Got some new plates.. really makes the car look a whole lot better in my opinion Let me know what you's think guys.. Some feedback would be great. Thanks Nick Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

those seats are immaculate, rear headrests too... good find. Plates look good too, just need an intercooler hanging out the front now lawl. Good project mate

Quote: Originally Posted by samsSL [View Post] those seats are immaculate, rear headrests too... good find. Plates look good too, just need an intercooler hanging out the front now lawl. Good project mate Thanks mate, they need a good steam clean and they will be mint, hahaha I wish it was turbo lmaoo.. thanks for the feedback

Not a fan of Calais seats in an Executive, however, respect for the obvious passion and work involved. Keep it NA forever I reckon. What's the deal now regarding age and driving Turbo cars?

Varies from state to state, Here in ACT we can drive whatever we want on our P plates and they even offer a "P off" course which means your still on your P plates but you no longer have to display them on your car. NSW on the other hand, if you're on any kind of P plates...you can't drive anything with a turbo or V8...sucks to be you guys haha

Quote: Originally Posted by fleas [View Post] Not a fan of Calais seats in an Executive, however, respect for the obvious passion and work involved. Keep it NA forever I reckon. What's the deal now regarding age and driving Turbo cars? Mine were pretty dirty and had a few tear's in them and calais interior is way comfier so I went for that. Hmm Im still tossing up either turboing it or seliing it later on and buy an already turbo'ed VL. P Plates in sydney cant drive turbo or V8's..

Cool, driving rules still the same then. Yeah, was gonna say you're better off getting an already turboed car. Love how shiny and tidy yours is at the moment though.

Quote: Originally Posted by fleas [View Post] Cool, driving rules still the same then. Yeah, was gonna say you're better off getting an already turboed car. Love how shiny and tidy yours is at the moment though. A standard t3 setup or an already turbo'd A8 VL... Decisions..decisions Thanks man the paint came up so good after a polish, I used that turtle wax specific colour polish it comes in most popular colours.. I used the red one obviously.

Finally got around to becoming a member so i can comment on this. Looks awesome mate! its the inspiration i'm looking to follow with mine, keeping it clean, simple (obviously took a lot of effort to get there!), but very, very nice indeed. And yes... the number plates look good as well. 2 questions, How did u get your headlights so clean? or did you replace them? What did you do to prep and re spray your bars and moulds? I want to do the same, but have no clue how to start. Keep it up, looking really good.

Quote: Originally Posted by BigM22 [View Post] Finally got around to becoming a member so i can comment on this. Looks awesome mate! its the inspiration i'm looking to follow with mine, keeping it clean, simple (obviously took a lot of effort to get there!), but very, very nice indeed. And yes... the number plates look good as well. 2 questions, How did u get your headlights so clean? or did you replace them? What did you do to prep and re spray your bars and moulds? I want to do the same, but have no clue how to start. Keep it up, looking really good. Thanks mate, definatly took a lot of effort well worth it Im my opinion. Its pretty simple these are the steps I followed: 1) Sand them down with 400 grit dry 2) Fill any chips or scratches with some filler/ bog and then re-sand with 400 to get it smooth 3) 1 or 2 coats of filler primer on the moulds with filler on them 4) Sand again 400 dry and all other bars moulds aswell. 5) As for paint I used those little touch up cans that supercheap auto sell, I used 'DARK GREY METALLIC' which is almost an exact match to mx grey, only it has a little bit of sparkle in it. If your doing all the bars/moulds then you wont need to match it to the others done in MX Grey. Thats pretty much a rough idea anyway. PM me if you need any tips while your doing it. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by VLT222 [View Post] Thanks mate, definatly took a lot of effort well worth it Im my opinion. Its pretty simple these are the steps I followed: 1) Sand them down with 400 grit dry 2) Fill any chips or scratches with some filler/ bog and then re-sand with 400 to get it smooth 3) 1 or 2 coats of filler primer on the moulds with filler on them 4) Sand again 400 dry and all other bars moulds aswell. 5) As for paint I used those little touch up cans that supercheap auto sell, I used 'DARK GREY METALLIC' which is almost an exact match to mx grey, only it has a little bit of sparkle in it. If your doing all the bars/moulds then you wont need to match it to the others done in MX Grey. Being acrylic, hit it with a few clear coat afterwards. Give it a buff and polish once the paints cured and itll really bring out the shine Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by VLT222 [View Post] Thanks mate, definatly took a lot of effort well worth it Im my opinion. Its pretty simple these are the steps I followed: 1) Sand them down with 400 grit dry 2) Fill any chips or scratches with some filler/ bog and then re-sand with 400 to get it smooth 3) 1 or 2 coats of filler primer on the moulds with filler on them 4) Sand again 400 dry and all other bars moulds aswell. 5) As for paint I used those little touch up cans that supercheap auto sell, I used 'DARK GREY METALLIC' which is almost an exact match to mx grey, only it has a little bit of sparkle in it. If your doing all the bars/moulds then you wont need to match it to the others done in MX Grey. Thats pretty much a rough idea anyway. PM me if you need any tips while your doing it. Awesome, thanks for that As for paint, ive got a couple of cans of pre-mixed (by holden) MX Grey Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by FLY-03L [View Post] Being acrylic, hit it with a few clear coat afterwards. Give it a buff and polish once the paints cured and itll really bring out the shine I wasn't bothered with putting clear on but it definalty make's a difference.

