Nugget the Corsa - 17/11 Winter Prep

[dollywobbler]

Can we have more pics please? Especially the interior. Love that steering wheel.

[lisbon_road]

You should get 50 mpg but don't trust the fuel gauge.

 

Is it a single point injection car?  My Astra was and I converted to multi point injection.  A big job but huge amounts more power and a big drop in fuel consumption.  Worth considering.

[vulgalour]

Went over to the unit to have a better look at things.  I've not gone under the car or checked the brakes out, to be perfectly frank I'm still a bit knackered from the drive back.  I did have a quick look underneath while it's on the floor and saw that it's all been undersealed, recently too by the look of things.  The 'corrosion' on the sills is little more than paint blistering which I'll rectify and I get the impression the MoT garage was perhaps on the overly picky side, or I've been to rather lax ones.

 

First up was to investigate that electrical issue.  Happily, the car did start so the electricity had stayed in but a grounchy noise from the starter makes me think it's none too well.  Took off the distributor cap to investigate the rotor arm and found both had some corrosion and that the rotor arm spindle was quite rusty, probably just from being stored.  Cleaned all of this up and there's a greater willingness to provide electricity than there was.  I'll clean it up a bit better to see if it improves things further.

 

 

 

The battery is quite old, and I think it's too small.  We've got a better one on the shelf that's a bigger size which will probably help and the existing battery is going on the conditioner to see if that helps at all.  I want to avoid spending more money until I've discovered the various niggles and resolved them, so no new battery purchase just yet.

 

You'll have to excuse my photography skills today, for some reason I was having real trouble getting the focus to work on the camera.  Here's a shonky before shot of the engine bay.  It's mostly very tidy but just a bit grimy and dusty.  I'll give it the Vulgalour treatment and it'll be shipshape in no time.

 

I know a few of the rot spots on the Corsa, one is very definitely the spare wheel well.  Astonishingly on this one at the mileage it has the well is completely solid, just in need of tree detritus vacuuming out.  I also discovered the sunroof drain tubes aren't in their sockets and are draining into the boot which makes this situation even more unbelievable.

 

Underneath the spare wheel well is the original toolkit in its original bags.  All of the boot plastics need a good clean and the parcel shelf is missing one string but it's all otherwise quite good in there.

 

Under the back seat I found a pencil and 76p.  Nugget has only cost me £179. 24 as a result, I'm already making money back.

 

One of the advisories to address is the front number plate.  I'm going to replace this with a generic item as has been done on the back.  The tax disc holder is also original dealer but it's held in with sellotape and is falling apart so that'll go too.  I'll probably leave the bubble-sticker dealer badge on the bootlid though.  Grille griffin badge has seen better days so I'm looking to replace that and the bootlid badge which is missing.

 

I also need two sunvisor clips as they've broken which is normal for Corsa.  The front door cards need the fabric regluing which is a fairly easy job if fiddly and will give me the opportunity to clean them properly at the same time.

[vulgalour]

Inside the car is in reasonable fettle, blessed with a previous owner that has actually kept the majority of it clean, particularly the bits you touch.  There's more to do because I'm me, but this one is going to be EASY to get up to spec.  Nice light airy cabin, the car felt small but not cramped on the drive home.  This is helped by the light grey interior with dots of colour, it's actually not too bad in here.  The manual adjust on this mirror doesn't work, I think the mechanism has come unglued from the mirror so I'll dismantle it and see if I can repair it rather than buying a new one.

 

Aftermarket radio with removable face is quite smart, though I was slightly disappointed the original Vauxhall unit was missing.  The gear gaitor is tired so I'll sew a new one of those since I've got some black vinyl in and need the practice.  All the centre control dials appear to work and are pleasingly chunky.

 

While the front seats both need a shampoo, the back seat is quite clean.  Easy to lift the base and fold the back down to give you bags of room for Stuff.  Shame it's not a split fold, but not the end of the world.  I love the colour of this car, it actually makes that grey interior inviting rather than depressing.

 

The worst bit of damage in the interior is this on the driver's seat.  If I can get a seat cover or a complete seat I can repair or replace it.  These seats feel nice and firm still, I don't know if that's normal or not for Corsas, but if the replacement seat I get isn't as good I'll swap the covers over.  It's going to be the hardest bit of the car to source and fix and the most pressing visually.

