Opel Monza GSE Automatic. Rust

[SambaS]

 

 

4th gear doesn't work, the button next to the gear stick doesn't work, rear wiper doesn't work, front fogs dont work, heater does work but screams after a while, electric sunroof doesn't work, pass electric window works intermittently, electric mirrors dont work, rear parcel shelf is broken at sides so droops down at the back, tailgate struts dont work, radio doesn't work, bonnet release is detached from its fixing, intermittent wiper doesn't work, occasionally it will but wont park the wipers correctly

 

Getting there!

 

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Today I was trying to figure out why the Hazards and the Indicators flash too fast most of the time.

 

Found a brake light bulb in the NSF Indicator... changing that didn't solve it.

 

OSR side light went off under braking and the brake light wont work.

 

With side lights off, when indicating the rear side light for whatever side illuminates constantly.

 

Then it got dark so I gave up.

 

Gonna completely remove the light units tomorrow for a better look with the Fluke Meter.

 

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Some well aimed penetrating oil cured the screaming heater. So now winter is gone the damn windscreen demist works. I don't get very much heat. And not all the vents seem to function. I'm still considering taking the dashboard out, I think some of the ducting might not be connected.

[SambaS]

I said I was going to do it.

 

 

I'm taking water in, initially the bulkhead drains needed clearing, but it is still coming in.

 

It was seaping in between the gap where the ventilation/ heater ducts ran through bulkhead. As a precaution I'm gonna remove and seal and refit.

 

Also now the heater motor is accessible, sadly £170 for a new one but I don't want to be doing this ever again so its worth it for peace of mind.

 

Here is my concise list of jobs now it is in bits:

 

1. Front foglamps need connecting still from when front end was stripped. Easy. One full of water and yellow, will look for replacement but fix for now.

 

2. Repair part of loom that was damaged with grinder. Easy

 

3. Fix headlamp wipers. Tricky I rekon

 

4. Fix intermittant wipers. have not worked in 5 years, except on the way down to Lincoln on Tuesday, they came on out of the blue and functioned fine the whole trip!!!! Weird

 

5. Heater blower, spend £170 on a new one from eBay as it HAS to be right

 

6. Fix rear wash wipe.. switch lights and very occasionally the motor graunches into very noisy action

 

7. Fix hazard/ indicator circuit. Flashes too fast, not the bulbs

 

8. Fix left hand window up switch

 

9. Fix all dash board illumination bulbs

 

10. Ensure heater blower heats up properly, car would never warm up much in winter, although could be the VENT thing I found being open so may not be a fault

 

11. Fix rear window demist

 

12. Install better speakers

 

13. Fix horn again

 

14. Fix rear light short circuit/ bad earth

 

15. Replace mising over rider/ number plate lamp

 

16. Ensure all interior lights work including in the boot, and glove box

17. Fix bonnet realase lever back onto A pillar

 

18. Make water tight. Check: windscreen rubber, sunroof, sunroof drains, door seals, bulkhead drains, anything fitted to bulkhead where water could get.

 

Anything I can do is getting outsourced and the bill is gonna be huge, potentially

[SambaS]

Here's the culprit:

 

 

Once I've worked out the best product for sealing this I will get it done, put back together, hoy a few more buckets at it and hope it stays dry!

 

The door gasket, and door seals could do with replacing too.

[SambaS]

Not sure where I was at with this thread.

2015

 

2016

 

2017

 

2020

[SambaS]

Some time in 2020 I put this in for MOT and it failed on a few bits of welding. Two small holes in each front chassis leg, and then a small hole in the OSF inner wing.

Then lockdown happened so I decided to take this to the scrapyard to make a proper job of the inner wing.

There is the hole and a knarley looking suspension turret 😬

 

 

I did some investigating with my grinder and finally it became clear why water was coming in the footwells.

My heart sank as the rot went into the bulkhead, including almost all of the bulkhead side panel. These are not available new, they were part of the bulkhead assembly.

[mk2_craig]

Wow that’s some major league grot right there!! Has it progressed any since that last photo?

[Rocket88]

Multiple fucks.............what a bastard. 

[SambaS]

Yeah fixed it...

 

[SambaS]

Then had to address an area slightly further forward...

 

In the photos it looks like I didn't put the steering box reinforcement bracket back on but I assure you I did.

