I think a lot of us don’t give the modern car builders the props they truly deserve. Sure, steel bumpers and 15-inch wheels will always be cool and contemporary, but not everybody is into them. Fabian Augustine, the manager at Progressive Car Sound Vision in Rockingham, is more a fan of late-model, high-tech stuff; and one thing he is good at is making them look and sound shit hot.
Fabian does respect the older cars and whilst not exactly ‘old’, his other car is a bright green, nitrous-assisted VR Commodore which is almost ready for its second life, but that is another story again. For the moment, let’s concentrate on his current ride – this uber-cool 2009 Senator Signature.
Bought as a neat, one-owner machine, Fabian made a few little mods before stepping up to ‘build’ number two with a set of 22s, airbags and a new colour. “It was the first time I had used a wrap on a car and I kinda dug it. Kristn Henning from Distinct Customs that approached me about doing the job and between the two of us, we chose a Satin White base with some bronze accents and it was a real hit. People loved it,” said Fabian.
After rocking the new look at a few major events over here on the West Coast, Fabian decided it was time for another change, this time, with even more impact. It was after a long conversation with Kristn that Fabian came to the realisation that several new changes were required: “The more we talked about ideas, the more Kristn made me realise that wheels are a major part of creating a new and unique look.”
Good mate and style guru, Nat Graham-Helwig was called upon for his input on wheel choice and armed with a tonne of swag, it was Nat that had Fabian looking at some very impressive Euro rims.
“I already liked the Vossen range of wheels and in particular, the limited edition VLE-1 wheel, I knew they were something special. The fact that not many people would have these wheels meant they were always going to have that certain wow factor. People tried to tell me that they wouldn’t fit or look good on the car but I followed my heart and stuck with them, and I am glad that I did,” said Fabian. The front wheels are 20×9 with the rear receiving the larger 10.5in wide version. The car wears Achilles ATR Sports tyres all round.
The struggle to find a new colour was real. “I knew I wanted a dark colour after having the white, so it was just a matter of finding the right material. I searched the ‘net for ages until I spotted the Gloss Black Rose by 3M.”
Fabian’s attention was then turned to the inside of the Senator. “I remember having a Bentley in the shop and I just loved the coffee colour and pattern of the trim work. I took my ideas to Chris Downes at Trimcare Custom Interiors and he set about making the look happen for me. I love the combination of suede and leather.”
Of course the audio side of things was next on the list. “Right from the start, I got Audison involved and I was headed down the path of sound quality and a really subtle and well thought out install that would complement the car and highlight the equipment. It had to be classy,” explained Fabian.
An Alpine head unit fires up an Audison BitTenD processor which sends the right frequencies to two Voce AV5.1K 5-channel amplifiers, which split the sounds down to Voce 3-ways for the front stage, Voce 2-ways for the real fill and the four Voce 10-inch subs riding in the back. Ryan Lightbody completed the hard lines for the airbag set up which is mounted centrally in the boot. All that audio gear just didn’t make its way in the car by itself though – it was Timothy McArthur from Progressive Car Sound Vision that did all the hard work.
It’s not just all about looks though – thanks to Ed Tassone from Active Automotives, the car has punched out a 10.9 in full street trim and with the stereo install too! On top of the 575hp, LS3 motor is a Harrop 2300 Black Series Supercharger that whines like a bitter ex-girlfriend. Pacemaker headers shoot the gases whilst a VCM blower cam adds even more rumble to the jungle.
“Without Tim, very little would have been achieved with this car. Tim not only did the audio install, he also assisted in every other aspect of the build. From stripping to re-assembling and everything in between, he literally did it all. For that reason I cannot take credit for this build, this is his – I am just the lucky bloke who gets to enjoy it.”
THE CAR IS CURRENTLY FOR SALE TOO – $57K ono
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