Updated Story on 2003 CV8R Monaro owned by Russell Dunstan – November 2021

I bought this car from a private seller in Sydney in November 2014

The price was $15,000 and fellow club member James Meehan and myself flew to Sydney to pick it up and drive it back to Melbourne. It is a one owner car with the original purchase receipt and service records. It had been used as a company car for long trips by its owner. It had 177,000 km on its odometer when purchased.

The Version 2 Series 2 CV8R Monaro is one of the rarest newer Monaros ever built. Only 350 examples of this model were produced and only 120 had the 6-speed manual transmission like mine. It was also the only Version 2 Monaro that came with a 2-tone black and white leather interior which looks very special. Being a Series 2, it had all the VY upgrades together with the improved LS1 V8 engine to eliminate all the initial problems (including excessive oil burning) experienced with the earlier series 1 engine.

With the car having New South Wales registration, I had to obtain a Victorian RWC to change the registration to Victoria. Parts replaced to obtain the RWC included a new front windscreen, new front strut mount bearings, new castor bush kit and new front tyres.

After this work the car went very well and was very economical on the highway in sixth gear. It was also a great car to drive and very comfortable on trips (my wife liked this very much).

I have now owned this car for 7 years and it has done 221,000 km to date. Numbers of things have gone wrong during this time and I have also decided on a few improvements. The following list details the items that have been replaced on this car:

(1)   Neoprene tie rod bushes
(2)    Sump gasket and rocker cover gaskets
(3)    ABS module
(4)    Light globes including brake and indicators
(5)   Air conditioner compressor, heater water tap, air conditioner regased multiple times
(6)   Air conditioner fan and fan speed controller
(7)    Radiator coolant bottle
(8)    Front discs and pads
(9)    Starter motor, alternator and battery
(10) Two remote car entry key assemblies
(11) Electric radio aerial
(12) Roof head liner
(13) PCV valve and piping, heater water tap
(14) Oil pressure switch
(15)Car wheels fully restored to as new condition
(16)Whole car had all external dents removed using paint less method
(17)Respray front bonnet, front bumper and front guards to remove stone chips. Machine cut and polish remainder of car
(18)Remove radio/CD player and instal new Pioneer system with satellite navigation, digital radio, front camera and apple car play.
(19)Remapping of engine control module for more low revs power
(20)Four new Falken tyres
(21)X- force cat back exhaust system installed (for a much better exhaust note)
(22)Cooling radiator and hoses including heater hoses
(23)Spark plugs and ignition leads
(24) Water pump and drive belts
 

All told I have now spent around $17,000 on this car and it is in excellent condition. It goes very well with lots of low-down torque and has most of the latest accessories.

After more than 220,000 km the engine is quiet and uses very little oil. The LS1 V8 is definitely a well-built quality engine. I certainly hope to keep this Monaro for a very long time.

The following is a summary of the companies I have used to perform work on my Monaro:

(1)   Chris’s Motors – 2 Zeehan Rd Boronia – Owner Chris Korycki – 0438000022
Experienced motor mechanic who knows Monaros very well. Has his own Version 2 Monaro and was in the Monaro club for many years
(2)   KSR Auto Air – 5C Holloway Dve Bayswater - 9762 1011
Great air conditioner specialist, good auto electrician, very reasonable prices
(3)   Patterson Cheney – 407 Canterbury Rd Vermont – 92626666
Good place to purchase original Monaro parts. Good place to confirm genuine part numbers to buy on the internet if unavailable elsewhere. Be careful of scammers who can have original part numbers on their web site. I was scammed when trying to buy Monaro parts from a company on the internet
(4)   Tyre Power Hastings – 2079 Frankston Flinders Rd Hastings – 59793844
Supplied and installed new Falken tyres for my Monaro. Good prices and expert wheel aligning equipment
(5)   Hastings Automotive – 2089 Frankston Flinders Rd Hastings 3915 – John 0418109770
Reasonably priced servicing. Good knowledge of LS1 engines. Replaced water pump and oil pressure switch
(6)   Donnellan’s The Tyremen – 1 Alfred St Blackburn 3130 – 98941223
Good tyre supplier, front end alignment and suspension specialist
(7)   Malvern Auto Services – 109 Station St Malvern 3144 – 95001911
Good auto electrician – replaced ABS module and alternator
(8)   Wheel Solutions – 1/560 Church St Richmond 3121
Restored Monaro alloy wheels to as new condition. Great job and reasonable price
(9)   Westernport Trimming – 55 Glendale Ave Hastings 3915 – 59791055
Supplied and installed new roof headliner – great job and reasonable price.
(10) Andrew White Powertrain Management Tuning - 0419281478
Remapped engine control module to make it more responsive at low revs which is what I wanted. Engine runs a lot better now and has more power. Great job and reasonable price. Took 6 hours of work to complete. Would recommend.

 

Russell Dunstan - Life Member - 0413766292