Wish list of factory options for the 1970's Sandman.

[Dr Terry]

What's wrong with the unleaded VL 304 carby V8 ? They had big valves heads as standard & even with their lower compression ratio went harder than a stock VK V8. They had a Rochester & a HEI dissy, it was quite a good package.

The VL RB30-E was typically Japanese, beautifully built & good in early life but they didn't age too well, especially the electronics. I've now closed my workshop where I serviced & repaired 1,000s of VLs, & now I sell parts for them. Distributors (crank sensors), injectors, fuel regulators, idle motors, air flow meters, ECUs, etc. etc. all have a higher failure rate nowadays than their V6 equivalents, but they are good for business.

As Byron has said, they would have been useless in a commercial application, not enough torque.

Dr Terry

[HK1837]

What's wrong with the unleaded VL 304 carby V8 ? They had big valves heads as standard & even with their lower compression ratio went harder than a stock VK V8. They had a Rochester & a HEI dissy, it was quite a good package.

More a comment about their modern day usage rather than what they'd be like in their day. Stuck with cats and the inability to legally modify them too much without making them non-emisssions compliant. Plus the lack of a manual box, although given HDT and HSV fitted a T5 to their VL's I guess we may have seen a WD/WE with a T5 behind the VL's 304. As a standard thing though a ULP, carbied 304 with trimatic would have been a pretty good thing in a W size ute or tonner. I guess the fact the old 202 was due for extinction and they knew the 3.0L Nissan engine would be a dud in a commercial was one of the big reasons the WB finished when it did. Other reasons like low sales etc of course! If you really wanted a 6cyl ute or van you could have bought a Ford.