Cavalier mk2 - another blue giffermobile.

[4wheeledstool]

Offside was finished off today.

The nearside was given its final rub up as far as the rear quarter.

The dolly has been fabricated,  just need to shorten the uprights a little, then bolt the wheels on and the shell will be mobile.  

[4wheeledstool]

Nearside rear quarter finished off this week.

Identified some low spots in the rear valance, they were given a thin skim of fine filler.

Then rubbed and primed again.

The dolly was shortened and bolted on today, surprisingly it fitted absolutely perfectly - wasn't expecting that!

After that was done, good tidy up and vacuum session happened - it was incredibly dusty in the shed.

Once that was done, I continued taping up the inner front wings in preparation for fettling up the front end. Just got to give the rear panel its final block/rub and I can switch ends.  

 

 

[4wheeledstool]

Managed to get a couple of hours on this today to get the back end rubbed out.

Just got the top edge adjacent to the boot seal to do, then with a bit of luck this weekend I'll be getting stuck in to fettling the front end up to the same stage as the rest.  

[4wheeledstool]

A refreshing change of scenery today -

Front panels got a few skims of filler here and there to tidy up some of the welds, then it all got a good rub in preparation for another coat of epoxy primer. 

I thought it was probably a good idea to finish masking off the inner wings before throwing any paint about -

This used up my available time, so I'll have to get stuck in on my way home from work in the coming week.

[4wheeledstool]

This week's evenings didn't go as planned. I did get a second coat of epoxy primer on there on tuesday.

Mrs Stool's car then disgraced itself and took up the rest of the evenings to fix. Should get a decent bit of time on it tomorrow to block and rub though - the slam panel is especially fiddly to do properly,  I expect it to eat up a lot of the weekend too.

[LoftyvRS]

I love the progress and effort going into this. 

Very much looking forward to the next update.

[Daviemck2006]

This is going to make a better car than if you walked into a vauxhall dealer in 1985 and bought a brand new one! I bought a 1985 1.6gl at two years old with 20000 miles on it and loved it. Had to sell it 6 months later due to an unexpected huge bill for the house. I would love another.

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[4wheeledstool]

Got a grey primer guide coat on there and began rubbing on Friday afternoon. Began with the fiddly slam panel.

This was as far as I got on friday afternoon,  but I managed to finish it off today.

Seen here not long before finishing it off.

Should get another coat of epoxy primer on there tomorrow, and once it's been rubbed again, I can get stuck in to the last area for paint preparation - the engine bay. 

[4wheeledstool]

Got another coat on this and rubbed it back during the week.

Finished rubbing on Friday.

Another bit ready for the paint bloke.

Before getting stuck in to the engine bay, I thought I'd better try fitting the doors to make sure the arches line up right. The nearside was spot on, but the offside  was a bit off.

It looks like I put the arch profile a little low at the front of the quarter panel. It was only 2 or 3 mm out, but it would have bugged the hell out of me if I didn't correct it, so that's what I did next.

The front of the arch was re-shaped with a little filler, then blocked into the correct shape.

When satisfied it all lined up, I splashed a bit of grey primer on it while I get round to re epoxying the quarter panel.

Back to the engine bay next.

[dollywobbler]

This is so exciting to watch. Great stuff!

[4wheeledstool]

Been doing a bit of rubbing in here on the way home from work.

Extremely bored of paint preparation now - fortunately it should be ready to go over to the paint bloke by the end of the month. 

[4wheeledstool]

After more than enough rubbing, it was all thoroughly cleaned and masked up.

And after another coat of epoxy primer. 

After taking care of some chores, I still had enough time left to re do the offside rear quarter after it was fettled.

Back to rubbing again tomorrow.

 

[JMotor]

It's been already said.

This is waaay beyond what GM would of done when the car was new. 

But that's a good thing! As it'll last for years to come. 

I'm still in awe at the amount of effort that has been put in already. It's gonna be a stunner when it's done. 

[4wheeledstool]

Rear quarter was rubbed out at the weekend, then plonked the door on today to have a weigh up.

It's a lot better, but not quite 100%. I may have another little fettle at some point time permitting. 

The nearside is pretty much spot on.

Very pleased with this side.

After playing with doors + umming and ahhing for a while, I got a bit of guide coat on in the engine bay, then made a start on rubbing it again.

