Mikey's VN Calais

[VNCalais98K]

I decided that 4 Banger Nissans were crap, so I swapped sides and bought an 88 VN Calais.
As you can see in the pics, its fairly neat. Theres a couple of electrical bugs in terms of 2 or 3 switches not working, but thats easy fixed.
Car had only 98,960km on it when i bought it last friday.
For $2,500 im not complaining.
It was a lady owner I purchased off, even had SA - The Rose State plates which I quickly swapped for some normal ones!
Theres a bit of tint on the rear windows but nothing earth shattering, apart from that, no mods so far, but when I have time I will be swapping the Alpine CD player from my old car into this one, and also the Pioneer 69s and Fusion 6.5inch splits (probably wont bother putting subby in)
Alarm/immob getting put in on weekend and also hoping for some better tint and maybe a set of 18s.
Mainly I purchased this car because the outside was tidy, the inside is immaculate and the car has lower KM on it than most VT/VX commies I have seen, and best of all unlike a tempremental CA18DET powered EXA, the Calais just drives and does it cheaply, reliably and without getting abuse hurled at you haha!

Heres some pics:
Car Front (bonnet not quite straight, but noticed this with a LOT of VNs)



Car side/rear



Interior pics (notice no cracks in dash - I was impressed)





Engine Bay






Updated pics (look crap at night)

[1vngal]

Damn thats in good condition!! It looks brand new!! Talk about a bargain! Low k's, immaculate, calais.....*sigh*

just think of all those buttons.....

[wes_v8]

U gotta love the calais, thats a pretty tidy vn good find

[1991_Vn2nV]

Man that is a sweet pickup!

So low in km's and such great condition!

Sweet Calais man! VN Power!

[VNCalais98K]

Ok. its been a while since i mentioned anything on this thread, so heres an update.
Completed:
Alarm install.

Tomorrow night:
Booked in to have installed my JVC DVD player and Response 7inch pull out screen.

Saturday morning:
Booked in to get 2.5inch Cat back put on at 8:30am... groan.

Waiting on delivery:
a beautiful set of 18x8.5 inch rims which I ordered today.:

[1vngal]

Those mags are gonna suit it good. Post pics once they're on!

[MikesVT]

That thing is VERY impressive, Such low k's, Such low price, Such straight body... =| That's a very very nice example of a VN Calais.
I know some people wont agree with me, But some VT Calais badges really look nice on the VN's, but each to their own!

[VNCalais98K]

got the DVD player fitted tonight, im extremely happy with the results.
Ill post up some photos when i take some, but its mounted quite well and is very accessible and fuctional.
I am going to pick up a set of VS door pods if i can, so that i can install my 6.5inch splits, and rear speakers and that should complete the sound package... for now...
I have a 15inch sub waiting to slip in but i'm not really in much of a hurry to get that going just yet.
Also got a call about my rims, they are due on monday, so again..photos when i can be bothered.

[sixshooter]

Bargain !!! Looks to have been well cared for !!!

[VL Soldier]

Nice work. Post some pics when the new rims go on.

[VNCalais98K]

Well, rims expecting tomrrow.. cant wait.. hope they dont get delayed.
Exhaust went on, as did the cold air intake...
The difference is pretty noticeable in the power stakes, and in sound... it went from no to woah!
Opens up about 3500rpm upwards and really sounds good, but still has a nice rumble on idle and take off.. it also remains quiet when not on the gas so keeps the attention low unless i want it.
CAI also works pretty well and gives a bit more go when taking off from a running start. Both have helped fuel efficiency too, going from around 7.6/100 cruising @ 100kmph to 6.2/100 @ 100kmph.
In the city its probably worse because i keep giving it throttle because i like the noise, haha!
Also picked up a pair of VS berlina doorpods and baffles to mount some splits in.

[wes_v8]

well can't wait for pics of the dvd, hows the exhaust sound?, still got to get me a cold air intake, the wheels would like nice on ur car, i got the VS door pods everything needed for $40 a pair, but savin for my pioneer 6" 220W splits

[VNCalais98K]

yeah, exhaust is pretty nice. in fact, i reckon its just what i wanted. the only problem now is that every time a commie tears past when im in a shop or something, it sounds like my car thats been nicked or something, haha.
Ive got some fusion 6.5 inch splits. which are average.
My mate is trying to convince me to get some DLS iridium 6.5 inchers cos he gets them at cost price (save about $700 on RRP) but im not sure yet... i dont have an amp to run them so i feel it would be a waste.

[VNCalais98K]

Well, i got the call today... the wheels are sitting at home waiting for me to finish work and fit them!!!!!!! YAAAAAAY!
So, provided I can get the nuts off after the brake place rattle gunned them on, and provided that they fit (18/8.5 40 profile) on the standard height car, then I should get some pics up tonight or tomorrow!

[VNCalais98K]

Okey dokey... I got some pics... its a bit dark, but you get the idea.

[VNCalais98K]

1 problem i had was with the wheel nuts.
The brace wouldnt fit in the hold for the nuts on the rim...
So i had to use the crappy boot brace, which was a nightmare and even then it was a tight fit.. which scraped hell out of the inside of the holes, but you can barely notice.
I love em... all it needs now is about 1.5inches down and im set.
Speaking of clearances...
The tyres sit about 6-7mm away from the front strut at the closest point. I havent had any problems with scrubbing or anything, and the rears have plenty of room to move, so 18x8.5 is perfect size for the car.
The ride is so smooth because the tyres are round, rather than the crappy oval shaped bob jane tyres, haha.
Unfortunately though, the weight of the new wheels means fuel economy has gone down a bit, but still within a reasonable level.
All in all, between exhaust, wheels and ICE, im pretty happy with the car now.

[veclubby]

that is the best example of a vn i have seen in a very long time....98000km's geez thats low, excellent find mate well worth wat u paid for it, lol

just need to lower it now

cheers
ryan

[VNCalais98K]

Last night I bothered myself to grab a K&N panel filter for the airbox.
The difference is quite noticeable I thought, when combined with the CAI and 2.5inch Exhaust.
Only change i want to make to the breathing system now is probably mandrel bent stainless intake pipe, and headers to bring the exhaust restriction down.
Also added to the car is some ultra blue headlights which give quite a nice effect.
Lastly on the list I have added VS Berlina doorpods for the splits in the front. havent fully wired up yet, but looks just like stock.