paulscavalier Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Thought I would do a thread on my cavaliers. The blue 1.8 Colorado I have had 17 years and was the family car for most of that time. The burgundy 2.0 CDi was bought off gumtree in 2013 because it was cheap had low mileage ( 52000) and was in pretty good condition and I couldn't resist it. I used it for a few months then stuck it in the garage where it has sat ever since.I decided to swap them over this year so now the blue cav is off the road and the cdi is back on the road again. Dirk Diggler, rantingYoof, RayMK and 19 others 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 First job was to get it an mot. It got through but it was advised that the sills at the back were in poor condition so I thought it might be an idea to get them done. I took it to a body shop who I trust and got them to replace the sills where they had corroded. It turned out that reconstruction of the inner arch on one side was needed as well as patches had been welded onto other patches and the whole lot was rotten.the sill had also been patched over the rust. Below are the pictures of the finished job Shep Shepherd, Cavcraft, 0ldCh0d and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Looks like good work, do you want to share the name of the body shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 Some pictures are upside down but you get the idea. Next job was to sort out the dodgy thermostat. As part of the recommissioning I changed the filters,brake fluid,oil. I also changed the rotor arm distributor plugs and leads. And the coolant temperature sensor. So lastly I changed the thermostat alf892 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 The old thermostat doesn't look that bad,but it had been jamming. That's all I am doing for now. I just need to get some miles on it now and see how it goes. I include a couple of extra shots of it including some nice beige velour trigger, Sigmund Fraud, fiatdaft and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 That's a flippin KRAKKA purplebargeken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 Looks like good work, do you want to share the name of the body shop?Yes it's Ipswich vehicle refinishers. Very good small body shop been using them for 10 years now for lots of little fiddly jobs. Always friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 That's a flippin KRAKKAThanks you like the velour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Dang! Both of those are gorgeous! Are you in Ipswich then? I've not seen them about. As for Ipswich Vehicle refinishers, I've only used them once but they made a right hash of my car so i wouldn't use them again. paulscavalier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 Sorry to hear your car wasn't done to your standards at the refinishers. Was it the painting or general repairs? They have had a few different sprayers since I have been there. Maybe I have been lucky. When the blue cavalier was repaired at the Marshall body shop at knightsdale road in 2001 that really was bodged, The bonnet wouldn't open , so it got took back. When it came back it opened after a fashion and they said it was the best they could do. I then mentioned the fact that the passenger seat belt tensioner had been deployed and should have been replaced, the oil filter was squashed flat through contact with the verge. ( an engine mount had given way when driving in the snow and spun the car off the road) It was all done grudgingly then a few weeks later the passenger door mirror fell off. Fortunately mrs cav wasn't going too fast and stopped picked it up and took it straight back. A new mirror but they repainted the old casing and reused it. It was probably more work to strip it down and repaint it than spraying a fresh casing on.Several years later after it had closed down where they had repaired and repainted the bonnet, the corner they skimmed with filler started to bubble up really badly. I took it to the refinishers for a respray and when they put it all back together they said the wings and bonnet were not quite right and had aligned them properly and for the first time it actually opened and shut properly.I have done a couple of east coast retro meets in the blue cav, but nothing in the cdi. So you won't have seen it about. But it will be doing a few this year with any luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 It was about 3 years ago, i sent my Civic in for some damage repairs on the wing and it came back with the damage still there and over spray over everything, shit in the paintwork and the colour was off. They had it back but it still needed flatting back and polishing again once i got home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael1703 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Love the house sign, I bet the taxi drivers can't moan about finding your house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 What a pair of beauties! Cavs are one of the most handsome cars of the last couple of decades IMO, their lines still look fairly fresh nowadays. RobT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Lovely looking cars, especially the CDI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebargeken Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Very, very nice indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 It was about 3 years ago, i sent my Civic in for some damage repairs on the wing and it came back with the damage still