Discussion
I’ve just pulled the trigger on this…… https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211151...
It’s as good as it looks and sounds, and will be my daily driver. I’ve done all the usual checks and it’s had pretty much everything done (bar a supercharger). I have to sort out the ICE as that really dates it, but apart from that WOW!
I own a VT2 manual (which will be for sale shortly) and this is such a step up IMO.
As the ad states, it hasn’t wanted for much but can any of you guys recommend any mods/upgrades that might make daily-big it more fun/comfortable/special?
It’s as good as it looks and sounds, and will be my daily driver. I’ve done all the usual checks and it’s had pretty much everything done (bar a supercharger). I have to sort out the ICE as that really dates it, but apart from that WOW!
I own a VT2 manual (which will be for sale shortly) and this is such a step up IMO.
As the ad states, it hasn’t wanted for much but can any of you guys recommend any mods/upgrades that might make daily-big it more fun/comfortable/special?
entwistlecymru said:
I’ve just pulled the trigger on this…… https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211151...
It’s as good as it looks and sounds, and will be my daily driver. I’ve done all the usual checks and it’s had pretty much everything done (bar a supercharger). I have to sort out the ICE as that really dates it, but apart from that WOW!
I own a VT2 manual (which will be for sale shortly) and this is such a step up IMO.
As the ad states, it hasn’t wanted for much but can any of you guys recommend any mods/upgrades that might make daily-big it more fun/comfortable/special?
Show us the vt2 It’s as good as it looks and sounds, and will be my daily driver. I’ve done all the usual checks and it’s had pretty much everything done (bar a supercharger). I have to sort out the ICE as that really dates it, but apart from that WOW!
I own a VT2 manual (which will be for sale shortly) and this is such a step up IMO.
As the ad states, it hasn’t wanted for much but can any of you guys recommend any mods/upgrades that might make daily-big it more fun/comfortable/special?
Not been used for a couple of years now. 250000km but all bar 10k with the chap I bought it from, who brought it back from Oz. He bought it when he was 65 and did all of upgrades over there. 6 months after moving back was diagnosed with the Big C and wasn’t allowed to drive it. I bought it from him 3 years ago
So, I've collected the car and now that I can wring its neck without the (previous) proud owner in the passenger seat I've noticed a couple of things I'd like some advice on please!
The engine is an LS3 with a lairy cam which is not in a problem in itself but it won't settle at part throttle - I don't know if its a combination of the engine and Wavetrac but there's a bit more drivetrain shunt than I remember on the test drive. Could this simply be soggy engine/transmission mounts or just something I have to learn to drive around?
Second is the dated infotainment.... Does anyone have any experience of fitting the Double DIN facia with HVAC controls built in? https://incartec.co.uk/product/Vauxhall-VXR8-Holde...
I've got a Kenwood DNX5180DABS which is brilliant for everything so I'm keen to fit it....... For now it's -1, I'm keeping the windows open and enjoying the brutality of the exhaust note but for an upcoming trip to Hampshire in a couple of weeks some music wouldn't go amiss
The engine is an LS3 with a lairy cam which is not in a problem in itself but it won't settle at part throttle - I don't know if its a combination of the engine and Wavetrac but there's a bit more drivetrain shunt than I remember on the test drive. Could this simply be soggy engine/transmission mounts or just something I have to learn to drive around?
Second is the dated infotainment.... Does anyone have any experience of fitting the Double DIN facia with HVAC controls built in? https://incartec.co.uk/product/Vauxhall-VXR8-Holde...
I've got a Kenwood DNX5180DABS which is brilliant for everything so I'm keen to fit it....... For now it's -1, I'm keeping the windows open and enjoying the brutality of the exhaust note but for an upcoming trip to Hampshire in a couple of weeks some music wouldn't go amiss
fred bloggs said:
entwistlecymru said:
I’ve just pulled the trigger on this…… https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211151...
It’s as good as it looks and sounds, and will be my daily driver. I’ve done all the usual checks and it’s had pretty much everything done (bar a supercharger). I have to sort out the ICE as that really dates it, but apart from that WOW!
I own a VT2 manual (which will be for sale shortly) and this is such a step up IMO.
As the ad states, it hasn’t wanted for much but can any of you guys recommend any mods/upgrades that might make daily-big it more fun/comfortable/special?
Show us the vt2 It’s as good as it looks and sounds, and will be my daily driver. I’ve done all the usual checks and it’s had pretty much everything done (bar a supercharger). I have to sort out the ICE as that really dates it, but apart from that WOW!
I own a VT2 manual (which will be for sale shortly) and this is such a step up IMO.
As the ad states, it hasn’t wanted for much but can any of you guys recommend any mods/upgrades that might make daily-big it more fun/comfortable/special?
Fatboy said:
More info and n the vt2 please!!!! I loved mine, was gutted when I found out it was terminally rotten...
Elephant mode on....https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
It’s been far too long since an update so here we go…… just after my last post I took the car up to Doncaster via the Peak District where it decided to lose oil pressure completely somewhere in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal. After a lovely walk up the nearest mountain in the (thankfully) glorious weather I’d summoned the AA 
Having got it home I set to investigating the issue - turns out it was a goosed oil pump. The engine was only a few thousand miles old at this point - if I’d paid for it I wouldn’t have been too happy. PWP who provided the lump were quite helpful so I ordered a genuine pump (from Rockauto) and the problem was solved.