[4wheeledstool]

It's been a bit warmer than is comfortable in the shed of late, but I still managed to get a bit of rubbing done. The offside is mostly done.

Got started with the nearside turret, and ran out of time.

Should get back on it over the weekend.  

 

[4wheeledstool]

First job of the day, the heater blower/ scuttle area was cleaned up. After all the muck was removed, it looked fresh, so this area will be masked off and left as is.

Nearside of engine bay now rubbed out. 

Just the bottom half of the bulkhead left to rub now.

Should get that finished up one evening in the week. 

[Arthur Foxhake]

23 hours ago and I'm only the 6th to like this post?

This is one of the best threads on here currently. Proper restoration.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

On 7/4/2021 at 7:54 PM, 4wheeledstool said:

 

It looks like I put the arch profile a little low at the front of the quarter panel. It was only 2 or 3 mm out, but it would have bugged the hell out of me if I didn't correct it...

And this is why you deserve a huge virtual pat on the back for your services to forlorn old Cavaliers. I'd imagine it's the finer sort of detail GM would have never even considered when building mk2 Cavs almost four decades ago. 

I'm really looking forward to seeing this one in the paint before too long. Is it a 1600? A good mate had an very early mk2 in the early 90s which was a 16 and it was a flippin' flying machine. 

 

[Ian_Fearn]

Is this the most thorough mk2 restoration ever?

[Timewaster]

2 hours ago, Ian_Fearn said:

Is this the most thorough mk2 restoration ever?

The restoration is the most thorough I've seen in a long time. It is amazing. 

 

As for the best Mk2 restoration? Sadly I doubt there is much competition. 

[danthecapriman]

Looking superb. Can’t wait to see the blue going on!

[LoftyvRS]

Again this thread delivers. Keep up the efforts!

[4wheeledstool]

On 7/19/2021 at 7:53 PM, Dick Longbridge said:

And this is why you deserve a huge virtual pat on the back for your services to forlorn old Cavaliers. I'd imagine it's the finer sort of detail GM would have never even considered when building mk2 Cavs almost four decades ago. 

I'm really looking forward to seeing this one in the paint before too long. Is it a 1600? A good mate had an very early mk2 in the early 90s which was a 16 and it was a flippin' flying machine. 

 

Many thanks! Because of the arch replacement (pattern parts that weren't particularly well shaped) involving several sections of the rear quarter being stitched together, something was bound to be a little bit inaccurate. If I could have found a new genuine quarter panel it would have saved a lot of time! 

It's a fuel injected 1.8 - goes pretty well when you give it some mither. 

This week I have mostly been taking the shine off the bits that are still blue. Still got a lot of rubbing to do, but the end is in sight. Today I also dug out the build plate and riveted it back on to the slam panel so it can be painted as it was originally. 

[4wheeledstool]

Been grabbing the odd hour on this here and there this week, the c-pillars and offside are pretty much done, this picture was taken after making a start on the nearside.

The roof was also finished up this week.

I finished up the a-pillars and scuttle today, but I'll be giving everything another going over tomorrow and Saturday so it should be ready for the paint bloke on Sunday/Monday. (fingers crossed!)  

[Matty]

You'll be frightened to use this once it's done. How's the mk1 doing?

[4wheeledstool]

On 7/29/2021 at 9:26 PM, Matty said:

You'll be frightened to use this once it's done. How's the mk1 doing?

Highly likely! Mk1 still providing smiles on a regular basis - was out in it a couple of hours ago.

In other news, mk2 is going over the yard to the paint maestro tomorrow.   

[4wheeledstool]

It's the first time this has been out of the shed for nearly 3 years.

Time for a good sort out now theres plenty of space.

Looking forward to some serious blueness in the not too distant future.

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Wow! All your hard work welding and repairing is about to finally pay off! Looking forward to seeing the colour go on.

As an aside, are you going for a redtop or Saab turbo lump?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Talbot]

Nothing wrong with the original Family II engine.

... which I thought in this case was a 2.0 rather than a 1.8?

[adw1977]

On 04/08/2021 at 01:49, Talbot said:

Nothing wrong with the original Family II engine.

... which I thought in this case was a 2.0 rather than a 1.8?

Could be either!

October 1987 brochure