FEATURE – 1989 HOLDEN VN COMMODORE SS - JUST CARS

FEATURE – 1989 Holden VN Commodore SS

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos Caprice Photography

When new, Holden’s VN range was significant in a lot of ways. Bigger in all areas than the VL it replaced, the VN also saw the debut of the 3.8 V6, the return of the long-wheelbase models and the first true Holden ute since 1984.
Five years in the making, the tale of the VN and how GM-H brought it to fruition could fill an article like this six times over, but we’re not talking about the VN range in general: this story’s about one particular car from the VN generation and one man’s determination to have the ideal car for now and the future.

Japan to Home, via USA and Europe

Robert Groeneveld has owned a LOT of cars in his 35 years. The total was up to 73 at last count, which works out at around three cars a year.

The Victorian real estate agent and auctioneer admits that some of those cars were bought to flip and, more specifically, some were flipped to fund the restoration of the car you see here – a 1989 Holden VN Commodore SS.

Rob’s first car was a Gemini and there’s been an HSV Senator in that 70+ total, too, but Rob isn’t one of those rusted-on Holden fans.

“When I was 16 to 20, that was the Auto Salon days – all hot 4s and rotaries,” Rob laughed. “I had S14 and S15 200SXs, five different WRXs, two 350Zs – a lot of Jap cars.

“In my 20s, I had Euro cars – Mercs, Beemers, a few Audi turbos. Then I got into muscle. My first was a (Chrysler) 300 SRT8 making 310 rear wheel kilowatts. I had a brand new Mustang. . . but I always wanted a VN SS.”

Childhood Dream

Given he’s owned so many cars, Rob’s love for a VN SS is very specific and it’s a love that started as a child – back when the VN range was still new.

“I still remember standing out the front of my primary school and seeing a VN SS - as it pulled up, with the noise of the exhaust and the sun bouncing off the Atlas Grey paint - it was just tough!” Rob laughed.

“I also remember when the VS GTS-R came out, the VT SS with the 5.7 litre LS1, but I always came back to an Atlas Grey VN SS – it was the feel and the look of it that caught me when I was a kid and it’s been an obsession ever since.”

Back in the Family

When the VN range was released in 1988, it marked the return of an SS to the Holden family proper. The VH SS Commodore had been a Holden product, but the VK and VL SS were offered through HDT, so weren’t Holden models in the strictest sense.

In factory spec, the VN SS that Rob fell in love with as a kid was defined by a 5.0-litre (304ci) V8, 5-speed manual transmission (with an auto optional), bodywork additions, its own wheel design and some sports touches inside.

Listing for $30,578 on its release in 1989, the VN SS was a whisker under the Calais as the most expensive VN Commodore (excluding Statesmans) you could buy.

Evolving through subsequent generations, the SS added features like independent rear suspension, ABS, a 5.7-litre V8 and even a supercharged V6 option but it was the VN that set the template for the modern SS that followed - right through to the demise of the Australian-made Commodore.

Doof Doof….Ooof!

While he was always thinking about getting that long-desired VN SS, Rob’s work and family commitments meant it was low on Rob’s priority list. But, after a new house build was completed in early 2015, there was a VN SS-sized hole in the garage that needed to be filled!

A few contenders were checked out, including a very good example in Tasmania, but the seller was after $15,000 at a time when others were under $10K.

The car that Rob eventually ended up purchasing was spotted by his cousin Tristan in a shed in Gisborne. With its 20-inch rims and dropped stance, the car was clearly a ‘doof doof’ spec ride from back in the day but looked good in photos and the $3,000 asking price was a bargain so Rob brought it – and brought what proved to be a lot of trouble.

“It was good from afar, but was far from good,” Rob recalled. “It had had a closed-door respray and looked neat, but mechanically, it was screwed.”

Aside from an engine that was running appallingly, there were other problems which only became apparent on closer investigation, like rusty door sills, a badly-rusted bootlid and chopped springs, to name a few. There were missing foglamps, a missing steering wheel, stereo and driver’s seat, too.