 

There's some grime on the driver's arm rest that needs a good scrub.  Since I'm regluing these doorcards I'll do it at the same time.  I don't know what's with all the scratches on the door, there's a matching bunch on the B pillar, it's like someone's shut a christmas tree in the door or something, very odd.  I'll respray it and polish it up.

 

The seats and carpet will be easier to clean out of the car which is what I'll do, it also gives me a chance to find anything untoward in the bodyshell at the same time and sort those bits out if I need to.  Really though, it's already quite clean and tidy so it's not going to cause me much of a headache.

[vulgalour]

Last of all on the proper look at this little thing then. The proper Vauxhall wheel trims are arriving early next week so I prised the ones off that were on but have put them to one side, they're still in great condition so they might come in useful for another car in the future, they've been put in the stash.  I prefer the Corsa without those trims, but not everyone will, I'll prefer it more with the proper trims on.

 

There's one ugly bit on the bodywork on the trailing edge of the door.  It's only surface and the inner skin is fine so I'll clean it up and repaint it.

 

The rest of the bodywork is quite good.  The bonnet is probably the worst with a small dent like someone has dropped something metal on it and a long scratch that just needs some touch-up pen action.  I've collected a bunch of scratches in the lacquer down one side from the drive home, that'll be the chunks of tree that were blowing around at me and everyone else.  But hey, this is a car that's done many, many miles and the majority of the paint and bodywork is still in really good order and just in need of a machine polish.

 

The bumpers have been painted, but what's weird is that they don't look painted.  RobT didn't know what the previous owner had done to them and I'd love to find out because the finish looks pretty close to factory plastics with no evidence of peeling and the original texture still showing crisply.  Bump strips and door badges are staying put, in fact nothing is going to be changed from how Vauxhall intended here.

 

 

 

Overall I'm very happy with this car.  We're planning on changing the oil and air filter as both look like they're getting ready though not completely ruined.  Alternator belt felt a little slack but is in good condition so we'll get that tightened up a little and the engine bay will get a degrease and general clean up.

 

I have no complaints at all, this car is exactly what I expected and available for less money than it should have been.

[DVee8]

There is a Vauxhall breaker up here in the North East

http://www.vauxhallcarbreakers.com

 

If i get a chance this week i may have ride up as i need to go.I'll have a look/ask if they have any old corsa parts around.

[Volksy]

Scratches on the door and b pillar are probably from shutting the seatbelt buckle in the door, is it slow to retract? My Volvo S70 had similar damage.

[Split_Pin]

This is all grand stuff, keep it up!

[vulgalour]

Sorted out a replacement mirror casing and a pair of sunvisor clips for £nearlyfree, got a tiny bid on a pair of proper replacement mirror lenses to hopefully fix the passenger side and replace the driver's side 2000X magnification item.

 

A starter motor is about £15 delivered, but I'm not investing in that until I know the starting issue isn't the battery.  It might be first start is difficult because the battery isn't offering enough cranking power, making the starter work harder than it wants to.

 

Service items are easy to get, not worried about that, but there are a few things I need to work out/find:

 

Paint colour - not looked for the code yet which will tell me what colour it is, but if anyone knows do shout up.

Pair of round Vauxhall badges - I'll likely go to Vauxhall direct to see if they sell them for less than £bumrape, online search so far fruitless.

Parcel shelf string - one missing, which is irritating but not vital

[Split_Pin]

I have a top of the range Vauxhall Casette player with the code you can have for postage. Came out of a 99 vectra, works great and it quite posh. Has lots of knobs on and Lw too!

[RobT]

Can't wait to see it on the proper trims. Seems weird not having this around anymore, although having cash in my pocket is nice.

[Pillock]

If you do swap the head unit for a factory job, I'm looking for a cheap one with aux in if you fancy recouping even more costs.

[greengartside]

Paint is Caribic Blue I think, same as the Astras of that era. I had a 95 Astra in the same colour.

 

I'll be down scrappys next week so let me know if you need owt else.

[purplebargeken]

Just read this from start to finish. Phew, glad you got back ok mate. Whilst not a mega-fan of Corsa, I can appreciate them for whatthey are. Yours looks pretty bloody decent and cost the happy side of sweet bugger all. 

 

I look forward to seeing how it all develops. 

 

Fabulously miserable! Congratulations.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Paint is Caribic Blue I think, same as the Astras of that era. I had a 95 Astra in the same colour.

