Kid-Ae Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 So because other than my first car I havn't had a lot of luck with Corollas, I thought i'd start a topic with the cheapest registered car i've purchased to date. Technically only paid $1300 including rego, roady and transfer fee,. Some basic info - S1 VT Acclaim sedan - Debadged (only the C O M M O D O R E badge and the Acclaim badge, to neaten the back end) - 2.5" Redback exhaust, sounds alright for a standard 6 - Pioneer HU, Alpine speakers, Jaycar sub - 17" VY SS wheels, original Holden, not the crap copies. - Fully optioned with power windows, traction control etc Plans (hopefully stay un-copworthy) - High flow catalytic converter, looking for a little more ballsy note without getting the po-po upset. - Series 2 tail lights (clear indicator) and front guard indicators. - Cut and polish (paint is shit) - LED dash conversion by ASR, they do crazy work to Commodores. - Fix rear window motors - Tidy interior and sound deaden doors. - Keep serviced (that's a real shock to any car I own). Alright, I'll throw up a couple piccies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT036 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Looks really neat and tidy Sam. :) If you want to get some Clear Lights (Guards and Tailights), get some from SSS Auto Parts in Brunswick. They do them really cheap for Brand New and Very Good Quality Items. They also do Chrome Calais Grilles for a good price too. ;) Josh :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Hey mate thanks for the tip off! She's certainly not neat nor tidy. Needs a rather hard cut and polish due to a horrible amount of surface scuffing all over the bonnet and guards, across the doors and on the bootlid. Will try to find a professional company to do it for me so i don't fudge the paint. If it was a Corolla i'd have a crack myself, but the VT is a bit too modern for me to f@$k with Considering Monaro headlights... Thoughts? I want to make this car aggressive, but not quite the stereotypical commodore. Last thing I want is to attract more cop attention than I already do. Might try to chase up an S pack kit for the car, front and rear lip and side skirts. Then look for a bootlid/spoiler combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZach23 Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) Monaro light's yes (probably cheaper to get black altezzas they look alright) in the mean time rejuvenate your current headlight's to remove the hazing/yellowing also Get some series 2 tail light's (DON'T get altezza or monaro tail light's) How much attention do you get from the police surely you can't get too much, Is your exhaust from the cat back and do you have a rear muffler? Edited October 15, 2011 by dzach23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangeLJ Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) Ive been getting around on a daily basis for the last 4 years in a VT acclaim :) just about to tick over 300,000kms on the clock, uses a tiny bit of oil. I bought it as a RRO vehicle (flood damaged) can't beat a commodore for cheap and reliable transport. You can tow with it, commute in it, go on holidays with it packed full of shit etc etc. And still a piece of piss to work on! don't ruin it with shitty aftermarket headlights or tailights, go the OEM path and put some series 2 tailights in (clear indicators like you mentioned) and get a headlight restoration kit for the front. I'm running an early SS front bar on my VT, full SS interior (comfy :) ) and just some 17x8s (I find anything bigger a waste, tyres get too expensive for a daily! lol) Make sure you flip your rear tyres over every couple thousand kms too, the camber wear kills them pretty quickly once lowered. Throw some decent shocks and springs at it as well and it wont be a boat. I can quite confidently say my VT handles reasonably well. and one last thing, spend some $$ and buy a set of DBA 4000 series rotors and decent pads for the front. Standard style rotors will warp VERY easily under any spirited braking applications, VT/VXs are heavy mothers, so pulling them up puts a heap of heat into the fronts. I'm running the 4000 series rotors and some bendix ultimates (my price was like $300 for the rotors and pads, so the average punted would be about $500ish) Edited October 15, 2011 by orangeLJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Monaro light's yes (probably cheaper to get black altezzas they look alright) in the mean time rejuvenate your current headlight's to remove the hazing/yellowing also Get some series 2 tail light's (DON'T get altezza or monaro tail light's) How much attention do you get from the police surely you can't get too much, Is your exhaust from the cat back and do you have a rear muffler? Yeah champ definitely getting S2 tail lights, they should be here midweek Nah not a lot but I don't hoon around so I guess that's a big help. Yeah 2.5" catback system, and yeah has a rear muffler. If I put a high performance cat on, it'll definitely sound better but it may also bring the EPA into the equation. With the headlights, i've got a rejuvenation kit sitting there waiting for me to get stuck into, maybe during the week i'll have a serious crack. Ive been getting around on a daily basis for the last 4 years in a VT acclaim :) just about to tick over 300,000kms on the clock, uses a tiny bit of oil. I bought it as a RRO vehicle (flood damaged) can't beat a commodore for cheap and reliable transport. You can tow with it, commute in it, go on holidays with it packed full of shit etc etc. And still a piece of piss to work on! don't ruin it with shitty aftermarket headlights or tailights, go the OEM path and put some series 2 tailights in (clear indicators like you mentioned) and get a headlight restoration kit for the front. I'm running an early SS front bar on my VT, full SS interior (comfy :) ) and just some 17x8s (I find anything bigger a waste, tyres get too expensive for a daily! lol) Make sure you flip your