VN Calais 355

[thewhisper17]

Daily Driver - VN Calais 355

Bought the car from Victoria 3 months ago(May), picked it up at 11pm, drove straight back to Sydney, back at work 7.30am next morning. Very tired during the day...
Spent a bit of coin getting this car roadworthy and back to a good standard. It's now registered and running a lot better than when I first got it.

Feel free to leave any comments. Always good to get other people's thoughts and ideas.

Car: 1989 VN Calais Series 1

Engine: 304i stroked to 355i, 10.5:1 compression courtesy of some Hypertek pistons, bearings and rings,
304 Crane hid cam, roller rockers, shaved head

Odometer: Dash - 299700, Motor - 55,000

Exhaust: Stock headers, standard cat, 2.5" cat-back piping.

Gearbox: T5

Colour: Two-tone champagne gold and silver

Exterior: Standard

Interior: Standard

Diff: Non LSD 3.08

Suspension: Front - Monroe GT Gas struts, Lovell springs
Rear - Pedders Sports Ryders, Pedders Touring Springs

Brakes: Front - Slotted rotors(standard v8 size), Bendix GCT pads
Rear - DBA slotted rotors, Bendix GCT pads.

Wheels: 16x7 VN SV5000

Tyres: Front - Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002 225/50/16
Rear - Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002 225/50/16

Bad Points:
Plastic gearstick surround
Instrument panel surround missing trip computer button
Needs dyno tune
Exhaust manifold
Needs a better exhaust system
AFR is slightly too lean
Front driver/passenger power window switches don't work
Tail lights, instrument panel/dash lights and stereo lack power.

What I've Done:
All 4 power window regulators
All 4 central locking actuators
New alarm + immobiliser
Replaced ignition barrel
Front - Monroe GT Gas struts, Lovell springs
Rear - Pedders Sports Ryders, Pedders Touring Springs
LHR & LHF Door Seal
Replaced both tail light looms
Reversing lights re-wired
Horn re-wired
Replaced pod filter with stock airbox w/ high-flow lid
NGK Spark plugs, Royal Purple engine oil, oil filter, K&N air filter, fuel filter, new radiator cap, brake fluid, 9mm Eagle leads
4 new tyres
Slotted front rotors + new pads
Slotted rear rotors + new pads
New master cylinder
New exhaust piping from cat-back
Replaced globes behind the instrument panel
Adjusted the handbrake
SAAS steering wheel
Bought engine covers
HSV Hi-flow airbox lid
RH hi-beam globe
VN SV5000 wheels 16x7 w/ RE002 Adrenalin 225/50/16 x4
Replaced tired diff with a lower km diff from VN SS, spray painted it chassis black
Upper and lower trailing arm heavy duty rubber bushes, urethane swaybar link-pin & D-bushes
Replaced tailshaft centre-bearing
80ltr long range fuel tank with a single in-tank Wahlbro 255l/hr hi-flow pump
Fuel pump relay
Second hand R/H side bracket for rear bumper bar
Replaced front struts(Monroe GT Gas)
New strut boots and bump stops
Nolathane Adjustable strut tops
New front upper spring seats
New lower ball joints
Procomp High Output Ignition Coil
Second hand L/F body bracket for the front bumper
DBA Slotted Rear rotors with Bendix GCT pads
Alpine Head unit, Kicker front speakers(mounted in VR/VS factory door pods), Kicker rear speakers, Kicker 12"sub and Kicker amps
Oil pressure gauge

Future Plans:
C.O.M.E. Racing Intake Twin Throttle Manifold or,
Top mount supercharger
Braided brake lines (F + R)
VN/VP SS bodykit and spoiler(?)
VY/VZ SS complete interior
1 3/4 extractors, single high-flow cat, 3" mandrel-bent to a twin dump-pipe tip
Heavy duty clutch
Haltech GM Sport Plug 'N' Play ECU
Air-Fuel ratio gauge
Bigger brake set-up (343mm front rotors, 315mm rear rotors)
VE Thunder Charcoal Grey respray
VN SS letterbox grill
Inner lower control arm bushes(urethane)
Castor rod bushes(urethane)
Oil cooler
Gearbox cooler
Low 12sec 1/4 mile

Pictures:

 

[thewhisper17]

Bought a complete set yesterday for $150. Fairly good nick, soon to go on once I've put new 225/50/16 Adrenalins on them.

 

[MADSS]

She looks pretty straight, some 3.9's and come manifold and its happy days.

SS kit will look cool. you may aswell paint it atlas grey if your putting the ss kit on.

 

[thewhisper17]

Yeah, grey seems to fit commodores well.
Spoke to the guys at Silverwater Auto Services, pretty happy with what they had to say. I'll be taking the calais down there soon so they can put on the new manifold, upgrade the fuel pump, put a new set of headers and a hi-flow cat on and give it a good dyno tune. Lad I spoke to, reckons I'll probably get around 240-250rwkw mark, all going well.

 

[MADSS]

Yeah, grey seems to fit commodores well.
Spoke to the guys at Silverwater Auto Services, pretty happy with what they had to say. I'll be taking the calais down there soon so they can put on the new manifold, upgrade the fuel pump, put a new set of headers and a hi-flow cat on and give it a good dyno tune. Lad I spoke to, reckons I'll probably get around 240-250rwkw mark, all going well.

Did you get a qoute for the tune mate???

i woundn't worry about hiflow cat, your standard will be just fine.

 

[thewhisper17]

Excluding headers and the cat, looking around the $1400 to $2000, depending on if they find any problems.

 

[88GreenVN]

Have you changed the engine covers around? they are on backwards

355 on a single pegger - LSD will help get the power down.

 

[thewhisper17]

I don't see how they're on backwards. :S
Yeah, bloody oath. I'll be getting a 3.45 LSD soon. Just gotta source a good one.

 

[Bz Kn33z]

The gap on the top covers are suppose to be at the back not the front. so you just swap then over

 

[thewhisper17]

Picked up a disc to disc 3.08 LSD from a VN SS off ebay. Should be better than the single pegger I have now...
Changed the engine covers. Looks better.

Sprayed the calipers today.