The work ute.

[PSI 304]

Hey guys,

The merry-go-round of motor vehicles has spun again since the departure of my VT Calais. After investing enough money for a deposit on a second house it was an excellent car. Great fun to drive, decent amount of power for a very 'basic mods' LS1, super comfy, all the fruit, top shelf in car entertainment system, but it couldnt fill the hole i had in my heart.

A bit of background info on me. Once apon a time i owned a 1999 VS Series 3 Ute. T'was just an executive, V6, auto...Ugly combination, i know. Picked this thing up for a steal at company car auction for a measly $3600 (Value at the time due to km's and condition was $11k, this will play a part in the story soon). I had massive plans and dreams for this car. I had persuaded the old man to give me a hand with a 5ltr/5spd conversion with a $15k budget. Very do-able we thought, and with good cond/low km 5ltr manual VS's still fetching nearly $20k at the time would be worth the effort! We planned to grab a 2nd hand 5ltr, freshen her up with a stock rebuild and a nice cam. 2nd hand 5spd would be the next step with pedal box and what not, and a HD clutch of some sorts would have been beneficial. Flash exhaust, upgrade brakes and suspension...wha-lah!

I was pretty pumped! Only a few weeks until i was 18 and could get a loan to perform the task. After owning the ute for 4 weeks, the poor girl ended like this;
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7932/photo0022h.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/photo0022h.jpg/)

http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/6048/photo0023b.jpg (http://img576.imageshack.us/i/photo0023b.jpg/)

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/8258/photo0024z.jpg (http://img831.imageshack.us/i/photo0024z.jpg/)


Rear ended while stationery by a Nissan patrol with great force, pushing me into the car in front and making a mess of both me and a couple month old Holden Viva. Walked away fine, no injuries to be seen, but I was pretty devastated not being able to perform the task that had been planned since the day i picked the ute up! Insurance came through a few months later with a cheque for $10k (Not a bad little profit after 4 weeks, hey?) and my mangled ute was also returned to me. The cash i had was used as a deposit on my Calais and the rest was history..... UNTIL NOW!

I have once again stepped into a VS ute at long last. This is a car i had always had a soft spot for, since the previous owner purchased it in fact. When he had hinted that he was looking to sell to fund other projects, my calais was for sale the next day! It was a very sad day to see her go after all the hours of work and wads of cash poured into her to get her almost back to a former glory. Even though some days i tend to miss the calais, i feel so much more comfortable knowing im back into a vehicle i wanted to build ever since i was a young teenager. Alot of work already performed here, but there is more to come. Just a good kick start to follow my dream. And this is it....

Name: Jeff
Model: VS Commodore Ute
Colour: Very dark green, almost black
Bodykit: VS Senator Grill and front bumper, Clubsport style side skirts to suit a ute, Sydney Special Vehicles custom rear bumper
Engine Type: Holden 5L EFI
Engine Mods: K&N Pod filter, Custom cold air intake, 90mm throttle body, lifters, MWS Eaton M112 supercharger, Yella Terra snout, 11psi pulley, water injection, 32lb injectors.
Power: 331.7rwhp (247.3rwkw) @ 5704 RPM
Torque: 751.0nm @ 3084 RPM
Exhaust: Pacemaker 1 3/4" extractors, D&T Performance custom mandrel bent 3" stainless steel exhaust with 2 mufflers
Gearbox: Stock T5, lightened flywheel, unknown HD Clutch
Diff: 3.08:1 LSD (Wheelspeed FTW!)
Brakes: Complete VT twin piston front brake upgrade, Slotted rotors front and rear
Suspension: GT Monroe shocks front and rear, lowered springs, whiteline adjustable panhard bar, whiteline front strut brace, Nolathane just about everywhere lol.
Wheels/Tyres: Less than desireable 19" Advanti's.
Interior: VS GTS Seats, VS GTS shifter, VS GTS Pedals, Momo steering wheel, Autometer 'carbon' boost gauge
Other Mods: Bosch intank fuel pump, Clear tail lights, deleted tonneau tags, bubbling window tint ;)
Stereo: Turned off....constantly.
Build Period: Begins now.
Cost: Ongoing...
Contacts: Mark Feilds (Marks Workshop), D&T Performance, DAPCO.
Future Mods: Hopefully a Forged rebuild, Cam, Water 2 Air intercooler, KAAZ diff. Just want it a liiiiiittle bit meatier but keep it reliable. Also new rims...dont know what...

