I am a lifelong Holden fan, having owned a Torana, a VC wagon, a VN wagon, a VX wagon, and currently my third Calais.
I was thinking of buying a VL non-turbo Berlina wagon from my nephew (for $2,000) and doing it up � it is mechanically sound as he is a Holden mechanic. I would like to add a turbo to it and change it to a manual � could anyone please give me some idea of what needs to be done and what would it cost? Is it worth considering this conversion, or should I just start out with a turbo VL anyway?
bobb
http://www.calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=4362
Hey, at the top of the page you were at to post this thread there was the above link, piece by piece. Have a really good read there.
It's probably easiest to start with a turbo/manual, it's just cheaper.
Brakes, Gearbox, Engine needs to be changed unless you're going to do the conversion and leave the engine as a high compression setup and bolt the turbo goods onto it.
All the bolt on turbo bits you could probably get for 1000-1500.
Then you're looking at a gearbox, mx7 (turbo manuals 1000-1500 again) or the r33 manual box which is getting used quite often now, 1000-1500 just for the box, then you need a yolk, pressure plate/ clutch etc, slave cylinder, add another 500-1000 onto that.
Brakes, can be done on the cheap but you may as well buy new rotors and then get second hand calipers. So you're looking at 200-300.
Rear diff in the n/a is 25 spline, will handle the power, but they're usually drum brakes as well, so you may want to track down a 28 spline or 25 spline disc brake rear.
Basically, it's doable - but costly if you want to do it properly. Cheaper to buy a vl turbo.
Doable, and cheaper if you can do the work yourself.
Another tip, apart from searching the what Bax has listed, is to look through some of CT's member's rides; a lot of people have gone from bottom of the food chain NAs to absolute animals. If you click on the link next to "Car:" under some people's location details (on the left), it'll take you to the thread about their car. Some of them are long and a good read/learning experience.
Here's some information to get you started:
Differentials (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=155191)
Brakes (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=134762)
Manual Conversions (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=74074)
NA to Turbo Conversions (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=147633)
Good luck!
<--- Click here to see people's rides.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bax
http://www.calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=4362
Hey, at the top of the page you were at to post this thread there was the above link, piece by piece. Have a really good read there.
It's probably easiest to start with a turbo/manual, it's just cheaper.
Brakes, Gearbox, Engine needs to be changed unless you're going to do the conversion and leave the engine as a high compression setup and bolt the turbo goods onto it.
All the bolt on turbo bits you could probably get for 1000-1500.
Then you're looking at a gearbox, mx7 (turbo manuals 1000-1500 again) or the r33 manual box which is getting used quite often now, 1000-1500 just for the box, then you need a yolk, pressure plate/ clutch etc, slave cylinder, add another 500-1000 onto that.
Brakes, can be done on the cheap but you may as well buy new rotors and then get second hand calipers. So you're looking at 200-300.
Rear diff in the n/a is 25 spline, will handle the power, but they're usually drum brakes as well, so you may want to track down a 28 spline or 25 spline disc brake rear.
Basically, it's doable - but costly if you want to do it properly. Cheaper to buy a vl turbo.
Hey Bax,
Thanks for the quick reply. As much as I like to get my hands dirty, it looks like quite a job to do it properly. Probably would be OK if my nephew lived nearby instead of in the bush. Might have to reconsider either staying n/a or getting a turbo vl to start with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 5spdvl
Doable, and cheaper if you can do the work yourself.
Another tip, apart from searching the what Bax has listed, is to look through some of CT's member's rides; a lot of people have gone from bottom of the food chain NAs to absolute animals. If you click on the link next to "Car:" under some people's location details (on the left), it'll take you to the thread about their car. Some of them are long and a good read/learning experience.
Here's some information to get you started:
Differentials (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=155191)
Brakes (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=134762)
Manual Conversions (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=74074)
NA to Turbo Conversions (http://calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=147633)
Good luck!
<--- Click here to see people's rides.
Thanks 5spdvl,
Looks like I have a bit of research to do before I make up my mind. Cheers.
if you just want to turbo it its doable. just bolt on the bits.
but if you have owned a few older cars before you will understand that what you don't replace will be your weak point. gearbox, diff, brakes, then the engine's bottom end. most people high comp their n/a's which means they probably haven't done the rest of the supporting mods aswell.
if you want it legal its easier to start with a turbo. ask tim! he started with an n/a and hes stiull a long way off of finished because he is doing his car properly. myself, i bought an n/a to begin with. i spent so much time on getting it cosmetically up to scratch and keeping the n/a components running i never got around to the turbo conversion. now i have a manual turbo wagon (original) had it on the road for a decent price and i am confident in its legality and can focus on making it a reliable clean car as opposed to all of the mods.
