Cavalier (Mk3) Attitude - MoT result

[BorniteIdentity]

Good to see you back on the scene, Rob! I have wild fantasies about doing Rimini in a Mini and heading through France to the coast of Italy. 

One day! 

Metro next time?! 

[Skizzer]

Great stuff, excellent.

I’m getting overexcited about that R14 TS all over again now.

[RobT]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Good to see you back on the scene, Rob! I have wild fantasies about doing Rimini in a Mini and heading through France to the coast of Italy. 

One day! 

Metro next time?! 

A day trip booze cruise in the Metro wouldn't be a bad idea actually.  I've wanted to take the 11 over but I'm not full of confidence in that at the moment!

[RobT]

2 hours ago, Saabnut said:

Great write up!

I would say  to anyone thinking of a French road trip - just do it! Get away from the tourist tails and see proper rural France. You do not need anything fancy, I just did my last trip in a 150 quid Honda Jazz, and France is not far. My trip was 939 miles each way, but 639 of those were in the UK!

Having done the drive from yours bar the 70 miles to Dover bit, I honestly don't know how you do it on a fairly regular basis.  I thought driving through the night would help, but then you have road closures to deal with.  The French side is mostly a pleasure in comparison, but pez stations being few and far between in the sticks kept me watching the gauge!

[mat_the_cat]

I much prefer driving on the French side than the 300 or so miles to get to the Channel. I know what you mean about filling up though - even worse outside of normal opening hours when running on LPG!

[Inspector Morose]

A great write up Rob, a mk3 cav is one of the best distance cars I ever owned although mine was an auto with ridiculously over geared top resulting in 40+mpg on a long run from a 2 litre.

I have to admit that I try to get over the water as much as possible, even if it’s just a day trip to Calais to sit on the beach and watch the world go by in french. I bought the Saab for this very purpose and, so far, hasn’t let me down after many trips into Europe both alone and with the wife.

There’s just something about driving and travelling abroad that I can’t put my finger on but, the more I do it, the more I miss the feeling, the sights, the sounds, the something. It’s addictive for as soon as I come back, the road atlas comes out and further adventures planned.

it doesn’t have to be expensive either. Keep an eye on ferry prices (sorry but it has to be a ferry for me to make it feel like I’m embarking on an adventure as opposed to sitting inside a piss stained metal box for half an hour or so) and trips abroad can be cheaper than staying in the UK. Set your sights low and overnight accommodation doesn’t have to break the bank. 

 

[wuvvum]

Loving the wonky old house in Troyes.  It looks like any day now the owners will wake up one morning and find that the top half has slid completely down over the bottom half and the house now only has two floors.

[skattrd]

Nice write up Rob, just out of interest what sort of money was it for the peages to get down towards Rhône-Alpes?

[inconsistant]

Sounds like good fun but to be honest the whole thing was rather spoiled by your repeated references to the sat nav. 

I mean, come on...

 

[Saabnut]

Peage all the way (where possible) from Calais to just south of Le Mans (Parigne Leveque) is 36 euros one way

[RobT]

21 minutes ago, skattrd said:

Nice write up Rob, just out of interest what sort of money was it for the peages to get down towards Rhône-Alpes?

I've got a liber-t tag (the smug feeling of a Brit sailing through the 30kph lane never diminishes), so the cost hasn't shown up on my account yet.  But father-in-law borrowed it once and I think it totalled £130 return trip.

Or there's this toll calculator

https://www.autoroutes.fr/index.htm?lang=en

[RobT]

21 minutes ago, inconsistant said:

Sounds like good fun but to be honest the whole thing was rather spoiled by your repeated references to the sat nav. 

I mean, come on...

 

Yeah soz m8, I'm a sucker for Google Maps these days.  Although the old fashioned method of Michelin map was used for route planning!

[RobT]

36 minutes ago, FPB7 said:

A great write up Rob, a mk3 cav is one of the best distance cars I ever owned although mine was an auto with ridiculously over geared top resulting in 40+mpg on a long run from a 2 litre.

There’s just something about driving and travelling abroad that I can’t put my finger on but, the more I do it, the more I miss the feeling, the sights, the sounds, the something. It’s addictive...

 

Thanks old fruit, and yes that's exactly what mine is.  In top it's doing just above 2000rpm at 70, which makes for economical and relaxed cruising.  The Impreza would have been more fun, but with a 50 litre tank and low 30s mpg I could see me getting caught out on the pez front...