IF i somehow come into some money, whipple, T56 and more boost!

Work carries permits from MWS, will laminate them for investment purposes lol.

Facebook has raped the photo quality, and was my first attempt at photo editing, so please be kind lol. Tyre black probably would have been a good idea, but i didnt think of that at the time lol.

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/3078/18975510150117135982217.jpg (http://img852.imageshack.us/i/18975510150117135982217.jpg/)

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4422/19656410150117136502217.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/19656410150117136502217.jpg/)

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5431/18836210150117148832217.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/i/18836210150117148832217.jpg/)

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6710/20014110150117134737217.jpg (http://img200.imageshack.us/i/20014110150117134737217.jpg/)

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/7638/blownvs6.jpg (http://img829.imageshack.us/i/blownvs6.jpg/)

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/43/blownvs9.jpg (http://img818.imageshack.us/i/blownvs9.jpg/)

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5862/18828510150117148487217.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/18828510150117148487217.jpg/)


And the ever so secretive commodore dyno sheets! lol.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9309/001pto.jpg (http://img135.imageshack.us/i/001pto.jpg/)

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/3941/002zjl.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/002zjl.jpg/)

Not bad from a 160kw VS 5ltr.

Thanks guys :)

[ben351]

700nm ?!

Not shy.

[KAL SPL]

That ute was originally from Kalgoorlie :)

[PSI 304]

Yea when flickin through receipts i saw a Merriden address, none from Kalgoorlie though.

[KAL SPL]

He moved to Merriden from Kal I think , used to see it here all the time , unless he was just passing through.
He used to work at the rail yards coming out of Merriden on the way to Perth.

[Rhys]

oh very nice, bastard want i the devenish seats :(

FYI they are VR GTS seats

[PSI 304]

He moved to Merriden from Kal I think , used to see it here all the time , unless he was just passing through.
He used to work at the rail yards coming out of Merriden on the way to Perth.

Yea only address I saw from the owner previous to who I bought it from was merriden, all receipts for work done etc. Running from merriden to kal frequently would explain 3.08:1 diff ratio, set up for highway running.

Cheers for the correction rhys, was always of the knowledge they were vs gts. Either way, nice n comfy, and super supportive. Like a racing seat when you don't have a racing seat :)

[TJ]

Ute win, wheels fail.

[Scaf]

Lose the wheels, tailights and that horrid rear bar and it will be very nice.
Some HSV wheels will suit it nicely.

Bet she goes hard though!

[VRX]

Nice power curve.

[S133LTR]

Im a fan apart for some of the styling stuff..

[DanWA]

nice car

is it a 6 speed gear knob?

[PSI 304]

Thanks for the comments guys!
Yea, wheels are aids. They help her move for now and not especially high on the priorities at this stage. Wouldnt mind some VS GTS 17" polished tri-spokes for it, or even better, VY GTS 19's.

As for the rear bar, i dont mind it. Change it to bumperette's and it would be; Front bar, sideskirts...nothing. Yeah nah. Would just look unfinished in my eyes. Its a bar which matches up with the rest of the kit, and the number plate isnt in the tailgate. Thats the reason im keen to keep it at this stage. Only thing im keen to change to the body is go back to factory tail lights and find a hardlid once funds allow.

Xibitor, to be honest i dont really know what the difference would be between the 6-speed gear knobs and a normal clubsport 5-speed. I've never paid that close attention. It's leather wrapped with the HSV logo embossed into the top.

[SEXUAL TYRANNOSAURUS]

not a fan of the fake bokeh :(

[DISTRBD]

Guys he declined my request for a BURNOUT so should be banned from forum :)

[PSI 304]

not a fan of the fake bokeh :(

Yea pictures arent the greatest, but were the easiest accessible ones i had, will dig up some others later for you without any of the crap on them :)



Guys he declined my request for a BURNOUT so should be banned from forum

Hey, i made a squeak! Told you, thats all she had in her...wish i bought a fuckin pintara :( FML

[PHIL]

Yea pictures arent the greatest, but were the easiest accessible ones i had, will dig up some others later for you without any of the crap on them :)




Hey, i made a squeak! Told you, thats all she had in her...wish i bought a fuckin pintara :( FML

looks the goods jeff, kurts old ute hey

[PSI 304]

Yea mate, i bought this off Kurt. It's good knowing alot of the ute's history, and knowing the previous owner was pretty maticulous with it.

