Project Astra logical .. - Moogs Motahs

[ruffgeezer]

Does the coolant cap look new? Could it perhaps be the seal from it?

[Marshall2810]

Astra looks a cracker 

[The Moog]

16 hours ago, ruffgeezer said:

Does the coolant cap look new? Could it perhaps be the seal from it?

Thats agood shout  Wil have a look and probably replace it anyway, 

13 hours ago, Marshall2810 said:

Astra looks a cracker 

It will be.  The rear quarter has a fist sized hole in it, due to 88 year guy driving it. The wings and doors can be replaced.  

Going back down to rescue it beginning of August.  MOT it and then go from there.   Will be up for sale in not too distant future as it is too nice for me and not an autotesting car. 

[The Moog]

The smoking gun .. 

 

Took it out and for a run 

Even at idle it sits below 100 and if it gets to 105 fan gets it down quickly. 

[Supernaut]

Wow! That thermostat is absolutely gubbed.

Got your money's worth out of that, etc.

[bangernomics]

Good save that and what a random set of events, thermostat and the bit of rubber, was that off the stat?

[The Moog]

On 24/07/2026 at 21:41, bangernomics said:

Good save that and what a random set of events, thermostat and the bit of rubber, was that off the stat?

Yep.  I think it had got stuck shut. 

I ran some rad flush through the whole system, new top and bottom hoses, then a new thermostat.   And jobs a good un 

Hard to get it to go over 100,  where as before it would shoot up to 110 +. 

Slight shame as if it had overheated I would have been forced* to get a vts engine for it! 

[The Moog]

On 23/07/2026 at 13:40, Supernaut said:

Wow! That thermostat is absolutely gubbed.

Got your money's worth out of that, etc.

Absolutely!  

[The Moog]

Yesterday I headed down to London in the swift to sort out the astra. 

The neighbours had finally removed the bricks what was blocking in the car 

Got it jump started, tyres pumped up and head back to my mum's house.  

This morning I gave it a wash and decontamination to get the worst of it off. 

The bodywork has been used as parking sensors 

The important bit was the side repeater in the wing.

Application of some pliers and a hammer 

I also stuck some gaffer tape on the slightly sharp bits 

 

As mentioned elsewhere I think it will need two new tpms sensors

 

It's in for the MOT now.  Aside from that it drove lovely, and I gave it a bit of a spanking before bringing it for a test. 

[The Moog]

The astra is back in Scotland.  

It needed tpms sensors yesterday, but then after that got a new MOT. 

The trip back to Scotland yielded these figures

 

Not to bad.  My plan is to flip the car to make some money towards a track toy for me. 

This is the current state of the panels 

 

I need so AS help to work out how I maximise the ROI. 

I think I can get replacement doors for about £35 each so thinking of doing the pass side front and rear plus drivers side rear.  The passenger wing will be replaced as well. 

It needs a full wash and it has got cement splatter on it . I have ordered cement remover to be delivered. 

So here's the questions 

1) it only has one key. Is it worth getting another one for sale value? 

2) the rear passenger side quarter will need proper bodywork person to do it.  Is it worth getting all the corners on the car sorted as they have scrapes? 

3) the drivers rear quarter is scraped, can I get away with touching it in or does it need a body work person to door? 

4) anything else to maximise ROI? 

[ruffgeezer]

You are never going to get beyond the damage to the NSR in my opinion, I'd give it a deep clean and release it as is - either do all of the bodywork or none.

[Wibble]

With body work being so expensive, even replacing some panels yourself, I’d take it straight to WBAC for a price, once you’ve got the V5 in your name.

Don't make an appointment, just rock up and see what they offer. At least you then know your worst case price and it may still net you a tidy profit.

[The Moog]

53 minutes ago, Wibble said:

With body work being so expensive, even replacing some panels yourself, I’d take it straight to WBAC for a price, once you’ve got the V5 in your name.

Don't make an appointment, just rock up and see what they offer. At least you then know your worst case price and it may still net you a tidy profit.

The online quote is £1600 with all the dents etc declared. 

As it stands it owes me £1000.  

[Wibble]

4 minutes ago, The Moog said:

The online quote is £1600 with all the dents etc declared. 

As it stands it owes me £1000.  

I’d take the online quote with a pinch of salt tbh. I’d still take it to a branch. They take about 15 minutes to give you a firm offer. Then you can decide if it’s worth spending on getting it up to scratch or not.

[DRH621]

I’ve a sister in Inverness that’s looking for a car at short notice, what would you take for selling as is? Don’t think I have PM approval. 

[The Moog]

The last week has been a week of cars. 

I wonderfully won the @BorniteIdentity Clio Roffle.  Headed down south to get it and also managed to snaffle some astra doors in the right colour.  £200 lighter and some door Tetris into the Clio 

I also spied a wing in the right colour for £60 in chesterfield.  So the way home back to Scotland required a stop there. 

Delightfully the Clio managed to chuck on an engine light on the way home. 

My topdon could see the light on but no codes were present. 

It is off to its new home tonight so that can be the new owners issue. 

With a dry day it was time to fit the wing and doors 

The old damage

Some wiggling and bolting

And the passenger side looks miles better. 

The rear quarter still needs to be addressed. 

But going to try my luck on Facebook to see if I can turn it into some profit.  

I also used an online website that got all the service history for the car as well. So that should make it more if an interesting proposition.  

 

 

[BorniteIdentity]

Hmm. That code fucked off with a new o2 sensor. It then came back again, was knocked off and stayed out since January. I think I’d file under disregard. 

[The Moog]

1 minute ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Hmm. That code fucked off with a new o2 sensor. It then came back again, was knocked off and stayed out since January. I think I’d file under disregard. 

It runs perfectly, so that would make sense.  I even tried a battery reset but it stayed on. 

[Agila]

10 minutes ago, The Moog said:

£200 lighter

Bargain. Needed doing and great value for that improvement. I paid £130 for a used wing on my Adam.

Don't forget to remove and polish out the Sri badge on the wing.

[The Moog]

3 minutes ago, Agila said:

Bargain. Needed doing and great value for that improvement. I paid £130 for a used wing on my Adam.

Don't forget to remove and polish out the Sri badge on the wing.

Doesn't it give it more power?