My Custom VN Calais

[Deadman0880]

I originally owned a White '90 VN Calais which i spent all my time on. One fateful wet day on my way home from work early (Got rained off) i lost traction around a notorious greasy round-about and ended up in a ditch against a barbed-wire fence. The barbed-wire tore up the passenger side of my beautiful car. The impact into the ditch moved the RHF Strut Tower. After repairing the Calais so i could still drive it without repainting it i thought to myself, "Its had 3 Front accidents in the 8 years i owned it and both rear 1/4's had damage so i started looking for a new body to move everything over to and start again. A friend at work had a '88 VN V6 5spd for sale with a straight as body and minimal rust for $600. I got it, sold the Dragway Indy's for $450 w/ tyres and took 8 weeks off work to build my baby back up...

VN CALAIS

Color: Midnight Green/Gold Pearl

Under The Hood:
3800 VN/VP Hybrid
- VN Block rebuilt, cylinders checked and rebored to match
- New rings, crank bearings, gaskets and seals
- VN ported heads, new valve springs and VP high ratio rockers
- VP bored out valley cover & Intake setup
- VP Fuel Rail setup
- All new gaskets and seals throughout
- New Engine mounts
SV3800 HSV Chip
BOSCH Motorsport Leads & Quad-spark Plugs
Hidden wiring and smoothed out engine bay - sprayed Chassis Black
VS Windscreen Washer bottle set-up
Chrome Power-steering Pulley, Idler Pulley, Fuse Box Covers, Strut Nuts
New Bonnet Gas-struts

Underneath:
Nolathane bushes all round
Front - Kings Super-Low Springs w/ Pedders Shortened Shockers
- Fully Adjustable Nolathane Strut Tops
- New Chrome Adjustable Strut brace
- New Pedders Steering Rack
- New Tie-rod ends, Ball-joints and wheel bearings
- DBA Cross-drilled/Slotted Rotors, SS Calipers painted Gold

Mid - Near new 5spd manual gearbox w/ Short-throw Shifter
- Balanced Tailshaft w/ new Uni, Centre and Cluster bearings
- 2 1/2" Mandrel-bent Cat-back Exhaust w/ 1 Muffler & Twin Dumps

Rear - Kings Ultra Low Springs w/ Munroe Lowrider Gas Shocks
- Adjustable Panhard Rod
- Cleaned out Fuel tank and sprayed VE Atomica Green
- DBA Slotted rotors, Calipers painted Gold

Outside:
- Original '88 Front Bar w/ 'HOLDEN' embossed in Number-plate space
- Original VQ HSV Rear bar, Boot Shroud & Front Guards
- Altezza VN Chrome Grille
- Altezza VN Calais Tail-lights
- Color-coded Door Handles & NO door locks
- VP Calais Window Chrome-work
- VN SS Door-moulds

Rollin:
18 x 8 ANZ Predator
235/45/18R CLEAR Tyres

Inside:

Colors: Matte Black w/ Silver inserts

- Executive Wiring removed and Calais & Caprice wiring looms fitted
- Calais Dash and Door trims w/ VR/S Speaker pods
- MOMO Millenium Leather Steering Wheel, Gear-knob, Gearstick Boot
- ISOTTA Racing Pedals
- Oil-Pressure & Voltmeter gauges & Shift light mounted on A-Pillar
- VP Calais Drivers-side Glovebox
- VQ Caprice Headlining w/ Accessories (never been installed)
- VS Calais F+R seats, Grey leather w/ Velour centres
- VN Calais centre console w/ VR Calais Armrest lighter socket
- '90 Calais Heater unit w/ Climate Control

Boom-Boom:

