4CYL VN Commodore - POV Driving a literal museum piece

[@jrbuch]

I never ever knew that a 4 Cyl VN existed, so this is something new to me.. How interesting.

[@Michka1001]

All these old export Commodores are rare. Holden didn't sell many overseas and hardly any of them survived. This is amazing content, thanks for filming and uploading mate!

[@commodoreman1]

Thank you mate I really appreciate it! A proper tour video is coming :)

[@Michka1001]

@commodoreman1 you're most welcome mate! And that's awesome! I can't wait for it 😊

[@mattsterzz]

The reason we had it available in NZ is mainly for the company car market which was still a big thing back in the late 80s/early 90s. Holden didnt have a mid-sizer available here (we didnt get the Apollo) to compete against the top selling 2.0 litres (Galant/Corona/Telstar).When assembly wound up, we ended up getting the 1st gen Vectra which was never available in Aus.

[@jamestorrens645]

That head unit is a Toyota head unit from a 1989-1991 Holden Nova, which was on sale at the same time as the VN.

[@johnkirkilis34]

Awesome rare commodore ❤ ,wierd car.These cars should be preserved. It's special in its own way.

[@benglossop2603]

The Radio / Headunits are a Phillips. They were in the Australian VN's as well. But not common. They were an optional upgrade from the regular Eurovox headunits. The transmission would be the Jatco (Nissan) unit from the VL Commodore. They were marketed as a 4 speed. 3 speeds, with lockup torque converter overdrive (4th) controlled by the button on the shifter

[@chriss1905]

Nah, not on our VN/VP That head unit is out of the 89-91 Holden Apollo.

[@svd032]

It's not a Jatco. its an Asisn Warner.

[@chefmen101]

There is a story on the Holden retiree club about an experamental saab 2.3 turbo version of the vr calias for export, the main resion for use engine like the 2.0 family 2 the 2.6 C26NE and later the GME 2.5L V6 is that it woundn,t get hit with a high import tariff when getting exported to places like Malaysia,Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

[@bafg182]

There would have been some kind of tax bracket reason for selling a four cylinder VN in overseas markets. Lots of countries have extra taxes on cars over a certain engine size. For years, Ferrari made 2 litre V8s for Italy and other countries that had taxes on cars over 2 litres. Alfa Romeo did the same with the Busso V6 and BMW had the 2 litre sixes as well for this reason.

[@chriss1905]

In NZ, the Berlina was marketed as the base model, hence lower spec ( wind up windows etc ) The Executive was the mid spec model. BTW - That tape deck is straight out of an 89 JK Holden Apollo. I had one years back.

[@adrianlovic6486]

@@chriss1905 not here, exec was rubbish and if had Berlina U were the so precious la di daa family. Ooh we have hot food for dinner and my dad comes home at night because he's not in jail, that was the Berlina family. Decedent mf,s. Ooh your car has sun visors and electric window at the front, your so special. The execs, 2 speaker sound system was a luxury, & U unlock the passenger door by straining so U shit reaching over to the passenger door and if U didn't shit or pop out a joint U unlock the passengers door to let them in or U went ft I didn't see no one and drove off.

[@chriss1905]

@@adrianlovic6486 ..... ah, alright..... As I advised in my comments, NEW ZEALAND had Berlina as base, and Executive as mid spec. Don't really need a lecture on the socio economic variances of VN Commodore ownership, as I happen to own an original, ultra low km VN Series II Executive. I also happened to grow up in that period when they were new, and thus, have very comprehensive knowledge on all things Holden, Ford, Toyota etc etc of that era. Love your story, certainly woke me up and I bid you a pleasant day after you've taken your meds. 👍

[@adrianlovic6486]

NZ hav ford falcons? NE way U aware of the EA falcon. Had space for brake light on parcel shelf but minus the brake light , that was reserved for the EB. Ours was the worst car in the world, (single point EFI injector) uncles sII was S pack with multipoint EFI was his favourite (co.car). His bro. my uncle no. 2 hates ford with dedicated and white hot passion, but said the sII drove like a dream and has never experienced anything faster since. Lots of variation with 2 of the same cars. Don't start me with vns Buick v6, a rocket but a V8 crank on v6¿ Toyota, aware of Toyota Lexan? A VN, VP and VR Commodore with out the badge and #### squares spaced grill. Ford xd, xf ute and only the ute. Also made by Nissan. Xd Nissan ute. HQ Holden premiere export with 13 B rotary. Ford Telstar = Mazda 626.

