Just noticed in here that I only have one post in the build section over the 7 years I have had this car, (http://www.nyspeed.com/showthread.php?58591-Tore-my-baby-a-new-butt-hole…) and since I just finished a new add-on, I figured I’d re-do everything here…
Firstly, here’s how it looked as I got it home from Piehler, plus some of my original “mods”… Voxx MG wheels, '05 hood with scoops, Holden Commodore/SS mudflaps, and inset “Autocross” grilles:
And for those that would complain, I kept Blizzaks on the OEM wheels, so the mudflaps were for the year-round driving I did with the car (note the last pic).
And for those pics that follow, you can probably tell I did most of the work in my garage, with the exception of the header installs - courtesy of New Era Performance.
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The performance mods came soon after:
K&N intake with SLP MAF:
Dynatech headers and high-flow cats:
B&M Ripper shifter:
NGK plugs with Taylor Thundervolt wires, home-made catch can, plus a New Era hand-ported throttle body:
(Also did some airbrush work on Corvette fuel-rail covers - the OEMS were rubbing on the fuel line)
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Soon after, the spoiler disappeared, courtesy of Shawn at Visual Horsepower (made looking out back easier):
And even took the thing autocrossing:
To match the headers, I added SLP’s Power Flo exhaust:
At which point, the combo made 327rwhp/338tq untuned:
However, the nose didn’t last long… (bumper, meet guardrail):
Which led to the happy coincidence that there were other bumpers available:
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I also got a “Ram Air VI-style” hood, and a month later, it came back like this:
(I had to convert the wiper arms to wet-arm as there were no places for washer nozzles with the new hood)
Following which, more mods came:
Pedders front radius-rod bushings, as well as Pedders swaybar end-links:
Hotchkis swaybars front and rear:
And up-sized to the '05 option 18x8 wheel/tire combo (now running on Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs):
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More stuff came, with Russell stainless braided brake lines all around and up-sized '05 front brakes:
Which soon wore DBA slotted rotors and Hawk HPS pads:
And are now matched with rear slotted/dimpled rotors:
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Of course, appearance mods continued in my progress to a “complete” conversion to a Monaro:
Side/rear badging:
Airbag/dash badging:
“GTO” seat stitching removal:
Dash cluster face replacement with a black Vauxhall Monaro set:
(this pic you can also see a fabbed dead pedal made from a Subaru WRX pedal)
Working side marker installation in place of the “GTO” badge, as well as Holden wheel centers:
And even going so far as door sill replacements and keys:
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In the spirit of not-leaving-well-enough alone, I converted the rear exhaust to a Magnaflow split-rear setup with Banshee bumper inserts and tips. Plus, I replaced the rear “5.7” badge for a Holden “CV8” one:
Soon after, I swapped the rear clusters for VX Commodore tails:
And for the latest - I’m now continuing to upgrade the suspension with Koni Yellows and Lovells stock-height HD springs:
As of today, I still have to do the fronts, but unfortunately that means I have to drill-out and cut the original front struts. I also have a pair of Lovells Whiteline poly strut mounts to go in when they’re done.
This thread also doesn’t cover a bunch of the other interior/maintenance/OEM replacements/fluids, etc. I’ve done, like the Optima Yellow-top and Royal Purple Syncromesh I’ve dumped in, too. I also hard-wired my Valentine One, and got a wired-in Aux jack for my stock 6-CD head unit (why it didn’t come with one I don’t know).
As for the future, who knows. I still have a set of LS1 (241 casting) heads I’ve ported slightly sitting in my garage. Perhaps I’ll finish them off and install them with a cam. Then again, there’s a TVS2300 supercharger out there that I’ve had my eye on…
