101 replies to this topic

[S pack]

I reckon the car in question has had a replacement panel fitted.

 

I dunno, looks like it has plenty of original red oxide primer on it to me.

 

[Stevo75]

That’s what I thought too regarding the primer. It’s got the same red oxide base primer under the original gold colour throughout the car. I assumed this would have been the original primer.

The welds (in this area at least) also have the same red oxide primer with the original gold paint on them.

All this led me to assume that even though it looks rough around the welds, it was still the original panels in this area.

Maybe it was the apprentice doing the welding that day 😄

[Shiney005]

Were any Toranas actually made in NZ or were they all exported from here? 

[S pack]

NZ assembled Torana at the Trentham VAP.

[kudu]

Were any Toranas actually made in NZ or were they all exported from here? 

 I believe they arrive partially assembled. So the plant at Trentham jut had to do the final assembly.

[Shiney005]

If they were CKD kits they would have had the chassis number stamped here in Australia before they left I'd reckon.

[hanra]

That weld in the panel looks nothing like the usual. 

[tuxedoss]

Yeah the weld is always 3 very crap looking ones . While that weld looks almost bad enough to be original it looks like 2 long ones not the original 3 short

[S pack]

If they were CKD kits they would have had the chassis number stamped here in Australia before they left I'd reckon.

If they were CKD kits they would have had their chassis numbers stamped in the Assembly plant in NZ.
 

Yeah the weld is always 3 very crap looking ones . While that weld looks almost bad enough to be original it looks like 2 long ones not the original 3 short

Perhaps they welded them properly fully in NZ?
 

Edited by S pack, 08 February 2022 - 12:07 PM.

[Shiney005]

If they were CKD kits they would have had their chassis numbers stamped in the Assembly plant in NZ.

But the BODY and VIN plates were stamped here?

 1973 LJ in NZ a.jpg   263.97K   5 downloads

 1973 LJ in NZ b.jpg   285.95K   5 downloads

[S pack]

8B69DCL226105 was completed at the Elizabeth VAP on the 8/12/1972 with a 000X dealer code. It was not a CKD car assembled at the Trentham VAP in NZ.

If it was a Trentham assembled car it would have a VIN something like 8B69DCZ226105J.

[Shiney005]

Someone has put this up on Wiki.

 

New Zealand assembly got off to a troubled start. General Motors New Zealand, which still had a wide four-cylinder Vauxhall Viva/Magnum line on sale, had planned a 2850 six 'S' model with bench front seat and three-speed column manual shift and the 3300SL with bucket seats and four-speed manual or three-speed Trimatic floor shift. The New Zealand government, though, imposed a 60% sales tax (a post-first oil crisis measure) on cars with engines over 2.7 litres just as GM launched the LH in mid-'74, and only a few of each were built. The LH was then withdrawn temporarily and relaunched some months later with the Opel 1.9-litre I4 and floor-shift manual or automatic (SL only) gearboxes. Six-cylinder Toranas would never again be built in New Zealand and were only very rare imports after this. GM New Zealand also built a local version of the Australian Plus 4 'sports' special edition, but the changes were only cosmetic - bright paint colours, special wheel trims, black stripes and all-black interior trim.

[RallyRed]

Looks like a bathroom vanity at a nightclub?

[kudu]

Someone has put this up on Wiki.

 

New Zealand assembly got off to a troubled start. General Motors New Zealand, which still had a wide four-cylinder Vauxhall Viva/Magnum line on sale, had planned a 2850 six 'S' model with bench front seat and three-speed column manual shift and the 3300SL with bucket seats and four-speed manual or three-speed Trimatic floor shift. The New Zealand government, though, imposed a 60% sales tax (a post-first oil crisis measure) on cars with engines over 2.7 litres just as GM launched the LH in mid-'74, and only a few of each were built. The LH was then withdrawn temporarily and relaunched some months later with the Opel 1.9-litre I4 and floor-shift manual or automatic (SL only) gearboxes. Six-cylinder Toranas would never again be built in New Zealand and were only very rare imports after this. GM New Zealand also built a local version of the Australian Plus 4 'sports' special edition, but the changes were only cosmetic - bright paint colours, special wheel trims, black stripes and all-black interior trim.

 It would be neat to know the exact import numbers....

