My 2nd VL - Factory MF5 Exec

[shaunington]

Hey all, I have a 1988 VL SL (see thread in sig) that I was planning on making a manual. But, the car is interstate, and there is going to be a lot of cost involved with shipping it down, finishing it off and getting it roadworthy and registered. Being a poor student, money is very scarce.

So, I've just bought a factory 5-speed exec down in Melbourne. Should be picking it up next week. This does mean that the other VL will be for sale in QLD soon.

Info:


1986 VL Commodore SL
Colour: Pacific Blue (someone care to confirm?) 2B035 (27L). VERY good paint. bugger all marks, not faded at all. Very good finish.
Engine: N/A RB30
-Just had major service, new thermostat, new radiator, new belts. Very smooth runner.
Gearbox: Factory manual, fresh clutch. Extremely good box.
On the Clock: Genuine 158,000
Exhaust: Extractors, Stock system from cat back
Wheels: Silver Stockies with new rubber all round
Options: Powersteering (with sports steering wheel) and Air-Con
Suspension: Lowered on a complete Pedders sports-rider complete package.
Stereo: Will have a transplant from my other VL. Explod headunit, Kevlar 4" up front, Xplod 6x9's in the back and Kicker subs
Security: Alarm, Immobiliser, Keyless Entry
Reg + RWC.

I know the following needs work:
-Replace 'clear indicator' after market lights with some factory jobbys.
-5-10cm of rust under front windscreen. Will be sanded, touched up and paintmatched
-scuff(but no dent) on front wheel arch. reportedly from previous previous owner (if that makes sense). Will need touch up.
-Front right door mould will need replacing, cracked from the same incident that caused the above.
-New bootseal.

That's it! It's A1 Mechanically (previous owner was a mechanic who spent $$$ restoring it, but lost his license so is passing it on.

Interior is 100% spot on. The manual shifter looks new.

Here is some pics!

Chill, not smoke! it was a cold day :P


the thing on the top right corner of the boot is just a reflection, there is no dint there.



The seats pictured here are berlina (i believe) seats. They had a few holes in them, they've sinced been replaced with exec seats in 100% condition

I would bet the back seat has only been sat on a few times haha.. it looks perfect.

engine bay again


More pics when it's in my hot little hands!

Plans include:
-Get body and paint back to 100% (not much needed)
-Mace CAI
-VL-T discs + LSD on the rear
-Possible VT front brake upgrade
-Exhaust of some type, stock sounds a bit sedate.
-More power? I'll be on P's, so no snails.
-Nice chunky cam
In terms of cost/reward, what's a good place to start looking for power?

Shaun

[shaunington]

Well, I picked her up a few weeks ago, goes great! Very solid. I was a bit worried when the temp guage sat above the normal (for my other VL) 2 bars, but I found out the new thermostat is aftermarket, so that explains it a bit.

Have done a few hundred k's in her already, the manual box is solid as, and it definetly goes hard when you want/need it to. Took it to the airport twice, just shoved it in 5th and it was purring at 1500ish the whole way.


Sits well on the pedders package

This was just before going through the dandenongs. Sits so nicely on the road, can slam it into the corners and it feels great all the way through. Stoked!

Rust has been repaired! Check it out, this was the temporary fix to try and stop it from spreading:

And here it is 6 hours of work later:


Happy with that!

Also, heres the paint after a cut and polish. pretty happy with the finish for orig paint!




It's pretty poor, I'm a photographer and the only pics I have are taken on my phone haha... More/better ones soon!

EDIT: Mods, could I get a title change?

[shaunington]

haha oh and something I just remembered, a few days after I picked it up, I was out with the missus and had to double take at one I saw parked on the side of the road. I was shitting bricks thinking someone nicked it or something as I certainly wasn't in it haha...

Same colour, sitting a little higher than mine, stockies (with dress rings though) etc. It even looked to have a faded spot in the bonnet in the same place haha...

[shaunington]

I was planning on making an update last week but my phone went swimming so I lost all my recent pics which I'm rather gutted about.

This is the most recent shot ive got, and even this is about 2 months old:



Got a stereo happening finally, it's a cheapish system but I'm happy so thats all that matters:

Bob basic Sony headunit
Kevlar 4" splits in the dash
Sony 6x9's in MDF shelf (I know, I know, 6x9s, AND sony at that, but they were free (new, too) and don't sound too bad...)
2x Pioneer 12" Champion series subs in pioneer prefab box powered by Audioline 1000WRMS amp

This is as soon as I got it all working:

YouTube - I think it's time for some Dynamat... - Some Radio, 30-50% vol

Here it is after fiddling with the EQ and gain settings on the amp a little:
YouTube - I think it's time for some Dynamat Pt. 2 - A bit of EQ testing

And here it is, later that day after securing the amp a bit (it'll do for now). Excuse the phone quality, does the sound no justice.