Small boring update:

Typical commodore rooflining has decided to give in to gravity and in the space of 4 weeks went from next to nothing, to this (phone spec photo's);

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3802/p3310170.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/i/p3310170.jpg/)
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8508/p3310171.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/i/p3310171.jpg/)

Couldnt really leave it much longer. Not only that, but a cream roof lining? Nothing in the car is cream, so decided to fuck it off for a grey replacement to match the rest of the interior. The colour of the sunvisor in the pic is original roof lining colour.

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2369/p3310175.jpg (http://img251.imageshack.us/i/p3310175.jpg/)

New roof lining material in and a couple coats of vinyl spray on the sun visors made this the finished product;

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4408/p4010187.jpg (http://img651.imageshack.us/i/p4010187.jpg/)
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/6008/p4010188.jpg (http://img853.imageshack.us/i/p4010188.jpg/)

No more roof lining rubbing on the top of passengers heads, and cleans the interior up a bit. All up cost me about $50 and not a bad effort if i say so myself :)

[PSI 304]

Problems...fucking problems *sigh*

Coil lead has a spark, its kinda weak, but its a spark none the less. Rotor button was worn so replaced that with a brand new one, dizzy cap looks A1, and yet no spark to the spark plugs. :(

Im thinking one of two things, either the coil has cracked or something (hoping its not that coz its a pingpingpingping to get to), or the ignition module has decided its had enough, both being seemingly common problems after a bit of reading.

Will swap the ignition module with a spare thanks to old mate 5ltrsofun this weekend, and hopefully she fires back to life!...otherwise looks like a coil replacement is in order...gay.

Shoulda bought a dirty nissan lol.

[Rhys]

Iginition modules are well known to fail on these, also the dizzies them selves can fail.

Hall effect sensor can be another source of problems

[-Luke-]

HEI dizzy if coils/dizzys dicked..?

[31-EVO]

Oh this is "BLWNVS" or some shiznit hey ? It's all coming back to me now, I had epic runs with this about 3 years ago, previous owner was not fucking shy. Rad car man, I like it even more now knowing what it is.

[PSI 304]

Yeah Kim, the previous owner had the ute wearing [BLOWNVS] plates. He wanted to keep them after the sale and i wasnt to keen to recieve them anyway if im honest. Cool plates, but a bit obvious, isnt it? I like the fact that is sounds like a stock'er with an exhaust... until im on the loud pedal ;)

[31-EVO]

Yeah that's fair enough with the plates, I'd love to have a squiz at it one day if you wouldn't mind.

[PSI 304]

Whenever you like mate, as soon as she's running again lol.

[VS50WA]

VS SS Sideskirts and the original bumperettes would look much better in my opinion. Not keen on the full on body kits for the utes. I also had a VSIII Olympic ute a few years back.
Best bang for buck mod ever on these is replacing the standard swaybars with some Whiteline Adjustables 30mm for the front and a 22mm for the rear, it will turn this thing into the most agile car youll ever drive!

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd205/HYPTUP/DSC_0819.jpg

[lazy6]

shouldnt of sold that ute adam

[VS50WA]

shouldnt of sold that ute adam

Yeh i know but if i hadnt i still wouldnt have a licence.

[PSI 304]

I must admit i am a big fan of the standard SS look, and yours is a damn good example mate! Details on it?

Gotta try n stand out from the crowd somehow though huh? Hopefully if some of you guys get the chance to see it in person it may look better than in my 2nd grade photography pics :) lol. If not, meh, we build cars for ourselves, not so much to please others.

[VS50WA]

Dont own this anymore a guy down in Safety Bay now has. New wheels from what i hear and i also am lead to believe it also now has a 355 in her aswell.
Model: VSIII Olympic Edition Ute
Colour: Amazon Blue
Bodykit:SS Front Bar, SS Skirts
Engine Type:VT Roller Cam 304
Exhaust: Pacemaker Headers into a custom dual 2.5inch all the way through, Magnaflow High Flow CAT's
Gearbox: Getrag 5 speed manual
Diff: 3.08 LSD
Brakes: VT Twin spot Upgrade on front with DBA slotted rotors alround
Suspension: Lovells V8 Super Lows Front, Lovells Sedan Superlows Rear, Whiteline Adjustable Panhard Rod, Whiteline Blade Adjustable Swaybars Front and Rear, Nolathane Adjustable Strut Brace
Wheels/Tyres: 18' Lenso Algis rims wrapped in Kumho KU31's or the Exsta SPT's
Interior: Leather Bolstered Seats and Velour Trim, Statesman Door Trims and internal Door Chrome Strips Statesman Dash Pad
Other Mods:HID's Clear Altezza Headlamps and Front Side indicators lots of LED lighting inside, External Door Chrome Strips
Stereo: Pioneer DEH-9850 deck with ipod Connection Kit, Digital Designs M1a for Sub, Digital Designs C1a for Splits, Rainbow SLC 265 Kick Bass Splits, Rockford Fosgate Power T2 12', 2 Bulkpacks of Dynamat


