1995 VS Calais - A2A Cooled L67

[wamboin23]

I think the adaptor was around $300, but it was close to two years ago now, so they may have gone up.

It goes well

 

[F l a k]

Sweet Calais, man. With the exhaust, was it just a vibration at certain revs under load, possibly from the Y pipe? And the solid mount fixed this? I'm having that problem with mine atm so I'd appreciate any help.

 

[SweetWagon]

Sweet setup you get there mate. How does the L67 go with the T5? I am in the process of dropping an L67 into my Calais and am thinking about selling off the auto and fitting a T5. How much did the adapter set you back?

That or I got an ecotec flywheel for $250 and balancing cost $50.

 

[wamboin23]

Sweet Calais, man. With the exhaust, was it just a vibration at certain revs under load, possibly from the Y pipe? And the solid mount fixed this? I'm having that problem with mine atm so I'd appreciate any help.

nah the extractors where actually hitting the body under WOT in first and second. the solid mount stops the twisting of the engine so the exhaust doesn't lift.

That or I got an ecotec flywheel for $250 and balancing cost $50.

or you can do that. i couldn't find anyone local to do it, and didn't want to wait.
I've had no problems at all with the flywheel.

 

[F l a k]

nah the extractors where actually hitting the body under WOT in first and second. the solid mount stops the twisting of the engine so the exhaust doesn't lift

Right, thanks I'll have a good look at it next time it's on the hoist and see if that's the same for me.

 

[wamboin23]

Just a quick update of things I've done recently.

Following on from last update, I fitted the VY wiper switch to suit the indicator switch. Came up well, and all works as it should.



A couple of weeks ago, Repco had the Mothers Clay Bar kit on special. I decided to give it a go, after heaps of people saying how good they are.
Went over the entire car with the Clay Bar, then polished and waxed. Very happy with how it came up.



Just this weekend gone, I fitted a reco power steering rack. I went with a standard non-variable assistance rack, to get a bit more clearance around the extractors/clutch cable area.
Had to change the intermediate shaft between the rack and steering column, and also the two lines to the rack. Ended up with heaps more clearance, plenty of room for the clutch cable to run with out melting all over the extractors.



Also, on the weekend, I started cutting out the front bar, ready for foglights and foglight bezels.
I had an old set of bezels with no tabs, so I turned them into templates. Then I marked it out on the bar, and used a drill to make a hole, then cut it using a saw. After a bit of tidying up and removing extra plastic with a file, the bezels slipped in as good as they were going to.

I was going to get the bezels sprayed at a panel beaters, but decided to give it a go myself. They came up pretty good considering they were done with spray cans (one of the great thing about having a car that is factory colour, buying paint straight off the shelf!).

I had already wired up the foglight switch when I did the wiper switch, so that was one part crossed off.

Pulled the front bar off last night, and fitted the bezels and the lights themselves. All the holes were in the reo bar already, so it was just a matter of bolting them in. Wired them up to the plugs near the headlights, and, hey presto! Worked like a charm. So front bar went back on and it was all done.



Got a trip to Bathurst this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some good pics of the Calais at the top of the mountain...

 

[Wombles]

Looks good as man!

 

[Haydz]

awesome idea with the shifter rubber seal. also love the pyramid shifter haha

 

[wamboin23]

awesome idea with the shifter rubber seal. also love the pyramid shifter haha

saves having to find a genuine one and paying a ridiculous price.

still pretty happy with the shifter surround, hasn't cracked or anything, and still looks fine.

 

[wamboin23]

Just a quick update of a few things I’ve done lately.

After seeing VKCOMMO’s thread on door handles the other day, I decided to give it a go, after ‘going to give it a go’ for the last few months.
Done three of them now, I just pull one of and do it when a get a spare couple of hours.
They will definatly need to be properly chromed. After it rains, the next day they are pretty much white with corrosion.
The last one I did, I decided to go a bit further and add some illumination. I had some spare flexible 3 LED strips. Mounted one underneath the handle, and connected it to the interior door lights.
I’ll do another one, but this time I will put two strips in, end to end, to try and spread the light out a bit. The will eventually be connected to the interior lights, so they come on when the doors are unlocked.




Bought a bonnet protector the other day, to cover up the stone chips, and stop any further chips.
Also grabbed a can of paint, and painted the back side. Came up well, wouldn’t even know about the damage underneath.
The only downsides are, it covers the Holden badge, so I’ll possibly stick a spare badge on the protector, and, the protector has a lip the sticks up on the back edge, and looks a little strange. I may possibly get a genuine one and fit that instead.




Picked up a 3.89:1 diff at a good price the other day. Had it fitted on Thursday morning, and will keep it for a week or so and see what I think of the ratio.

I’ve only driven it a few times so far, it doesn’t seem to bad, but sits around 2250rpm at 100kph, and 2500 at 110kph, which is right in the ‘drone zone’ of a six. Depending on how the exhaust turns out, it may be ok though.
Acceleration is heaps better, but it’s hard to tell exactly because the speedo is so far out. I’ve got a speedo corrector kit from Jaycar to build once I get back from holidays, so that will fix that problem up.
I dare say that I will stay with a 3.89:1LSD, but will defiantly jump on a 3.7 gearset if one comes up.


And to finish off, a few pics from the trip to Bathurst I did back at the start of September. We had 30 cars turn up for what was a good day.



Anyway, stay tuned for more updates as I rush to get everything I want to do (intercooler, exhaust , suspension and 3.7/3.89LSD) done before Summernats.