rear tyres over every couple thousand kms too, the camber wear kills them pretty quickly once lowered. Throw some decent shocks and springs at it as well and it wont be a boat. I can quite confidently say my VT handles reasonably well. and one last thing, spend some $ and buy a set of DBA 4000 series rotors and decent pads for the front. Standard style rotors will warp VERY easily under any spirited braking applications, VT/VXs are heavy mothers, so pulling them up puts a heap of heat into the fronts. I'm running the 4000 series rotors and some bendix ultimates (my price was like $300 for the rotors and pads, so the average punted would be about $500ish) Love your ride man, it's a heap nicer to look at than mine! I'm interested in going a little lower, but nothing more than perhaps fe2 height. I still want clearance. Not a bad idea with the brake upgrade. I just replaced the rear rotors and pads and they feel smooth, the fronts are still pretty good and have SFA warping if any (don't notice it while braking gently or heavy, still brakes nice and firm). Update: Minor service today, did filters and such. Feels a bit nicer now and can breathe freely Looking in to a LED conversion in my dash. Got a quote of $380 from Greg at ASR in Sydney to come down and do it, pretty sure i'll take up the offer. Not sure what else I can do to her. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 So lately i've noticed that when I drive the car a little harder and then park it at work (I deliver pizza...) on the sloping carpark that a small amount of fluid comes from in front of the drivers side front wheel.. Now all the fluid levels seem okay, so I'm not sure what it is.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangeLJ Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 What colour? I dare say power steer fluid if its towards the centre of the car (and obviously red) Is it oil or water? (stick a finger in and see if its oily) Overflow bottle is on passengers side, The only other fluid resovior on the drivers side is the windscreen washers (although they are known to crack and leak sometimes) Apart from that, you only have brake lines and if they were leaking... well, you should probably check them out just in case, but you would feel a spongey pedal if it was leaking or ballooning (not to mention complete loss of brakes if it was split) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ke70dave Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 red: powersteer auto fluid: also red (usually) green: coolant clear: water yellowy: brake fluid. surely you noticed more about this fluid than it was just "fluid"? To be honest i wouldnt put any more money into that car than to keep it going, and keep it in RWC condition. If its truly a daily, treat it as a daily, don't touch it and keep it reliable. if you did all the mods that orange LJ has suggested, you would have spent enough cash to buy your car twice! pretty good buy for $1300 registered though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangeLJ Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 at $1300 it was cheap anyway, so spending a little bit to make it safer, look a bit better and replacing wear items (like shocks, brakes etc)shouldnt be a big deal (nor is it rocket science) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 All good, just the washer bottle. Tiny split. All sorted now. It is a daily, but I'm 19 and like spending money on cars. I figure I can do enough to it to keep it interesting and not completely bog stock but retain the reliability. Next pad change I'll be looking at performance pads and maybe brembo rotors so she stops on a dime. Might go get the donk tuned soon, just to keep the economy within reason. Shocked me lately that no matter how I drive it's still returning the same figures, roughly 12.9L/100km which isn't bad for mostly scooting around. Put the series 2 lights on today, so much better! Got the clear flashers for the front guards, makes the look nice and neat, not a hacked together car. Also wired in some LED's into the footwells (favourite modification to do to any car, purely because I like shiny stuff). So much happier with the external look of the car. Next is to find some decent seat covers that don't look cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Commodores have to be one of the cheapest reliable family cars around, get more than 500,000k's out of them, new parts are cheap as f@$k and they are comfy. Please for the love of god don't get monaro tail lights and keep the vt boot garnish standard, they stick out like dogs balls, change to a vx boot if you wanna do that. Edited October 18, 2011 by Trev 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer[RL] Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 put some chev badges on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubby2084 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Have a look at a website, streetcommodores.com . Good site, they have a forum there as well. They also have Tech tips section and what you can do yourself to your VT. A good mod is to remove the plastic sleeve between the throttle body and intake manifold. It requires nothing more than a reset of the cars ECU after, and gives the Buick/Ecotec V6 MUCH MUCH better throttle response. There is a step by step guide how to do this on the site (I've done it to a mates Ecotec VS, so easy and woohoo, what a difference). Just remember, it doesn't give you any more power, just better throttle response. Edited October 18, 2011 by clubby2084 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid-Ae Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Don't worry about the tail lights, I put series 2 tail lights on and love the look. Chevy badges aren't happening.. Look cheap if you ask me. Was considering that modification to the intake. Might leave toying with the ECU to someone else though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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