Astra Mk1 in glorious poo-brown. SOLD

[Louise2cv]

Q: What's Brown and Shitty?
A: My new car of course!





A 1.2l heap of junk.

I'm regretting it already! I think it needs a new exhaust or something... the drive home might just have finished it off. It's loud and misfirey.

I think it's been off the road for at least a year and know very little else about it

[M'coli]

Nice buy! That might have the old pushrod engine in it too for added simplicity.

[cobblers]

That is a magnificent vehicle.

 

My mate's mum had one (same colour too) when I was 9 and neither of the back doors would open for some reason, so his mum would wind the window down and we'd climb through. 9 year old me thought it was brilliant.

[bigstraight6]

Wonderful, looks utterly miserable in the way we all seem to love!

[hairnet]

the dogs twitcher.........

 

luxury too rear wipe and tow bar for collecting moar tat

[dollywobbler]

Wow! I am beyond impressed! I do hope you can drop in for a brew on your way home. Surely the exhaust will be sorted for the MOT?

[Louise2cv]

Sorry Ian we collected it yesterday. We left here at 10am and got home at 10pm We'd hoped to call in on the way back, but it was already dark when we passed the turning for you in Aber!

 

Should have been 3hrs there and 3 back. However things are different with a 1 year old!

 

I wondered that about the exhaust but apparently not. It passed the MOT yesterday morning and then got noisier all the way home.

[John F]

An Astra Mk 1! And in brown, too! Weapons-grade chod. I used to get these as company cars back in the day... I even wrote two of them off IIRC.

 

God knows what the previous owner that fitted the towbar was planning to tow with it, they're not exactly endowed with stump-pulling torque or blistering acceleration. That looks like a fairly tidy example though - no sign of rust on the bonnet leading edge or front valance.

 

I'm sure the 'performance Vauxhall' scene will be more than happy to bung you loads of wedge for it when you get bored with it... if they don't turn it into a GTE clone they're always on the lookout for some old motor to bung a C20LET or C20XE in.

 

The noise could still be a blowing exhaust BTW.

[Louise2cv]

I'm fairly sure it is the exhaust, but I think it's up the front somewhere.

 

**Stupid Girl Question** Would the dodgy exhaust affect the running much? It seemed to get a little bit juddery towards the end of the trip. My thinking is if it can't get rid of it's farts efficiently enough it might upset it. (Maybe I'm clutching at straws).

 

I suppose a servoce wouldn't go amiss either.

[Rocket88]

Could be the baffles have disintegrated in the rear box. Quick way to check for leakks is to start engine, and quickly block end of exhaust.................if it wants to stall, exhaust is probably leak free.

[meggersdog]

That does look great.

Right, the 1200 might be OHC in which case the plug leads have a metal shroud and your rough running could be down to one or all of these arc-ing and causing a misfire.If the car is only running on three cylinders that might make the exhaust sound like it's blowing.Was the engine washed before you collected it ?

[dollywobbler]

1200 is OHV. A bad exhaust leak can cause a car to run badly. Petrol engines need good back pressure. I would have gladly had a look but with a 12hr trip like that, with small child, I can forgive you for not wanting to 'drop' in. (We're still about 11 miles from that turning you passed, on a narrow road that's not much fun in the dark if you don't know it!)

[Skizzer]

Now that's what I call shite. Well bought!

 

I think that's a Bristol number plate, so presumably it's pronounced 'Vox'l Aaastral'.

[retrogeezer]

Liking that muchly....top purchase!

[cms206]

That looks absolutely bloody glorious - you'll be envy of mother and toddlers groups Wales over!

[Father Ted]

How lovely

 

Autoshite - the only place in the universe where grown men say a turd brown Astra is "lovely"

[Mash]

Excellent Louise, it looks great. Hope you get it sorted and don't get too disheartened. I've always liked these, considering the Opel version was launched in 1979 it was way ahead of what most of the rest were offering at that time style-wise.

[Louise2cv]

Why thank you

 

I've just had a lie down on the floor and can see it's blowing at the joint between the first "two in to one section" and centre box plus it looks like where it joins the manifold might be a bit loose (to my untrained eye, it looks as though the front two studs have sheared). So that might no be too bad a job I suppose?

 

Just to make me even more confident about the quality of the MOT test the hazard warnings don't work either.

 

It had a new front plate yesterday and the old one was chucked in the footwell, it has a Bristol garage name on it and the (recent) tax discs say Taunton so it certainly is from oooooooo-arrrrrrrrrrrrrr country.