[@chriss1905]

@@adrianlovic6486 seriously, dude... you're sounding absolutely bonkers trying to educate someone who obviously has very clear, and comprehensive knowledge. Go lie down a bit and refrain from making yourself look even more silly by responding to this post... Sheesh!

[@craig3916]

@@adrianlovic6486 lol. that's fantastic, read it thru again in my old dads voice n makes perfect sense. love it, funniest thing in years. u gotta great way about u. cheer

[@ryanapted3598]

A teacher at my high school in Auckland back in the 90's had one of these, I remember thinking how gutless it must be having a 2.0L in such a big car.

[@edwardtupper6374]

This was a New Zealand car imported into Australia, my neighbour in Mangere around 2000 had one this exact same colour, it could well be their car! I had a ride in it, it wasn't awful.

[@dazzlerjohnwatchman8215]

I had a 1991 late VN with VP engine upgrades. What a really cool hybrid you have here VL parts, Camira engine. No Aircon because it was in NZ! I bet the ones in Asia had aircon though. Great review your making me miss my VN.

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

Reminds me of the 4 pot VB's back in the day. The VB's sold locally but weren't desired and complete slugs. Same as Ford with the 3.2L in their EA which was also another failed fuel saver attempt.

[@bruce3870]

Vc had 4cyl . Vb never did. Look it up

[@I.Live4oldcars.prospecting]

Awesome video, awesome rare VN. I always heard about them. But this is the first time seeing one. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@dafalzonAUS]

I went to a European country in 06 called Malta and I couldn’t believe my eyes, when I saw a VN Commodore with a 4 cylinder engine for sale in a car yard, I didn’t realise they existed 😂

[@wattaman]

Head unit was common one sold at the time. Seen on lots of ford EA falcons

[@benglossop2603]

@@wattaman It was common on the Fords of the same era, but not on Holdens

[@chriss1905]

​​@@benglossop2603Falcons were same, but in black I believe. As for this one, its the identical one fitted in the 89-91 Holden Apollo. I had one from new years back

[@chriss1905]

​@@benglossop2603it was fitted to the Holden Apollo between 89 and 91.

[@commodorenut]

Many manufacturers used it, for both locally assembled cars, and imported ones (where the radio was often fitted locally during the compliance process). It was simply a supplied component. This one lights up green though. Most of the Ford ones light up orange. Smaller Holdens like the Pulsar also used it.

[@mrnicktoyou]

My first car was a VN Berlina which I owned from 1999 to 2001 and looking at that dash, it really makes me miss it. Maybe I should buy one again and hang on to it forever.

[@timfordfalconxf7714]

As a ford fan. This is still stanning. I love it :D

[@dr_redbanRL]

I miss my VN. $2500 of pure fun and way too much power for a first car

[@paulsz6194]

Obviously not the 4cyl version! 😂

[@dr_redbanRL]

@@paulsz6194 big 3.8 boi

[@gerrym75]

These are a NZ model - Berlina was the base with the 4cyl over there. Probably not super rare in NZ if they've survived.

[@markgriffiths3804]

There's no cat converter in these, because when they came out, leaded petrol was still available in NZ. I knew a few people who had these way back then and they were considered to be perfectly fine. I mean the 1.3 corolla sedan was also very popular, so fast cars were not that much of a priority back in the day. NZ assembled cars (except Mitsubishi) were always fairly povo in their spec compared to other markets, but they always had nice paint and were usually tuned for better handling because of our twisty, windy roads.

