Nice unmolested Astra Mk1

[AXrescuer]

Don't know how old the ad is sadly.

 

http://pistonheads.com/sales/783643.htm

[ashmicro]

Sorry but there is no such thing as a nice Mk1 Astra. Or Vauxhall.However, as an Autoshiter, I find that car shagging amazing! I know the phrase is overused, but that's a minter.That ought to be in some kind of public collection.Super find, BTW.

[pogweasel]

I disagree. A mk1 Astra is a nice little car in many respects. Remember that they came along in 1979/80. An absolute revelation compared to what went before it. Go for a drive in a '79 Viva. Then hop in an '80 Astra. At the end of the day a really decent motor, quiet, decent engines, and tidy handling. Light years ahead of anything the other 'british' manufacturers were churning out at the time.

[AXrescuer]

Sorry but there is no such thing as a nice Mk1 Astra. Or Vauxhall.

In your opinion! I've been more than happy with my current and previous Vauxhalls.

[Talbot]

Sorry but there is no such thing as a nice Mk1 Astra. Or Vauxhall.

Says the man with a Rover badge as his avatar?!... says the man called Talbot.I've not thought this through, have I?Anyway. 80's Vauxhaul cars were full of win. Way better than anything else mainstream. Shame they lost the plot into the 90's

[Mr Lobster]

Sorry but there is no such thing as a nice Mk1 Astra. Or Vauxhall..

I'm no Vauxhall fan but the '80's stuff was ok and a Astra / Cavalier of that vintage would be most welcome around here.Some of the newer stuff is generally bilge though

[VWPowered]

umm Mk1/2 GTE Astra's, Mk2 Cavalier SRI/130 great cars...

[ashmicro]

I must admit, my view of Vauxhalls is somewhat coloured by the fact that my mate and I were nearly scrubbed in his disintegrating Nova. However, that says more about his car maintenance skills (or lack thereof) than GM I suspect.Speaking of the Viva, back in the day (very early 70's) my Dad had a red one, with a homebrew alarm which consisted of a bell from a GPO telephone. The inevitable occurred, and the bell stuck on whilst my Dad was driving to Belfast.Sweeney FTW!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Sorry but there is no such thing as a nice Mk1 Astra. Or Vauxhall.However, as an Autoshiter, I find that car shagging amazing! I know the phrase is overused, but that's a minter.That ought to be in some kind of public collection.Super find, BTW.

I strongly disagree. The Astra Mark 1 was a very good car - great handling, lightweight and excellent performance, The 1300 seemed to be the best of all. A pity the car isn't a 1.6SR, super little things.

[outlaw118]

I had one back in 94/95 ish, A985PNK where are you now? A lovely little thing 1300LS, terracotta, went well, didn't drink much, fairly comfortable. My daily driver for about 3 years, till I got an attack of "vanity" and chopped it in for a F plate MK2 Estate. Piece of crap that was in comparison. Couldn't kill it though.....

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

F plate MK2 Estate. Piece of crap that was in comparison. Couldn't kill it though.....

I took an F plate 1.3 Belmarsh Merit in p/x for an E plate 316 around 8 years ago. It was utterly vile but it was quite perky and had a willingness sadly lacking in later GM crap.

[outlaw118]

^^^^Make you right, it was purchased in haste, and I hated it's "basicness" (T'was a Merit after all), it's rattles, but the engine NEVER failed to start, I ran it for 80,000 in 3 years as a daily driver and "support vehicle" for the stock car team, occasional tower, and the only expenditure was service items, tyres and a couple of exhaust bits. Someone nicked it out of Oldchurch Hospital car park while I was visiting my brain-haemorraging step-son, so I wasn't best pleased!!Bought a mk3 1.8 estate after that, that restored my faith in the Griffin!

[pogweasel]

Have had more Astras than anything else I think. 2 Mk1's of the 1200S 'flappy boot' flavour2 Mk2 1.6L's, both Estates, 2 Mk3's, first was a 1.4LSi, pretty poo spec and ultra slow but by christ was it a good car, properly screwed together, very reliable & frugal, on the strength of this got a 1.6LSi facelift one for Er Indoors, which was of noticably poorer quality in terms of fit&finish and rustproofing. Then the utter horror that is the Mk4, odious, vile, shabby in every single respect, terrible to drive and unpleasant to own. Bleurgh.

