1988 Holden VL Calais Turbo (original factory turbo) Boys and girls as seen on some other threads is my 1988 S2 VL Calais turbo, auto. can answer any questions that anyone has through this thread. hope you like it. [/QUOTE] Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

looks wicked man, absolutely love this car, and the bay is mint.

now thats neat

absolutely perfect, gd job mate!

More pic's at psiphotos.com thanks for your comments guys...

http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/H...L088-201_1.jpg (http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/HVL088/HVL088-201_1.jpg) http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/H...109_1thumb.jpg (http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/HVL088/HVL088-109_1thumb.jpg) http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/H...L088-203_1.jpg (http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/HVL088/HVL088-203_1.jpg) http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/H...L088-212_1.jpg (http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/HVL088/HVL088-212_1.jpg) http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/H...L088-014_1.jpg (http://www.psiphotos.com/mywebpage/HVL088/HVL088-014_1.jpg) ---------- Post added 15-04-11 at 13:34 ---------- Hey guys and girls just a couple more pics... Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

100% mint, awesome work

This is awesome! Can't get enough of that bay!

so perfect, i was expecting my tongue to stick to my computer screen, like it does when you lick the freezer ice.

i froff over o.g VL's

Your engine bay is what I'm using as a benchmark when detailing mine. Were the parts sprayed or powder coated? The plastic shroud etc -were those sprayed as well?

the plastic shroud has been sprayed EvilPet thanks for you comments guys obviously a great site/forum for VL owners and those that just like them, and its also good that people still enjoy a clean stocker..haha cause we all know how easy it is to wind up the boost and throw on a front mount, glad some of you guys like it...thanks

So immaculate, congratulations. There is not many VLs left like this. This is what people should aim for when working cars, not chopped springs cruiser with a cooler hanging 3 feet bellow the front bumper with a side mount number plate. I wouldnt eat off that engine bay cause it'd get dirty (lol). The only thing i can notice is the new hand brake handle.. possibly get a standard one

Quote: Originally Posted by Mickey [View Post] the plastic shroud has been sprayed EvilPet thanks for you comments guys obviously a great site/forum for VL owners and those that just like them, and its also good that people still enjoy a clean stocker..haha cause we all know how easy it is to wind up the boost and throw on a front mount, glad some of you guys like it...thanks Not into the "fully sik" look Yours have to be the best concourse styled engine bay I've seen - Any chance of more pics? - Is the fuel rail (and the other gold bits) powder coated or just painted? I'm at the point of instructing both the engine guy and panel beater - Same goes for he water pump (all the silver parts) - painted OR powder coated With the hoses and convoluted tubing, did you replace everything or polish them up? Seriously, if I can get mine to look like yours, I'd be very happy.

I'm happy you like it. Quite a bit of time and effort went into it, Not just the parts that you can see are clean i pulled the engine and trans out and everything besides the bottom end was pulled off the block and 20yrs of normal road use and age was pulled down, cleaned of if possible was replaced with genuine parts. Its quite easy to pull things off paint them and put them back on but if you want the finish product to last another 20yrs things have to done with thought which takes time if you haven't done this kind of thing before. Fuel rail was painted, same for all the other gold bits. Just make sure things get done right because some of your painted parts will get hot and the paint will not look good for long. Water pump is brand new genuine didn't touch it went straight on. i don't buy or use second hand parts, all hoses have been replaced new except for a couple of the manifold hoses which are no longer available. manifold, intake crossover pipe were all sandblasted. goodluck with your'se. once again i'm glad you like mine..

Quote: Originally Posted by Mickey [View Post] I'm happy you like it. Quite a bit of time and effort went into it, Not just the parts that you can see are clean i pulled the engine and trans out and everything besides the bottom end was pulled off the block and 20yrs of normal road use and age was pulled down, cleaned of if possible was replaced with genuine parts. Its quite easy to pull things off paint them and put them back on but if you want the finish product to last another 20yrs things have to done with thought which takes time if you haven't done this kind of thing before. Fuel rail was painted, same for all the other gold bits. Just make sure things get done right because some of your painted parts will get hot and the paint will not look good for long. Water pump is brand new genuine didn't touch it went straight on. i don't buy or use second hand parts, all hoses have been replaced new except for a couple of the manifold hoses which are no longer available. manifold, intake crossover pipe were all sandblasted. goodluck with your'se. once again i'm glad you like mine.. My engine wil be completely out. - New 110 amp alternator - Fuel rail and a few other pieces POWDER COATED as like you I'm conscious of what heat does. This includes the heat shields and exhaust manifold as well - New hoses where possible and I got some custom hoses made up in RED silicon. For the ones I can't get NOS I'll take the original, send it away, and get it custom made. Like you I want the bay to look as standard as possible but something a bit left to the centre. I've always envisaged the engine bay to look something like a pulmonary system with the rocker cover being the centrepiece (ie. heart) - but the look needs to be subtle and not over the top. Struggling to find a power steering NOS reservoir at the moment though. As for your engine - was it a full internal rebuild or just a clean out? I'm so tempted to replace things but my car is a genuine 95,000kms and the engine was rebuilt at 40,000kms by "Just Commodores" who used it as their show pony work car. What exactly did you get done to the engine itself? So am thinking what may need to be done to it.

everything was done myself. i just wanted to replace things and make it new. new head gasket and head bolts all new gaskets from manifold to sump new power steering pump, all new belts including cam belt new tensioner spring, new water pump, serviced the loom replaced all the connectors that were brittle and old, new thermostat everything was done. my advice to you do it all and properly while the eng is out. you don't want to put it back in and in 3 months you do a head gasket and you have to replace it in the car, make a mess, dirty finger prints everywhere, scratch's from tools, coolant and water everywhere etc. or if your not doing it you have to trust someone else to take care of your car which these days is rare!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mickey [View Post] everything was done myself. i just wanted to replace things and make it new. new head gasket and head bolts all new gaskets from manifold to sump new power steering pump, all new belts including cam belt new tensioner spring, new water pump, serviced the loom replaced all the connectors that were brittle and old, new thermostat everything was done. my advice to you do it all and properly while the eng is out. you don't want to put it back in and in 3 months you do a head gasket and you have to replace it in the car, make a mess, dirty finger prints everywhere, scratch's from tools, coolant and water everywhere etc. or if your not doing it you have to trust someone else to take care of your car which these days is rare! Thanks for the advice. I'm leaving it up to a bloke who does many show cars (he's got a few himself) and he's probably the only guy I would trust with my car to do that sort of work. Yes the bill will be hefty but at least I know there are no shortcuts. On the engine, so far I've agreed; - new water pump - turbo serviced - engine block cleaned and re-sprayed (along with all the other bits detailed per previous post) I'll have a chat with him about belts and gaskets. My car doesn't leak anything so I'll get his opinion but your point is taken especially replacing belts (but I do take into account my car has low kms). I only drive my car tops 6 weeks a year.

thats good mate i'm glad you taking the time to do things...my engine wasn't leaking anything either i just had it out and wanted it brand new when it went back in. knowing in my head evrything had been done. goodluck with your car look forward to seeing it on this site when your done...

Can I ask what paint you used on the inlet manifold? Car looks clean as My bad, missed that it was sandblasted >< With the bits that you DID paint, did you use VHT High Temp paint or similar? Some original photos have not been recovered yet.