[@randomstuff797]

My mate just told me about this very car the other day and now you upload a video about it thank you

[@ESISTTIGER]

In NZ, Indonesian and Thailand the Executive and Berlina names were switched But also with aussie VN & VP berlinas they still didnt have power windows unless you got the power pack iption or Berlina LE variants

[@McMavTV]

They say the VN Commodore was the last Commodore to be assembled in New Zealand, and the fact that this 4cyl Family II engine is primarily for the NZ Market, never available to Australia - however was developed in Australia for our NZ friends. I guess it's that VN Commodore that is secretly on a diet, just because we never knew that a 4cyl version ever existed. But to the folks in NZ, it was not that rare to see.

[@naguoning]

I think it was more because of a combination of NZ and other export markets like Singapore, Thailand... Not sure if they went to Indonesia too (I know assembly stopped there with VLs that were 2.0L).

[@matttodd3778]

Awesome, thanks. The driving experience must wear thin after the first hill you encounter though. 😅

[@PunKtuRed_Jazz]

I was keeping a very sharp eye on this when it went under the hammer, good to see its gone to a good home

[@SideWAYS180]

Echuca holden musseum use to have an 88 model prototype vn calais with stateman front and manual v6 motor.. it had tags on it that werent stamped

[@lukeobrien9768]

Anyone else notice the "calais" two tone paint job? Strange for a Berlina. Quite typical to see wind up windows on early vn Berlinas. Amazing it has 4.11 gears from factory.

[@MuscleCarLover]

It is so fucking weird seeing a VN tachometer with the redline at 6,000 rpm. I hope that putting in a catalytic converter would make it legal for an occasional drive. Kinda a shame it doesn't have a VN shift handle though Also, the Thailand exports had the 2.6 litre Dual-Ram

[@MrVsbt1]

Doesn't the orange button on the t Bar shifter put it in 4th gear? Also that radio is possibly a AWA that came in barinas possibly Suzuki and ford lasers and EA Falcon of the same year as the VN. Since it has no catalytic converters wouldn't that mean it was meant to run on super (leadad fuel)

[@DounutCereal]

That radio I have seen before in a first gen X2 Hyundai Excel (Oct '89 - Oct '91) of all places, just with a Hyundai branded cassette door. I'm pretty sure they're an off the shelf Phillips unit from the era that was licensed out to whichever car maker wanted to use it It might not work because I think NZ may use different radio frequencies to Aus but I'm not 100% in the know there. If that's the case you could probably get it going oem style by transplanting the fascia of it onto an Aus spec radio body. I have one in my Hyundai spares stock if there's any interest in trying it

[@commodorenut]

The radio was common in late 80s Lasers, Pulsars, Astras and a host of other locally made cars. Hyundai still faced import tariffs back then, and like many imported cars, suffered additional import duties until the local content rules were dropped. To help offset this, they used locally sourced and fitted radios, fitted prior to distribution to dealers, where they got complianced. Ladas were also imported without radios, and had them fitted locally too, by the HDT workshops. Even late 80s Ferraris ran a locally fitted Eurovox - the same as the early VN Calais ones, with the joystick balance.

[@roberthornby3407]

The reason they had a 4 cylinder engine is because countries like Thailand had big tariffs on imports with bigger capacity engines.Maybe the same applied to NZ.

[@80s90sGuy]

I think these (the 4 cylinders) were made in New Zealand so the production line woukd be set up to make them as a 4 cylinder...

[@detailedbyben]

My berlina has manual windows also. It's a September 89

[@landcruiserguy]

Im in NZ and im pretty sure these were assembled here. I have seen quite a few of these. Seen loads of LD28 powered falcons too.

[@commodorenut]

@@landcruiserguy I know they assembled VLs in Trentham, but not sure if they got to the VN before it closed. It would make a lot of sense for this car to have been made there, because although it doesn’t have an Australian compliance plate, if it were made in Oz it should still have a body tag with the various options on it, like other export models. I guess we really need to see the VIN to see if it has an L in the tag number or not.

