Chris, if you're reading this, please don't take it personally, but I gotta vent. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I bought the Ute, and would do it all again, but this car/truck was just a mess and needed some serious TLC. My first clue was when it wouldn't start in freezing temps in St Louis, requiring the winch to get it into the trailer. When I got it home and checked the oil, it looked like mud and was actually full of gas I assume from excessive cranking. So the first thing I did was replace the oil and filter. To try and resolve the cold starting issue I have replaced the plugs, leads, coil, dizzy cap and rotor, coolent temp sensor, and installed an MSD 6AL. The plugs that were in it were the wrong ones and two of them were loose. The TBI 350 is from a 93-95 truck or suburban as is the 4L60E trans. I'd say its a high mile unit, but when running seems to run good and make good power without smoke. It still has the cold start issue and smells of gas when running so I have a used TBI unit on the way from Ebay as I suspect the regulator.
While I had it up on the lift I checked all the basics and could tell the front U-joint was shot so I replaced that. The old one was so badly rusted that the needles were practically dust. Try walking into an auto parts store in the US and asking for a front U-joint for a Holden HQ...but I was able to get one thankfully. I also noticed that the transmission crossmember was not bolted in and was just resting on the chassis mounts so I put some bolts in. There is rust in the rocker panels but the floors are solid. The right rear tyre had a nail in it so I plugged that. The water pump was shot so that was replaced. All the accessories have been relocated to move the power steering pump to the right side, but unfortunately this means that the serpentine belt only contacts the crank pulley for about 1.5" and the belt slips. I have ordered a longer belt and I hope I can reroute it to get more pulley contact as the squeeling is driving me crazy. There was a coolant leak from the back of the intake because the rear two intake bolts were missing. Oh and the serp belt was cutting into the lower radiator hose so I replaced that as well. The bench seat is trashed but I have a pair of grey leather buckets from a Honda that may fit nicely. None of the gauges work with the exception of the tach.
So what else...? The two tie rods are bent, the lower ball joints were installed with a sledge hammer, the left exhaust manifold is cracked, the speedo needle is missing, etc etc. Still, how often do you see one for sale in the US? And I sold the Probe for $600, a nice profit.
