89 replies to this topic

[CI 0308]

We after thinking about it for many years a watching the prices slowly go up and up I finally took the plunge. I originally wanted a windowless HZ van but they just got stupid so I went another way and have purchased a WB van with side windows (which I hate with a passion) Its just a rolling chassis and looked a bit ratty but it had good bones. Minimal gutter rust and no visible sill rust. the floors have rusted through because the windscreen bottom corners have holes and the plenum is rusted in the corners but I can repair all that. I picked it up for 3.5k so pretty happy with that. My plans are to fill in the windows, replace the front with a HZ twin headlight version and paint it Caribbean Turquise a colour I have liked since the 80s. I will go LS1 auto with a few creature comforts.and just a nice set of wheels. Thats the plan at this stage anyhow.

 

 

This is how I am hoping the van will look like in time.

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[CI 0308]

Had a great score on the weekend. Answered an advert for a twin headlight nose cone and when I got there he had the lot, guards, lights, radiator support panel, grill, trims. etc. They were all in perfect nick like he had bought them 30 years ago and hung them on the shed wall. The radiator support panel was brand new just covered in dust. I was like a kid in a lolly shop.

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Edited by CI 0308, 18 August 2020 - 12:32 PM.

[Ice]

Good pick up Brett
Yes good parts are getting harder to find for these old girls

[purrlx]

Nice find with the parts, Had a WB van in the early nineties and I loved it.

[yel327]

Good one. Although a WB drives good if the chassis is not perfect maybe consider changing it for an earlier one from any ute or van if it helps you with emissions. Will also make the HJ-HZ front bar mount better.
Welding up the side windows is a big task, and finding the support bars to go back in can be hard too. I’d just tint them dark and save all the heartache!
Are you going to have a bench or buckets?

[CI 0308]

Good one. Although a WB drives good if the chassis is not perfect maybe consider changing it for an earlier one from any ute or van if it helps you with emissions. Will also make the HJ-HZ front bar mount better.
Welding up the side windows is a big task, and finding the support bars to go back in can be hard too. I’d just tint them dark and save all the heartache!
Are you going to have a bench or buckets?

I have done a lot of research on the window filling. Yes the support braces are hard to get although there is a guy that may be going to reproduce the originals. He already does the ones for the earlier vans and to me they are a very good copy with the correct curve. There are 2 ways to fill in the windows 1 is the old school weld in but need to be very careful and the other is using 3m panel adhesive. The infill panels need to have a 1mm bead rolled into the edge then English wheel the slight curve into the panel. Then use a reinforced filler and finish with normal filler.

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[CI 0308]

Are you going to have a bench or buckets?

At this stage I think buckets but something comfortable. It not a Sandman as such just old school looks with a few more creature comforts.

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[Ice]

Brett im pretty sure someone is making complete sides to infill panel van windows
Have you got a upper tailgate ?

[Ice]

Its had a LPG conversion

[yel327]

What I was getting at with seats is HQ-HZ buckets won’t bolt straight into a WB, but the bench seats will. The good thing about a van as opposed to ute and cab chassis is they don’t have the cabin rear wall so there is more room for the back of a seat. I know HQ-WB were the full size Holden back in the day, but they have bugger all legroom in them. Everyone I get in my HJ Premier it is such a tight squeeze compared to newer stuff. One way to make it better is to run an auto but use a manual brake pedal, at least gives more foot room.
You could try some seats like these, but be careful when you Engineer it as van seats need a solid back on them.
https://www.gumtree....ro-s/1254845505

It is probably easier for you also to throw away the whole WB body harness and find one from a HX or HZ. You need one from a quad headlight car, avoid a dual headlight setup. So Premier or Statesman. The back harness from a HJ-HZ ute or van if you plan to run HQ-HZ rear lights, and most Engineers that are any good will make you fit the side lights if you don’t run WB rear lights. The reason is the harnesses are very different for WB due to the reversing lights. It affects the whole dash harness and the blinker mech as well, plus the rear harness.

Be careful of bolt threads on WB, some are metric.

[claysummers]

Good one. I’ve heard the panel adhesive is the way to go and what I’m planning with my EK van. You want a bench seat so you can go three across the front, boards in the back.


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[CI 0308]

Its had a LPG conversion

 

Yes, that will go and weld up the filler hole. I just need to find a spare tyre winch.

