I have been idle - and now I have rekindled an old love....

[BanPC]

It has not felt like years... but it has been.

Years since I looked forward to turning the key on "Charlie" my 2006 series one ssv commodore, hearing the rumble of pushrod v8 with a slight undertone of gilmer driven eaton twin screw forced induction.

Life work etc had led me away - to living abroad in China and busy getting on with it.

So a couple of weeks ago I did some number crunching thinking about should I/shouldn't I by a 2017 Camry - sorry VF, as the last of the commodores etc etc and I remembered what my old mechanic Grandad told me - before you buy new wash, polish and wax the old....So thats what I did - two days of washing detailing polishing and waxing old charlie - even detailing engine bay, took the wheels off detailed in there - really went to town.

Stood back with a few lubricating Carona's under my belt and thought - **** thats a good looking car - I love the staunch shoulders of the front guards - the C pillar that Flows (no VF straight edge) over the rear 9.5's. Admittedly the six pot wilwood calipers and monster discs and lower stance help - but I remember ordering the black and silver calipers rather than the "look at me" red/yellow so that the upgrade would be subtle.

I had fitted Koni FSD front/rear struts and Whitline adj sway bars last time I got a bit enthusiastic - but really had the wrong springs to do them any justice - so getting back to the numbers again including purchase price of 29K in 2007 (I know right? Auctions baby auctions) in total with the harrop 2300 - transmission toughen up - wheels/tyres/VCM Otr etc total spent to date is $53K - thats $5300 a year - way cheaper than a horse.

With this in mind and a new vigor I went to pedders and got the fully adjustable coilovers because well - because. **** me new car - set softer than the Koni's so no more crashing into the pitiful dog tracks we call roads waiting to get onto a new bit of bitumen to enjoy.... but still feels tight with controlled body roll. This then spurned me on... the drivers seat was showing it's age so I drove for a sticky beak at a wreckers and walked out with a HSV dash with gps sat nav and hsv instrument cluster, complete leather GTS interior door cards, all seats blah blah..

So in effect I have spent another $6K on an 11 year old car - which is cheaper than a new car but silly non the less I guess - BUT still cheaper than a horse.

But what price do you put on a S/C V8 howling through a twin 3 inch zorst, AC/DC (the real one with Bonn Scott singing) cranked and the cheque book dick in the C63 wondering WTF? as you pull away. You can't, same as you can't put a price on the time spent together with my son safety wiring the hat bolts to the Wilwood discs before the swap out, the time we spent driving back from WA after the engine swap (I did a thread somewhere about it). Because the valuable commodity in our lives is TIME - it's not $, $ are good don't get me wrong - but when you spend an hour you don't get it back.

So as this verbal vomit comes to an end the last thing to go on Charlie is a full makeover - we are going to smooth those sides by pissing off the door handles, then some nice flow coating of Phantom Black with a few clears on top and that'll do me - I'll hang onto him as a classic bit of time in Australia when shit was real....

Pics to follow I think....

[UNLEASHED]

Loved my old VE...I went step further back and went further back. Would have LOVED the option of keeping her but...❤

[Micks]

Great to see you back in the fold Ban
Whilst my VE was nice & my VF2 is I just love the grunt & rawness of my VZ

[whitels1ss]

Loved my old VE...I went step further back and went further back.

That VP looks great!

[UNLEASHED]

That VP looks great!

Thanks mate! I'm hoping the new Simmons from tempes fit better than these ones...should have some DISH on the back...lol.

Sent from your mum..

[BanPC]