need 2 front seatbelts for roadworthy! i hanvt had alot of experience with older commo's, so this MAY be a one off. but im extremely pleased at the car for its age. Correct me if Im wrong, but VH's didnt come out with a 186, it was a 173 (2.85 litre)

these r the engines vh's came out wif 1.9 litre 4cyl. - 58kW 2.85 litre 6cyl. - 73kW 3.3 litre 6cyl. - 83kW 4.2 litre V8 - 100kW 5.0 litre V8 - 117kW 5.0 litre V8 (VH5) - 122kW

I have a VC 3.3l blue motor and it goes extremely well after all these years. Bought it with 120 thou on the clack when i was 16, and now it has just over 140 thou. Needs a new auto choke so starting on cold mornings are a pain, but let it wrm up for 10 mins and it'll go all day. I've *tried* to kill this thing, and it wont die. Good, solid tough motor for what it is. Mine's very reliable, like the sun rises and sets.

i know this thread is old but how did ya go couple of things first ive never seen any other variation of the blue motor except for a 3.3ltr (202) 2nd of all these were the best of the old 6's as far as they had electronic dizzys, xu1 rods and higher flowing heads all from factory, Also they came wid a 2 barrel varijet which wid a small jet mod flow more than a holley 350

I didn't end up getting the VH, came into some extra cash so I'm looking at a VS now. And yeah, I've heard the blue was good compared to the black and red, but it has **** on the RB30 or the Ecotec.

i reckon u shud get a vl still lol

Haha, funny that... I still might if I find a nice one.

well lets face it all the old carbied inline 6's were based on the 30yr old grey motor which they copied from some american engine. id have an rb over an ecotech any day all the v6 are pretty dodge. (cept the new alloytec) some ppl are making good power out of the v6's but there design (like most v6's) are flawed

what is flawed about the design of the v6?

Quote: Originally Posted by Epitaph what is flawed about the design of the v6? They sound harsh under acceleration ,rattle a bit while idling,welsh plugs stuff up and the rear main seal leaks. As far the VH 3.3 donk they are too thirsty but still are good for a strong reliable motor,prefer the injected 3.3 in the mighty VK calais.

Quote: Originally Posted by Epitaph what is flawed about the design of the v6? the pulse tuning and balance.