That issue took a couple of months to resolve so I managed to get some decent days out in the car before the weather turned, doing a thousand miles or so. During the winter of 23/24 I decided to do a little work to rectify some issues, namely a saggy headlining, some slight crazing on the front bumper and binding brakes.
The brakes are 400mm 8pot front, 6pot rear Wortecs. They worked really well but I’d noticed a slight shimmy getting worse and worse so off they came…. The pads were pretty well glazed and were not sitting squarely in the caliper. After contacting Wortec who were very helpful, they told me the calipers can be a pain to bleed which can result in uneven brake force across the many pistons. I ordered new pads and sent the discs off to them for skimming. Once back I bled the calipers 4 times and they now worked as they should.
I pulled the headliner out and sent the car to a customer of mine to repaint the front bumper and skirts which had got scratched on the AA truck. I stripped the material off the headliner backing and spent a week gluing and stretching the material to the board.
For what it cost I’m quite pleased with the results though refitting it was a horrible job!
Having got it home I set to investigating the issue - turns out it was a goosed oil pump. The engine was only a few thousand miles old at this point - if I’d paid for it I wouldn’t have been too happy. PWP who provided the lump were quite helpful so I ordered a genuine pump (from Rockauto) and the problem was solved.
That issue took a couple of months to resolve so I managed to get some decent days out in the car before the weather turned, doing a thousand miles or so. During the winter of 23/24 I decided to do a little work to rectify some issues, namely a saggy headlining, some slight crazing on the front bumper and binding brakes.
The brakes are 400mm 8pot front, 6pot rear Wortecs. They worked really well but I’d noticed a slight shimmy getting worse and worse so off they came…. The pads were pretty well glazed and were not sitting squarely in the caliper. After contacting Wortec who were very helpful, they told me the calipers can be a pain to bleed which can result in uneven brake force across the many pistons. I ordered new pads and sent the discs off to them for skimming. Once back I bled the calipers 4 times and they now worked as they should.
I pulled the headliner out and sent the car to a customer of mine to repaint the front bumper and skirts which had got scratched on the AA truck. I stripped the material off the headliner backing and spent a week gluing and stretching the material to the board.
For what it cost I’m quite pleased with the results though refitting it was a horrible job!
The next job (which brings the story up to date) was the suspension. The car had Pedders Sports Ryder shocks and springs which were ok, but having had a lot of money thrown at the rest of the car I felt it deserved a bit better.
I spoke to the chaps at Meteor motorsport but couldn’t bring myself to spending half the value of the car on a custom setup so I ordered a set of BC Racing ZX coilovers, Superpro top mounts, Pedders suspension arms and Whiteline ARB links.
I bit the bullet last weekend and set to stripping the front end and rear shocks out. It had all been off before so came apart nicely. I took the opportunity to give the underside a bit of TLC so cleaned and undersealed it all, giving the cavities a good waxing while I was there.
The front end went together quickly but the rear end needed a little modification to enable on-car adjustment of the dampers. The rebound is adjusted by a small Allen key on the top of the shock which, when mounted on the car, sits inside the rear chassis rails. To get around this I punched two 12mm holes in the boot floor and joined them together to form an oval hole that allows a remote adjuster to pass through into the boot. I chose an oval as I had some neat oval blanking grommets from the inner sill of a Panda 4x4 I broke 25 years ago - they look more factory than a standard round blanking grommet.
I’ll have the car back on its wheels this week but having had a proper poke around underneath I’ve come up with a list of improvements - the main ones being the front and rear subframes. Over this winter I’ll strip the front and rear end in turn and powder coat the bolt on bits and fit new bushes to the rear end. I also need to replace the valves in the exhaust as they’re stuck open - it sounds epic but is a bit silly on the school run.
More pics when I get it back on its wheels
I spoke to the chaps at Meteor motorsport but couldn’t bring myself to spending half the value of the car on a custom setup so I ordered a set of BC Racing ZX coilovers, Superpro top mounts, Pedders suspension arms and Whiteline ARB links.
I bit the bullet last weekend and set to stripping the front end and rear shocks out. It had all been off before so came apart nicely. I took the opportunity to give the underside a bit of TLC so cleaned and undersealed it all, giving the cavities a good waxing while I was there.
The front end went together quickly but the rear end needed a little modification to enable on-car adjustment of the dampers. The rebound is adjusted by a small Allen key on the top of the shock which, when mounted on the car, sits inside the rear chassis rails. To get around this I punched two 12mm holes in the boot floor and joined them together to form an oval hole that allows a remote adjuster to pass through into the boot. I chose an oval as I had some neat oval blanking grommets from the inner sill of a Panda 4x4 I broke 25 years ago - they look more factory than a standard round blanking grommet.
I’ll have the car back on its wheels this week but having had a proper poke around underneath I’ve come up with a list of improvements - the main ones being the front and rear subframes. Over this winter I’ll strip the front and rear end in turn and powder coat the bolt on bits and fit new bushes to the rear end. I also need to replace the valves in the exhaust as they’re stuck open - it sounds epic but is a bit silly on the school run.
More pics when I get it back on its wheels
Edited by entwistlecymru on Tuesday 15th April 20:38
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