VX SS Commodore - My diary.

[Chuckmeister]

Hi guys..new here but thought I might start a dairy of where this is gonna take my car.
Just turned old so I think this car will end up being my mid life crisis
I recently bought a bone stock vx that had 168k klm's on the clock. Was clean and seemed well looked after. The trim is good and the panels just had a few car park dents in it. Not bad for a car of its age. Bought a cheap pdr of ebay and sorted most out.
Mechanically fine too. Lifters rattle for the first second or 2 before going away. I have been told that lifters can be a problem on ls1's but it does go away quickly so I'm just guessing that it might just be the character of the motor.
I have replaced the radiator and water pump and full service, new plugs, leads etc.
The car was pretty dirty and flat and this was day one after getting her home.

I gave her a buff and polish and ended up with this...

Came up pretty good after the buff. I then decided on a set of om-1 simmons wheels. 20x9.5 and 20x8.5 staggered and 245 tyres. Replaced the badges side and rear and the chrome was flaking off, the door jam protectors etc

then I decided to paint the mud flaps... lol yeah I know its small but it really made a difference in my eyes. Most people think that mud flaps have no place but I like them..

So other than a few other small things like the white venetians on the back, replacing the drivers door lock that suddenly seized, installing a kill switch etc...thats about all I've done so far.

The next few mods I hope to do in the next few months.
I have her booked in for a set of stainless pacemakers and manta exhaust. The exhaust has been a difficult choice as there is so much opinion on them but I feel that I should be pretty close to the mark with this combo. 2.5 inch seems to be everyone's recommendation. I'll upload a vid of the before and after's when done.

Next on the list is a 3.9 truetrac diff and I also want to get the auto shifts tightened up a little at the same time.

next would be the cam and cai. No idea on that front. I will have to trust the mechanics choice on that one. Its gonna be a well driven car so I dont want a drag pig but I definately want it to sound like it has a cam.

After all thats done then thats really where the story begins I guess with how far I go with it..

Chuck

 

[vr304]

Nice vx ss mate I used to have one but manual and silver, you’ll love the diff gear and true trac upgrade I did the same to mine and it made a huge difference!! The 3.9’s might be a bit revvy with the auto tho? I found them great with a manual but that has another 2 gears also if you get motive brand gears they do have a tendency to whine a little bit

 

[EYY]

3.9’s don’t have them revving too hard. Had 3.9’s in my vx ss until I pulled the diff out to rebuild it. Currently have 3.07’s in it, and shift points are much nicer for highway driving. At 100kmph it’ll kick down to 2nd with the 3.07 whereas it’ll only kick down to 3rd with the 3.9. So 3.07’s are much better for highway overtaking. Anything under 100k’s is much more fun with the 3.9’s though.

If you get a cam, make sure you get at least a 3000rpm histall (which is a great benefit to even a stock ls).

 

[Chuckmeister]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was unsure if the 3.9's might have been a little short but its a city car and really I'm just gonna be blasting from stop sign to stop sign.
Yeah I forgot to add in the stall to the original post but I didn't know that a higher stall was beneficial to even a stock ls1. Not sure what a stall is worth but if I save up my lunch money then I might see if I can get it done at the same time as the diff.
The last car I played around with was an EH holden 25 years ago so all the info I can get certainly helps.

 

[Chuckmeister]

quick update.. Got my exhaust put in today. Full pacemaker system in 2 1/2 inch. Its gone from a crappy sounding v8 to something it should have sounded like from the beginning. I had a third muffler put in to keep things quiet also anticipating when the cam goes in that it will get a little louder.
Anyway I made a short vid...its a bit crappy but gives the idea

 

[Big_Simmo]

looking rather nice & tidy there mate
Exhaust sounds significantly better too, loved the Darryl you had going in the shed !

 

[Chuckmeister]

Thanks Simmo...theres always a dazza or jimmy or similar playing in the garage...I use it to scare the young kids away while I'm not in there 6ix ftw lol
Ty EYY... I was talking to a transmission guy yesterday about a stall converter...it makes perfect sense now. The recommendation was to maybe do the exhaust, diff...put in a converter and a cai...give it a professional tune and drive it around for a while (as in 12 months or so) and see how I like it before I decide on a cam or cam choice.

 

[Deuce]

Nice tidy car mate, sounding good now too

see how I like it before I decide on a cam or supercharger.

I fixed your spelling mistake here too

 

[vr304]

Nice tidy car mate, sounding good now too

I fixed your spelling mistake here too

Or both lol

 

[Chuckmeister]

lol supercharger...that may be a few years down the track

Atm I'm talking to so many people and getting so much different advice that its a little hard to get a clear path (as well as sifting through the crappy tradesmen around my area). The original idea was to get 400 at the wheels but I'm getting the idea that I might be thinking of numbers too much rather than the drive. I'm just gonna be a stop sign to stop sign dude just enjoying the drive. Not into burnouts and dragging etc but I also want it to sound tough. So I've been talked into torque is king and that a stock cam is hard to beat for torque. The cam choice really is the challenge to the puzzle.

I went to a performance shop last week and his recommendation was to do the exhaust, 3.9 gears and a stall converter...give it a tune and see how I go with it. He was saying that every one of those steps will produce a different car and the cam may not even be needed (being a daily as well).
Then I speak to another guy that says 400 at the wheels isn't an issue even though most people are saying its a stretch (as a daily) without head work etc. It can be done but drivabilty may be an issue.

The transmission guy was pretty heavily warning me that 400hp is the upper limits of these transmissions...
so... I think the next step forward is following the performance shops advice...I'll get the 3.9's in...in a few weeks..then a converter and cai...get a tune and see how it goes. I was going to try and avoid the excess tunes but I'll try it this way and if it need a cam (which I know it will lol ) then I'll just outlay for the extra cam tune.