YouTube - Just some more stereo stuff - random radio, fiddling with things etc.

Updated plans for it are:

-Exhaust! (still got the bog stock system)
-When this clutch wears down a bit (its still quite good) I'll slap in a nice heavy duty one
-Had toyed with the idea of an R33 box but im going to save that one until (if at all) i start making some powaaa
-Want to do a VLT conversion (with factory VLT bits, injectors, manifolds etc.) as an introduction to boost, I'm not even on my P's yet, so i'm a bit weary about mr.plod, but I've got many mates who drive around v8s on their reds and have never had a drama, umming an arring about this one...
-Calais tail lights and garnish (already on the way)
-Full VLT rear ends are becoming hard to find, so how does this sound:
Drum-> Disc conversion (replace bearings etc etc and keep it all 25 spl.)
Either go spool (on the cheap) or put a 25spl LSD center (have found a few on ebay, didnt think they exist?) which would give me a VLT setup minus 3 splines? haha
-'Big brake' upgrade on the fronts
-Some rims, I'm a bit over stockies... might go for VL calais, VT Calais international (always loved these) or even just some swirlies for now
-Cleaned up the interior a bit, got some GPA spec sheep covers and mats at the moment, might go(partial?) Calais interior while I'm fixing up some bits here and there
-New locks and barrels
-new boot seal (slight leak that I want gone)
-get A/C regassed!!!
-factory steering wheel (not a fan of the aftermarket one, especially given how bloody hot the metal thumb inserts get on a sunny day)

That's all I can think of for now :P

[detox_nath83]

nice looking L man.quite clean.. i like it...
Would not really worry about a cam.. as u will c minimal gains. then u will get used to it and be like like Hmmm it has lost power. :P
Nice CAI and Extractors with 2.1/4 or 2.5" Exhaust would be nice and again minimal gains...
Hang in there while ur on your P's and Build up an A8 motor to put in once u on your opens.
Once your boosted u wont go back to N/A
Goodluck with it.

Must have been An Auto as i C there is the Cruise control Cable to the throttle body.
Does it work too?

[shaunington]

Must have been An Auto as i C there is the Cruise control Cable to the throttle body.
Does it work too?

Hey mate, Thanks for the comments. I was thinking that, either do a nice A8 motor (with a DOHC conversion) or even just build up a V8 and whack that in when I'm off my P's.. they like boost too

It's a factory manual (MF5 on the plates, no auto computer loom near steering column) but the previous owner did put on the cruise control unit on for one reason or another, but it doesn't have the plug in the dash, so that's another thing for me to do...

[HOLD3N]

tidy VL considering their close to 25 years old now. Thumbs up on the rust repair, bloody VL all rust along there.

[shaunington]

Thanks for the comments guys, it is very clean but there are a few bits and bobs I want to change on it.

Chucked some walky cluster cards in there today just for something different (scored them off fleabay cheap so thought why not)

Apoligies for the shit phone pics





First impressions are they are a big difference, and the white dials are SO SO SO SO much easier to read, even in the garage with all the lights off and doors closed, i didnt even need the cluster backlights to read the numbers, and the lights make it very bright indeed.

And tossed the fag altezza clear taillight jobs in the bin in favour of a full (original GM, not repro) VK Calais rear. I was going to go VL Calais, but I know the car isn't a calais and the big 'calais' badge would just shit me, and I really like the look of these. 100000x improvement, and nice tint, too!

Heres some shots of that

Before: (lights that came on it)



After:





Not too sure what's on the cards next, doing a service in a few days, and really really keen on the idea of buying a inj. 304 and T5 and building them up and plonking them in the day i get off my P's haha..

As for the interior, New carpet and new rear window quarter surrounds (where the rear seatbelts bolt into) because one was broken when I got the car, then I was fixing up my L plate and smashed my head on the other and split it, too!

Shaun

[shaunington]

And here is how the car sits now (just went out and took a shot on my phone just before putting it in the garage)

[detox_nath83]

Altezza R Poo...
looks heaps better man.. i like the dash cards can u take a shot witht he lights on.. i may do this myself..

[shaunington]

Hey mate, I'll try to get a pic of the cluster with lights on tomorrow, didn't think to get one when I did it.

On another note, was bored this arvo so gave all the plastic bits in the bay the once over and tidied a few bits up.



Doesn't look too bad for a 23 year old donk :P

[shaunington]

Just asking for opinion here:

With my VK Calais tail lights that i've since fallen in love with, I also scored a full set of calais doormoulds complete with chrome (complete steal of a buy) off the same car. They have a few scuffs from storage and would need to be repainted, but ive got a broken upper mould anyway on mine. I tried to get some pics to show theyre about a good 30mm shorter than the VL upper moulds (as they are all in one piece) but go down to the same point)

Gonna have a stab at repainting them and fitting them up, even if they don't last. They were free with the lights and it looks a damsight better than the broken bits.

