Azz's 1991 VN Exec SII

[azzfox]

Hey all, thought Id finally post up my VN because Im sadly losing interest in it and trying to find inspiration again. Its sadly being ran into the ground as work car at the moment with my lack of spare time and motivation to further this project. But Im hoping to change that in the near future. Anyway here's as it stands today:





Car:
1991 VN Executive Sedan SII
Asteroid Silver

Cost: (so far)
$5000+

Running gear:
Buick 3800
T5 5-speed (converted)
Exedy H/Duty Organic Clutch
8mm NGK spiral leads
VS S/C CAI
Minispool
Standard 3.08 gears

Wheels/Steering/Suspension:
15” VR Calais alloys
VP steering rack
H/Duty Z-shaped front sway bar link pins
Urethane link pin bushes
Standard springs and shocks
Standard brakes

Interior:
VN Calais steering wheel
VP L2 instrument cluster
VP parcel shelf
Re-trimmed roof lining
Standard Exec seats, carpet, door trims, dash.etc

Exterior:
De-badged
Clearcoat starting to peel
Standard otherwise

Audio:
Pioneer DEH-P9450MP
(lol) Front and rear channels bridged to power two 8ohm house speakers, one each side of trans tunnel on back seat floor.

Stuff replaced: (basic, some already listed above)
Both tail lights
Exhaust
Cluster
Steering wheel
Steering rack
Intermediate shaft
Injector o-rings, filter baskets and pintle caps
Tensioner pulley
Power steering pump seals
Power steering return line
Harmonic balancer
Oxygen sensor
Sway bar link bushes
Front + rear tyres
Flexplate (fitted to flywheel)
Battery
Radiator + cap
Thermostat
Handbrake lever
Intake manifold gasket
Spark plugs + leads
Coil pack/DFI module
Fuel rail + regulator
All oils + filters
Clutch cable
Fuel pump
Fuel tank breather lines
Coolant temp sensor
Heater tap
Alternator

Have, to be installed:
!!!FIX DAMAGE FIRST!!!
HM headers
Redback 2.5" cat-back
High flow cat
Kings superlows
KYB Excel-G shocks
15x7" Interceptors

Future Mods:
Seats + carpet
Audio install
Respray
304 if its still around in 3 years time

A bit of background info on the car so far –

This is my first car which I bought off ebay for $370 unregistered, unroadworthy and in fairly poor overall condition. Upon starting it, it made some horrible sounds which turned out to be a broken flexplate. But that didn’t matter because I had a T5 awaiting its arrival at home that I bought prior to the car (planned or what hehe). But once it arrived home I had second thoughts. The car was a mess and needed A LOT of work. But in the end decided to bite the bullet and go ahead with it. I was unemployed and had all the time in the world so why not.

6 months later and a hole in my pocket it was on the road!

Why not just buy a decent car straight out you ask? But wheres the fun in that? And I gained a shit load of experience in the process. Everything on the car I have done myself at home apart from the welding to the floor and parcel shelf. Big thanks to the forum!

Cheers.

[LAP004]

Man it looks sweet as deffs keep working on it you'v already done the hard work on it

[azzfox]

Thanks for the comment! Ive decided Im going to start splashing some more cash into and do little bits here and there to keep things exciting and ongoing. Keeping my eye out for headers and zorst atm. You dont get burble under deceleration with a stock system, which really kills the privilege of having a manual.

In other news the paint is getting worse again. I sprayed over it with a can of clear paint which stopped it for a while but now its starting again. Havnt got the time for a respray so it looks like its getting another touch up, or, just let it go til all the clear peels off the roof and boot then give it a wax

[LAP004]

Thats the way. Yeah i got a 2 1/2 custom exhaust on mine and it sounds sick as mind you mine has be ripped open multiple times from rocks speed bumps and other things so it leakes bad now

[azzfox]

Sad news.

I have springs, shocks, headers, exhaust and 15x7" chasers on the way. Finally things were happening! And Ive been feeling really happy and excited about it for the past few days.

...but tonight something unexpected happened thats going to put me behind schedule to say the least. Pics and details tomorrow I guess.

