The was a medium-sized family
Car produced by
Holden , the
Australia n subsidiary of
General Motors . It was Holden's version of GM's
J-body family of cars, which also included the
Opel Ascona and the
Chevrolet Cavalier .
Automobile Information
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JB
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1982-1984
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16 L ''Camtech'' I4
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4-speed manual<br />5-speed manual<br />3-speed automatic
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4-door Sedan <br />4-door Station Wagon
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The first Camira, the JB, was introduced in
1982 to replace the
Torana , with a major trans-Tasman marketing campaign.
A wagon version was introduced the following year, and its bodywork was exported to
Vauxhall in the UK for the
Cavalier wagon. Some Camiras were also exported to
Right-hand Drive markets in
Southeast Asia , such as
Indonesia and
Singapore . The wagon variant was specifically a Holden design, and was actually a major demand Holden had in the overall J-car program.
A 5-door hatchback, based off the
Vauxhall Cavalier /
Opel Ascona J-car was proposed for the Camira, however due to Holden's financial losses at that time it never made production.
The Camira was ''
Wheels '' magazine's
Car Of The Year for 1982. While superior to most other cars of the day in terms of handling and ride, the 1.6 L 'Camtech' engine was somewhat underpowered, and the Camira suffered from a litany of quality control issues which included smoking engines in early models, lack of drainage holes in the doors, substandard paint and lack of adequate fan cooling resulting in overheating in Camiras fitted with air conditioning. This tarnished the name of the Camira from the start.
There was only one engine, the carburettered, naturally-aspirated, transversely-mounted 1.6 litre
4-cylinder engine delivering 64 kW. The initial transaxle offering was a four-speed manual. A three-speed automatic with lockup torque converter was optional on the base model, but standard on the Executive and SL/E.
- : Spartan, no air conditioning or power steering, though it is possible to find some with dealer-fitted air conditioning.
- : Sporty version, contained cosmetic upgrades only
- : Few extras, one of the more common variants after the SL, also released as the Executive, as common with the Holden Commodore
- : Top model, came with air conditioning, power steering, power mirrors and cloth trimmings as standard; central locking was optional. Power windows were not available. Alloy wheels were standard, with the pattern reflecting that of the VH Commodore SL/E wheels (however using a four spoke/four stud design rather than the Commodore's five). These wheels are somewhat coveted by Holden Gemini owners, as they are interchangeable with the Gemini, which did not have the option of those particular alloys.
The second version, the JD, released in
1984 , saw significant improvements, though it brought along some gremlins of its own. It featured a more aerodynamic front end without a conventional grille.
The differences were at first only cosmetic, but soon after (a matter of a few months after release), the engine was reworked to 1.8 L displacement, upgraded to multipoint fuel injection and mated up to a five-speed manual transmission. The multipoint injection brought peak power up to a respectable 83 kW, which, combined with good handling characteristics, provided a somewhat entertaining package to drive.
However, during mid-1986, new regulations required that all cars built in Australia run on unleaded
Petrol . This forced another reworking of the engine (all variants prior to this ran leaded petrol), during which Holden was operating at a loss. The result was a backwards step. For reasons unknown, Holden dropped the multipoint injection back to a single point, akin to a carburettor, and altered the tuning of the engine to suit. Power output was down to 63 kW.
In from
Japan and this was because the JB Camira did not sell very well in the New Zealand market, although the wagon version which was built and sold in Australia was retained from the previous generation and assembled locally.
- SL, SL/X, SL/E: Same as the JB
- SJ: Deleted, the SJ was unique to the JB only
The JE is generally considered to be the best of the bunch. It was the last model produced before the Camira was replaced. With the JE model, Holden finally sorted most of the Camira's problems, and matched a strong multiport fuel-injected 2.0 L engine with the Camira chassis.
Interestingly the "high performance" flavour badged "SLi 2000", available only in red, was powered by the same
Family II Generation II engine fitted to all other JEs, hence providing no extra performance.
The 2.0 L engine delivered 85 kW at 5200 rpm. Engine computer failure was still an issue however. Styling changes were minor from the JD, but compared to the JB, the body had a much more modern shape.
The Automatic Transaxel in the JE, the Turbomatic-125C, sported a lockup-torque converter.