[Dukestar25]

These were the best Astra ever made IMO as they seemed to get fatter and uglier the newer they got, the very latest one having a mostly square dashboard and an utterly annoying indicator switch which you have to press in the desired direction for the signal and press again to cancel it ...My fave was the 1300s. The GTE was top dog, especially in red, except mine rusted badly and in spite of which, still got robbed The Nova was a similar story. I had a 1.3SR and a 1.2 Merit. Not much in it performance wise but the 1.2 was the better car for me (better MPG, lower insurance )

[Mash]

A mk1 Astra is a nice little car in many respects. Remember that they came along in 1979/80. An absolute revelation compared to what went before it. Go for a drive in a '79 Viva. Then hop in an '80 Astra. At the end of the day a really decent motor, quiet, decent engines, and tidy handling. Light years ahead of anything the other 'british' manufacturers were churning out at the time.

I agree. Never driven one mind, but it strikes me that these cars raised the bar in the late 70s. Even the Japanese took a good 3 or 4 years to catch up and I imagine these were much more refined than the Mk3 Ezz. Top spec Kadett for me please At risk of sounding like a grumpy old git I would hazard a guess that one may not stay unmolested for a great deal longer being a 3 door unless it finds a very sympathetic owner....I remember our hapless chemistry teacher had a base spec 1200S (non-hatch) in bright orange. He was the one who put too much sodium in the bowl of water when I was sat on the front row of benches. In 2008 my parents would have sued his ass off; in 1988 it was a good laugh!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Early Mark 3 Scrotes were good cars. The 1300 CVH with the VV carb was a zippy motor, slick 5 speed box and very credible handling and ride except the very early ones. I'd gladly use a W plate 1300 Ghia on a daily basis.Novas were pretty good as well. The Corsa was a definite backward step in traditional GM style.

[CortinaDave]

early Corsas are utterly rubbish.. the sad face era festers are light years ahead.When i was 20 and stupid I bought a 3 year old P reg prison cell spec 1.2 corsa for four bags of sand .. my one and only foray into the world of HP motoring.It was a hateful car, constantly breaking down, desperately slow and handled like an old lidl trolley. Ended up regaining my senses,dumping it in my parents driveway for a year and a half until id paid enough of the finance to just hand it back, and bought a Y reg sierra ghia instead for £300, which was a superb car. My missus has an S plate 1.25 Zetec fiesta just now and even though its ten years old with 99k on the clock, its better built, faster,more economical and better handling by a mile than my corsa was at 3 years old with 30k miles.Later corsas seem better though, i had a W plate 1.4 sport as a hire car and it was a world away from the P reg, and actually quite a decent drive.

[pogweasel]

Hey those 'sad face' Festiers are alright, my mates had one for years with absolutely no grief. Bought it new for about 8 large, which was a bit mental, but it's a Ghia spec, and I guess if it lasts another 4 or 5 years he'll be able to bin it off without feeling hard done by. Shame they look so dang dumpy.

[alfetta]

Always loved the mk1 cavs (way better than a cortina..)and we had a mk2 Astra when it was just launched, cracking little engines - pity about the rattles and rock hard ride! Still liked it though.Last Vauxhall we owned...

[Pillock]

I love 'everyday motoring' me. You know, the cars that you see so many of that they don't even register in your brain. Sadface Fiestas, Mk3 Astras, Mk3 Cavaliers, Mondeos. Cheap as you like, no end of spares, never have to worry about them.My ma had a Mk2 Astra though and the finish was worryingly slapdash. Well, it was nice enough to look at but everything was wedged in, you could go round the dash (I often did this if she was in a shop and I got bored, aged 12) pulling out the vents, switches, knobs, surrounds to stuff. No screws anywhere. It was a 1.4GL spec, quite rare it seems as it was plusher than the L (and the LX which was out by this time) but not as nice as the CD. Leccy windows and aerial, decent stereo, better wheeltrims than the L too. H112XRC, long since rusted away.Mind you, swapped that for a Mk3, her first diseasel in the shape of a 1.7 GLSTD. L629NAU, also no longer rumbling around. Finish was much worse on that, nasty plastics and squeaky everything. Seems they did go downhill quite substantially! I've since been in a Mk4 and it was utterly vile.