hey guys, the names Trav, im 22 and live in Adelaide's north. I started by buying this 88' Vl Calais back in late October 2010, it was in average condition with some faded paint, a few k's on the clock and a original and very tidy SII beige interior. I shopped around and at the time it was the best for the money, a deal was made and i drove it home the next day. Having driven the car around for a month or so and previously owning a boosted vl, i couldnt resist throwing on a standard turbo setup i had lying around. I also fitted a 3" dump and gktech no holes intercooler kit. Everything was going swell when one afternoon i noticed a water leak from under the car. i took a quick look and it was coming from the water pump, being 5min away from home i nursed it back and switched it off. So the water pump was removed and to be replaced with a new item. Upon cleaning the block face we noticed a sealant covering the best part of the front welsh plug so it was removed also to be replaced by a new item. What we didnt expect to find was a hard gunk lined within the motors cooling system and with a respray soon on the cards the whole motor was pulled out to be freshly rebuilt. The entire car was then stripped and prepped for fresh coat of a custom gold pearl mix based on the original colour platinum All holes welded up and lumps smoothed The wiring was hidden in the inner guards From here the car was sent to Gawler Bodyworks where my mates who worked there spent they're Easter holidays of 2011 getting all the panels straight and looking like glass. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

\ And after months of work, various trips to rare spares, u pull it and purchases off ebay the car was back together..... ive just recently bought a driveline for the car which includes a forged motor built by JPC & Keas built 3sp. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Coming along really nicely, well done. Good writeup and lots of great pics. Can't wait for more updates Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

beautiful job!

Looks really really nice.

Engine bay looks awesome dude nice. Along with the whole car of course.

Very nice job. Mint colour 2.

looks good mate. doing it right

thanks for the comments guys UPDATE... ok so a little while ago i got the car back from the auto electricians....a mate done all the work for me at next to nothing rates... very happy with the work. i had the fusebox relocated into the glovebox, re-wired a NOS fuse rail, relocated battery to the boot, hidden headlight wiring, installed a headunit and neatened up some odd wiring througout the car. Also picked up a manual steering rack and intermediate shaft, so fitted new rack ends, tie rod ends and rack boots. recently picked up a driveline package for the car... specs are: Engine is a JPC built RB30ET, Blueprinted, balanced, de-burred, crack tested & o-ringed block forged billet 4340 steel rods sps forged pistons 7.0:1 king big end bearings Ported head Wade 1147c cam & Crow valve springs JPC adjustable cam gear High energy Sump Hot side: low mounted Garret GT3582r 1.06 rear PSR 45mm External wastegate with screamer pipe Cold side: Rajab racing plenum El throttle body Fuel system: Proflow 57L fuel cell Aeromotive Eliminator Fuel pump 100 micron & 40 micron aeroflow fuel filters Billet twin feed fuel rail 750cc Siemens Deka injectors Aeromotive rising rate FPR went for this setup as ill be running e85, and i plan to upgrade injectors when the time comes. All managed by a Link plug & play ECU Trans is a KEAS built 3sp jatco, fully manualised with a 2800rpm stall converter Rear end consists of a rebuilt Vl turbo LSD with 3.9's In the boot... Got some more things polsihed... Low mounted B&M pro ratchet shifter Had the factory N/A runners cleaned up and painted... Rocker cover, timing cover and fan shroud all painted a custom black... The engine bay how it sits at the moment, still plenty to do just chipping away at it... Major things left to do, install engine wiring loom, fit intercooler & transcooler, plumb up fuel to engine bay, have exhaust and intercooler piping fabricated and get tuned Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Good stuff.

looking real good mate

so clean mate, sick job

Im in love! Dude, this is awesome. Cant wait to see more updates

Damn this is good. Well done.

God damn you done a GOOD job on this mate... Mine just had a shut door blow over spray job... Cant wait to strip it down and paint it inside out much like yourself Engine bay looks amazing and that before the motors even gone in Keep it updated Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

So damn neat. Love it.

very nice indeed love the bay Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Awesome stuff mate, looking good

picked up my vl from AM performance today, had a 3" dump - 4" system all in stainless steel made over the diff, 2 mufflers titanium tip and 3" cooler piping fabricated as well, love the qualitiy of the work! just some fiddly bits to go then off to the tuners! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Good stuff trav going to sound tough!