Collection - another 90s Vauxhall

[lisbon_road]

ON a roll so did the auxiliary belt as the old one looked like the original.  Didn't want that to go - I work away from home and don't want any hassle please.  On the Mk3, it goes around the engine mounting so that has to be taken off but you can do it one bolt at a time so the mounting never comes off, hope that makes sense.  

 

Got the belt from a surviving local parts shop, who also had aerosols of the correct paint for £4.95.  Result.  But that'll take a bit longer due to the weather.

 

Thought I'd try and finish of the floating sensation too.  Have done the bushes on the back of the suspension arms, seemed to help, new front tyres, parts worns, seemed to help also but still some floatiness.  Had checked for play in track rod ends and so on.  Thought - lets go back to basics.  34 psi in the new tyres so the fitter was clearly keen.  Put it to a more sensible 30 psi and seems ok.  So that was cheap!

 

All getting a bit out of hand for a WBOD though.

[HMC]

Glad to see the old thing getting some TLC and serving you well. Does it have much service history?

[lisbon_road]

To answer the question about service history, we bought it about ten years ago with 29K on the clock from a friend who had repaired after a cat c.  It had none then.  We kept it to 50K or so then sold it to some friends.  I have patchy service history during the period it was with them and whenever I ask for the service history they have, I don't seem to get it.  So a mixture.  Loads of accidents though.  But it still looks clean enough and the paint has lasted well really.

[lisbon_road]

Next thing to do?  Had a big dent in the offside front wing.  The woman who had it bashed a gate post, and was a bit embarrassed as she did it days after I'd replaced that wing when a cyclist hit it - when she was stationary at some lights, after which he just cycled off.

 

I picked up a correct side wing at a scrappy, Harry Bucklands (so not just any scrappy) for £15, correct colour but a bit rusty at the bottom.  The original wing wasn't rusty there so I cut the relevant bit off each and glued the decent bit off the old wing onto the new one with araldite.  Slobered the glue over the join to seal it up, painted the inside with waxoyl so hopefully it won't happen again and job done.  This is autoshite (and it doesn't look bad).

 

Getting the wings off these isn't that simple.  Bumper seems to need to be taken off or at least slipped forwards on the relevant side.  Well, I've done it often enough so it can be done.  Front bumper is a lot worse than it looks too.

[RobT]

Is the red 3 door also yours? More pics please if it is.

[mouseflakes]

When did these suddenly get so handsome? Nice.

[lisbon_road]

Yes, the red one is mine (how did you guess - no, don't answer that!).

 

It has been SORN for the winter (well monsoon) and is insured again now.  The difference between the two is huge.  I have owned the red one since 2007, when I bought it with 40K on it.  It now has 134K and is rust free.  It was a single point injection, but I modified it to multipoint injection but still 8 valve, so the C14SE.  It runs on lpg.  Has been rebored with many new suspension parts and so on and GLS seats.  Generally feels tight and clean, but although quieter, doesn't somehow pull as cleanly.

 

The bronze one has been in many accidents and patched up with secondhand parts.  It feels sloppier, mostly I think due to the front shocks being original.  It is nosier but does pull cleanly.  It uses significantly more fuel, getting just over 40 mpg overall where the red one will average over 50, on petrol.  

 

The gearboxes are really different.  The red one has the wide ratio box, better on the motorway but the gaps between the gears feel big.  The bronze one has a close ratio box and for some reason the change is much lighter and smoother - anyone any idea why?

 

Two surprisingly different cars.

 

Her indoors hates them both equally.

[lisbon_road]

Bit more work done, but not well.  One side lacks the plastic rubbing strip so I picked some up with other parts from Harry Bucklands.  Still got just enough double sided tape to fit them.  Warmed it all up with the hot air gun.  Stuck 'em all on, seems ok.

 

Then had a phone call to say my son should be at a birthday party which he'd forgotten (great).  He's 13, kinda expect them to start remembering stuff now.  So I had to drop everything and go. Would rather have sat keeping the strips a bit warm and prodding them into place.

 

Result?  One has come off at the front and is all bent.  I might be able to salvage it but it won't be easy.  Better get some more tape........

 

Can't win them all.  I have bought him a diary.  And me one too.......they're cheap now......

 

And.....got a set of shocks off ebay, two front and one rear posted for £24, KYB so a decent make.  And a last to make the set for £10 posted.  If he'd spelt Vauxhall right, might have been other bidders.  Apart from some paint issues and non matching front seats, that is the last thing that needs to be done to make this car reasonably ok.  It's been a bigger job than I expected, and it isn't done yet, but I have enjoyed doing it and it feels like it has really 'kept my hand in' as far as doing stuff is concerned.