Original v Repro

[Blocker]

I'm rebuilding a early HJ 253. There are a number of parts that need replacing because of age and wear, for example the inlet manifold and water pump are two stand out items.

I'm deciding weather to go with a good replacement water pump straight out of the box, or hunt down a NOS or excellent original... what are your thoughts and opinions?

[L31 Sandman]

I think it depends on the rarity of the car and what you can and cant see at a glance! I wouldn't be to fussed on a water pump and having said that if you tracked down an orignal pump you might be to scared to use it, it would be rare too!:happy:

[Dago]

I've decided to go down the 'close enough to original will be good enough' path. As long as my HX doesn't have a yellow needle dash or short tail lion caps for example I'll be happy. Original colour inside and out, but non original 308 motor isn't going to bother me, nor will an aftermarket seatbelt stalk. I'm looking for an awesome cruise van, not an award winning original item.

[ozbox]

anal restoration..absolutely correct..yes do the original pump..close but not 100%..do a good new pump..most people wont pick it...you need to decide..ANAL..or CLOSE..close would put it in the 95% plus ..only commited enthusiasts will be able to tell...remember this but..ANAL= thousands more dollars..not 100s.

[Vombil]

i reckon the bulk of the buying public wouldnt pick aftermarket from original from NOS. Personally, i think that restorations have to be somewhat economical unless you plan to keep it for a lifetime on show in a museum. Absinth hit the nail on the head in the 'whats it worth' thread. Go anal and your gonna do your dough. Go mid way and you might break even. Go bodgy and youll turn a profit

[wbute]

I reckon a new water pump that stops your motor from cooking is the important thing. I would never even look at a water pump to see if it was NOS. But I do hate the look of the crappy after market fuel pump on my ute and also did not swap my inlet manifold for the new Edlebrock one I had because I wanted to keep the original manifold. Manifolds stand out like dogs balls to me. Try and find a good original one of them, but I think they would be very hard to find.
So.... if you find a nos pump for the right price grab it. Otherwise I would just be happy with good coolant flow from any new pump. But most importantly, run good coolant so you avoid buggered manifolds in the future.

[jennie285]

Rodney and I just discussed this, he said he wasn't putting a ##%%&& old water pump on, it could do a number of things, an older water pump could do a bearing, and the fans hits the radiator, impeller not turning therefore water not circulating...we put we put a new repro one on, and have thus far had no trouble...and we tried to be as original as was sensible. Of course this will be controversial but Rodney said, you throw old water pumps away....and as for the manifold, we used a KC which Rodney thought was close looking to the original manifold, apart from the issue with casting sand, he is happy with it...

[HK1837]

Just use a new water pump supplied by GMH for a VSIII if they still have them. It'll mean a WB pulley but so what?

Original inlets are easy to find so i'd get one of those.

[Blocker]

I found a repro water pump and although it looks 'like' my crusty one there are noticeable differences... actually I'll have a look see and get a part number I guess the likelihood of it being original original is not so high.

[HK1837]

Personally I reckon you'd be crazy doing an anal resto on a HJ 253 Sandman. It'll cost you 3+ x what the car would be worth finished! For a HT-HO or a GTS327 or A9X it is understandable, but for a far less valuable vehicle just restoring it to be useable is the go in my opinion. The whole date code, NOS numbers matching BS belongs in the muscle car arena, not the Sandman/GTR/SLR realm! If the car is a proper survivor though it is worth trying to make it right, but once it is painted close enough is good enough in my eyes!

On the water pump issue, the best ones I have found are the later pumps to suit mid VB onwards (up to VSIII in late 2000). These have a longer bearing and have a sandwich plate at the back of the pump. The pump is longer so you need a shallower pulley and need to shorten the fan spacer by about 20mm or so. When I put one of these pumps on my old Overlander 308 all overheating issues dissapeared. It had one of the awful fan type impellers on it, the later pumps have a cast barrel style impeller. I am sure GMH still sell them new in boxes, they'll be an aftermarket part though. Super Cheap even sell them.