And then after rebuilding all the brake callipers took it for retest and the MOT man decided to fail it on more welding that he missed like four weeks prior 🙄

 

Not really happy with the finish of the glossy black paint but should keep the salt off for now. Can be sanded off and finished properly at a later date.

 

[SambaS]

Monza been pressed into daily service since I drove my Saab to Bulgaria and left it there in December.

Today on the motorway the engine decided on catastrophic failure so apologies to the bloke I literally told yesterday that I had a spare engine to

 

The plan is to fit my spare engine and possibly the gearbox too, then this one can come apart at my leisure and I will see if anything is salvageable. Its been burning 1.5 litres of oil per week and my mechanic told me it was about to blow up last year!

[Rocket88]

No problem ref engine......bloody thing is trying your patience, is it not?

[GrumpiusMaximus]

You're an absolute hero.

[sutty2006]

I almost love monzas more than I love mantas. I’ve always wanted a monza they’re cool as penguin testicles. I’m after some front seats for a monza if you know of any. Keep up the good work! 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Great to see you back on here. Epic levels of patience with the Monza,  but it looks lovely for your efforts. Immaculate looking fabrication work too. 

What is the current fleet line-up? 

[junkyarddog]

They are such a handsome beast of a car.

Epic weldathon too!

 

[Skizzer]

Yay, SambaS in da house!

As a Royale Coupe owner, that bulkhead work fills me with awe and terror in equal (considerable) measure.

[artdjones]

When I saw it outside a depollution shed my heart sank... Well done.

[Asimo]

Me too.

Epic work.  But worth it for those seats.

[JimH]

8 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

I almost love monzas more than I love mantas. I’ve always wanted a monza they’re cool as penguin testicles. I’m after some front seats for a monza if you know of any. Keep up the good work! 

I've always thought the Monza to be a nice sort of car to have. Sufficiently non-shouty to let you keep your head down but with sufficient poke to allow you to make progress. You can't help feeling that GM needlessly gave up the larger car market to the premium* badges.

I made me wonder if someone somewhere had considered that a Monza with a V8 would be a very capable device indeed. And, of course, someone had.

Now, wouldn't that be nice to have?

[Liggle]

Glad you are keeping this going, always loved the Monza GS/E

[sutty2006]

Bloody lovely engine to put in a monza! Looks like it should have been in there from factory. 

[JimH]

From what I can see of it Pete Brock was going to build them but they ended up too expensive. I don’t believe that GM could not have done the job on a bigger scale for much less money.

[Bren]

My god can these rot. Normally these six pots are tough - I wonder why it threw in the towel?

[406V6]

Great work on the new panel pieces and welding. Such a shame that the engine has blown. What do you think has happened and can it be rebuilt ?

[artdjones]

16 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

Bloody lovely engine to put in a monza! Looks like it should have been in there from factory. 

They used to in the Senator/Monza predecessor, the Diplomat, with a nice Chevy V8. I used to walk past a house in Cardiff where the owner had 2, along with sundry Commodores.

[horriblemercedes]

57 minutes ago, artdjones said:

They used to in the Senator/Monza predecessor, the Diplomat, with a nice Chevy V8. I used to walk past a house in Cardiff where the owner had 2, along with sundry Commodores.

A V8 Omega was planned but unfortunately didn't make production

[sutty2006]

I remember either a diplomat or a captain for sale in the uk with a V8 up it. IIRC the only one still about. Owner was a prick. He wanted to rip the engine out for a chevette project and scrap the shell. Wanted to flog the dip/capt for a high price “or I’ll scrap it when the engines out” kinda bloke. Proper boiled my piss. V8 engines are plentiful, those cars ain’t. What a weapon. Sore subject that. 

[New POD]

V8 omega : https://www.autoblog.com/2020/07/22/cadillac-catera-7-liter-v8-manual-transmission-auction/

 

[Asimo]

Isn’t a Monaro just a bloated Monza with a Chevrolet engine?

[SambaS]

Not sure ref the engine. I asked my mechanic to take it apart while I was away but he hasn't touched it. Funny my Jag XJR lost cylinder 3 on the way down to Luton a month after this. Have not had the chance to compression test it. How strange to have two almost identical issues on two engines known for their reliability!!