My 1990 VN Executive Wagon (project car)

[koolkidd]

hey everyone.

i thought i should post up some pics of my commodore. as the title says its a 1990 VN Executive Wagon. despite its age its in good condition and only has a few minor issues wrong, and they dont affect the driving at all. id also like to add the car was given to me by a family member so im not complaining about anything, im actually over the moon lol.

i wont be getting a body kit as my pop (who lives with us) is using it as a daily and will take no notice of it, meaning it wont last long. when i get my P's ill chuck one on. also, working on a maccas wage is hard so at the moment rims are out of the question but i will have a very nice alarm/immobiliser setup for the gear inside, so no idiot will be stealing a thing :P

ill start with pics (this is going to be a long thread)









well thats the car pics, no some of the engine bay - note its a lil bit ugly









theres the engine bay, now for some interior shots, the carpet for the boot isnt in it as i was getting all the measurements for the sub box.













ok now thats the interior done, ill get on to the minor problems.

firstly the roof liner is falling down, i was going to do this myself but i decided to get a pro to do it.



next, the aerial snapped off so right now a coathanger is in its place :P



and last but not least, the seal on one of the rear doors was constantly sticking. so one day when i tried my hardest to get the door open the handle snapped off the seal is fine now but the handle is still missing



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ok thats the car done, thats what i have to work with. since getting it i have wanted to do it up a little.

Firstly there is my sound system which i already have. being my first one i didnt go too crazy but i did get something i knew would do it for me.

2x soundstream 15" rubicon subwoofers
1x Boss Audio 1000 watt 4ch amp
1x Wecconic 800 watt 4ch amp
2x 4" sony xplod speakers
2x 6.5" Fusion encounter series 3 way speakers
1x fusion encounter component set
1x Pioneer DEH - 4950MP head unit

piccies - doesnt show it all







so what i want to do in this project is

-black and blue interior theme
-custom sound system install
-custom boot
-window tinting
-roof line fixed
-new aerial
-new door handle
-custom ipod mount up the front of the interior
-Boss kit + steering wheel
-blue interior neons for show purposes, mounted in various places
-dress up the engine bay
-control panel in the spare din up front, most likely for a few things

theres a few of those things ill be getting pros to do, but alot ill bne doing myself. my inspiration for the interior theme has come from a few sources and i plan to have the door trims turn out a bit like this - only with blue instead of red





basically i want the red fabric of the first pic with the paint scheme of the second (with blue of course)

i started the sub box today and heres an initial sketch of what i wanted the boot to look like with the sub box installed. (please dont laugh at my cad skills lol)



here are a few half rendered designs i was thinking of





i dont know which to choose, but rest assured they arent finalised designs. by the way they are drawn with the measurements i took from the car. and the reason they are half rendered is wen i did other parts black it seemed to take over and you couldnt see the angles or sides. just looked like a black hole.

ok now onto building the box to sit at the back of the boot (when looking from the back of the car)

firstly the faceplate



next is the rear attached to the bottom, i have decided to angle the back to mould with the angle of the seat. it will give me a bit more space inside the box too



here it is clamped in the right position so it doesnt sag overnight as i wait for the liquid nails to dry. im using it to seal the box and have used half of a squeeze can thing on this joint (inside and out) alone.



this is a template for the divider inside the box, to make it 2 boxes inside. the same template is being used for the sides of the box



last but not least the liquid nails






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i was also thinking of putting an xbox in the car. i currently have one and was going to hook it up to a custom mounted screen somewhere. what do you guys think? would it be hard? i was looking at doing it for my MDP (major design project) in year 12 (which starts next term which is about 4 weeks)

umm well thats all for now, more updates tomorrow i spose.

any input or thoughts/ideas are very welcome as i dont want it turning out like a turd on wheels lol

cheers guys

[mischa]

great car, i know someone who would like it cause its a wagon he will proberyl be looking at it. Looks like good plans for it, as always it always costs dam money! cant wait tell next term hey? i gota do my major project to and dont know what to do... what you doing for it?

[1991_Vn2nV]

Ahh rubicon subs, havent seen them around for a while. How many k's on it man?

[cruzncommo]

HOLY F**K MAN YOUR CAR IS MISSING 2 CYLINDERS, GET IT FIXED ASAP! (14 OP rum cans, x1 tequila slammer, x1 kilkenny can, 6 pack of woodies. and 1 woody blue

[koolkidd]

lol id get the extra 2 but the cops wont let me :P

its done a grand total of just over 300 000 kms, its been in the family a while but when im driving it, it doesnt feel as though its dying. refurbished engines come cheap enough though.

i grabbed the rubicons + the wecconic amp from a mate that upgraded to alpine gear. i really hope that this whole thing (interior look) turns out well. i picked up some light material today for inside the box and i grabbed all the rca cables so im set to start on sunday

as for the MDP i have no idea. i have to decide soon though. i really want to do something car related but i dont know what i can do yet, any ideas? is anyone heading to the AIMS in sydney? ill be there on the 12th i think, last friday of school holidays.

ill update with more progress tmoz night, cyas then.

[koolkidd]

i just finished todays work,so ill upload pics and a write up. should i get this moved to the project section?

[mischa]

i wouldnt move it, as for MDP theres not much you can do car related... anless you make a wooden engine? lol, ive got no idea what ill be making, wateva it is its going to be made, and then sit at home never to be used again proberly.

[koolkidd]

lol yea, i was thinking maybe making a custom case and mount for either a car pc or xbox, then custom mounting screens.

[koolkidd]

WORKLOG UPDATE - DAY 2
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ok so today i worked on a few things. i started by picking up a few things from autobarn and spotlight. i also managed to price up a few things for future purposes.

ok so heres what i grabbed today

- 3 sets of rca cables
- 2 RCA splitters
- 2 1400w amp powering kits
- wiring for the subwoofers (3m)
- wiring for the ground wires (1m)
- material to line the inside of the sub box

piccies of it all













thats the shopping out of the way
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onto the building for the day, i just continued with the sub woofer box. firstly i did the partition for the inside of the box. i basically cut the thing out, planed and sanded it to the perfect shape, predrilled the holes, countersunk then put screws in.





with the partition now in place i marked and planed the bottom edge of the front panel. it allowed it to sit flush with the base whilst on the angle, i managed to get it just right too



then, whilst rummaging through the shed i stumbled upon this ill install it along the way.



well next was attaching the faceplate.







with that attached i put the subs in to test out the fitting, and the space i had to work with. its a nice tight fit on the faceplate so when i carpet it, the thing will seal nicely. but have i left enough room for the sub from the floor?





and here it is inside the car, in the boot.











well it fits well and there is enough clearence to extend the box over the wheel well, you can see my design attempts as to what i mean.

i had some time left over enough to put some of the deadening material in one of the box's





and heres the pic of the side of the box, the piece is just sitting there for photo purposes. the hole in the top is where the box will be joined to the extension.



and thats todays work. im hoping to do something with the floor, something like an mdf base, covered in carpet with some theme continuation with it. im just wondering where tpo put the amps. maybe a small false floor where the rear passengers feet are? or just at the back of that same area? (know where i mean?)

any input would be great.

cheers, ill update it when theres more progress