Catera V new mods

[Catera V]

500hp and 480 lb-ft. It has a T56 six speed and heavy duty running gear. The Omega almost made it into production with a LS-1, GM built a few Cateras with LS-1's but the intro of the CTS was too close to make it feaseable. It is a tight fit as the Catera is 2 inches narrower than the GTO which is on a similar platform.

[HiTechRV]

I've often though this would be a great upgrade for the Catera. GM DID do this on production cars, but they were called GTOs as mentioned above. GTO is a Monero. Monero is an Omega, as is Catera.

I wonder if John's design uses any of the parts or design for the GTO?

[Boris]

The Holden Commodore(4 door)/Monaro(2 door) is NOT an Omega like the Catera.

Holden has used the Opel as a base but has changed the chassis extensively ever since the very first 1978 VB Commodore (Opel Rekord). That one used a lot of structural parts from the Senator.

The Holden may look similar but get them side by side and you'll notice that it's a larger vehicle.

[HiTechRV]

Hmmm - they did start with the Omega chassis, at least in the time frame when the Catera was made, right?

[Kcryan]

Catera V I love seeing your car, post as many pics as you can, if thats not too much trouble.

Thanks

[Catera V]

Correct, the Catera is pure Omega with no changes to the basic chassis. The Holden based cars Monaro and GTO use some of the basics but very few parts interchange. The latest Monaro, future GTO, Camaro, CTS and others will be based on an all new platform called Zeta that was developed in Australia.

[Boris]

Originally Posted by HiTechRV

Hmmm - they did start with the Omega chassis, at least in the time frame when the Catera was made, right?

Not quite.
They started with the Opel Senator which Holden made into The VN Commodore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vauxhallsenator.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:H..._calais_01.jpg

I always loved the VK Commodore (I dream of one day owning a Brock blue Group A), The VL was a face-lift which never did it for me.
When the VN came out I hated it and still do.
Based on the Senator it had the same cheap plastic trim and failing switch gear that has plagued every Opel till this day.

Anyway, the Catera is just a rebadged Opel Omega where the Commodore/Monaro/GTO isn't.

[HiTechRV]

The first time I visted Opel they had Omega's in production, but I never saw a Senator. Chasing down the links, Wikipedia says that the Senator and Omega were the same platform:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Senator

"The Senator shared its platform with (first) the Opel Rekord and (later) the Opel Omega."

I'll grant it's a stretch (pun intended), but I still see the GTO and the Monaro as very similar to a Catera with a V-8 shoved in. But I see your point that it's not geometrically identical. I still cannot help but wonder if Monaro or GTO parts or designs might not make it easier to drop a V-8 into a Catera.

[2000ForrestGrnCatty]

Good looking car. Like the grille and the wheels.

[Catera V]

There are enough differences that the GTO parts do not help much. I think you might be able to put the whole rearend, subframe and all in but I have not measured it. The diff by itself dos not work. In the front the GTO manifolds will be too wide. The GTO uses rack and pinion steering, the Catera has a recirc ball unit. It goes on and on. They are similar platforms but at the same time very different in detail.