Classic Holden and Mopar experts
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Printed Date: 02 Jun 2026 at 5:54am
Topic: Classic Holden and Mopar experts
Posted By: Moocha
Subject: Classic Holden and Mopar experts
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 10:09am
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Hi all , does anyone know who are the go to peeps for Classic Holdens or Mopars in Auckland ? Any tips appreciated ta.
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Replies:
Posted By: fish-feeder
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 10:52am
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WOW the two makes are polar oppisites! Ive owned mopar for a long time,im a panelbeater/painter,and ive never owned a holden....they rust like they were made to.
I know of a 2011 challenger 392 (whale engine ) #792 of a 1100 build....1600km on the clock,6speed manual,roughly be around 70-80k when it comes up for sale.
Depends what style body he is after,IE: A body and so on.
Valiants are ok,if you buy from the lower south island,Gore is the valiant capitol of NZ,they have next to no rust in them down there.
Dodge's.....expect to pay good coin for them in the last decade.If he wants a mopar on the cheap,get a VF/VG valiant hardtop (same as a US dodge dart from the firewall back) and biff a dart front clip on it.They are nice looking cars,but do have alot of flex if you go anything bigger than a 360/383...my last one was a 440 with tubular front end to keep it from twisting too much.
I sold that and went for fins,now ive got a 58 plymouth savoy,same as christine but a 4door.
Theres more aftermarket parts for GM in NZ,most parts for mopars are easy to find,but in the US.
Tell him to get on nzmoparforum.co.nz and have a look around ------------- dont get my personality mixed up with my attitude,my personality is me,my attitude depends on you. |
Posted By: Telecaster
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 11:02am
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VF val with a 440 is my dream muscle car. one day. |
Posted By: Space Invader
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 11:09am
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No good to you now, but this was a bit of a bargain in my view. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/chrysler/auction-809342468.htm
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Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 2:27pm
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All good comments from FF.. but watch the old valiants up here....to get one thats solid.. with full solid repairs...they are few and far between simily because by design they rusted bad.... Ford.. mc pherson strut .. well be it Aussie/ british or American, they all rust out in the same places... serious structural... like the old escorts and cortinas.... Theres more aftermarket parts for GM in NZ Hell yeah.. want a tie rod end , suspension bush even a set of 1st gen rear brake shoes.. pic up straight off the shelf....the brake shoes ... yesterday $55... cheaper than most modern or classic ford/ mopar.. by far......want a new carpet for a chev muscle car... off the shelf. Also things like door locks, ball joints, water hoses, heater radiators, chassis bushes .. so much stuff interchangeable between HK HT HQ and HZ....yet the American equivalent tends to be cheaper. One can get damn near anything for classic GM/ chev... right down to the nylon roller that sits in the windup mechanism of a door window |
Posted By: smelli
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 2:40pm
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Little off topic but for you V8 guyscheck out this v8 i just found.. Genius and has the sound of a big v8 too.. http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2012/08/27/video-tiny-ardun-v8-hear-it-roar/" rel="nofollow - http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2012/08/27/video-tiny-ardun-v8-hear-it-roar/ ------------- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=717361 |
Posted By: CanadianJohn
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 4:02pm
sounds like parts for gm's are alot more readily available. problem with that is, your driving a gm not a mopar  i had a few dodge darts as my daily drivers before moving to nz. loved them, would drive nothing but if i had a choice. but they are too dear and i have no where to keep one at the moment except street parking. plus, i knew alot of mopars fans back in canada and getting parts and work done was a breeze, easier then a modern jap car. so an answer to the OPs question would be appreciated by me as well. anyone know who are the guys to talk to about mopars in auckland? |
Posted By: Moocha
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2014 at 4:44pm
Food for thought fellas  and thanks for the PM's much appreciated.
Thouhgts on 400 Chevy small blocks just to throw it out there ??
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Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2014 at 10:01am
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400 in a light weight street car... nope.. a popular choice back in the 70s 80s....for those who got sucked into the marketing propaganda of all the cheap runner engines being imported back then... and some of the propaganda bs still hangs around Want cubes go BB....want a good V8 cruiser that will show off every now and then sb.. get the cam torque curves etc right and even with old school carb, right choice dynmamic compression ratio, cam engine dialed in right to establish correct tuning specs.... one can have a quick economic sb cruiser old school muscle car. Like my boy racer rotary son said driving a 1st gen down at beach hop...."who needs to show of when cruising a 1st gen Camaro...." getting parts and work done was a breeze, easier then a modern jap car. Hell yeah...or modern Aussie car... and 1/2 the price and better quality. |
Posted By: fish-feeder
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2014 at 10:55am
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personally...from a mopar standpoint....if you want a bullet proof BB engine,splash out and get a 426 hemi (elephant engine)....best V8 ever made...EVER! They are still legendary these days thanks to richard petty in the real nascar days....race on sunday and sell on monday was their motto.
for a small block mopar engine...a 383 would be my choice,most mopar engines are over engineered to the point they can take a massive boring and also handle stroking well.
A good example of this is the 265 hemi from chrysler US,theres one in OZ that makes over 1000hp and runs a 7sec pass...all from a 40yr old 6cyl that was made for trucks in the US,then passed out od production cause they thought it was sub par..... search youtube for "justa6"
Thats the reason they were banned from stock cars awhile back,they just pissed over every other engine,and can rev all day long........another reason they were used in jet boats also.
Ok enough of trying to convert you all to be mopar nuts. ------------- dont get my personality mixed up with my attitude,my personality is me,my attitude depends on you. |
Posted By: Raumatibeach
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2014 at 11:12pm
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From memory valiants are pretty notorious for rust around where the steering box meets the chassis rail so thats always worth checking out. http://valigrunt.com/chassis-rail-rust-repair-and-a-new-front-end-setup Also chargers like falcon coupes have a decent sized rear windscreen but its on an huge angle so it makes reversing them quite interesting if you dont have a reversing camera. ------------- Get off my lawn.... |
Posted By: Raumatibeach
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2014 at 11:17pm
There was a dodge polara dissolving in the front yard of a house in Porirua a few years back and I think it had a 426 in it, I heard the owner was doing a long stretch inside and his wife wouldnt sell so it just sat and rusted away .It would have been an awesome ride in its day. I remember seeing an E49 in lower hutt years ago that had twin gas filler caps on it that would be worth an absolute fortune these days too. ------------- Get off my lawn.... |
fish-feeder wrote:Posted By: slayliner
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2014 at 8:45am
| Nothing wrong with a 400 sb , plenty of torque and light weight .They never really come out as a performance motor but with decent heads and cam they went well .Hard to find a good one these days .They are a bit harder to keep cool than say a 350 , also better with an after market block .Best would be a 383 , 400 crank in a 350 block |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2014 at 2:09pm
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Tidying looking car, not bad dollars either. Nothing wrong with the 265 hemi that's in it. Good head, cam and set of carbs and you will be very surprised by the hp these motors can produce when treated well. Didn't look to rusty in the photos either but a good panel beater can check that out for you. I personally wouldn't put a bigger donk in it, to many hassles with vinning a modified car now adays and I Think it would be worth more as a stocker. Try getting a hold of the valiant car club, they will put you in the right direction. |