[S pack]

I had a chinwag today with a person that knows a lot more about GMH production stuff than I.

All Torana and Holden assembled at the Trentham VAP in NZ were built from CKD kits. No partially assembled bodies were exported to be completed in another country.

Apparently Trentham assembled Holden & Torana were not assigned a Chassis number. 

They got a Holden style VIN tag and Body ID Plate, that was all.

Edited by S pack, 13 February 2022 - 09:39 PM.

[kudu]

That's good.. It confirms what we've always been told.

[Stevo75]

Wire wheeled the rest of the area on mine back to the metal at the weekend.

Definitely no sign that there has ever been numbers stamped. So I guess that stands to reason then.

Also wire wheeled over the welds. Definitely same paint and primer as the rest of the car as I peeled through the layers.

Thanks for the research and intel everyone. Much appreciated.

[hanra]

Got a better pic of those welds there? 

[Stevo75]

I’ll get some weld photos up this weekend when I’m back down at the car.

[Shiney005]

I had a chinwag today with a person that knows a lot more about GMH production stuff than I.

All Torana and Holden assembled at the Trentham VAP in NZ were built from CKD kits. No partially assembled bodies were exported to be completed in another country.

Apparently Trentham assembled Holden & Torana were not assigned a Chassis number. 

They got a Holden style VIN tag and Body ID Plate, that was all.

So what about Eyepeeler's hatch? The photos I put up on page 1.  That one definitely was imported into Australia in the last ten years. No compliance plate, but does have a chassis number and EX on the build sheet.

Maybe some fully assembled cars were sent over in 1976? 

[LCK186]

Hi the only way to tell if the skirt panel has been removed is to clean the spot welds attached to radiator support, easy to identify spot welds,  the welds on the skirt dont look right,    Hanra has put up a clear photo of the 3 short welds, on how they should look

[S pack]

So what about Eyepeeler's hatch? The photos I put up on page 1.  That one definitely was imported into Australia in the last ten years. No compliance plate, but does have a chassis number and EX on the build sheet.

Maybe some fully assembled cars were sent over in 1976? 

Yes, Eyepeelers hatch was Made in Australia specifically for export to NZ, as a number of other Torana were.

I never said fully completed Torana were not built for export to NZ.

But it is a fact that NZ also locally assembled Torana CKD kits and as that Wikki article says the locally assembled Torana were fitted with the Opel 1900cc engine due to the Govt introducing a 60% sales tax on engine capacities over 2.7 litres.

 

 

Edited by S pack, 14 February 2022 - 05:29 PM.

[kudu]

Yes, Eyepeelers hatch was Made in Australia specifically for export to NZ, as a number of other Torana were.

I never said fully completed Torana were not built for export to NZ.

But it is a fact that NZ also locally assembled Torana CKD kits and as that Wikki article says the locally assembled Torana were fitted with the Opel 1900cc engine due to the Govt introducing a 60% sales tax on engine capacities over 2.7 litres.

 

 

 

So I wonder with that 2.7 limit whether that means ALL SL/R's were build in OZ? And they just never added an ADR plate, because us Kiwi's don't need to comply to any aussie rules!....LOL

[S pack]

So I wonder with that 2.7 limit whether that means ALL SL/R's were build in OZ? And they just never added an ADR plate, because us Kiwi's don't need to comply to any aussie rules!....LOL

The letter prefixing the PSN tells you where the car was built. The tag below says J580746X, the J stands for the GMH Dandenong VAP in Melbourne, Australia.

Any Holden or Torana assembled in the Trentham VAP in New Zealand will have a Z before the PSN instead of a J.

If this Torana had been built at the Elizabeth VAP in South Australia the prefix would be an L.

So if the Torana in the pic had been assembled in New Zealand the VIN number would read 8C77LG Z (followed by the 6 digit Trentham PSN) X.

 

[Stevo75]

Hi Guys

Here are a couple more photos of the welds that you were after.

Still looks original to my eye. Mainly because all the paint layers match the rest of the car. I guess someone could have used exactly the same paint layers ( including the red oxide primer) when repairing, but what are the chances.

Attached Files

•  FC79B18E-7CFA-4B26-BFA4-875442A2D72A.jpeg   583.61K   11 downloads
•  8A972980-3BD2-47ED-ADB9-DEA0A7347618.jpeg   445.76K   10 downloads