22-01-04, 23:30 GMT+10#1
After owning a N/A VL Executive for almost 2 years with only the basic mods (extractors & exhaust), I was long overdue for an upgrade and something new. The decision was made to upgrade to a Calais Turbo, however with insurance prices being so high and myself only being 19, I was persuaded to pursue the N/A Calais upgrade.
After 2 months of looking I found exactly what I wanted. Low K's, perfect body, no rust and only the 2nd owner, who knew the cars full history as he bought it of a Mechanic working for Nissan who has owned it since new (over 13yrs).
Having been owned only by older mechanics the car was as you can imagine stock as a rock apart from some 16" GTS copies and a 3 CD stacker. I was quite happy with the Calais 'luxuries' for almost 3 months, however started to again feel as though I was missing something. Power!
I got a second job and started looking for parts for a Turbo Conversion.
After browsing the forums for a while I found a BT1 that was getting stripped, basically exactly what was I looking for and snapped up all parts needed for the conversion. (Thanks to Troy!)
Having all parts sitting in the shed just waiting to go on, a call was made to fellow forum member OVL87, who assisted me in the conversion.
And the turbo conversion began.
Turbo Drops In
Tightening those damn bolts
Manifold on and ready to go
Having disconnected the exhaust to prepare for the 3" Mandrel to go on, the car was towed to the exhaust shop to prepare and mount the exhaust.
Having not driven the car yet, there was much anticipation to pick it up from the shop and drive it home. The keys were exchanged and I took off slowly not really sure what to expect and as the revs built up I was sucked back into the seat and a smile was imbedded in my face that would last for weeks.
The car remained as is for about 2 months until a Auto Metre boost gauge was fitted and single stage boost controller. Before the boost could be raised the cooler had to be fitted, however due to its large size some major adjustments had to be made.
Placing the cooler in the correct place took quite some time, as I wanted to ensure my Air Conditioning was saved so it was basically moved millimetre by millimetre until the optimum position was found and then she was bolted on.
All that was left was the front bar to be put back on, after that was fitted it was taken out for a test run. It seemed more responsive, while now emitting the beautiful sound many know as 'the flutter'. The boost was left at 6psi due to the remaining high compression from the N/A motor. A stage 2 HKS BOV was also included on the cooler piping, however I decided to leave it disconnected.
The front bar was put back on and I was one step closer the VL I had always dreamed off.
A new set of lowered King's and much needed suspension package will be added within the next month to provide a much more respectable ride height.
At this stage there are no future plans, however like any VL owner I�m sure its more a matter of when as opposed to if the next mod will occur.
Some original photos have not been recovered yet.
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