Hi,
I am about to buy a VT Calais with a fuel injected 5 litre and auto in it. I am going to put it in my HX Sandman ute when I finally get the body work done.
Just wondering what I need for the conversion? I am planning on having factory integrated AC and have the full system to put in it. Also I want power steering.
I really wanted a manual but at this stage I will settle for the auto.

Thanks HK. I have some of that already which is good. PM sent.

I deleted a few so you should be able to get one through.

Although you’ve probably picked the best engine (other than a 195kW or 350ci version) you’ve picked the hardest conversion as a VT has further challenges including:

Two O2 sensors.
No speedo cable drive.
Larger ECU.

Don’t dispose of the car either, as you are going to want certain brackets off it like the cruise control module mount.

Mick might be able to tell you what 4L60E to get an extension housing off to modify the box to get a speedo drive, then you just use a HJ-HZ TH400 speedo cable.

If you come across a HJ-HZ TH400 wagon, Statesman, ute or van tailshaft cheap grab it. I reckon it will go close. TH400 is 29” long and 4L60 is 30” but the TH400 also has that monster yoke. The only trick is you need a cab-chassis front yoke as the TH400 tailshaft from a 308 car has the 1 1/8” front uni so you need the tonner yoke.

Have you decided how to do the A/C? Using integrated factory stuff or Vintage Air type stuff? You won’t be able to use the VT compressor as it hits the steering box, so it’ll need a custom mount over on the passenger side. You will be able to use the HQ-WB condensor and drier though. If I was doing a HQ-WB today I’d use a Vintage Air setup under the dash, you replace the factory fan box with a flat plate and fit a small 4gang bulkhead fitting like the attached for the two heater hoses and the two refrigerant lines. You can leave the driver’s side fresh air vent and control slide for it and possible even leave the passenger side one there too, depending on how you mount the A/C box.

https://speedyairspares....ead_Fittings-175-1.html

I’m about to embark on fitting a Vintage Air unit to my HK, it means losing the glovebox but I’m going to leave a shallow compartment there to mount all the accessory fuses and relays like feeds to the A/C, FG Falcon radiator fan, fuel pump, power for the Holley Sniper etc.

Here is a Vintage Air unit in a HJ:

https://www.aussiev8.com...75-my-hj-premier-55.html

What if you could put a rack and pinion steering on it and use all of the VT up dated gear one belt driving all air-con ect, I hate all that old belt crap. the VT setup is just so much better.

I think that the air-con compressor siting how they were up high in the old Holden's was just crap with such a long belt, at least they were better than the Falcon crap old backwards compressor.

Maybe look at doing a electric steering setup ?

I've done several of these conversions & the power steer pump is not the issue, just use the Holden one & all of the hoses etc. will remain as is.

My recommendation would be to keep all of the VT p/st & alternator drive set-up, they are by far the best of all the different variations of Holden V8s. The only part you can't use is the A/C mount, because it fouls the HX p/st box.

You will then need to make a custom set of brackets for the A/C compressor & then you could use any modern style of compressor you want. Best spot is high on the passenger side of the engine & use an 'S' shaped intake hose from the air cleaner box. I should mention that I fit the battery on the driver side firstly, that allows room for the air intake on the other side.

It's best to keep everything as simple as you can & use as many factory parts as you can to make future repairs & service easy.

The other thing is the fuel pump, don't try & re-invent the wheel, use the VT MTA kit. That way you won't need a swirl pot with 2 pumps & all of that junk.

Dr Terry

My HK tank is being modded right now for a VT MRA setup. Only trick is the tank has to be less than 310mm high, I had to lower a section to the same level as the original sender/pickup to get the right height, you may have to do the same on a W size commercial tank.

So I can pull the MRA out of the VT tank and use it?

I did notice a post on Oldholden (when searching on Google for something unrelated) that a bloke had put a Commodore/Calais sedan tank on a HZ ute where the spare wheel goes. It looked neat, not sure if he had removed the spare wheel winch supports or not. Plumbing the filler neck up would be a mission though unless you did something tricky like fit a sedan/wagon rear number plate hinge and a filler neck behind it, and leave the original filler neck there as a dummy. Otherwise you'd need a pretty long filler neck tube. It would allow you to run a good dual system though without the original tank in place. Here is the picture:

http://oldholden.com/node/60520

When I was doing the VP 5.0L conversion on my Overlander I got a VN SS tank and straps. At the time I had a HX tonner in my shed with the tank removed. The VN tank fitted easily up high where the standard tank went between the tailshaft and the tonner tray support. The ute and van chassis is shorter in that area (betwen the cabin back and the diff) but your VT tank may well fit there. Would be a fair bit of work though unless the body is separated from the chassis. I was just going to fit some gal Unistrut across the tonner tray supports (which aren't there on a ute/van of course) and use the factory VN straps and booker rod hanging off the Unistrut. The fuel filler was going to be a mission though, but with a ute/van that would be easier.

What are you going to do with the radiator ? try and set up and use the VT type of thing to fit the HX.

I have a V8 WB radiator and a couple of WB radiator support panels I can cut up. So now that HK has mentioned that as an option, I may as well do that.
My Sandman is missing it’s engine and gearbox so I see no reason not to modify it a bit. I am not going to sell it anyway, so I will do it to get the best result, not a factory restoration. They have been done to death with Sandmans lately anyway. I liked the retro tech thing in the 90’s so that’s why I went with the fuel injected 5 litre.