 

What I was getting at with seats is HQ-HZ buckets won’t bolt straight into a WB, but the bench seats will. The good thing about a van as opposed to ute and cab chassis is they don’t have the cabin rear wall so there is more room for the back of a seat. I know HQ-WB were the full size Holden back in the day, but they have bugger all legroom in them. Everyone I get in my HJ Premier it is such a tight squeeze compared to newer stuff. One way to make it better is to run an auto but use a manual brake pedal, at least gives more foot room.
You could try some seats like these, but be careful when you Engineer it as van seats need a solid back on them.
https://www.gumtree....ro-s/1254845505

It is probably easier for you also to throw away the whole WB body harness and find one from a HX or HZ. You need one from a quad headlight car, avoid a dual headlight setup. So Premier or Statesman. The back harness from a HJ-HZ ute or van if you plan to run HQ-HZ rear lights, and most Engineers that are any good will make you fit the side lights if you don’t run WB rear lights. The reason is the harnesses are very different for WB due to the reversing lights. It affects the whole dash harness and the blinker mech as well, plus the rear harness.

Be careful of bolt threads on WB, some are metric.

 

Thanks all good points to remember. I was thinking of grafting in the rear side lights, 

 

Good one. I’ve heard the panel adhesive is the way to go and what I’m planning with my EK van. You want a bench seat so you can go three across the front, boards in the back.


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I was never a surfer but I sailboarded for about 20 years, so it might have to have the tail gate up with the windsurfer out the back

Brett im pretty sure someone is making complete sides to infill panel van windows
Have you got a upper tailgate ?

 

Yes it came with a reasonable upper tail gate with the elusive handle intact and the click braces plus another bottom tail gate in better condition.

[yel327]

I think it was VG-VS winch that looks very similar. Maybe find one and compare. You should be able to find a rusty or damaged HQ-WB chassis to cut the mount out of, those get removed for LPG. Greg at Classicozwreck still has a couple of old bodies and chassis you would probably find a few bits out of, possibly even some side ribs. Easy you get out of a buggered body with an 18V grinder and cutting disc.

[CI 0308]

Did a bit of rust revealing today, wasnt so bad really. Cut out what I needed then wire brushed and hit it with KBS Rust blast. will repair and coat with KBS rust seal.

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[Ice]

Prety sure i got a brand new spare wheel winch somewhere Brett
i would have to find it its buried in the garage black hole

[CI 0308]

Prety sure i got a brand new spare wheel winch somewhere Brett
i would have to find it its buried in the garage black hole

 

Thanks Gene, no rush as I think its going to be a while

 

Where I work up north in Tom Price there was a spot just out of town that had a few old wrecks that was good for bits and pieces. Went out there the other day and after all these years the bloody Shire has decided to clean it up, NOOOOO!!!

I think it was VG-VS winch that looks very similar. Maybe find one and compare. You should be able to find a rusty or damaged HQ-WB chassis to cut the mount out of, those get removed for LPG. Greg at Classicozwreck still has a couple of old bodies and chassis you would probably find a few bits out of, possibly even some side ribs. Easy you get out of a buggered body with an 18V grinder and cutting disc.

 

Thanks will have a look.

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Edited by CI 0308, 18 August 2020 - 08:16 PM.

[yel327]

Bugger, lots of good bits on those, even just nuts, bolts, clips etc. Or rust repair sections.

[warrenm]

What I was getting at with seats is HQ-HZ buckets won’t bolt straight into a WB, but the bench seats will. The good thing about a van as opposed to ute and cab chassis is they don’t have the cabin rear wall so there is more room for the back of a seat. I know HQ-WB were the full size Holden back in the day, but they have bugger all legroom in them. Everyone I get in my HJ Premier it is such a tight squeeze compared to newer stuff. One way to make it better is to run an auto but use a manual brake pedal, at least gives more foot room.
You could try some seats like these, but be careful when you Engineer it as van seats need a solid back on them.
https://www.gumtree....ro-s/1254845505

It is probably easier for you also to throw away the whole WB body harness and find one from a HX or HZ. You need one from a quad headlight car, avoid a dual headlight setup. So Premier or Statesman. The back harness from a HJ-HZ ute or van if you plan to run HQ-HZ rear lights, and most Engineers that are any good will make you fit the side lights if you don’t run WB rear lights. The reason is the harnesses are very different for WB due to the reversing lights. It affects the whole dash harness and the blinker mech as well, plus the rear harness.

