Year 12 had finally finished and it was time to buy a car like almost everyone else. Most people were rushing to buy a VL Commodore because it was “cool” to do so, but not Aaron. He didn’t want to have just another VL like everyone else did, he wanted to be different, so he set out to be one of the first few P-platers to get a VN Commodore. At first he was waiting to take ownership of his mum’s VN once she got sick of it, but when a nice looking VN came up at a local Jaguar dealer, he could wait no more. It was a stock 1990 VN Executive that had a few factory fitted options from the factory: cruise control, electric antenna, and four speakers. But it had a few things that needed fixing, but the price was right so it was bought! Within a few weeks of having it the engine was out of the car to get all the little problems (leaking sump!!) etc etc fixed up. The welsch plugs were replaced just in case while the engine was out. Back on the road again, the car was fairly strong, but it wasn’t long until a power steering high-pressure hose sh*t itself, back to the garage…
Finally all problems were fixed by now and it was time to “personalise” the car, but the problem was that by this time half of every male P-plater was now driving a VN, not good, but after spending a heap of money fixing the engine it wasn’t going to be sold now. Aaron didn’t want to be like every other P-plater and just chuck on a set of wheels, dump it, and make the exhaust loud, so he thought he’d go about making the car as driveable as it could be for him while also keeping the whole car clean as a whistle.
First items bought for the car were seat covers, floor mats, and a dash mat, just so that the car would be kept clean on the inside. Next was the 2.5” sports exhaust system, now the VN wouldn’t die once it hit 80, it would just keep on going. After that a good Cobra car alarm was put in along with central locking as a luxury item. Next in was the Sony stereo system which is on 100% of the time the car is being used, music is a must! Purchased were 4" speakers for the front and 6" speakers for the back, this was because they would fit in the factory positions.
At this time the car was cleaned ALL weekend 2 weeks in a row inside and out to get it looking up to a decent level. The back seat was taken out and the back was fully cleaned (don’t ask how a dead-frog got under that back seat, who the hell owned this car?!), the engine bay was cleaned and now looks “pretty damn good”, it was also “detailed” a little – the ‘3800’ on the manifold was painted green to match the car and also the bearing-plate nut covers were painted black!
Now the car was running fine and looking fine (for a stock VN anyway). But the 14” wheels and tyres just didn’t give the grip needed, down to the tyre place. Being a P-plater insurance AND money was a problem (as Aaron is not one of those P-platers who have rich ass parents that they live off who have also never had a job in their lives) so unfortunately 17” mags were out of the question. Plus 17"s give a sh*t ass ride and you feel every bump in the road....who wants this on an every day driver?. 15” interceptors were the best value for money option, so a set of these were purchased. But how could these wheels be set apart from others of the same type…..chrome caps and wheel nuts were the answer!
Now with the new wheels/tyres on the car the suspension had a bit of a revision. Money was once again a problem, so Aaron thought new shocks will make it handle well, bugger making it look good by dumping it! The standard shocks were heaps too soft, so Pedders shocks were fitted out right. These made a HUGE difference to how the car handled.
The car was basically at the stage that it needed to be at, it was nice and clean, it handled alright, it was pretty luxurious as a first car, and it went alright as well! But one thing that just HAD to go was that stock steering wheel that so many people leave in the car, how do people drive with these, really!?!? A nice new Momo leather wheel was put in its place. While changing stuff on the inside a set of chrome skull door-knobs replaced the standard ones in the front of the car to further personalise it like no other VN. The electrics system now had any creases ironed out, the fan only working on speeds 3 & 4 was fixed with a new resistor, and all (5) of the brake and (4) tail lights were made to work unlike most other VNs.
Now that the interior was looking alright, it was back to the performance side again for a few little changes. An over-radiator cold air intake was put in along with a K&N panel air-filter to increase air flow. While at the engine the computer was checked and it turned out the oxygen sensor was stuffed, so a new one was purchased and put in along-side a set of NGK Iridium spark plugs to increase spark a little! Now the car seemed a lot more responsive and would run a little cooler than before. Fuel economy was also slightly improved to around 350kms a tank (short trips all the time) Plus whenever I fill-up it only takes 40L at THE MOST.
By now the car was basically complete to what was required. It was basically at its peak of what the insurance could offer in relation to mods. So it was on to get more stuff that didn’t bother insurance but still made the car better. Bendix pads were fitted all round, with Ultimates in the rear. It was also time for another slight improvement in the sound area...again Sony was chosen because it was pretty cheap and not too bad a quality, a 10" sub was put in a sealed box in the boot, as well as a 4x40WRMS to power the sub and rear speakers. This was all setup so that most of the boot space is still available, as Aaron believes it is pointless wasting ALL the boot space for a stereo. There was a slight adjustment needed to front speakers with all the extra power, so cross-overs were put onto the front speakers, now the stereo could be cranked when it was balanced evenly without distortion (or blowing up) from any of the front speakers! It was also decided that the giant temp gauge in the Exec instrument cluster just wasn’t needed, so a tacho cluster was purchased and put in. This looks much better with a tacho now, rather than just one BIG water temp.
The VN is now pretty good as a bang-4-your-buck car. It handles alright, has some luxuries (although power windows is a must for next car), it gets up and goes when you put the foot down, it can go on long trips with heaps of room to store luggage and 4 passengers (unlike all the rice-boxes out there!), and it is also very reliable. It’s a good sleeper actually, no bodykit, no lowering, no big mag wheels, no tinted windows, not even an exhaust tip. I tell you what; it sure does give me a laugh when I surprise people at the lights!! After having the Sony Head-Unit for about 2 years it decided to not work properly (like most Sony head-units) so this HAD to be replaced with a non-Sony item. A new JVC mp3 player was chosen for the job....WOW what a difference! The range of the sound is heaps better than the old Sony head-unit! Now music sounds like it should! Plus it allows Aaron to have about 150 songs on one CD, it is great! The Sony 16cm speakers at the back were also replaced with some nicer sounding Pioneer ones! Along with this, a new battery was put in, just to keep up with the stereo. In early 2003 the
beast was taken on her first run to a drag strip! This was a private night
organised by the "Commodore Cruise Club" so was mainly Commodores
only, although there were a few others there. On the night it was hoped
that there would be a heap of N/A 6's there, but turned out that there
probably would've only been about 5 all up!!
Here is are cheap
things that should be purchased soon:- But there are big
plans for the VN. Although they are not really performance related, as
the VN is an EVERY DAY car and this is kept in mind. And that is the life of Aaron’s VN. Servicing is done
on regular 5000km – 10000km intervals, it is washed about twice
a month, vacuumed once every few months, and the engine is also kept clean. So until next time, go the VN 6’s!! |
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