[@hendo337]

I was under the impression that engine, the Family 2 was nade in Brazil, maybe the LHD versions of that car were sold by GM Brasil as an Omega all stripped down like that. Most of that style Chevrolet Omega that are like a Vauxhall Carlton or Opel Omega which I have seen in Brazil have the 4.1L pushrod Chevrolet (250ci) I6. That are mostly stripped down in Berlina type trim. I spent 8 months in Brazil last year and I am going back on the of this month for another 3-6 months. I really want to buy a 1999-2000 model year "Australiano" Chevrolet Omega with the 3.8 Buick that meet the US 25 year import limitation. Would be the perfect stable mate for my 2004 Pontiac GTO 6spd, I even thought about swapping parts to have a Manual 4 door GTO and a Chevrolet Omega coupe with an extra 6.0L iron block and a 4L80e maybe pushing some boost. Would sort of ruin the originality of both but, it aure wpuld be something different and attention getting. I have had a '13 Caprice PPV and a '16 Chevrolet SS sedan. I absolutly love Holdens. I would buy every GTO, G8, PPV and SS that I could possibibly afford to build with a mean cammed LS. I even considered building a Cadillac Catera, a LHD Brazillian Chevrolet Omega is very attainable, in good condition $3,000-6,000USD after converting from BRL currency which is $5.56 per USD right now.

[@jb7591]

Family 2 motor assembled in Australia. During the life of the family 2 motor, Holden was Australia's largest exporter of manufactured goods.

[@GRUDGEPERFORMANCE]

The jatco trans has 4th gear engaged and disengaged by the pwr button on the shifter (in the vl) instead of having 4 numbered slots for gears on the console. Does this have the 4 speed same as vl in this case? Or is it the 3 speed version and the orange button does nothing... I would say with the 4.11 gears like the pintara have a 4speed

[@davidrochow9382]

I always thought the 4 cylinder Commodore was the Camira! I had the last model Camira station wagon ( I think it was the JE) with the 2 litre motor.

[@biastv1234]

For the NZ market, there could have been incentives for engines under 2 litres

[@gerardcrabb4556]

Kingwood got a rotary in Japan... Commodore always had a four at launch and NZ... VL in NZ got 2.0 RB too... ZB got turbo 4 fwd... Camira had poor quality early on later cars better with efi engine...

[@miakahleadem928]

Good old New Zealand commodore. I live in Echuca I don’t remember seeing that at the museum!

[@super_slav91]

This would make sense with a 5 speed manual. Someone near me has a UTE with a VW 1.9 or 2.0 PD Diesel, kept going thru too many Buicks, the VW goes strong.

[@roxannenuttall1510]

My grandparents owned a 1990 one of these with a 5 speed manual. Was a borg warner box. It was immaculate. I sold it on their behalf in 2012 here in NZ for $1,800 which was a struggle to do so. Now 12 years on it would probably sell at the drop of the hat, go figure.

[@troysanchez776]

I have driven a 5 speed Vauxhall Omega B 2.0. They're liveable for speed and reasonable for economy. They would have likely used bits from the facelift Rekord which had the Family 2.

[@gdawwg1125]

so more power than a Vk 6 cylinder

[@lucideuphoria7092]

Something like 25kw more than the red motor in the VB which is crazy and 4kw more then the carby 202 in the VK. I had a fuel injected VK with a 4spd manual and that thing was an absolute weapon in my head at the time. Had a tune, mild cam, full exhaust and a 3.55 LSD and felt so much faster than it actually was. Id say it would have pinned around 100rwkw.

[@gdawwg1125]

@lucideuphoria7092 to be fair even the red 202 probably had a better range of torque lower down But I agree at the time they seemed grunty But my modern standards slow as hell

[@kelstra1997]

It's my understanding that New Zealand VNs interchanged Berlina and Executive models. In other words our Executive was their Berlina and vice versa. That being the case, I assume this car wears Executive badges not Berlina ones. Nice report and I look forward to part 2.