[greenfoam]

Foxman needs some front end panels and a big hammer if anyone has either or both

[LAP004]

Oh shit wat happened

[azzfox]

This happened

Had a fight with a guard rail thing. It was raining lightly on a dry road and I admit I wasnt driving to the conditions. It was about 3am on my way home from work, after already driving for an hour and just wanted to get home. Took a roundabout a tad too quick when the rear end suddenly stepped out by surprise, followed by me grabbing the wheel and being thrown sideways into the opposite direction nose first into the guard rail.

Dont know for sure what Im going to do about it until I take the whole front end off and see whats happened. Luckily everything motor-wise survived without a scratch. But by the looks of it theres some creasing going on around the airbox which I dont like the look of. I really hope its not that bad or I might have to find a donor shell and transfer everything over. I rather wouldnt though because for the life of me I cant be stuffed going through the roadworthy and registration process again!

*sigh*

[bj42turbo]

This happened

Had a fight with a guard rail thing. It was raining lightly on a dry road and I admit I wasnt driving to the conditions. It was about 3am on my way home from work, after already driving for an hour and just wanted to get home. Took a roundabout a tad too quick when the rear end suddenly stepped out by surprise, followed by me grabbing the wheel and being thrown sideways into the opposite direction nose first into the guard rail.

Dont know for sure what Im going to do about it until I take the whole front end off and see whats happened. Luckily everything motor-wise survived without a scratch. But by the looks of it theres some creasing going on around the airbox which I dont like the look of. I really hope its not that bad or I might have to find a donor shell and transfer everything over. I rather wouldnt though because for the life of me I cant be stuffed going through the roadworthy and registration process again!

*sigh*

Thats no good, but least your OK and the biggest thing is you admited you were not driving for the conditions. Lesson learnt.

Dazz

[LAP004]

That sux man. Id say the the airbox panal could be bent a little. But other then that it should be ok. Take some picks of the damage once the front is off.

[greenfoam]

I saw pics with the bonnet up damage seems minimal apart from the area near the airbox which wont matter for the moment. Should be perfectly usuable with just new bolt on panels

[azzfox]

Doesnt look good. Couldnt help but start taking off bits and pieces and found under the airbox is pretty crippled. Also noticed the chassis rail is a bit distorted too. Yet to take off the front bar but not expecting to see any miracles.

Ive had 4 hours sleep over the past 2 days and I just got back from a 3 hour round trip to pick up the interceptors I won on ebay prior to the accident. My mind is all over the place at the moment.

[azzfox]

Took the panels off today. To me it looks fixable, but going to take it somewhere tomorrow to get an opinion and quote. I just wouldnt have the techniques to bend it all back (straight) and will need new panels painted anyway. See what happens I guess. Really dont want another car.

[skruba]

ouch dude sad too hear maybe full respray while its out of action?

[greenfoam]

Fixable for sure but you better get out to the depots to pay for it

[bj42turbo]

Definately looks repairable good luck with that.

Dazz

[sax]

Dont give up now mate, youve done too much. Will be a great car once its done.
I'm in the same position, slowly doing up a vn with no money and no licence!

[azzfox]

Cheers for the positive comments. Just been to a local panel beaters and got a quote of around $800 just to straighten it out (no paint) and about $2000 painted. Also $5000 for a full respray. To me it seems a bit steep but I wasnt sure what to expect. I would shop around but theres limited places around my area.

Either way it looks like I can get all the panels I need for $100. Bonnet is already silver (not sure exact color) but the rest will need painting. So at the moment Im thinking get these panels, cough up the cash for the straightening and see if I can get a mates dad who has access to a spray booth to help me out with the paint. Im sure if I prep the panels and supply the paint we can work something out.

[greenfoam]

Yep I thought that would be the best way to go about it, get a pro to make it straight and you sort out the rest. 800 to make it straight sounds ok to me, it will take a couple days I'm guessing

[Skidney]

hey mate just curious how decent is the exedy organic clutch? im considering one for my VP 5 speed.

does it grip really easily?

