My VK Director replica

[COOLVT]

Well tonight while looking through some old forums i stumbled on some pics of my Calais seeing these really makes me wanna get out and start puttin her back together
pics are a couple of years old but nothing has changed as the car has been in storage for that long

[VZCalais]

has real potential looks good as is on the exterior

[petesvxII]

looks good like vzcalais said she has real potential cant wait to see it done and at a show or cruise

[COOLVT]

thanx guys i have had it for 5 years
all i have done with it atm is add director skirts,groupA grill gp3 bonnet scoop
edelbrock performance filter
fair bit of work to do it with it the wiring for the windows,mirrors and central locking is a nightmare
digital dash isnt working still trying to resolve that one
as for interior i need a drivers seat but its almost impossible to find one to match the leather so toying the idea of retrimming
gearbox is an issue so still deciding whether to go manual or put in a t350
so i think in 1 to years i will have it on the road again
just a heap of little niggling probs to get through
as for the engine its sweet as it has a great note and is really strong under acceleration and cruises nicely

[GKW]

Oh, I'm looking forward to seeing this project hit the road with us one day.....

[SLO GMH]

thats a nice looking rig mate! good to see another early girl on hear! :)
cant wait to see it out wen its finished!

[CRUZN]

I agree plenty of potential there. I had a calais 4.9 litre director replica that i restored if you need any knowledge on this fine VK model let me know......
As for the tranny put in a T350, 2500 shift kitted stall in it the vk's love mmmm......

[COOLVT]

yeah i been leaning towards the t350 for awhile
im just workin out whether took the digital dash out and chuck in an analog one
it works fine just has no speedo reading and i havent worked out why yet

[CRUZN]

Yeah i know the digital dash is a bit of a bummer if you get a problem with them i was lucky on my car it worked fine.The analogue dash is a good thing as well it was good enough to put in the grp 3 go for it.

[COOLVT]

hey Craig just wondering in regards to converting back to analog dash what needs to be sourced to do the job as in wiring etc etc
also doing away with the electric windows much easier to have the manual ones in
im doing new door trims now as part of the new interior theme so easy to make a hole for the winder while im at it

[COOLVT]

finally after 4 years in storage i started the VK yesterday
bit smokey for awhile but after awhile that was gone
the only issue was it was missing a bit so changed the plugs and its a lot sweeter
my immediate plan now is to tune the car up so it runs nice and smooth, install the original interior, pretty much put everything back together and prepare it for rego
heres a short vid if it works of the car blowing the cobwebs out lol
will take some shots of how car looks now in its current state and post up tomorrow
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=434029958411

[blackrb20]

Very nice car mate,Have you checked the fuses for the windows usually goes if you have a blown window motor.you can buy the window motors in Moorebank Sydney for $220.00 each bit expensive but. I am trying to find other setup to get my VL ones working so far 2000 Astra ones are very close and easy to fit and complete different setup so hopefully won't have anymore trouble with windows.

[COOLVT]

heres some current pics of the car in its current state
atm i'm putting her all back together to ready it for blue slip

[GKW]

Richie,

Glad to see the old gal now getting ready for the road.

Cheers

[HDT_027]

Will be nice VK when done. sad to see it in such a bad way, but we all start out that way, my engine bay was a shocker when 1st got mine!

[COOLVT]

thought i would provide an update on the old gal
after doin a lot thinking over the past few months i have decided to hold off putting it back on the road
instead i will be stripping the wholecar right down to the shell and doin a full rebuild
heres a list of some things happening to the car
full bare metal respray
custom interior
engine options at this stage- fuel injected 304, rebuild the old 5 litre (maybe stroke it to 355), or go a LS1 conversion
19" rims
all brand new suspension
HDT gp3 bodykit
thats about it for now im having a rest period atm ( VT has worn me out )
i should be commencing this project somewhere around the end of October

[FAVSSS]

Sounds good Rich.Can't wait to see it

[COOLVT]

well i couldnt wait till October as planned
such a nice day outside today got me thinking on what to do
so decided to start pulling her down and start doin the hard yards
i will keep updating pics as i go and once again im determinned to do this is my own
so today see's the car being stripped of most of the body work and windows etc etc
tommorow all the interior and front section of car will be pulled off
engine also comin out as i want to clean up the engine bay and respray it
so heres some pics

ps theres another VK project comin soon so stay tuned

[GKW]

Go hard Richie!

[billygoat]

My car will be striped down like yours Richie the week after Parks.Have no idear when it will be back together thow.

[COOLVT]

cool same here i dont know when mine will be finished i will be happy if its completed by AHD next year
i have found a lot of dodgy wiring so will be spending a long time redoin the harness hopefully i can find a harness if not i will rewire it myself
definately looking forward to this challenge thats for sure

[coxi]

Rich just how big is your back yard ?