[@trevorwakefiel870]

I think would of been popular as a local town or city car as petrol was even then so expensive per litre compared to Australian prices . Prob the Camira JE 2.0L 87 88 model engine and auto like we had then in fleet cars in a longtime previous job ..

[@maxwagland2862]

Funny seeing armstrong creek/marshall roads on your channel. You must live within a stones throw from me.. You’ve probably seen my ute around haha.

[@T0nyGTSt]

the reason these cars exists is some countries have punative taxes or rego for cars over 2.0 or 3.0 or 5.0 - some places like Thailand have so much traffic then perhaps they want a large bodied car but only a 2.0 to save tax.

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

On a scale of 1 to Starfire, how crap is the VN 4-cylinder? lol

[@BobbieSmith46]

I forgot they were called Starfire lol. We used to call them Misfire 😊

[@-sandman4605]

With that motor it just makes for a comfortable grocery getter, milk runner because as you said know power and thirsty.

[@paulsz6194]

Underpowered & thirsty wasn’t that the same story with the 4-cyl VC commodore with the 1.8L "Starfire" (backfire) engine ?

[@RUMBALman4downunder]

These were assembled in NZ

[@hendo337]

It must have been a country with a tax on displacement, small congested island without long highway trips, probably was super cheap with that lowly driveline, lacking options, AC, a catylist on the exhaust. Just a way for Holden to pump up volume with a loss leader type car.

[@rwd323]

I remember laughing at these as a kid, could tell them by the hubcaps and pee shooter exhaust

[@OrlandoBmz]

That’s crazy man !!! Never would have known about this. Hey by the way, what’s your set up for filming ? Is it a GoPro strapped to your chest or what man? Thanks

[@commodoreman1]

@@OrlandoBmz GoPro strapped to my hat haha. I posted a pic on insta

[@commodorenut]

NZ fuel prices were notoriously much higher than Australia, which is another reason for the VK still having the option of a 4 (despite being dumped in AU) RB20 VL, and Camira 2L VN.

[@PlaAwa]

north west! :)

[@svd032]

You'd think he'd put some research in.

[@adrianlovic6486]

The impossible made possible by gm, made a VN even worse.

[@steveallen1340]

Torana is the only car to be sold in Australia with a 4, 6 and 8?

[@peterc6547]

Commodore also. VC and VH if memory serves correctly had 4,6 and 8 cyl.

[@steveallen1340]

@@peterc6547 yes! You just triggered my memory, a mate actually had a 4 cylinder Commodore, it was either a VB or a VC.

[@lesklower7281]

Well the Holden Camira was a terrible car l actually have driven one as for the star fire 4 cylinder engine that is also not a very good engine available in the Toyota Corana also they were not a very good Toyota and l do remember the four cylinder VB Comadores l think l saw one or two and how you can tell its a 4 cylinder the wheels have only 4 wheel nuts that is also a very rare Holden as for the Toyota Lexcen was a rebadged Holden Comadore with the V6 and l am not a total Comadore freak but ldid own a VB Comadore with the 6 cylinder engine once but l am a Toyota nit love them as in automotive history Holden and Toyota did cross paths occasionally as did a lot other car makers

[@commodorenut]

1.9L starfire commodores were only in VC & VH in Australia. They ran Torana brakes and 13” 5-stud wheels (with a smaller PCD).

[@lesklower7281]

@@commodorenut l knew obviously about the VC four cylinder Commodores but also the VH and l knew the way you could tell if it was a four cylinder that it had something to do with the wheels they were smaller and even when l owned my VC Commodore people would ask me if was the four cylinder one but it was the six cylinder one the four cylinder ones must been rare

[@terrysimms6976]

have a look at toyota lexan

[@nuffytreez-ez1lx]

If it's regoed under a classic car being over 25 yrs old. I though it wouldn't be as hard to get on the road.