She went alright for a bunky. Just needed boost or a big cube stroker.

[PSI 304]

Nice mate, looked very clean in the pics. Its suprising how well the old 5ltrs go, even given their age. Hopefully in time mine will be where i want it :) Its nice to see a good VS, because most of them now have turned to crap. But they are still my favourite piece of shit commodore :)

[VS50WA]

Ive had 2 since the ute. Bought a VX Calais super6 after the ute then sold that last june and bought a VE SV6 Sportwagon. Couldnt be bothered with the continual repairs required to keep the calais on the road. New car but still cant stop modifying cars.

My VE now has bigger swaybars Koni Yellows front and rear superlow springs all around and a fair few Poly bushes in the suspension. Alot of other interior mods that most wont relise but im pedantic about things not finished right or looking out of place.

Id post up in the Showcase but i dont believe its worthy of it as yet.

[PSI 304]

OK, well problem solved :) Turned out to be the coil in the end. Replacement sourced and installed today.

Big thanks to '5ltrs of fun' for his efforts in what was a VERY frustrating exercise! lol.

On the road again :)

[5ltrs of fun]

any time bro glad i could help put your beast back on the road

[PSI 304]

No real update, but i did blow the dust off my camera, thought to post these up to redeem myself after the shitty first post pictures. Need to get myself a tripod i know that much! But here goes;

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2039/64901470.jpg (http://img823.imageshack.us/i/64901470.jpg/)

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9060/75380250.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/i/75380250.jpg/)

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9225/79837155.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/i/79837155.jpg/)

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/3691/img2578h.jpg (http://img707.imageshack.us/i/img2578h.jpg/)

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5237/img2580f.jpg (http://img818.imageshack.us/i/img2580f.jpg/)

[wormbo2]

IMO, the rims aren't too shabby once it's all cleaned up and shiny.
Well done on getting back to your favorite ride.
Got a soft spot for the VS' commy's too, clean ones anyway. Haha

[PSI 304]

So another little gremlin has decided to show its face. Was at my mates house out the front havin a chat when i hear a 'whirring' sound coming from the car.

Strange, considering car was completely off and keys in my pocket. Poking my head around i noticed water pissing out which was running off the pod filter. Being that my filter is located not far in front of the front passenger side wheel and the windscreen washer bottle is located right next to it my initial thought was that the pump had a short and there was a crack in the bottle spraying water onto the filter and running off from there. Unplugged the pump and continued to snoop around.

Two hoses coming from the bottle, follow one to the washer jets, and the other to the intake pipe. So the car has water injection...bonus at first thought, but also means the water that looked to be running off the pod filter was actually coming OUT of the pod filter. If this was to happen again could be in trouble. Rang Marks Workshop to see if he could send me a wiring diagram but all water injection systems are done per car, and are computer controlled. Found three relays next to the radiator which are (from what we can tell) reverse the pump to send water to the intake hose rather than the washer jets, cleaned contacts, made sure everything was tidy and plugged the washer bottle pump back in. Silence (thank god). Fingers crossed it stays that way.

So now im wondering, can i run a methanol/water mix? Or would the tune need to change between water injection and water/methanol mix injection. Would only do it for dyno/track/drags. Not overly cluey on water injection other than helping to keep intake temps down a bit, so just throwing it out there. Any helpful hints/tips also appreciated :)

Thanks!

P.S. TL;DR? Dont worry, you didnt miss much.

[Jumanji]

Love the VR/VS nice rig mate!

wheels, go for the 19" holden supersports in think the VE Statesman/caprice has them?

P.S a mate of mine has a water meth mix at 30% he has the same combo as you apart from more boost and a forged 355. He tuned his to run more boost when he put the mix on, but said it should be fine if you just dont over-do it.