All Vauxhalls R Shit - They really are... Game over.

[Mr Bump]

Fatha Bump had two of these. Brand new. Lots of memories. He'd be on to his second Cav by the time this one was registered. Top purchase

[Guest Lord Sward]

Original tyres too by the look of it.

 

GM FTW, an excellent purchase.  Does the clutch pedal squeak?

[trigger]

I doubt they would still be original although they are all matching Michelins i think and the spares original. and there is a little squeak!

 

You would be amazed how many of those GM. radios have the code written on the label. Might be worth a look.

Maybe it's written in the front of the handbook or service book?

 

I was hoping that but to no avail, and all the service books are missing.

 

 

[RoadworkUK]

McNamara Vauxhall, blimey, there's a blast from the past.

 

Nice little time capsule.

[JJ0063]

I want I want I want!

[Spottedlaurel]

Nice one Trig. Just the sort of previous ownership profile I like too.

 

Still saddened that the old McNamara building is no more, best photo I've got:

 

McNamara Motors Ltd, Ipswich Volkswagen ad 1961 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

I lived in Ipswich in 1991 so Vauxhalls like this outside there would have been an everyday sight for me.

 

I was never overly fond of the dashboards in these, with that 'cliff-face' look to the centre console. Only time I ever drove one was when we had the Mazda 323F GT, which wasn't an entirely fair comparison, so I look forward to bringing the Sunny down one day and we can do a bit of a late '80s What Car? twin test.

 

Kind of a shame about the 1.6 engine as it lumps it into the higher rate tax band. Sunny is the same, but I must admit I'm happy with the extra go and it makes for an amusingly brisk daily driver.

[DVee8]

Trig that is just class.

 

Is the aldi going now this has turned up?

[oldcars]

This is great, are you getting a period caravan to suit

[John F]

What a peach!

 

I used to hate this shape of Astra when they came out but they're certainly distinctive. The engineers at the place I worked in 1988 had them in 1.3 flavour... they were quick!

[Jon]

I'd have that Trigger, though admittedly that's not saying that much. I'm assuming the 1.6 should be a similar tune to Mk2 Cavaliers, which is 90hp IIRC. I don't think it'll have any issues getting you back and forth to work. Plus, you can bosh your Audi on to that Porsche owner you met the other day, since he was obviously impressed!

 

It does look to be in great condition but here's a Pontiac Le Mans from my spotted thread which I saw a couple of months ago. The paint is obviously shot but it's so rust free, it makes your Astra look like SambaS's FSO!

 

 

[HillmanImp]

I really REALLY wanted my dad to buy an Astra Club but after I convinced him to go and look at one he ended up taking an interest in a Nova saloon which really wouldn't have done my street cred any good (in hindsight he probably did that on purpose and had no interest in buying the Nova).

 

He ended up buying a Peugeot 309 GE instead.

[Jim Bell]

That's basically a Daewoo Lanos without the Corsa engine. So we'll played!

[lisbon_road]

Very very impressed.  Like these a lot, better than the more plain early Mk2s.  Funny how these have been wiped out but J/K reg Mk3s are still not that rare a sight.  Somewhere I have code generating software for these radios, on an old laptop, and need to look at that laptop for another reason so in a week or so I might (might) be able to help.

 

I had a D reg Mk2 as a hire car almost new for work.  Went well.  Might be worth some dedicated time on rustproofing; they weren't too bad but it does look nice and be good to keep it that way.

[beko1987]

My Grandad had a G reg Astra Mk2 ( I think a 1.2) as a work shitter during the mid 90's until he retired, happy days being picked up by him on a friday after work to stay the weekend! 

 

Granny had a green D reg Nova 3 door too, then a J reg Nova 5 door saloon Luxe, with the little leather code panel pouch which always got taken out the car with them, which they kept until replacing it with a Y reg 1.6 Astra, they moaned because it had a CD player and they couldn't play their tapes.

 

They've had new Kia's for the last few years though, where did they go so wrong?