Agree with you 100%.  Even if it's just a trip to Le Touquet or something, once I'm off the ferry and on the road all the cares and concerns of normal daily life just vanish.  It's a form of therapy, it really is.  Like you say it doesn't have to cost much either.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Ooh this is making me want to hit the continent. Can't beat a euro road trip in a banger. Nice write up as others have said.

[hairnet]

rob you melon

8v cav - no gonna blow up is it ?

good read that - peage prices - fek!!!!

bring reno to kent pls kthxbai

[Saabnut]

Should have said that I usually avoid the peage, taking the old Route Nationale and the fee sections of the autoroute. Adds about 1.5 hours to the journey but much more pleasant, uses roughly the same amount of fuel but saves the tolls. Only use the peage if short of time or towing something large.

[robinmasters]

Obviously the first thing I did after reading this thread on a car I've never liked, is subject to the forum 'All Vauxhalls are...' bias, doesn't suit my needs at present, and without a budget, was to go straight to eBay.

Have prices started to rise?

[mrdelmonti]

Never used to be a fan of Cavs, but I think they've aged quite well. I've now got thoughts of wafting around the country in top spec model with non of the fancy bits working anymore, bliss.

[wuvvum]

The péages can properly add up on a long trip.  I didn't use to mind so much when you could still get a proper wiggle on on the autoroute (20 years ago I used to get past Paris and then set the cruise control to 120 and sit there all the way to Lyon), but now the French authorities have picked up on how lucrative speed cameras can be and how easy it is to hide their income-generating behind a veneer of "we need to reduce road deaths" (which are admittedly too high in France, but I'm of the firm belief that that has more to do with drink driving than speeding), I'd rather stick to the nationales.  Or rather I did until they reduced the speed limit to 80 - not driven in France since then so not yet experienced how frustrating that would be.

[Lacquer Peel]

Obviously the first thing I did after reading this thread on a car I've never liked, is subject to the forum 'All Vauxhalls are...' bias, doesn't suit my needs at present, and without a budget, was to go straight to eBay.
Have prices started to rise?

Our own Burnside is selling a Mk3 Cavalier on this very forum, cheap and leggy but clearly well looked after and tidy.

Last of the good GM Europe cars? I liked my 1.7 TD. Not the best thing to drive but in its element at high motorway speeds.

[SierraMikeHotel]

Cracking write up. I used to live not far from Troyes and it is indeed lovely - I'd avoid the sausages though!

Had a great experience once at a wine producer near Beaune. I was in convoy with my dad, so Xsara Picasso and GS, and we just pulled into this place at random. The wine producer was a lovely chap, really enjoyed reminiscing about the GS, and gave us plenty to taste. Dad ended up buying a pretty decent quantity.

I think we confused him a bit, he wasn't used to seeing many English tourists!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[RobT]

9 hours ago, robinmasters said:

Obviously the first thing I did after reading this thread on a car I've never liked, is subject to the forum 'All Vauxhalls are...' bias, doesn't suit my needs at present, and without a budget, was to go straight to eBay.

Have prices started to rise?

Prices can be all over the place, but generally they're still not selling for huge amounts (apart from GSi and SRi examples in good condition).  I paid £300 four years ago and it's probably worth the same now, as it's got a fair bit of rust and several other issues.  Photos definitely flatter it.  Burnside's one looks in much better condition and is good value.

[RobT]

3 hours ago, wuvvum said:

The péages can properly add up on a long trip.  I didn't use to mind so much when you could still get a proper wiggle on on the autoroute (20 years ago I used to get past Paris and then set the cruise control to 120 and sit there all the way to Lyon), but now the French authorities have picked up on how lucrative speed cameras can be and how easy it is to hide their income-generating behind a veneer of "we need to reduce road deaths" (which are admittedly too high in France, but I'm of the firm belief that that has more to do with drink driving than speeding), I'd rather stick to the nationales.  Or rather I did until they reduced the speed limit to 80 - not driven in France since then so not yet experienced how frustrating that would be.