- , '''SL/X''', '''SL/E''': These versions were identical to the JB-series versions, available in sedan and wagon forms.
- - this was a special edition, using a 1.8-litre engine.
- : This version was unique to the JE Series versions. It was a "sports" package based on the SL/X. Major differences were the addition of side skirts, a small spoiler and distinctive orange and silver pinstriping. In somewhat of a marketing ploy, the SLi was only available in red, in the sedan bodyshell with a 5-speed manual transaxle, and with a grey interior unique to the SLi.
- : Again, this was unique to the JE Series versions, as with the above model. Like the SLi 2000, it was based on the SL/X model, but did not have the skirting or pinstriping. Buyers did have the freedom to choose the colour, however all versions had Manual Transmission and all had 'Formula' seats.
- All models suffered from some common issues. Firstly, models equipped with a manual transmission had a clutch firewall cracking issue, where the clutch mount would tear the poorly designed firewall mounting structure. This is easily rectified or prevented early on, but advanced stages of cracking are difficult to repair due to the awkward location and welding requirement.
- Rust is evident in almost all sedan models underneath the rear windscreen. The reason why is unconfirmed. On wagon models, rust is usually evident in the bottom of the tailgate due to the lack of water drainage.
- On models fitted with a manual transmission, the gear shift is at time difficult and temperamental. This is a common "feature" of the Camira, and the driver may take some time to get used to it. Furthermore, there are unconfirmed reports that the manual transmission sufferes from excessive end float and bearing wear.
- On models fitted with an automatic transmission, the lockup torque converter switch malfunctions and keeps the torque converter locked in third gear when slowing down, stalling the engine upon the car coming to rest. This is due to the poor durability of the plastic switch. It is easily replaced.
- The engine management computer is notorious for problems. Cracks in the circuit board will often cause the engine to stall (at speed) if the board bends, for instance through heat expansion.
- Many Camiras suffer engine mount breakage, especially when driven roughly. The poor engine mount design was further worsened with the later fuel injection developments, which resulted in increased power and correspondingly increased stress on the Camira's rubber mounts.
- Most Camiras by now have had their engines rebuilt or tinkered with. When removing the sump, care must be taken not to damage the sump gasket, as aftermarket cork replacements have a horrendous reputation for leaking profusely. The same can be said for the cork replacement for the rocker cover gasket.
- The water manifold at the back of the engine is made of hard PVC and can split after many heating and cooling cycles, necessitating replacement.
Nissan used the 1.8 L Family II engine found in the JD in its locally manufactured
Pulsar ; running on unleaded petrol it had an output of 79 kW (compared to 63 kW for the Camira).
The
Nissan Pulsar 's 1.8 L engine contains the same internals and related equipment as the Camira's 1.8 L engine, with the main exception being the block casting and smaller ports/valves on the head, and smaller inlet manifold.
Both variants of the engine were powered by a
Delco engine management system. This caused problems of its own, as with age, the fine tolerance of the circuitry and componentry have a tendency to fail unexpectedly, and on failing, the engine will cease to operate, or operate with a crippling loss of power due to incorrect tuning and fuel delivery.
The external engine mounts are better placed on the Pulsar (most likely at the insistence of
Nissan engineers), and hence result in longer engine mount life.
With the
1989 model year, Holden replaced the Camira with the
Apollo , a rebadged
Toyota Camry . This was a result of the
Button Plan introduced by the Australian government, which encouraged a reduction in the number of Australian carmakers and models. Holden most likely would have welcomed the move, as the Camira had gained a bad reputation from the early JB models.
In New Zealand, the Holden Camira was replaced by the
Europe an-sourced
Opel Vectra , which was subsequently rebadged as a Holden.
Overall, the engine in all its flavours sans the 1.6 L variety are well regarded and respected, with individual Camiras clocking up over 300,000 km without a rebuild.
Holden continued to produce the
Family II engine for export after the Camira was discontinued. Over three million variants were produced, in 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 L configurations, the 1.8 and 2.0 L variants being fuel injected.
In Australia, the 1982-89 Holden Camira was assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 as providing "significantly worse than average" protection for its occupants in the event of a crash.
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