Ziggy's Monaro

I met Nick Trovato at the Brisbane Commodore Car Club Dyno Day back in February.  I knew straight away this was a car I would want to feature, and when it went on the dyno I was even more determined.  The car is a 2005 VZ CV8Z and was literally one of the last Monaro's made.  The last Monaro was sold off for a fortune.  It was made on the 13th December 2005, this one was made on the 5th.  The colour is Fusion, and looks amazing, but it isn't just the stunning paint work that makes this car special.

This beautiful gold CV8  is not just a pretty face, it is packin some heat.  The engine is of course an LS1, but it is not exactly unopened.  It has 222-224 @ 112 Comp cams, and Dart 205 heads.  Now Nick is not just a car bloke, he is also pretty talented with fabrication.  Nick makes his own over the radiator, cold air intakes.  He made the one for this car, and he has made them for quite a few other people with some success.  If you bought a OTRCAI from Powertorque, there is a fair chance you are using one of Nicks.  If you have an LS1, and are looking for a reasonably priced way of sucking those few extra horsies, or kilowatts for you LS1 boys, then Nick is the man to talk to.  If you are interested in talking to Nick, you can contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The exhaust has had some work too, with Pacemakers getting the gases away into 2 1/2 inch Try Ys and metal cats.

The gearbox is an M12 TremecManual 6 speed with Option 3 clutch kit.  It has a GM Rip Shifter.  The diff gears have been changed to 3.9:1 with an LSD.  The suspension has been replaced with all Pedders gear - Lowered springs and Sportsrider shocks all round.  It all rides on a set of 19 inch Speedy Infernos with 245/35/19s on the rear and 235/30s on the front.  The stopping duties are courtesy of VZ R8 HSV premium brakes with 350mm disks on the front and 330mm on the rear.

The interior of the car is standard trimmed in black and fusion leather and is not only luxurious but looks stunning.  The thing that stands out the most about this car is that it doesn't stand out.  There are no body kits or big noisy exhausts.  It is just a very tough looking, but very nice looking car without going over the top.   It was good enough to win Best Car of the Show 1990-2008 at the Cleveland Auto Spectacular - No mean feat in a car show with over 700 entrants.  Well there is not much more to say about Nick.  He is a good bloke with a love of V8s and one hell of a nice Monaro.  He is a member of both Brisbane Commodore Care club and Sunshine Coast Commodore club who also won the most entered club at the Cleveland Auto Spectacular.I will just let the pics do the talking on this one...................