My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

[traumadog]

My "other car" is a 2004 Pontiac GTO in silver, now nearly completed the process of a LHD Holden Monaro conversion.

Some pics:
The exterior:

[traumadog]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

The interior:



Underhood - I tried my hand at airbrushing some Corvette fuel rail covers:

[traumadog]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

Underneath goes the sways and the brakes:




The new (left) vs. old front rotors:

[traumadog]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

And calipers to go with them:



And I do take this car out racing, though not the straight-line kind. Here's an autocross shot, before the conversion:

And even got some exposure in GM High-Tech Performance on their "Street Heat" page...

The net-net - last dyno 8/13/06, untuned:


List of mods:
Engine:
* K&N AirCharger short-ram intake & heat shield
* Hand ported/polished throttle-body w/ coolant bypass (courtesy New Era Performance)
* NGK TR55IX Iridium Spark Plugs (gap to 0.055 inch)
* SLP high-flow MAF
* Taylor "409" 10.4mm wires
* EFILive street tune in progress...

Transmission:
* B&M Ripper short-shifter kit
* Speed Inc's CAGS eliminator
* Royal Purple Synchromax (transmission fluid)

Exhaust:
* DynaTech long-tube headers w/ cats
* Magnaflow split-rear dual exhaust with SLP stainless x-pipe

Suspension/Brakes/Wheels:
* Hotchkis adjustable front/rear swaybars w/ Pedders end-links
* Pedders front "radius rod" bushings
* Hawk HPS front pads (Corvette C5 size)
* 2005 OEM calipers w/ Monaro decals (320mm vs 296 mm diameter rotors)
* DBA 4000 series 6x6 slotted rotors
* Russell braided stainless brake lines
* (summer) Stock 18x8 wheels / 235/40/18 Bridgestone RE040s
* (winter) Stock 17x8 wheels / 225/50/17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50

Body:
* 2005 Monaro VZ front bumper and working side marker repeaters
* Gravana Tuning Type W ("Woodward") hood
* Monaro/Commodore SS molded splash guards (painted Silver)
* Deleted spoiler, filled/painted stock holes
* Replaced Pontiac badging with Holden emblems front, rear, airbag and dash
* PYFC split-rear exhaust rear bumper inserts & exhaust tips

Interior/Electronics:
* Installed homemade dead pedal
* Hard-wired Valentine One radar detector w/ mount next to interior rear-view mirror
* Replaced gauge faces with UK-market Vauxhall Monaro black face
* Replaced the "GTO" lettering from the seatbacks with OEM plain leather

Pending install (the to-do list, they're sitting in my garage):
* ATE Super Blue Racing (brake fluid for the caliper swap)
* port/polish LS1 heads (OEM 241 casting)

Overall, the conversion is 99% complete - I even have a Holden key-fob/remote.

The only thing I'm missing is to get an owner's manual, and to get rid of the "Pontiac" from the start-up diagnostics on the gauges.

After that, I'll eventually get the heads and cam done, but now I'm taking my time.

Of course, if someone's got a cheap Procharger setup sitting around...

[vanbibber]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

have you gotten any pms from me yet?

thats a pretty slick conversion. a guy on one of my sites has the real deal in kansas.

[traumadog]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

have you gotten any pms from me yet?

thats a pretty slick conversion. a guy on one of my sites has the real deal in kansas.

Nope - no PM's yet. And there's a real RHD Monaro in the States? Most of the ones I've seen are conversions - maybe about 50 or so in-country that I'm aware of.

[Kleenax]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

thats nice i like the conversions havnt seen a real Monaro in person.

[vanbibber]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

Nope - no PM's yet. And there's a real RHD Monaro in the States? Most of the ones I've seen are conversions - maybe about 50 or so in-country that I'm aware of.

check that, i thought it was a monaro. he has a 2006 Holden Commodore VE.

[transamtom1]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

Thats cool :)

They(Holden) sold LHD in the middle east,probably still do:)

[Archer]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

isnt that the Australian version of the GTO?

[traumadog]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

Yep. Or rather, the GTO was the American version of the Monaro.

[JusFlyinBy]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

Very nice! I have an '05 GTO that I've wanted to replace the body panels with the HSV GTO, but man, I don't want to drop 10 grand in appearance alone!

:tup: to you. Too bad it isn't plug and play to drop in the dual zone climate and GPS system to ya know?

Question, did you have to replace the front headlights so they would fit properly in the Monaro bumper?

[traumadog]

Re: My "other car" ... 2004 Monaro conversion

The HSV bumper needs new headlights. The regular VZ one doesn't.

And the HSV model only swaps out rocker panels, front/rear bumpers (and headlights), and has a 3-piece spoiler.

You can see most of them on this guy's sig...


...though I think he spent close to $10k for it all.