[Renno]

Cheers for the positive comments. Just been to a local panel beaters and got a quote of around $800 just to straighten it out (no paint) and about $2000 painted. Also $5000 for a full respray. To me it seems a bit steep but I wasnt sure what to expect. I would shop around but theres limited places around my area.

Either way it looks like I can get all the panels I need for $100. Bonnet is already silver (not sure exact color) but the rest will need painting. So at the moment Im thinking get these panels, cough up the cash for the straightening and see if I can get a mates dad who has access to a spray booth to help me out with the paint. Im sure if I prep the panels and supply the paint we can work something out.

Yeah that sounds about right for the straightening and paint for $2000! I pranged the front end of my Calais and straightened it myself (was nowhere near as bad as yours) and then got the whole front end painted for $1000 cash. Usually you need to go by the theory that they charge around $200-$300 a panel to paint.

If all else fails, just go to the owner at the crash shop

[azzfox]

Yep I thought that would be the best way to go about it, get a pro to make it straight and you sort out the rest. 800 to make it straight sounds ok to me, it will take a couple days I'm guessing

Well he said it would probably take a days work, which is probably going to be a few days depending how busy they are. I was also told that because the chassis rail was hit that it could have moved and might make it harder to get the quarter panel to sit right. Not sure exactly how that figures but anyway wasnt in the mood to argue.

hey mate just curious how decent is the exedy organic clutch? im considering one for my VP 5 speed.

does it grip really easily?

Clutch isnt too bad. It used to grab easily for the first few months until one day I got stuck in heavy stop-start traffic going up a hill. By the time I reached the top the clutch was slipping a tiny bit and hasnt been the same since. It doesnt slip now but the pedal needs to nearly all the way out for it to grab hard.

Yeah that sounds about right for the straightening and paint for $2000! I pranged the front end of my Calais and straightened it myself (was nowhere near as bad as yours) and then got the whole front end painted for $1000 cash. Usually you need to go by the theory that they charge around $200-$300 a panel to paint.

If all else fails, just go to the owner at the crash shop

Ah right. Yeah he was the owner Im pretty sure

[azzfox]

Bit of an update I guess.

Ended up just going to pinch-a-part in hope that I would find a silver VN with decent panels, because I just dont have time for painting at the moment and diddnt want it to look like arse with mismatched panels. Luckily, I found 3 in the same silver! Between them I scored a silver quarter, bonnet and grill (though grill may not be same silver). But couldnt find a silver bar, so black it was. Which in my head should look alright (distinct at least). The panel shop wants me to have all panels first before booking it in so grabbed what I could. Might even spray the grill to suit. Not sure on that one yet. The lot plus headlight, indicators and few bits and pieces set me back $300.

Will be calling today to book it in, but probably wont have it back for a while being christmas and new years soon. But at least its a step forward.

EDIT: Called and booked it in, soonest date was January 18th . They said they will need it for a week as well. This is all taking longer than I was expecting!

[markER717]

Keep your head up mate, so shes going in tomorrow? good luck man. The grill isnt that hard to do, if you need some tips just ask.

[azzfox]

Thanks mate. She wont be going in tomorrow though. Ive since been to another panel joint who I was recommended to and they said for them to square it all up properly, the radiator support panel will have to be removed and a new one fitted (it got damaged anyway).

Radiator support panel?

The bloke (owner) who I spoke to had a much more helpful and professional attitude so I decided to call off the local bunch. He also said once I have all the required bits I can pretty much drop the car off whenever and they should have it done in a week. The job was quoted around a grand also but at least theyre actually doing a proper job and making the car straight again, not just so the panels sit straight. So now Im waiting for a reply from Holden about a support panel which I should hopefully see today some time.

So...

$250 - new panels, headlight.etc
$1000 - labor
$??? - radiator support panel

And all for a car I originally payed $370 for . Its times like these I should be thankful I dont have a missus haha. I have considered swapping all the good bits (majority of car) into another shell but I just dont have the time anymore with work. At the moment the cars on stands and half way through changing over complete axle housings. I thought it might be a good idea just while the car gets fixed so they dont complain about the locked diff. Single peggin' once again