Be careful of bolt threads on WB, some are metric.

What's the difference in the HQ/HZ to WB bucket seat mounts?

[Bigfella237]

LOL... that muffler obviously saw a few "key-bangers" before it was retired...

 

P.S. Somebody else on here was chasing a pair of bumperettes off a ute/pano recently, I didn't read the thread but I wonder if they found some?

 

[yel327]

WB are closer together. The outside nuts welded into the floor (closest to the sills) are in the same place hence why the bench seats are fine. However the ones near the tunnel are further from the tunnel on WB. Thus the seats aren’t interchangeable. When you put WB buckets in a HQ-HZ only the two bolts on the sill side fit, the other side are out by about roughly 15mm or thereabouts. The few I’ve done I have ripped 4 of the square nuts out of a donor floor, drilled the tunnel side holes in the right place (go through the floor and the members underneath) and tacked the nuts in place underneath. As the nuts are square, the extra ones actually go hard up against the existing nuts so in theory you don’t even have to tack them as they are prevented from spinning by the existing nuts.

WB are full of such surprises if you are used to HQ to HZ. But it is not surprising when you consider the series ran for all but 5 years. HQ went for less than 3.5 years and WB ran for more than half of the whole HQ-HZ run. Plus WB Holden and Statesman evolved and changed along with the 3 parallel Commodore and Calais series VC-VK.

Edited by yel327, 19 August 2020 - 08:41 AM.

[Cook]

Yep remember when I was converting my WB to bucket seats,  Eventually found a set of WB Statesman seats.  I remember at the time someone was saying it was due to the crossover to Commodore that WB was different in a few things.  Cheers Ron

[CI 0308]

WB are closer together. The outside nuts welded into the floor (closest to the sills) are in the same place hence why the bench seats are fine. However the ones near the tunnel are further from the tunnel on WB. Thus the seats aren’t interchangeable. When you put WB buckets in a HQ-HZ only the two bolts on the sill side fit, the other side are out by about roughly 15mm or thereabouts. The few I’ve done I have ripped 4 of the square nuts out of a donor floor, drilled the tunnel side holes in the right place (go through the floor and the members underneath) and tacked the nuts in place underneath. As the nuts are square, the extra ones actually go hard up against the existing nuts so in theory you don’t even have to tack them as they are prevented from spinning by the existing nuts.

WB are full of such surprises if you are used to HQ to HZ. But it is not surprising when you consider the series ran for all but 5 years. HQ went for less than 3.5 years and WB ran for more than half of the whole HQ-HZ run. Plus WB Holden and Statesman evolved and changed along with the 3 parallel Commodore and Calais series VC-VK.

Thanks Byron. All these little tips help heaps. You think the WB will be the same as HQ Hz but there seems to be a heap of differences.

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[yel327]

They are very different to HQ and HJ. Marginally different to HX, and closest to the late HZ with pull type clutch. Even the steel thickness in the chassis different to HQ-HX. There are so many differences you’d spend all day listing them. Just think of HB vs LJ or LH vs UC and you start to get the idea.

[Cook]

Out of curiosity it seems there were about 60,000 WB's produced.  Are there any numbers on the break-up of this ie: utility, Kingswood utility and panelvan in particular? Cheers Ron

[yel327]

Yep remember when I was converting my WB to bucket seats, Eventually found a set of WB Statesman seats. I remember at the time someone was saying it was due to the crossover to Commodore that WB was different in a few things. Cheers Ron

That was normal though, LH essentially became a “series 2” when HQ changed to HJ, there was a huge amount of changes. HJ did the same when LH changed to LX. HZ changed a fair bit to when VB was released.
It was the VB to VC interface that saw a lot of changes between HZ and WB, like reversing lights, XT5 engines etc. The seat change though was simply a change in seat design to commonise the seats between VC and WB, the runners are closer together. I kept a fair few WB buckets for the runners and have slowly used the runners up over time and threw the seats away as they were normally split or had burn marks in them from that time where lots of people used to smoke. They were almost free back then, $25 a pair normally. I used to buy mint VK or VL seats for $100 a pair or less, put WB runners on them and fit them to Holdens.

Edited by yel327, 19 August 2020 - 10:53 AM.