there and over spray over everything, shit in the paintwork and the colour was off. They had it back but it still needed flatting back and polishing again once i got home.That sprayer is no longer there now. I wouldn't have been happy with that either. Thanks to everyone for the positive comments, I think the mk3 cavalier hasn't really dated badly and still looks ok. But it's nice when others think so. Rusty_Rocket 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0ldCh0d Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Just to add, these are both very very nice. Reminds me of the one I had when i was 18, a champagne gold coloured SRi hatchback, G497 SBU, Bought it from a salvage auction as a stolen recovered, needed new locks/steering lock. This was in the days when Vauxhalls were the car of choice for the tea leaves, I also used to buy alot of astra's & novas, that had had the same treatment locks wise. They are very easy to change & at the time, there was no VIC check etc...Just bought them, down to scrap yards for the set of locks, MOT & then advertise.... Would definitely have another, a 2.0 turbo 4x4 would be nice, but like hens teeth now & worth a lot of money now aswell. the MK3 cavalier was a legend of a car. paulscavalier and RobT 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 The last of the great GM cars in that mechanically they were unburstable - unlike later ecotec cars. Uncle Jimmy, paulscavalier and 0ldCh0d 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 I have had to invest in a disclock just to beef up the security side of things. The engines go on and on providing you keep the oil changed and clean out the breather system. It's the bodywork that's a bit flaky. I haven't seen an early vectra b (1995-1999) for a long time so maybe the ecotec engines in them haven't lasted as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodders Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Those Cavaliers are very nice. I haven't seen a pre facelift one for a while, but always thought that they looked very nice, especially when a high spec one like your CDi (that interior is superb and in excellent condition, especially considering its age) Brilliant work so far, hopefully we shall be seeing it around Ipswich in the not too distant future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 The Ecotec engines aren't as bad at their reputation suggests tbh. They're unpopular because early ones had a lot of sensor problems, but also because there was a substantial power drop from 150 bhp in the C20XE to 136 bhp in the X20XEV... that was never going to impress the die-hard redtop fanbois. Ecotec exhaust manifolds can crack, and they often suffer HGF between 80,000 and 110,000 miles, but apart from that they're a decent enough engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 When my wife worked in service at Vauxhall, she said a lot of customers wouldn't do rollers and tensioners on the ecotec engines when they were having cambelts done,which didnt help. Also a lot of people thought they could neglect the ecotec like they had the older engines and I think that was where a lot of the bad reputations came from. The ecotec needs to be looked after the older engines would suffer quite a lot of neglect before failing. My sister had an Astra sport estate with a x20xev in and thought she could treat it how she treated her cavalier 1.8 gl. It was about 3 and a half years old. And it lasted her about three and a half years before it was fit for a one way trip to the scrapers with a very sick engine and a pile of stuff needing doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 Two pictures from today with some 90s nostalgia And my lovely state of the art stereo John F, Eddie Honda, Uncle Jimmy and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_Rocket Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Lovely stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felly Magic Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Where's Billy Cavcraft? This thread surely will have him drooling. Seriously nice Cavs there Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 Thanks, will be leaving the stereo in the car. It adds to the 90s ambiance. I wonder if it has auto reverse... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Tidybeard Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Thanks, will be leaving the stereo in the car. It adds to the 90s ambiance. I wonder if it has auto reverse...yes it has- the eject button has < & > on it which denotes autoreverse direction change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulscavalier Posted March 25, 2017 Author Share Posted March 25, 2017 Lovely. I think I have some old tapes in the loft, I know the radio bit works ok, going to have to try the tape player Jim Bell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 That class 47 nameplate is a long way from home. Shouldn't you have a Stratford one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbraith Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 I've had six Cavs, three mk3's and three mk2's. Sold mine to JohnK recently in a bit of a panic over an enforced house move that didn't then need to happen. He'd been using it for a while anyway. Still, while I was fond of it he genuinely loves it, so it's got a good home. I'm sure I haven't had my last. paulscavalier and RobT 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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