Anyone know this Monaro?

[Capri_Ghia]

Hi, long time lurker on this forum. It contains a wealth of knowledge. I'm looking to buy a Monaro and nearly bought one last year but was put off somewhat by the demise of Monkfish.

Started looking again and am going to see this car at the weekend :

https://www.centralcarclearance.co.uk/used-car-det...

Apparently has a FSH and is standard apart from the exhaust.

Any opinions?

Thanks

[selym]

Don't be put off by the demise of Monkfish - you can source whatever you like. I've recently bought an OTR intake, water pump and thermostat from the USA, a prop support bearing from Australia and a radiator from Wrexham! Part of the fun is hunting the bits down - in some cases cheaper too!

[mfp4073]

I don't know the car, but it looks nice and clean and the mileage is nothing to worry about as far as the engine goes. I would be checking under the car for rust and also the radiator for leaks as the display on the dash is showing low coolant.
With a Monaro it depends on what you want from the car. If you are likely to upgrade the car I would look for one that has already been done, believe me it will save you a lot of money.
A car of that age will no doubt want the suspension bushes and shocks replaced as they could be quite worn. Check the history file to see if the spigot bearing has been changed, hopefully this will have been done together with a decent clutch. If not be careful, that £20 bearing can trash a gearbox.
The brakes on that version are also lacking in stopping power if you drive the car hard.
If you click onto my user name, mfp4073 I have listed the things I've had done to my car. Some of these won't need doing, if not to your taste, but it will give you an insight as to the things a lot of Monaro owners end up doing.
These are great cars if you get a good one, and you happen to like muscle cars. My advice is to think about what you want out of the car and check out as many as you can.
Good luck.
John

[THUNDER STORM]

Also on that age of car the brake lines need defo inspecting with car in the air and check for the rust under the rubber blocks holding pipes in position. My brake pipes were great every where except behind the rubber blocks, the were well rotten. Replaced all lines with non rusting copper nickel pipes.

Ade

[bigwheel]

mfp4073 said:

I don't know the car, but it looks nice and clean and the mileage is nothing to worry about as far as the engine goes. I would be checking under the car for rust and also the radiator for leaks as the display on the dash is showing low coolant.

I notice the low coolant dash warning and it's a '04 car.
Do the '05 cars have a low coolant warning for the dash? Just wondering as the '05 cars don't have a pressurised header tank. Maybe a sensor on the side of the radiator?

[mfp4073]

bigwheel said:

I notice the low coolant dash warning and it's a '04 car.
Do the '05 cars have a low coolant warning for the dash? Just wondering as the '05 cars don't have a pressurised header tank. Maybe a sensor on the side of the radiator?

That is a good point. I too have an 05 car, and I would be very surprised if they did not.

[Capri_Ghia]

Thanks for the replies.

I spotted the low coolant warning in the photos and have raised that with the dealer. I'll be looking closely for any leaks around the radiator and hoses.

The brake lines are something I will definitely replace ASAP should I buy the car. Had one fail on my current motor this year whilst driving and it's no joke! It's something I hope to never experience again.

[JAMESHSV1]

Capri_Ghia said:

Hi, long time lurker on this forum. It contains a wealth of knowledge. I'm looking to buy a Monaro and nearly bought one last year but was put off somewhat by the demise of Monkfish.

Started looking again and am going to see this car at the weekend :

https://www.centralcarclearance.co.uk/used-car-det...

Apparently has a FSH and is standard apart from the exhaust.

Any opinions?

Thanks

personally as much as that is a lovely looking car i would hold out for a modded car especially with better brakes standard brakes are dangerois

[91964]

For that money you could (almost) convince me to sell mine! Which is I promise is much nicer, with all the right mods and much lower miles.........I fancy trying a four door.

[throwyourbike]

MWP have a supercharged one with all the right mods for the bargain price of £10,995..... albeit with no warranty.

Note to mods, I have absolutely zero connection with MWP, just spotted it on eBay earlier.

