My Best Upgrades
With its quilted leather interior and air suspension, this is a Calibra with no expense spared
Vauxhall Calibra
1996 VAUXHALL CALIBRA
THE STORY SO FAR
Total mileage 139,101 Why is it special? John’s Calibra may be highly modified, but it was also once his everyday transport ‘I’ve owned four Calibras over the years and still have two. This 2.5-litre V6 has been quite extensively modified, but I also have an SE6, which is exactly as it left the factory.
‘I bought my V6 with the intention of modifying it, even though it was my everyday transport. I just used the car for the first year then started to make changes, continuing to introduce fresh modifications until about two years ago, at which point it was still my everyday transport.
‘But when the car got scraped by a van while it was parked at my workplace, I decided it was time to buy a standard Astra for commuting, so the Calibra could be preserved as a weekend toy.
‘The suspension had already been dropped by 90mm when I bought it, so it sat really low. It looked great, but the tyres rubbed on the wheelarches and the exhaust had grounded badly and was damaged.
‘I more or less finished the car just over two years ago, but I’m now planning a few more upgrades for it. I’m going to install a bigger air tank in the boot and replace the single air suspension compressor with a pair so the suspension can go up and down more quickly. While the current compressor is hidden, the new ones will be part of the display within a completely retrimmed boot.
‘I’m also planning to fit a 3.2-litre V6 Vectra engine in place of the Calibra’s 2.5-litre unit. It’s the same block and should just go straight in, using the original unit’s ancillaries.’
AIR INTAKE £20 (USED)
The factory fitted a plastic divider within the air intake system, which was specific to the Calibra. But it’s possible to fit a metal one from a Vectra which, with its different design, allows the engine to breathe a little bit better and noticeably improve throttle response – all for twenty quid.
BODYWORK TWEAKS £450
John didn’t want to change the body significantly but did want to smooth things out, so he’s removed the aerial and fitted a DAB aerial that sticks on to the inside of the windscreen. The rear wiper and the insert that ran around the car have also gone.
AIR SUSPENSION £2300
John got Ravern Hydraulics to fit air suspension so he could raise the car for speed bumps. Raven had to modify the front chassis legs to fit the airbags, but the system works brilliantly. The ride is also much smoother than the standard suspension, not least on motorways.
WHEELARCH MODS £400 APPROX
This modification had been made when John bought the car. It had been done very well, but the suspension was too low to provide sufficient clearance. John has kept things as they were; the air suspension gives clearance when he needs it.
CUSTOM WHEELS £1800
John has always loved some of VW’s wheel designs so decided to fit custom-made rims to his car, inspired by VW. John opted for an all-Schmidt set-up – 8.5x17 wheels at the front and 9.5x17 at the rear. They fill the arches really well.
COMFIER SEATS £500
John replaced the bulky and not very comfortable original seats with ‘tombstones’ out of a Porsche 944. The fixed headrests look fantastic, especially with the seats and door cards retrimmed in matching red quilted leather.
ONE-OFF EXHAUST £310
A lack of ground clearance meant that the original exhaust had been badly bashed. The solution was to get Powerflow to fit a custom-made set of pipes. It’s claimed that they give an extra 5bhp; and they definitely sound better.