 

I'll be down scrappys next week so let me know if you need owt else.

 

I agree, I think it's probably Caribic Blue.  I had a Corsa GSi in the same colour, in 1996!

[Split_Pin]

Definitely is. Id love an early Sri in that colour

[vulgalour]

There is a Vauxhall breaker up here in the North East

http://www.vauxhallcarbreakers.com

 

If i get a chance this week i may have ride up as i need to go.I'll have a look/ask if they have any old corsa parts around.

 

Their on-site prices are a bit steep, I'll give them a call on Monday and find out if I can get a better deal, they've got a matching Corsa to mine listed so I could get a better bonnet and the front seat I want easily, just don't want to pay their on-site price of £70 for that, was hoping to pay nearer £40 if I'm collecting.

[lisbon_road]

I think that the drivers and passengers seats are the same, so the autoshite trick is to get a passenger seat for the drivers side.  Like to do that for my Astra.

 

This is all turning into a bit of a 90s Vaux club, isn't it?

[vulgalour]

innit*

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

http://www.u-pull-it.co.uk/breaker-parts/vauxhall-corsa-2000/35844864

 

[320touring]

Wikkid!

[vulgalour]

Sadly nothing of use on that one, every bit I'd need is wrong in one way or another.

[Hendry]

For factory stereo I'd have a look about for a CDR500, these were fitted to later Corsas and combine all the aspects of OEM with decent sound quality and CD playback.

 

Interior wise: I know most on this sit couldn't care less but if it was me I'd be retrofitting central locking, electric front windows and electric colour coded door mirrors. I'd also fit PAS, and I absolutely hate the boggo spec steering wheel on Corsa Be so I'd be looking for an early non airbag 3 spoke steering wheel from an SRi/GSi. Rev counter clocks, a fag lighter, a glovebox, and full black interior/seats/carpets. That's the only thing that bugs me/I really dislike about 90s Vauxhall interiors is those grey dashes/plastics/carpets/seats, they are hideous, my Astra mk3 was the same.

 

Exterior wise some early SRi wheel trims and SRi style red door bump strips, effectively make it a 5 door SRi.

 

PS I like your plan Vulgalour, you seem quite picky and OCD with cars and their little small details and into cleaning things most folk wouldn't bother with, a bit like myself so I look forward to seeing this car tidied up and it being valeted utter fuck out of.

[vulgalour]

Everyone upgrades a base model car, and it's an expensive thing to do.  Once I've put a black interior in and electric this and that I've spent £100+ on all these trinkets and added maybe £50 to the value of the car.  Plus lumped myself with a whole load of stuff I don't even want or like.  The appeal to this car is its basicness, it's survived as transport for over 100,000 miles and twenty years with the only modifications being an upgraded stereo and some replacement wheel trims and I'm not going to argue with that.

 

I reckon the best way to keep the value on this car is to keep it factory.  Minimal expense, maximum return and just as much enjoyment from it as it would be if I emptied my pockets into it.

 

I'm going to hold off changing the radio until I can find an original Corsa one, shouldn't be too pricey when I do.  How do you go about getting the code for a radio if it doesn't come with one, I wonder?  As far as I know all Corsa radios are coded.

 

Found one cheap with a code.  Once it's arrived and I know it's working I'll put the existing head unit up for grabs to recoup the cost.

[Split_Pin]

Did you see my post on the Vectra casette player? Corsas would definitely have come with this. It has a code and its in perfect working order. It's yours for the price of postage if you want it.

 

I also like your OEM plan. I've tried to keep mine that way. Apart from the lowered suspension and Speedlines, I have fitted a Tigra scuttle panel, irmscher bootlid spoiler, irmscher front bumper extension, chrome interior door handles from my old Vectra and a full interior from an early SRi model. I also have a leather 3 spoke steering wheel from GSI to fit but I can't get the old one off!

[vulgalour]

I thought the Vectra one was a CD player, my mistake!  Yes, I'll have that.  Is it an SC201?

[Split_Pin]

It's a car 400

[M'coli]

^^^Nice baffies!

Just a thought on the lazy cranking, it could be the engine-to-body earth strap that's at fault. Chuck a jump lead between engine and battery negative terminal and see if it improves any.

[Split_Pin]

Christmas prezzie! Belters!

[Station]

There's a five door CDX in a scrappy near me with electric windows/air con etc.