Hi Guys. I was looking for ages for something different for summer cruising (after selling my old weekend warrior) I looked at some some VK's XD's XF's then looked at VN SS's and VR/VS SS's and I couldn't find anything that suited my pickyness when it came to condition. Then by chance I ended up finding this for sale after I had stopped looking. I was amazed I found such a clean, original and untouched example of a 20+ year old car. (only catch was it needed a rebuild/new engine due to 2 spun bearings but considering the condition the car in general this was no big deal) The end goal for the car was to have a 90's spec period correct Street machine style cruiser. I wanted to use parts that were popular in the commodore scene when the car was new. (E.g B&M shifter, gauges, aftermarket cassette deck, classic style simmons, cammed n/a engine) Model: 1994 VR Statesman (Caprice conversion) Stereo: Stock Engine & Mechanical: * VS Senator 185i 304 (Crane H276 Cam + Crow lifters, Crow hardened Pushrods, Yella Terra 1.65 Roller Rockers, JP Oil Pump, Rollmaster timing kit, KC Rocker Covers, MSD Blaster coil and leads) * GM 4L60-E + B&M Pro Ratchet Shifter + B&M Shift Kit + B&M Electronic Shift Controller + TCI Finned deep trans pan. * 3.46 M80 LSD * Pacemaker Tri Y Headers > 200 cell high flow cat > 2.5" Catback with Flowmaster delta 40 muffler. * MACE Cold Air Intake + Aeroflow filter * 52mm Alloy radiator, Aeroflow thermostat housing, BF Thermo fan, Derale PWM fan controller. * Aeroflow 120a alternator Interior: * Caprice Leather centre console and radio surround. * Retrimmed leather steering wheel. * Autometer Gauges * Custom trimmed colour coded floor mats. * Caprice door cards + dash trim. * WH S1 Caprice Seats Exterior: * Simmons V5 3 piece wheels (fully rebuilt and sprayed GM Alaskan white) * Clear Side Indicators * S3 garnish and tail lights and rear lower bumper lip. * Caprice Grille and badging * VS Caprice stand up badge * VS Caprice front indicators and fog lights Suspension: * Nolathaned Front End * King Spring Low Springs Brakes: * DBA T2 Slotted Rotors * QFM HPX Pads * Braided Lines.
looking smick. the VR-VS "show off your ride" section needs moar statesmans. They are one of my favorite cars. are those cup holders below the stereo?
They are indeed mate.....previous owner installed them, I found them yesterday and started using them hehe..score
Jelly. I seriously need to look into getting some cup holders too for my statey. Do they get in the way of the shifter? Also, this tread needs moar pics asap.
New pics uploaded now its all cut and polished (gotta give the people what they want) Starting on the blue LED conversion in the interior this week to get rid of the dated green (best mod I ever did to the old VS) Engine has developed a slight bearing knock when it gets warm, engine will be replaced in a month or two when I have the money then the dead one will become the start of the 355 project ;p (engine is still drivable for now at least) Exhaust also getting fiddled with this week (Removing the resonator from the existing catback and leaving the 2 mufflers in, should give it a little more growl)
Picked the new engine up yesterday, now to get started on it. (Now the car's all dirty after it's long drive out bush) (Pulled over by a funny cop on the way home who told me I can't have 16 cylinders on a stato haha) Before I drop it in I am: *Polishing Engine Covers, then painting the 5000 injection text black to make it pop then hit it with a high temp lacquer clear * Painting Rockers covers old school holden V8 red with black highlights in 2 pak * Cleaning & Polishing Throttle Body inside and out * Inlet Manifold, Rocker Cover, Sump, Rear main seal gaskets to ensure no oil leaks * New injectors * New Plugs & Leads * New Ignition Coil * New Radiator * New Water Pump Old motors still running strong (apart from its few bottom end knocks/rattles) so am taking my time to get this one perfect before the swap All my LED's arrived for interior illumination (have done heaps of LED conversions but never a stato, lots of little extra fiddly bits to do) Can't wait to get the new engine in so I can strip the old one down for a 355 (Jecs's engine is my inspiration)
Will do one on the weekend when it next leaves the garage, sounds tough.....needs more loud though....will be getting a new catback done for it as soon as the engine is in
Engine is back on the trailer, ready for its trip down to Adelaide monday morning to get dropped in the car.....So hopefully by next weekend it will be running perfectly again Then the real engine build can begin once I get the old block back ;P
Well picked the car up this afternoon, after 4 days of stuffing around with fitment etc the new engine is finally in and running....purs like a kitten now, just need to order the new exhaust and get some new engine mounts/trans mount as they are both ruined and causing some thumping through the floor pan/steering wheel etc LPG system is gone so I now have enough boot space to finish my audio install It's nice to be able to pull into my garage without dumping 2L worth of oil in it haha. Now to start stripping down the old engine.....let the fun begin
All good mate, good thing I had a workshop to do it in, ended up doing a lot more as the wiring loom was damaged/burned so had to resplice a lot of it, radiator was gone and removed the gas system so was a much bigger job than I was planning. Just waiting for the exhaust to arrive next week and I will be set
Well as this exhaust is so blocked/collapsed that it's almost stalling the engine I needed a temporary one so I am getting a single 2.5" with 1 muffler no res (will have a good volume to it) Hopefully later in the year will change it over to a full stainless twin system