[detox_nath83]

id say go for it man. IMHO i think they will look quite good.. but its personal preference + if you changed a busted piece to one that's not go for it.

[shaunington]

Yeah mate that's what I was thinking. The first 2 pictures are a bit misleading coz we were just holding them there loosely, the last pic shjows the difference best.

I just tried to show the height difference, excuse the crazy colours, its probably hard to follow but it shows the bit im talking to.



Does anyone have photos of the VK moulds on a VL? I know people have done it before, and a search turned up that car 'badvlsl' has VK moulds, but i cannot find ONE picture of it.

Would be appreciated

[shaunington]

So, I'm a photographer and realised every photo I had taken since owning this car was taken on a phone, so got the car out of the garage today to snap a few pics because I wanted a new background haha

Nothing special but I thought i'd share anyway.





Going to get more once I've given it a wash! (pics dont show it but its bloody filthy)

EDIT: while putting it away, thought I parked too close to the garage door and would have to move it, turns out I'm millimeter perfect hahaha

[shaunington]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss4ML-JSN1w - blasting some tunes and getting some rediculous number plate/garnish flap. lol@ sun visors at like 0:58.

Here's tomorrows project:

[shaunington]

I forgot to take a photo before I started, so here's after getting the lights undone:



and heres a dummy fit (lights just sitting there, they look a bit funny)


Colour is a great match, i was a bit iffy buying without a chance to compare in real life because the amount of fade might not have matched over the years, but its such a good match!

Just eating some lunch then off to finish up, plenty of pics coming later

[shaunington]

job done!

[calais24/7]

Looks good mate, your other one was a purpely colour right? Car looks good mate, not sure about the vk tailights though. They do look much better then them fuggin altezzas. Just an idea mate but your headlights look differant to each other. Brand new ones cost about 120 from egay and they freshen up the look of the car by heaps! I have calais tailights but i painted the exec garnish a gloss black and it looks really good. Anyways keep up the progress mate. And as others have said, dont waiste your time on engine mods, an exhuast is as far as i'd go becuase you really are waisting your money there will be very little gains. Just keep it servicing it and enjoy it

[shaunington]

Looks good mate, your other one was a purpely colour right? Car looks good mate, not sure about the vk tailights though. They do look much better then them fuggin altezzas. Just an idea mate but your headlights look differant to each other. Brand new ones cost about 120 from egay and they freshen up the look of the car by heaps! I have calais tailights but i painted the exec garnish a gloss black and it looks really good. Anyways keep up the progress mate. And as others have said, dont waiste your time on engine mods, an exhuast is as far as i'd go becuase you really are waisting your money there will be very little gains. Just keep it servicing it and enjoy it

hey mate, yeah that was the one! Yeah, theyre a massive improvement over the altezzas. Yeah I've been chasing a catback and some extractors to perk it up, also might be buying a freshly recoed S2 N/A engine from a bloke around the corner to build up while I'm on my P's.

As for the headlights, I just bought some off ebay, so I'll put some pics up when I get them in

[calais24/7]

hey mate, yeah that was the one! Yeah, theyre a massive improvement over the altezzas. Yeah I've been chasing a catback and some extractors to perk it up, also might be buying a freshly recoed S2 N/A engine from a bloke around the corner to build up while I'm on my P's.

As for the headlights, I just bought some off ebay, so I'll put some pics up when I get them in

thats a good idea mate, cause i think you said before you don't have that much money flowing, so as you can afford it buy it bit by bit and build it up, by the time your on your fulls you'll have a hekt1ck dose zuuu zutu zutu tuu tuu tuu

[shaunington]

had it out for its first night appearance in a while, still haven't washed it, cant tell here though haha...



Went out and bought some new door earth sensors (only 2/4 doors would trigger the interior light and the alarm) and came home with a set of genie's too haha..



Will hit them with a fresh lick of paint and will be putting them on and staying N/A while I build up the reco motor for boost, hopefully picking that up next week.

EDIT:



Finally managed to give it a wash today, came up the goods

[shaunington]

and some more pictures to annoy you all with my double posts:

Went out to get some pics on something other than a phone. As usual, after my hard work washing yesterday the heavens opened up but i pushed on and decided to get soaking wet anyway.



^ Tried to get the car in the exact same position to show the difference before/after, sorta worked.

And some others:

[detox_nath83]

looks good man. i like the calais front.
P.s. Garage is very neat to work in and those beers should b in the fridge.
goodluck with it. and if u havnt already soak the exhaust studs with inox a few nights and hours leading up to it to loosen up the threads so u dont snap any studs. then its a pain with easy outs if u break some

[RobboVl]

love this vl mate! looks a little like mine
I've seen this exact thread on street commodores haha.