PG SHED - CHRIS' LS1 VN

When Performance Garage photographer, Chris Sorgsepp, isn't busy behind the lens snapping some of the coolest sheds, collections and people in the country, he's in his garage piecing together his perfect street car. Let's check out the progress on his home-built LS1 and nitrous-equipped VN SS and hear from the man himself.

"I bought the stock as a rock 5-speed 1989 VN SS Commodore in 2010. It was in average condition with faded Phoenix Red paint in desperate need of a life line. I originally wanted one in Atlas Grey but at this point the gearbox was more important than the paint."

"I stripped back the factory colour and repainted it in the garage at home."

"I also fitted a new SS sticker kit to bring it back up to factory appearance."

"Being an ex-country car, the underside was destroyed and needed extensive repairs to bring it back to life. I replaced all of the bushes including new control arms, sway bars, springs, shocks and underside paint."

"The factory 5-litre then received some attention and copped a Raptor supercharger, a full exhaust system with Pacemaker extractors, Yella Terra roller rockers and a heavy duty clutch."

"Some time later the 5-litre decided to drain all of its oil via the rear main seal so I pulled it out and stripped it down at home. After much thought, the Aussie 304ci was tossed aside while a 5.7-litre LS1 and automatic were found and purchased. While the engine was out I also gave the bay a fresh coat of Phoenix Red."

"Using conversion gear from Pacemaker, Castle Auto Electrics and Killa Kustom Kables, I crammed the LS1 was between the strut towers while a freshly built and toughened 4L60E from Craigs Automatics was also placed in its new home. I then fitted a Mace Engineering cold air intake and a nitrous system. The plan was to hit the track as soon as possible for a little off-the-street fun."

"Even though it wasn't yet tuned, I took the VN to Sydney Dragway on a Wednesday night to see how it would go. I only had a pair of cheap 205 tyres on the back so I wasn't expecting much but even with some major shifting dramas, it still managed to run 12.8 @ 107mph. The computer wasn't letting the transmission shift up a gear unless I backed off for a second so instead of shifting up and accelerating hard it would bounce off the rev limiter for a while first. I think it probably has a high 11sec pass in it without the gas."

"I gave it a hit on the gas anyway but it only made the shifting problem worse. I backed off and rolled for a 12.4. You'll see from the video below how bad the problem is. Some dyno time will fix the issue and I'll be back out there before you know it."