[@rebekahfrench5747]

No power house but different.. 😂😂

[@ruinersix]

Bloody hell that must be slow, lol.

[@PrisonerD]

Wouldn't have been a rocket, but also not as bad as it seems. The V6 VN only weighed 1300kg - this would have weighed less. Compared to modern cars they're pretty light, and a modern Mazda 6 is the bigger (and weighs 1600kg).

[@AnthonySlavin]

Omg why would you put a camira engine in a Comodore lol?🙄🤦 Would be an awesome car to use as a boat anchor lol. Nothing good about it apart from it's rarity other than that it's got nothing going for it at all. Wouldn't own it in a million years lol. It should stay in new Zealand because I hate it in a thousand ways lol.💩👎 The reason it's going to be terrible on fuel is because it's incredibly underpowered and weighs as much as The standard factory VN. Plus the 4.11 diff ratio would be killing it too. I certainly would have never bought it. Thanks for sharing but definitely a really weird car to actually put on here lol. 😅👍

[@terrysimms6976]

vn was a option at toyota

[@mainmansuperman]

Where's the windscreen wiper stalk!?

[@chriss1905]

Its the switch on lower right hand side of instrument pod. You twist it down to switch them on

[@paulsz6194]

Obviously a dealer fitted option, and the first owner declined that one 😂

[@MrMysto]

Blow smoke?

[@tigarturner1877]

Buzz buzz instead of mang mang lol they probably too scared to sell in Australia as camira was a disaster

[@SLR-hn5yy]

Starfish four

[@sammy-ko6bs]

From bad to worst 😂

[@TristanNichols-zw8tx]

No its not there's other 4 cylinder vs vr statos in Australia

[@korkad204]

Priceless😂👌 you have to try and hit the limiter just once

[@mick00000000002]

)))))) mick Australia 🇦🇺

[@peterkingsley2863]

Hmm no rego,insurance I hope at least

[@commodoreman1]

Permit and Insured of course

[@Luxstato]

Dose this mean it’s the rarest Holden in Australia How would this work?

[@rods6405]

Are back when we had a car industry! Thanks Labor and Liberal pr_cks!

[@lukerodman5083]

is looks like driving a 2000 toyota echo

[@paulsz6194]

Echo had its digital instrument cluster in the centre of the dash, don’t see the similarities there, lol…

[@commodorenut]

The financial sense isn’t that hard to understand when you factor in that it’s a “parts bin” special for the most part. I reckon it’s till running the JD Camira leaded Bosch L-Jetronic EFI system, which would explain the Bosch vane airflow meter in the airbox lid (and it would be bugger all extra work to tune it for 2L vs the already developed Camira EFI 1.8L used from 84-86). Those Bosch systems were limited to leaded cars - Holden had to step up to the Delco on the unleaded VN and ULP Camira for the additional functionality that the Bosch system couldn’t offer for ULP. So you can see the development would have been minimal. It’s likely to have a separate transmission ECU under the dash somewhere too.

[@benglossop2603]

Hi commodorenut, been a while since I've seen content from you. The trans computer would be more than likely the same as the VL Commodore AT1 / AT2 unit I'm guessing. VK EFi had that vane type air flow meter as well

[@commodorenut]

@@benglossop2603 yes, I’d agree it’s likely the same ECU. The vane airflow meter was common on all Bosch L-Jetronic EFI cars - the VK, JD, and even the XE and leaded XF EFI cars ran it.

[@paulsz6194]

But at least it used the commodore memcal ECU.. just a ROM chip change between, Camira, Commodore , & N13 Pulsar…

[@wilsondriver654]

Engine is north west? Haha

[@TheBeardedMiracle]

these videos have been popping up in my reels. Try to enjoy them but he keeps getting stuff wrong

[@commodoreman1]

Like what?

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Send it back to NZ. A very nasty Commodore with a Camira engine. What could go wrong, and will!