COXI

:flame:

[COOLVT]

huge Coxi could easy fit 50 cars lol

[billygoat]

I think mine will be together by then Richie,Cant go without it for that long.It was off the road for 2 years 4 years ago,Dont want to do that again.

[COOLVT]

as the title of thread suggests yes i am undertaking 2 cars
one will be a Black Vk Calais Director and a Group A SS
the other shell will be here in 2 weeks

[GIOSVR]

Great progress photos mate. Im sure she will turn a treat when finished.. Keep up the good work. ;)

[COOLVT]

update

car just about all stripped out
should have everything out in the morning
most likely start off cleaning up the wiring and replace what needs replacing
few pics added
engine to be steamed cleaned but still havent decided on what engine will go in as yet

[Vixen]

I'm just hanging to see this all finished. It's going to look a treat Richie! :)

[GKW]

Its oh so sad to se the old girl stripped bare, but also very exciting re the prospect of the car that will emerge as a result of your hard work Richie. We'll be watching for the next installment.

Cheers

[COOLVT]

update time
still waiting for some nice weather too start prepping the body for paint
in the mean time i have secured a injected 5 litre and auto from a VS senator
should be fun working that out, now to find all the parts needed for the conversion

stay tuned

[FAVSSS]

Good stuff mate.Good luck with the conversion

[Pusser]

Nice to see a real engine going in mate:D! Can't wait for the next installment. If you need any pages scanned from the VS workshop manual, let me know.

[coxi]

Hay Rich you might pick up some parts on face book its for Holden cars, parts & merch only.

COXI

[COOLVT]

Time for next installment
spent half the day today stripping guards back to bare metal and made a start on bonnet and boot which should be finished tomorrow
most likely a coat of undercoat soon to protect panels for the time being

also another pic of the new heart beat

[COOLVT]

another update
got some undercoat on guards and boot but bad whether has held me up for a bit
also scored a set of HDT Aeros

[GKW]

Oh, this is getting interesting!

Glad to see Stacey is letting you keep the parts warm and dry in the house!

[NA_355]

Hope u enjoy those wheels. Sad to see them go! Cars coming along nicely though

[COOLVT]

finally with a some great weather a wa finally able to get some undercoat on the guards and boot
finished stripping bonnet now metal prepped and ready to go
rain didnt deter me a great deal so spent the time polishing the aeros and they look great

[NA_355]

They do look great..want them back now..lol. just read through ur thread. u still thinkin of changin ur digital dash to analog? As i hav a analog dash that has the tacho and not vaccum gauge and the tacho to gearbox cable

[COOLVT]

undecided still mate i will worry bout that when it gets to that stage
just depends on hooking up the t700 or 400 to the digital one

[NA_355]

Ok. well woteva ur decision. i have them stored away.

[COOLVT]

here some pics on progress with stripping engine bay
not easy being 2 pack but we getting there slowly
also made a start on the body as well (will be glad to see the end of the prepping stage)

[COOLVT]

things a bit quiet atm due to the weather
finally scored the 2nd VK for the GPA replica
and hey its Brown lol

[GKW]

Starting a trend here Richie with the brown cars! The "two tone" browne on the right side is a treat! LOL

[NA_355]

Hahaha. thats so funny, ive already looked at buying the same car only last week. He was gona do a deal then and there for $500 but then i discovered the very bad rust problems and a few other things that put me off. what u end up paying?

[FAVSSS]

Welcome to the brown vk club.We're taking over

[Likwid]

That is a cool car, I wish we had them over here when I was growing up, what engine is that?? Chev 350??

As for the trans, I would go with a TH350 or a TH400 because they are easy enough to build and can take the abuse, in the next few weeks, I'm actually going to be building a TH400 for a buddy to put in his G8

[COOLVT]

finally a great day weather wise allowed me to get a base coat on the car
its great to be back in black

[GKW]

TEASE!

[COOLVT]

2nd coat of black applied
im beginning to see how hard black is to work with (could be a colour change in the works)
see what happens with the next coat

[VHRickster]

looking good

[COOLVT]

Very quiet with the car atm
we have had some very ordinary weather so there has been zippo painting

On another note i now have a new tailshaft, billet flywheel and a T5 manual box for it

[COOLVT]

Getting close now to finish the body as finally some great weather has arrived

I mentioned before that a colour change was possible well now it wont be black (i cant get the finish i want with black)
all i will say is it will be a lighter colour lol

[GKW]

I mentioned before that a colour change was possible well now it wont be black (i cant get the finish i want with black)
all i will say is it will be a lighter colour lol

Brown like Anthony's............LOL

Can't wait to see her Rich.

Cheers

[FAVSSS]

Brown? My cars not brown. Well not anymore