Holden Statesman Problems

OPINION varies on the suitability of the Alloytec V6 for conversion to LPG. Holden is adamant that the engine needs the hardened valves and valve seats it fits to its LPG-compatible 175kW engine. Reports suggest that heads require rebuilds as low as 50,000km when you run the standard Alloytec engine on LPG. Some converters will tell you there is no problem, and that they have successfully converted a number of Commodores. The best policy would be to have hardened valves and valve seats fitted and a sequential-injection LPG system fitted.

LIKE all carmakers, Holden advises against converting their cars to LPG unless the engine has been modified by the factory. But there are plenty of LPG specialists who will convert your car to dual-fuel. Impco has an excellent dual-fuel system for the 5.7-litre V8 using Sequential Gas Injection.

LIKE the Commodore, the Statesman has semi-trailing arm independent rear suspension, which is a compromise design, and without adjustment you can get high wear on the inside edges of the rear tyres. Head to a suspension shop and they should be able to fix your problem.

THE V8 Adventra was a bit of a dog in many respects, but 20 litres/100km is a bit too high. The Adventra is a heavy old nail so I would expect it to be pretty thirsty. I would think it should get 16-17 litres/100km on average. The only thing you can do is to make sure all is well with the engine and the electronics controlling it, make sure your tyres are inflated correctly and that wheel alignment is correct.

HAVING the correct diff oil is important, particularly if you drive the car hard and really make the diff work. If they have used the incorrect oil because they failed to recognise the car had a limited-slip diff, I would pressure them to replace the diff. If that doesn't work, pursue the problem with Holden.

THE Statesman International was a special-edition model released on the regular Statesman and included several features not on the normal car. As Holden has told you, I don't believe they were individually numbered, but you can readily identify which car yours is by the VIN number.

I'M SURE you could fit an auto to the Moke. After all, the Mini was sold with automatic transmission and the Moke is just a Mini in fatigues. If you really want to do it, try Northern Mini Parts who, I'm sure, could do a transplant for you. But I wouldn't recommend doing the conversion. Get a friend to go with you and learn to drive the Moke in manual form.

I ASKED the experts at LPG Australia. Their opinion is that plastic is fine when new, but over time deteriorates and can become increasingly brittle. If, for whatever reason, a brittle plastic manifold were subject to extra pressure during a backfire on LPG with a first or second-generation system (where air and fuel are mixed in the manifold), then damage could result. Based on that, I would opt for the sequential vapour injection, even though it costs more. The only injection system that I know of being offered commercially for the 5.7-litre V8 is through Victorian Autogas (a Tartarini system) which is a slave system. It takes an injector pulse and seems to sort out the mixture at high revs. Victorian Autogas has tested the system on an SS Commodore with success. They can be contacted on 1800 620 945.