Unwittingly I did a section of the N6 nationale which in the fifties used to be the main route from Paris to the Italian border.  The part I covered is now the D906 from Beaune up to Avallon, and it was superb in terms of the scenery and also the quality of the road surface.  I'm not a fast driver normally but I was making progress, and yet I still held up a few locals...so I'd suggest that 80 limit is ignored, or it certainly is in that region anyway.  If I had stuck rigidly to 80kph all the way I'd have felt like Dennis Weaver, as a few trucks certainly weren't observing it.  On one occasion I did pull over.  The truck wasn't up my chuff or anything, but I could tell he was gaining and had somewhere to be.  Oddly I rarely get the impression I'm holding people up when driving around Picardy or Normandy.

I think you're right with regards to drink driving.  We saw several occasions where it was obvious the driver was sozzled, it's not difficult to spot the signs is it.  Early afternoon too, just after lunch...

[sloth]

late 97 and fatha sloth got rid of his beige mk1 sierra 1.6 base in beige with brown interior(dbu230y, one of the very first ones, upside down mirrors an all) for a h reg mk3 cav saloon 1.8 gl pre facelift carb madnezz in flame red. h354kjc was first registered in sept 1990, an had one owner who chopped it in for a mk1 veccy at dixon vauxhall on mount pleasant, hull. my uncle, the service manager, told fatha sloth "its a good un" and my old man handed over 1200 sovs.  the sierra went in the paper and sold for 200 squids the next day. the cav took us round the uk and went from 89000 miles to 140000 in the 3 years we had it. it only ever needed a hose a reverse switch and a service or 6. me and fatha sloth bonded over the thing and i have so many memories related to it. finally in aug 2000 fatha sloth traded it in for a nightfire red rover 25 1.4 is.   i mourned the cav leaving for weeks. a bloke up the road bought it an it got to 2004 before becomeing a tin can.   

i fucking loved that car, and im saddened that i never got to drive or even own it. r.i.p h354kjc, you were loved. 

 

[RobT]

Itchy feet.  I'm already planning the next road trip.  Sweden was provisionally planned for September anyway, so might aswell go ahead with that.  Unless I buy something else in the meantime I'd like to take the Cav.  I'm thinking from Calais overnight in Bremen, then up through the centre of Denmark, then the Oresund Bridge (I'm looking forward to seeing that), overnight in Wallander country (which is a slight detour) then up to Gothenburg.

Any travel trips/itinery recommendations appreciated, cheers.

[Inspector Morose]

Saab museum in Trolhatten, Volvo museum (naturally) - on certain days they used to do a factory tour too but I can’t remember when. Sweden is an absolutely fantastic place, I’ve done the same trip three times now (twice for work in an exhibition coach and once with Chaseracer) and I’d do it again. The scenery, the folk, the Puttgarden-Rodby ferry on the way to Denmark, the Oresund bridge (there is a reasonably good Best Western hotel just in Malmo that you can see the bridge from). Yeah, I think it’s high time I did the trip again.

[RobT]

That time of year again.  MoT is due 1st November and I replaced the lower arm today, as the ball joint was knackered.  Took me 6 sodding hours.  Finished it in the dark...

I've never replaced one before, and it should be relatively straightforward.  But for some reason it was a right PITA.  Part of it was due to me being simple, but getting the new one on just proved difficult at every point (especially getting the ARB reconnected).  Pry bar and lump hammer got heavy use today.

The offending balljoint.

Tools strewn everywhere.

New one in situ, finally.

The steering certainly feels lighter as it had been stiff for a while, but the other side can wait.  I'm broken after all that effort!

As for other MoT prep, I need to check the usual gaitors, exhaust, brakes etc, and an oil and filter change would help.  It was running very rough after the French road trip, but new plugs and a clean of the throttle body seems to have helped.  Idle is still a bit uneven, but after four years I've given up trying to cure that.

[Skizzer]

Proper spannering. Great work. Respect.

[Split_Pin]

Nice job there, big shout out to 90s Cavaliers from me.

[RobT]

Much to my astonishment, this happened today.

 

This is despite the fact I fucked up the lower arm job - I couldn't get the ARB fitted properly so it's clonking quite badly.  But that's another years motoring on a shoe string secured!

It still loses coolant, the speedo doesn't work, the boot floor is rotten, and the oil leak has got worse, but I'm leaving well alone so long as it works.  I'm changing tack now though and it's basically Mrs T's car for local journeys, with the odd long run to give it a clear out.

Here it is next to another old crate that's cemented its place in the fleet.