 

Love it!

[stripped fred]

Well bought trigger! Looks a very nice example with not much rust. Can't wait to see it tidied up. Should be pretty quick with the bigger engine and not much weight to pull around.

[Cavcraft]

Unsure if this is the free one, but there is one out there for radio codes, Trig:

 

 

http://www.radio-code.lt/

[Bren]

Nice buy. The fascia on these is tall enough to give you a nose bleed.

 

A proper Vauxhall in that they had few foibles and would do starship miles on regular oil changes.

[I_am_Diesel]

Back in the day those 1.6 OHC engines were no slouch. Top bombing!

[r.welfare]

I'm pretty sure these later 1.6 Mk2s had 82bhp instead of 90, but I have no idea what they changed that caused the drop. Emissions related perhaps? Looks fantastic in any case.

[bub2006]

Added cat maybe? Nice motor btw

[cort16]

1.6 in a car of this size back then meant it had some beans. Now a 1.6 couldn't pull the wrapper off a craft cheese slice.

[beko1987]

1.6 in a car of this size back then meant it had some beans. Now a 1.6 couldn't pull the wrapper off a craft cheese slice.

True that, ive given up trying to make any progress in amys 1.6 16v ecobollox meriva, its just pointless. Better to just take minutes to get up to speed and keep it there, all noise and no go.

[Pillock]

I saw a thread where someone had taken a fairly young Nexia shell, and undone all the changes that Daewoo did and rebuilt it into a rust-free Astra GTE. I think there was a lot around the bulkhead, slam panel for lights etc and the rear windows but surprisingly a lot was identical.

[HillmanImp]

1.6 in a car of this size back then meant it had some beans. Now a 1.6 couldn't pull the wrapper off a craft cheese slice.

Mrs Imp has a 2010 Megane 1.6. The car is slow as fook but surprisingly its not the engine thats the problem, its the gearbox. Every single gear on it is wrong. 1st gear is shorter than most of the cast of Time Bandits and then every other gear is a slight variation of 5th gear.

 

If I happen to be travelling at the right speed, I pop my foot on the accelerator and it does pull well but its more luck than judgement.

 

I don't have a lot of experience driving modern cars but this does seem to be a common trait. Her old Mazda 2 was the same.

 

I agree, its a lot more car for a 1.6 to lug around but my thoughts are modern gearboxes are designed for the lazy driver. You have fucking mental sharp brakes on modernz meaning you don't / can't use the gearbox to slow down and its hard to change up to the wrong gear when the ine you are in is soooooo long and the one you change up to is practically the same.

[beko1987]

Thats true, the meriva is revving its tips off at 75 in top, a 6th gear would help it massively,

[cms206]

That Astra looks fucking delicious.

[Richard]

I saw a thread where someone had taken a fairly young Nexia shell, and undone all the changes that Daewoo did and rebuilt it into a rust-free Astra GTE. I think there was a lot around the bulkhead, slam panel for lights etc and the rear windows but surprisingly a lot was identical.

I saw an Astra GTE on an R plate a few years ago, I wonder if it was this one.

[r.welfare]

Thats true, the meriva is revving its tips off at 75 in top, a 6th gear would help it massively,

Vauxhalls used to have superlong top gears and were famed for their effortless motorway prowess. I had a 1.8 Belmont that would hold 90mph at 3000rpm in 5th. I reckon this Astra would be similar. The newer ones aren't, I've rented 1.4 Corsas and 1.6 Astras and Zafiras which have all done about 4000rpm at 75mph in top so any long journey culminates in a migraine.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Sad how these have not found favour yet the Mark 2 Gold and the CVH Escrote have, neither of which were as good.

[andrew e]

Very nice Trigger! Best feature on these is the interior light where you pull out the light switch to activate. As an aside, I got a fantastic deal on a well worn 1991 1.4LX wagon in 1999 - £400! Sold it when my wife to be threw up over the dash on her hen night and filled 3 of the air vents.... Smell NEVER went.