Update.. I know its still early days, but I want to start accumulating parts for my turbo conversion. If decided to go hi-flow t3 and all the other bits VLT Spec, upgrade the gearbox, breaks and some suspension components. So the future mods for the car: - Standard turbo setup with hi-flow t3 - R33 gts-t manual gearbox/ w HD Clutch - VLT break upgrade/ w 1'' master and booster - 3'' Exhaust from dump - Nice strong headgasket (cometic or equivalent) - Adjustable pan-hard bar - New rear/ front Nolathane bushes and new rear shocks - Possibly a VLT fuel pump?? - Nistune This is just very general for now untill I actually get the ball rolling with it so yeah, Ill be doing all the work myself or untill I get stuck with something I guess. Ive estimated about $4500 all up with other bits and pieces thrown in. Realistically Id like to make 200rwk or close enough to it. Anyways guys let me know what you's think, is it worth it and what not, I never really plan on selling my car so this can all be done over time. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

nice work on the diff, did you orginally start with the a "disc diff" on your VL SL? or was it drummed?

Quote: Originally Posted by VLT222 [View Post] Update.. I know its still early days, but I want to start accumulating parts for my turbo conversion. If decided to go hi-flow t3 and all the other bits VLT Spec, upgrade the gearbox, breaks and some suspension components. So the future mods for the car: - Standard turbo setup with hi-flow t3 - R33 gts-t manual gearbox/ w HD Clutch - VLT break upgrade/ w 1'' master and booster - 3'' Exhaust from dump - Nice strong headgasket (cometic or equivalent) - Adjustable pan-hard bar - New rear/ front Nolathane bushes and new rear shocks - Possibly a VLT fuel pump?? - Nistune This is just very general for now untill I actually get the ball rolling with it so yeah, Ill be doing all the work myself or untill I get stuck with something I guess. Ive estimated about $4500 all up with other bits and pieces thrown in. Realistically Id like to make 200rwk or close enough to it. Anyways guys let me know what you's think, is it worth it and what not, I never really plan on selling my car so this can all be done over time. Nice plan. $4500 should get you there, but only just. Do things like suspension, brakes, gearbox etc whilst you're on your P's so that once you're ready to turbo it you're good to go Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nukz [View Post] Nice plan. $4500 should get you there, but only just. Do things like suspension, brakes, gearbox etc whilst you're on your P's so that once you're ready to turbo it you're good to go Thats the plan man, get all the stuff that doesn't involve the engine first, then go from there.. ---------- Post added 08-11-12 at 22:09 ---------- Quote: Originally Posted by Mad87VL [View Post] nice work on the diff, did you orginally start with the a "disc diff" on your VL SL? or was it drummed? Umm I got it with VLT diff but it was rooted lol chewed axels and a loose as lsd.. Now its heaps tight, thanks Nukz..

As for head gaskets I was thinking of a cometic 1.3mm, is this too big? or would this be safer and bring down compression a little?

1.3mm (0.051") is the factory gasket thickness, so it will keep your compression at 9:1 assuming you're running an A6 bottom end. I'd be going with the 0.073" gasket just in case you've had a bit taken off the head in the past.. it gives you some room to move. And even if not, then it lowers your CR down to about 8.5-1 which is a good compromise

Quote: Originally Posted by Nukz [View Post] 1.3mm (0.051") is the factory gasket thickness, so it will keep your compression at 9:1 assuming you're running an A6 bottom end. I'd be going with the 0.073" gasket just in case you've had a bit taken off the head in the past.. it gives you some room to move. And even if not, then it lowers your CR down to about 8.5-1 which is a good compromise Thanks nuk, it will give me piece of mind so it doesn't start pinging off its head and will last. Im pretty sure its still got the stock head on it, no head work so it should be fine, do you know where you can get the 1.8mm size?