“I wanted my SS to be a nice, clean street car that was comfortable to drive and safe,” Rob explained. In its as-purchased spec, this VN SS certainly wasn’t meeting ANY of those criteria, so after tolerating it for a few months, Rob decided at the start of 2016 to give the car a full makeover, with some improvements in the power, braking, comfort and handling to be built in

Stage 1 – Mechanical Makeover

To get the mechanical side of things dealt with, Rob stripped it down and attended to what he could, like refitting new and replacement interior parts, before getting in touch with Auto Care Clinic in Ringwood (VIC). This would be ‘Stage 1’ of the restoration and Michael Tsoumaris at Auto Care Clinic proved to be a great mentor, providing Rob with advice and direction on what should - and shouldn’t - be done mechanically to ensure the car met his needs.

A full rebuild of the 5.0-litre V8 using a wealth of new parts was enhanced further with the addition of an HSV air intake, K&N air filter, a mild cam, head work and a high-energy sump. Ensuring the engine exhaled as well as it inhaled, extractors were fitted, along with a 2.5-inch exhaust system and a 100-cell high-flow cat convertor.

The T5 5-speed manual was fully rebuilt, with a new clutch fitted and a non-standard 3.54 diff ratio dropped in.

To this package, custom engine mapping has resulted in 168RWkW – a substantial upgrade over the approx. 110-120RWkW that a stock VN SS puts out and the sort of power that Rob was looking for.

With the amount of replacement and upgraded parts that have gone into it, the drivetrain is virtually brand new and certainly felt that way when Rob first put it on the road.

The brakes were rebuilt, too, with all-new lines and an upgrade to slotted rotors.

The suspension was rubbish as purchased – “the rear springs just fell out when they got it on the hoist!” – so the rebuild included up-spec coils from King Springs and Monroe GT shocks.

While this was going on, Rob was hunting through wreckers and scouring online auction sites looking for rare VN-specific NOS parts like wheels, trims, grille bars, carpets and the correct SS-spec radio, so a lot of new kit went into the interior, too.

With a set of SS wheels located, Bob Jane T-Mart in Ringwood was called on for tyres and an alignment - Rob says that Chris there is one of the best wheel alignment guys in Melbourne.

Transitioning back and forth to Auto Care Clinic to get each element addressed, close to 12 months was spent getting the car to a mechanical standard that’s essentially better than new.

Stage 2 – A New Atlas

When we asked Rob how bad the car’s body was when purchased, he replied with this: “every time I polished the car, I felt like I was polishing a turd” No further explanation required, eh?

With the time and money that he’d invested in the mechanical rebuild and replacement parts, there was no way Rob was going to scrimp on the body repair and repaint.

It had to be a full bare metal respray, but finding a good panel shop willing to do that – on a VN SS - was a challenge. Some didn’t meet Rob’s standards while others weren’t interested in the job at all. In the end, Rob selected Glossworks, then located in Clayton, but now in Moorabbin (VIC).

Rob explained that Glossworks were a relatively new shop, but Johnny and Thanos were keen to prove their abilities, so would use Rob’s VN as something of a showcase for the quality of their work.

A full repaint was never going to be cheap on a car of this size. Add in the rust repair and Rob was looking at a big outlay, but it was one that was necessary to get the body to match the standards he’d already set with the driveline.

Even in these photos, you can see the end result speaks for itself – it’s probably the smoothest and sharpest Atlas Grey VN SS going around.

For Now and the Future

With the paint completed at the end of 2017, Rob finally had the VN SS he’d always wanted.

Built to a high standard, with new parts, right down to the rubbers and fasteners, used throughout, this car was also built to drive, so there have been some mods made from Holden factory spec with safe and comfortable cruising in mind.

As well as the aforementioned mechanical upgrades, there’s an HSV steering wheel, pedals and gear knob and extensive sound deadening, too.

The car was still fresh from its rebuild when Rob took it to Summernats 31 (2018) and scored a Top 25 in the Street Machine category.

Since then, the VN’s been at MotorEx and Showcars Melbourne, too. And while it’s in show car condition, especially the body, this VN SS is a driver first and foremost, so Rob gets it out as often as he can.

This car is also one that’s been built for the next generation, specifically Rob’s 2-year-old son, Felix.

“It’s really my son’s car now,” Rob explained. “I’ve bonded with Felix over this car and every time that he sees a VN SS now, he says ‘Daddy’s Car!’”

It may be driven often, but this car is pampered, too, and gets regular cleaning and special attention from Rob, with help from Felix!

“I’ve had a lot of cars, but nothing makes me happier than this one,” Rob says. “It’s not the fastest car or the smoothest car, but nothing makes me happier – I love driving it.”