humbucker's 2004 Irmscher MV6 #irmscherMV6

[Lowrider Dave]

You're powering on with this build!

[humbucker]

Looking nice there Dan, should be interesting to see them all fitted to the car.

Thanks Gary. The rear end is now reassembled... and then some. Watch this space!

You're powering on with this build!

Yup, it's starting to come together now. You'll like my next update: it's Catera time!

[Lowrider Dave]

Hmmm, Catera!

[humbucker]

Hmmm, Catera!

Yup, got it more-or-less finished yesterday (followed by a mad dash to get the update written for the very next issue of Total Vauxhall). I'm really pleased with the results.

[Robsey]

Excellent -
Hopefully my wiring suggestions weren't total rubbish..
Looking forward to seeing how different from standard, the yank tank version looks.

[Envoy CDX]

Looking nice there Dan, should be interesting to see them all fitted to the car.

Thanks Gary. The rear end is now reassembled... and then some. Watch this space!

I intend to.

[humbucker]

Excellent - Hopefully my wiring suggestions weren't total rubbish. Looking forward to seeing how different from standard, the yank tank version looks.

Not at all, although the 'more-or-less' bit of my earlier post refers to the fact that I haven't wired them in yet. Until the car has a battery/engine/gearbox in place, the wiring of the LEDs is fairly low down on the to-do list! I think that you'll like the look of the car's new rear end, though

[humbucker]

Knees saved! My physiotherapist will be pleased

[joe cavalier sri]

Knees saved! My physiotherapist will be pleased

Didn't think you was that old

[Envoy CDX]

Never considered those knee pads before, but those mats work wonders.

[humbucker]

Didn't think you was that old

Thug life

Never considered those knee pads before, but those mats work wonders.

They were a tenner from B&Q. Well worth it, especially if your knees are giving you grief!

[humbucker]

Hmmm, Catera!

Looking forward to seeing how different from standard, the yank tank version looks.

Wonder no more! The new issue of Total Vauxhall has hit newsstands, and with it comes the latest #irmscherMV6 project update! As ever, the magazine is filled with cracking motors and brilliant builds. This month's edition features a mint Manta, an Irmscher-kitted Nova, a C20LET-powered Silk Violet Corsa B and a veritable assortment of VXRs. Visit http://is.gd/SqxHFz to download/subscribe etc., or pop along to your local newsagent. Well, go on then!

[Lowrider Dave]

Loving the lights and shiny twin exhaust Great work Dan.

[humbucker]

Loving the lights and shiny twin exhaust Great work Dan.

Cheers Dave. The twin exhaust is a genuine Irmscher item. Detailed pics to follow

[humbucker]

GM’s enthusiasm for badge-engineering has seen many of its European models adopt new identities before offering themselves for sale in faraway lands. On the whole, this practice has been a huge (financial) success for the company. Contrary to its earlier efforts, however, the decision to slap a Cadillac badge across the front of the Omega before firing it at unsuspecting Stateside car buyers is widely regarded as one of the biggest fails in American automotive history.

Launched as the ‘Catera’, “the Caddy that zigs” was pitched as a sporty alternative to the Detroit motor giant’s portfolio of big, V8-powered luxury barges. Unfortunately, the demand for such a car didn’t really exist, and the Catera’s reputation as one of the smallest Cadillacs ever produced – coupled with the fact that it was ‘missing’ two cylinders – ensured that its future was over before it began.

Like its earlier incarnation, the short-lived facelift variant of the Catera included USDM styling features that separated it from its Omega sibling. The most pronounced of these updates could be seen on the model’s rear end, where a redesigned ‘trunk’ housed a Cavalier Turbo-esque boot panel and a super-wide integrated third brake light flanked by LED-illuminated light clusters with red and white lenses stacked in the reverse order to those seen on the Omega.

Fitting these Yank-spec components to the Omega/MV6 isn’t possible without heavy modification to both the European and American parts. This is primarily because the Catera’s boot lid includes a dedicated recess to house its decorative panel, not to mention the fact that its inner light clusters are much deeper and much narrower than those of the Omega. In other words, they just don’t fit!

That said, not being one to take no for an answer (and in spite of being told that “it simply can’t be done”), I imported a Catera boot panel and a complete set of accompanying LED light clusters from the USA in advance of formulating a plan of action that resulted in an attack of my MV6’s boot lid with an angle grinder, splitting the boot panel into four separate parts, smoothing its Cadillac badge recesses, colour coding the altered parts and plastic welding everything back together in an entirely bespoke arrangement.

The phrase ‘trial and error’ has never been more appropriate, and it took many long nights in my garage, lots of cursing and plenty of teeth sucking until I was happy with the fit of the reassembled pieces. I don’t mind telling you that I questioned my decision to cut up these rare and expensive parts on more than one occasion, but I’m glad that I kept going - the finished article looks fantastic!