 

I've really missed the hassle and worry of old car ownership and just felt I needed to lower the tone of the neighbourhood once more. Jobs a good un.

[theorganist]

Certainly is lovely - nice one!!

[dollywobbler]

Well, I know you're not scared to get the spanners out, so hope it's an easy fix. See the TR7 thread for quality exhaust repairs on a budget!

 

As for Welsh MOTs, well, they can be somewhat lax...

[Cavcraft]

{swoons}

 

Louise, you're a star!

[scaryoldcortina]

The manifold/downpipe join on vauxhall OHVs is a common weak spot - there are 6 small studs and nuts holding it together and what usually happens is that some snap, some wind out of the cast manifold bringing the thread with them and one or two undo properly (if you are lucky!). I'm guessing that yours was held together with exhaust paste and hope for the MoT and then rattled loose on the drive back.

 

And yes, a leaking exhaust will make it run really badly (if my chevanne is anything to go by)

[Cavcraft]

This used to be a good place for parts/advice Louise, not looked in for a while but probably worth you joining up:

 

http://www.mk1oc.com/forum/

 

Can't see an exhaust breaking the bank and hopefully the hazards will just be a £2.00 from the scrapyard part and probably a generic one so other Vauxhall stuff should fit.

[Formula Autos]

My Dad had one of these in the mid '80s - a 3 door in metallic blue. He still maintains that it's one of the best cars he ever had.

 

Strangely, when he tried to trade it in at the local Vauxhall dealer (against a brand new Nova saloon - hero!) they told him that there was no such thing as a 3 door 1200S, and so they'd struggle to value it accurately (giving scope for a derisory trade-in, no doubt). In the ensuing argument (where my Dad pointed out that the car he was sitting on clearly WAS a 3 door 1200S, and that he'd even bought it off THEM two years previously) the garage lost the sale. He went on to buy a Maestro instead though, so all was not lost.

[ProgRocker]

Autoshite - the only place in the universe where grown men say a turd brown Astra is "lovely"

 

 

That looks alright, Louise. Hope its problems turn out to be fairly minor.

[scooters]

Waaaoooowwww!

 

Drools disgustingly

 

THAT is PURE 150% FILTHY LUTON PORN if I ever saw it!

 

In THE BEST COLOUR as well - you can imagine the conversation at Vauxhall Bristol:

 

Salesman: "Well then sorrrr, 'ave you decided if you waaaant the caaaaar then?

 

Mr McScrotum: "aye, wheel I'm a wee bit woried aboot aaaall these moadern colours. Ah mean whit's wi this metaaaalic paint?"

 

Salesman: "dawnt yew wooorrry yourselff Mr McScroooootum, theres loads of colouuurs - whaaat did ye 'ave in mind?"

 

McBawbag: "Wheel...Ah always liked the Maxi I had in RUSSET BROON, sot o' SALT O' THE EARTH TYPE COLOUR ye ken?"

 

Salesman: "oo's Ken?...Oh aye see....wellll Sooooorrr as it 'aaapens, Vaaaaauxaaaaaall haaaas a similaaar colouuuur to youuurr oooold Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaxi...it's caaaalled "SQUITS BROWWWN""

 

McPods: "Jings, helpmaboab etc...I'l buy it nooo! Tell me ...is the interior "SPANISH TUMMY BEIGE"?

 

(apologies for the Bristol Accent and god knows what Private Fraser is doing buying a Vauxhall)

 

well Louise?

Interior shots please and if it has a beige interior I will kill myself as life will no longer have any meaning - the world will be perfect!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My dad's Chevette had an engine that i think is related to this one, and it had a terrible 6-bolt flange thing joining the manifold to the downpipe. It was forever springing a leak and causing a mega swearfest during replacement. My dad reckons its the worst bit of car design he can think of. (This is a lad who cannot see any inherent weaknesses in the design of the Reliant Robin)

[messerschmitt owner]

Louise

 

check your flange isn't blowing. Your flange should be nice and tight and some studs will sort you out, giving it a good screw to fix it.

[scooters]

Louise

 

check your flange isn't blowing. Your flange should be nice and tight and some studs will sort you out, giving it a good screw to fix it.

 

[Louise2cv]

Crap photo but this is the bit we're talking about, right?

 

 

I can only see two nuts at the top, and only 4 underneath so I'm guessing the front two have gone (and if you lot say 6, gawd knows about the other 2!).

 

There does seem to be some evidence of white cack here and at (the much worse) joint under the floor, so I guess it has been bodged a bit at some point. It'll probably continue in this way