[91964]

throwyourbike said:

MWP have a supercharged one with all the right mods for the bargain price of £10,995..... albeit with no warranty.

Note to mods, I have absolutely zero connection with MWP, just spotted it on eBay earlier.

I’ve seen that also. Would be interesting to know the full story. They don’t state what is wrong with it but it seems very cheap

[Capri_Ghia]

I have seen the ad for that supercharged Monaro. I get the impression that there's something up with the car.

I've got limited choice as I need a large boot car, preferably in black. Only a few options nationwide at the moment. Are the brakes on the original CV8 really that bad?

I'm off to look at the car in my first post shortly...

[rubes78]

Capri_Ghia said:

Are the brakes on the original CV8 really that bad?

All depends on how you're going to drive it. Whilst they certainly wouldn't inspire confidence on the track I never subscribed to the idea that they were dangerous. I had the originals with yellow stuff pads on my CV8. Whilst I always wanted the AP conversion I could never justify the cost and ultimately they did the job.
I'd echo the comments on here about finding one with the mods you want already done. And one that has already been undersealed would be a must for me if I was getting another one now.

[wozzza]

I have a 5.7 VXR. And that had the bigger VXR brakes. Even those aren't great. I could get them to fade on the road easily.

I cooked them on a drive out with a Golf gti and a couple others cars and they were never the same after that.

AP's you will never have that problem. Just depends how aggressive you drive though. If I'm out on some country roads. I tend to be the one overtaking everything and going into bends as fast as possible. So the brakes get a workout.

[THUNDER STORM]

wozzza said:

I have a 5.7 VXR. And that had the bigger VXR brakes. Even those aren't great. I could get them to fade on the road easily.

I cooked them on a drive out with a Golf gti and a couple others cars and they were never the same after that.

AP's you will never have that problem. Just depends how aggressive you drive though. If I'm out on some country roads. I tend to be the one overtaking everything and going into bends as fast as possible. So the brakes get a workout.

If you put yellow stuff EBC pads on VXR there is no problem from my experiance driving in the Alps.

Ade

[Nickyboy]

It's a nice looking car but at least £2k over priced, i only paid £9k for my facelift last year with less miles.

How about this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Holden-Monaro-...

[Capri_Ghia]

I generally don't drive my cars that hard but I do like to enjoy their performance whilst being safe. I think APs would be more than I'd need as I wouldn't take the car to a track. VXR brakes would be nice in a ideal world.

There are some nice looking Monaro's on the market at the mo but as I said in a previous post I need a large boot version.

I did go to see the car from my first post. Good overall condition and drives well but still on original clutch and basic brakes. No documented spigot bearing change. I agree with the comments some of you have made that it's over-priced for what it is.

[SturdyHSV]

Capri_Ghia said:

I generally don't drive my cars that hard but I do like to enjoy their performance whilst being safe. I think APs would be more than I'd need as I wouldn't take the car to a track. VXR brakes would be nice in a ideal world.

There are some nice looking Monaro's on the market at the mo but as I said in a previous post I need a large boot version.

I did go to see the car from my first post. Good overall condition and drives well but still on original clutch and basic brakes. No documented spigot bearing change. I agree with the comments some of you have made that it's over-priced for what it is.

If you do get a CV8 with standard brakes, let me know if you'd like some VXR brakes as an upgrade, as the opportunity to sell my VXR ones would probably be enough to push me in to an AP upgrade...

[wozzza]

SturdyHSV said:

If you do get a CV8 with standard brakes, let me know if you'd like some VXR brakes as an upgrade, as the opportunity to sell my VXR ones would probably be enough to push me in to an AP upgrade...

Just do it already. Just think, you'll have better stopping power. Now you can justify more engine mods....

[fred bloggs]

Capri_Ghia said:

I have seen the ad for that supercharged Monaro. I get the impression that there's something up with the car.

When a dealer tries to say things like trade sale and No warranty, you know they know something. And as a dealer they still are obligated to sell a good car.