While the back of the MV6 was stripped bare, I replaced its crash bar with a new genuine GM item, and I reinforced its Irmscher dual-exit exhaust system with new joiners and clamps. I also took the opportunity to swap its tired exhaust mounts with brand new Powerflex polyurethane parts. The improvement since fitting them is nothing short of extraordinary, with no vibration or movement of any kind where the OE rubber equivalents would encourage the pipework to bounce around under load. A highly recommended mod.

More Dark Destroyer project progress to follow!

THANKS
Powerflex
01895 460033
http://www.powerflex.co.uk

An early (pre-facelift) Catera promotional poster:



My recently-acquired facelift Catera 'trunk' panel. The required recess is absent from the Omega's boot lid, meaning that the Catera part sits a few centimetres proud of the Vauxhall's metal. The only way to get around this is to break apart the boot panel, plastic weld it back together in a new arrangement, cut large chunks out of the Omega's boot lid and hope for the best!



Note the contoured Cadillac badge recess. The Body Shop did a cracking job of smoothing this on the finished panel:



The individual 'Catera' letters also sit in their own recesses:



Time to split the panel:



And then some!



Note how wide the MV6's original inner light cluster is (left) when compared to the Catera equivalent (right). The rear housing of the latter is also much deeper than the Vauxhall's part (in order to accommodate an enlarged bulb assembly). This is one of the reasons that the car's boot lid needs to be cut to suit. The light casing itself also needs to be cut and re-shaped to fit.



This was my somewhat conservative estimate regarding how much metal needed to be removed from the boot lid. Trial and error resulted in much more cutting than I had anticipated:



There are lots of mounting points on the rear of the coloured centre panel that need to be removed in order to prevent it from sitting too far forward:



I removed all of the MV6's boot badges at the same time. A combination of Autobrite Direct 'Just The Tonic Glue and Tar Remover', plenty of elbow grease and a filler applicator did the trick:



The exposed rear end of the car revealed a rotten exhaust clamp on the Irmscher twin-exit pipework. New for old:



The rear crash bar was showing its age. I managed to get hold of a brand new genuine GM replacement:



It made sense to replace the flexible factory exhaust mounts with uprated Powerflex polyurethane equivalents while I was fitting the shiny new exhaust clamp. The difference that these parts have made to the rear end is very impressive; the exhaust pipework barely moves (even when pulling at it) since fitting the new mounts. I can't wait to equip the car with Powerflex lower arm and anti-roll bar bushes in the coming weeks.



Unfortunately, the offside exhaust pipe had a hanger lip that prevented its mount from sliding on without issue. Powerflex do manufacture mounts to suit, but I'd ordered three of the type that fit the nearside hangers. Out came the angle grinder!





New clamp, Powerflex exhaust mounts, new GM rear crash bar, Irmscher twin-exit exhaust system:



The rear end was thoroughly cleaned before installing my resprayed Irmscher rear bumper, Cadillac Catera LED outer lights, modified and debadged boot lid, modified Catera boot panel (reshaped, smoothed and painted), modified Catera LED inner lights:



Here's a before and after comparison. First up, a photo of the rear end of my MV6 taken on the day that I bought it:



And here's how it looks today:

[Markb]

Those rear lights / panel transform the back end! Almost looks a bit Saab now

[humbucker]

Those rear lights / panel transform the back end! Almost looks a bit Saab now

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mark! I'm glad that you approve! I've still got to fit the Irmscher raised wing, but I'm chuffed with the way that the back of the car is looking atm

[Lowrider Dave]

Yep, loving that Dan. Do the Catera light clusters (on the body) fit straight in without any modification?

[Chip Pan Dan]

Looks much cleaner the backend now, I like it!

[humbucker]

Yep, loving that Dan. Do the Catera light clusters (on the body) fit straight in without any modification?

Hi Dave,

Yeah, the outer lights are a straight fit, although the wiring/plugs are completely different. Robsey and I thrashed out the solution on here a few weeks back. I'm going to modify the existing loom so that it includes both USA and Euro spec plugs in case I need/want to revert back to the original lights at any point in the future.

Looks much cleaner the backend now, I like it!

Cheers Dan! I added the Irmscher rear wing last night. The difference it has made to the look of the car's back end is incredible. Pics to follow!

[Robsey]

That back end looks a lot cleaner -
Very impressive

De-badging makes it sweeter too.
I love a de-clutter.

Enjoying the transformation.

[Envoy CDX]

Looking good Dan!

[Super89]

Looking good!

[humbucker]

That back end looks a lot cleaner - Very impressive. De-badging makes it sweeter too. I love a de-clutter. Enjoying the transformation.

Looking good Dan!

Looking good!

Thanks for the words of encouragement, chaps!

[humbucker]

During its time cruising about the mean streets of the good ol' US of A, ‪#‎irmscherMV6‬'s nearside Cadillac Catera rear light casing has attracted a fair bit of dirt and dust that has made its way into the lower part of the outer casing. The muck is virtually impossible to remove, leaving me with no choice but to import a replacement unit.

Here's the culprit:



Fresh from its overseas trip, here's the new light unit (protected by what looks like a box full of cheese-free Wotsits):



And here's the new light sitting next to the original MV6 part:



In place: