Sam's VN

This is my little project
I've owned the car since 3.1.2006 and it has well over 500,000km behind it by now.

1989 VN V6 series 1 (Lexcen)

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/26oct09a.jpg


http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/26oct09b.jpg


http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...VN/26oct09.jpg


http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...VN/samsvn1.jpg



a couple of pics that some people generously drew up :)

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...nStockies1.png


http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...SAMVNfinal.jpg



shot of the sway bar setup

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/IMGP2772.jpg

and a quick snap of where it will be living throughout the motor swap :)

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/IMGP2770.jpg


Interior and stereo:
Alpine head unit
Alpine 4" front speakers
Alpine Type S 6" rear speakers
2xCPU cooling fans for head unit - still not wired up yet
Mulberry interior (interior number four?) in progress
VY SS pedals
New cream coloured roof lining - not actually in the car :P
SAAS steering wheel - nothing but problems and shittyness, don't buy SAAS
VP Calais parcel shelf, speakers under stock grilles
VN Calais L3 instrument cluster and trip computer
Sound deadener and carpet stripped from floors and boot

Exterior:
Clear front indicators (Lexcen ones were orange)
Electric antenna
15"x7" interceptors
VN Calais front grille

Motor:
Rebuilt VR V6, internally standard
Bellmouth modified and opened up, shaped a bit
2.5" cat-back exhaust, stock catalytic converter, Pacemaker headers
K&N panel filter
Greenfoam tune
Smoothed out throttle body - http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...ttle-body.html

Suspension and driveline:
Rebuilt gearbox 11/1/08 with baby shift kit running 3 trans coolers - http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...eneficial.html
King superlow springs
Koni adjustable shocks, reds
Noltec adjustable strut tops
Wasp HD sway bar link pins
Whiteline strut brace
DBA gold drilled and slotted front rotors
Dual rear sway bars - http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...6-post309.html
Minispooled 3.08:1 rear axle



Engine swap underway..

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...t/IMGP2830.jpg


Best ET so far is 15.762, should hopefully skip the 14s and maybe even the 13s unless something goes wrong :)


I hope you like it :)
Sam

I once hade an affair with a VN V6. See here for a few posts about the old girl. Also see here for some pics and details. High 14's on a hot night in Brisbane with street pressures :doh:

Mick

Awesome :) they go alright for what they are. Mine hasn't broken down once in the 5 years that I owned it. Blew a radiator one time but that was entirely my fault and i was still able to drive it home so I don't think that counts as a breakdown.

Mine isn't going to be a VN V6 for long though ;)

Nice mate, sounds good. Ive had 2 VN's (one a manual and one an auto) and they are a tough machine and very easy to maintain! then i upgraded to a VP which is now sold :(. And that never ever broke down on me for over the 2 years i had it.

Hopefully you will be impressed when my pics will finally work :)

First post updated!

vn a nice car voted most popular car for bank robberys quite a few years ago

Picked up my T56 today :)

Long drive, but worth it I hope.. well - there's the motor and 'box in my shed, there's no backing out now !!

Sam

Went down to licensing's technical section this morning for a last minute double check the maximum CC rules.

Word is it's all OK :) the fact it's a Lexcen has no bearing on how big an engine you can put in, it's calculated (in WA at least) based on the weight of the vehicle's heaviest model variant. (Lexcen Newport sedan in my case).


PARTS ORDERING TIME!

Got a VL V8 K Frame on the way from QLD to kick it all off, will be placing orders with C.A.E. and Mal Wood very shortly.

I'm very excited, and a tiny bit scared.

Sam

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/CAEorder.jpg

I had a 88 VN Exec manual, form 1989 to 1994, bought a '93 VP V6 auto in '94. The manuals are fantastic, went very well considering I think Holden claimed 125Kw power. I never liked the handling of the VN, and the VP was little better, they never felt stable. No doubt if I would have pursued some suspension mods they could have been improved. I bought a new VS in 97, and it was a lot better, I know the front suspension was changed from VN/ VP to VR/ VS series. Main problem I had with VN I think was computer died on me, and water pump otherwise pretty good from memory. The manual was the ants pants really. When it came to buying the VP I wanted a manual again, but couldn't seem to find one, or they were rather expensive. In the end I bought an auto. I think really not much has changed - if your are looking at getting a near new Commodore V6, an Exec auto (now Omega), will be heaps cheaper than a manual car. I would say you would probably spend nearly $10,000 extra to get a VE (SV6) manual over an Omega auto, yet theoretically a manuals are about $2,000 cheaper than an equivalent auto. I think I have gone of the original topic. Enjoy the modded VN, in that light weight VN - VS body the V6 goes very well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redvxr8clubby

Enjoy the modded VN, in that light weight VN - VS body the V6 goes very well.

---

I know what you mean about the changes from VN to VR/S.. whatever they did made a big difference. I notice this all the time, as I bought a VR runabout for while the VN gets its motor swap.

The V6 does go alright in the VNs, mine went incredibly well on fuel too (read: low 7.x L/100km in the hills), hope it's up to the task for power handling with the LS1 in it!

Also, first thing I decided when doing this conversion was it would be a manual. I am so sick of automatic cars, they annoy me in so many ways it's not even funny. I could easily have mated the LS1 to the already strong T700 in the VN, but I decided from the start it would be a T56.

Well here she is at the moment guys...

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010433.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010434.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010435.jpg






Interior:

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010436.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010437.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010438.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010441.jpg






Inspiration:

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010449.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/e...N/P1010452.jpg


Sam

Savage.....good post & good info.....looks like a nice straight VN you've got there.....keep the info & photos coming.
Cheers, Pickles.

looks like a great project mate. Good on you.

Keep the photos and progress coming mate. Very interesting!.

Dave