PIONEER CD/MP3/WMA Head Unit w/ 12-Stacker in-boot
12.1 speaker stereo setup
- 2 x 4" SONY 200w 2-way speakers in dash spaces
- 2 x 6" PIONEER 200w mid drivers in Front door-pods
- 2 x 1-1/2" PIONEER 200w Tweeters in front doors
- 2 x 4" PIONEER 30w Caprice Roof-mounted speakers
- 2 x 6x9" PROSOUND 200w mid drivers countersunk in Parcel-shelf
- 2 x 1" PROSOUND 200w Tweeters mounted infront of C-Pillars
- 1 x 12" DAEWOO 1600w DVC Competition Sub Driver in
Custom 54L Box w/ Tuned 8" port
ALPINE V12 1800w 5ch Amplifier w/ 10 speakers bridged between channels
VQ Caprice factory 30w x 2 PIONEER Amp powering roof speakers only
AUDIOLINE 800w Mono Amplifier powering sub w/ AUDIOLINE 1.5 Farad
Capacitor

Cost: $5200 & 4yr Relationship
Build Time: 6 weeks, but more to be done

Future Mods:
- 7" Screens In-Dash DVD Player & 7" Screens in Rear Vanity mirrors
- FBSS Airbag setup
- VN SS Bodykit (I already have 1, all plastic, just gotta paint it)
- Electric 2-way Factory Sunroof (Already got 1 sittin' here waitin)
- 18" x 8" 150spoke wires w/ white-walls on front
- 18" x 9" 150spoke wires w/ white-walls on rear
- Proper boot installation

Enjoy, I know it probably don't look like much but i stripped the car down to an empty shell. No wiring, no internals. All i left in it before the re-build was the steering column, the fuel lines and the doors. I re-fitted an entire '90 VN Calais wiring loom and for the Climate Control to work i had to install the Calais Heater Unit. The roof has the wiring loom for a VQ Caprice so once i splice it into the Calais looms, the rear stereo controls will be used to control the Climate Control from the back seat. I wanted minimal wiring in the Engine bay so i ran it all down the guards and made 'em come out right next to the Fuse box. If anyone wants to know how to do anything i've done. let me know. I'll be happy to pass on my knowledge!

Deadman

[padrickz88]

veeeeeery nice, alot of effort put into it

[social]

congrats on the effort man, shes a beauty

[needwork2-4fillhabbit]

That is veeery hot! The work was worth it. Who painted it and how much was it?

[NEDWOB]

took your time posting it up ha ha,,
looks sweet as. and the caprice roof is unreal.
cant go past a manual.
have you thought about a vs stato dash swap

[calaiscruzer]

awesome dude, very nice inside and out. Heaps of work has all paid off.
Paint looks tough.
A nice fresh engine like that deserves at least an sc14 i reckon..

[Deadman0880]

Glad you like it, I ****en love it! I painted the Calais myself with an airless spray-gun in a SLUG (Single Lock-Up Garage, for those playing at home) all in 2pac. All up the paintjob cost me about $350. Its the second car i've painted but the 1st in 2pac. I built my missus a Pink VK Brocky mock-up December last year (I'll post pics in VK Section)
As for a VS Stato dash - NO WAY!! The beauty of the VN is that with both hands on the wheel all your buttons are at your fingertips. Its luxuries like these we take for granted
Now i need a new toy

[padrickz88]

As for a VS Stato dash - NO WAY!! The beauty of the VN is that with both hands on the wheel all your buttons are at your fingertips. Its luxuries like these we take for granted
Now i need a new toy

OMG! finally someone that see's my view aswell...... many people have asked me why dont i convert to a vr-vs dash, THATS WHY!

[Morton]

Ahhhhh yes! Someone else who appreciates the beauty of the VN/VP dashboard

The rest of the car's pretty schmick too. Love a black engine bay. A shiny motor always looks good in a black engine bay ^_^

Fantastic car, love the work behind it. Pics of the finished product when she's done I demand it!

[Deadman0880]

New V6 Block being sourced as we speak, as well as a new 5-spd w/slightly shorter 1st & 2nd gears and longer 4th & 5th gears. I'm also looking for longer diff gears if anyone has em out there?

Bodykit is nearing final stages of preparation and will be painted and on the car within the next week or two

[needwork2-4fillhabbit]

Any updates mate?

[Deadman0880]

Still workin to feed my habit! Ha Ha Ha!