My Mk1 Cavalier.

[Sudsprint]

Unlike some cars they look great both in basic trim and all jazzed up with Rostyles etc.

[Jim Bell]

My first car was a mk1 Cav, in the other acceptable colour. Bought it with my 6th form school grant but the only person that ever drove it was my dad. I got diverted by women and alchohol and was happy to be taxi'd in it at the time.

[cort16]

These were so much better as a Cortina. Sweet ride.

We had two of these growing up . A 1300 for a short period and a 1600 in that yellowey beige they my dad bought as a write off. I remember our holiday being delayed as we waited for the paint to dry .

I’d like to try one so I could see what they’re like next to the cortina .

[danthecapriman]

Very nice!

 

 

I tried a Cav coupe years back, it was a customers car in a dark blue metallic colour. It was lovely to look at but but absolutely fucked underneath. Think patch on top of patch!

I’ve got to say though it was not as good as the Cortina imho. Personal preference I suppose.

[DSdriver]

What an excellent first post.

 

Was it a marketing ploy to only offer the 2 doors and the convertible in mingebag spec only. It failed miserably with me when I looked at a floppytop when they first came out and found that it didn't even have a radio as standard. 

[flat4alfa]

Welcome Jason!

 

Will this lovely Cav be doing the Luton show again this summer I wonder?

[JeeExEll]

Very nice Cav 2-door there. Good to see an original one.

 

Many years ago, late 80s, a mate had a totally standard orange 2-door 1256, as his first car, on a W-plate, NSE ..W, I think. Bought it from an old guy who'd bought it new and needed a car with wide doors. My mate got it cheap as no-one really wanted a 1256.

 

Sold it for a tidy profit to a guy who reshelled a wrecked rally Manta and turned the 2-door Cav into a rally car. Was a bit different from the coupe Mantas or flat-front Asconas.

 

Linky to ARonline comparison between Mk1 Cav 1600, Mk5 Cortina L, and the Solara !!!

https://www.aronline.co.uk/reviews/tested-cortina-vs-solara-vs-cavalier/

 

And any excuse for a Vauxpedia trawl.

http://vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com/vauxhall-u-car---cavalier-mk1

 

 

Mainpage Vauxp link here. Several other Mk1 Cav pages, - advertising, export models, Chevrolet Chevair for Brazil, etc.

http://vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com/

[wuvvum]

Wow, that’s a honey. Two doors were rare even when new.

 

Mk1 Cavaliers are grand things. I recently had a drive of this one, a recently revived S-reg 1600L that a friend is trying hard to sell to me, and was impressed with how well it steers.

 

3A2DFDC6-1BF7-4083-B411-513A3B082451.jpeg

 

Plus LOTS of scarlet tartan inside.

Have you bought it yet?

[captain_70s]

Ooft. I'm not a big Cav fan but the idea of a basic two door is surpringly appealing!

[Joey spud]

One of my first cars back in 1985 was a met blue R plated 1.9 GL 4 door Cavalier.

It had just come into my local scrappy with a seized engine and i paid £45 including delivery for it.
No4 big end had locked up so a crank grind and a new set of bearings and she was good to go.

It was a nice old thing but the carb was worn out but at the time i was a trainee at a now long gone vauxhall dealer where one day another 1.9 Cavalier came in with a knocking bottom end that the owner decided to part ex for a new Astra.
Best thing about this Cavalier was it had a nearly new carb fitted to it so one quiet lunch time i did a quick swap over while no one was looking.

[bub2006]

My dad had an orange auto when I was young. If I remember the gear lever was set forward and had another looked like another behind with p r n etc in it but no lever

[bub2006]

Looking nice by the way

[Cavboy80]

Welcome Jason!

 

Will this lovely Cav be doing the Luton show again this summer I wonder?

 

Without doubt, it's got to be in Vauxhall country.

 

As a side story, i came back into the motor trade last year as Smart Repairer (after 10 years away) and work at the local Vauxhall dealership.

At one of the branches i worked at i met the two guys who worked on my Cavalier from new and serviced/ MOT'd it. In fact one bought the Corsa diesel that this was sold for in 1998.

[wuvvum]

Do you get many Smarts coming in for repairs at Vauxhall dealerships?

[flat4alfa]

Do you get many Smarts coming in for repairs at Vauxhall dealerships?

 

http://www.automotiverepairsystems.co.uk/what-is-smart-repair/

[oldcars]

Love it, what a lovely car.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The Cavalier - Opel Ascona - had proper suspension. It was probably the first medium saloon that really handled well. The Cortina certainly didn't with that wonky steering geometry and the fully floating rear axle squirming about on void bushes - well it was alright until the moment it either understeered or oversteered, often at the same time.

Both were great m/way cars but the Cavalier rode better. When the Mark 2 came out run 81, it was game over.

[danthecapriman]

The Cavalier - Opel Ascona - had proper suspension. It was probably the first medium saloon that really handled well. The Cortina certainly didn't with that wonky steering geometry and the fully floating rear axle squirming about on void bushes - well it was alright until the moment it either understeered or oversteered, often at the same time.

Both were great m/way cars but the Cavalier rode better. When the Mark 2 came out run 81, it was game over.

On a saloon car I really think all of that is largely irrelevant tbh?

Pays your money takes your choice.

[davocano]

In 1987, I bought a 1.6 GL auto that turned out to a clocked write-off... fortunately, it got rear-ended and written-off again in 1988 by the inattentive pilot of a Ford Orion.

 

I replaced it with this round-the-clocked and battered 1.6 L. The nice wheel and trim ring combos from the aforementioned were swapped over with the awful lookeylikey Rostyles that it came with.

 

 

I replaced this in 1990 with a not-clocked but battered Mk2 1.6 L

 

In summary: I heart Mk1 Cavs 'cos despite the shortcomings of my own examples, both of them were a nice drive.

[yellowperil]

Is this the one I saw at Lenwade yesterday?

 

Absolutely lovely.

[Cavboy80]

Is this the one I saw at Lenwade yesterday?

 

Absolutely lovely.

 

That was mine, i occasionally attend the meets at Bears Grill. 

[trigger]

Bit late to this thread, welcome along Jason, that's a gorgeous car.

[Bradders59]

My Dad - who was a lifelong Vauxhall man - had three of those, one after the other when they first came out. A red one like yours, a pale tallow one, and a light green one. Strangely they were all in 1.6L spec, but he replaced them with another identical one (apart from colour)  when he had them for about a year.

I also think they were a much better car then the Cortina. They handled quite well too.

[Asimo]

Not as tidy as your's! Poor photo, but it is usually behind all the Volvos and Jags.

A local reg., 2 digits on an S.

 

[sloth]

unghhh.

 

dad had a red 4 door 1600L. wvp792t.  bought at 1 year old and used till it rusted away. i adored that car. my first memories of a car is that one. dad fitted a blue tartan interior as the red one was fooked. it was replaced with a mint 1600 ascona, jvy8s. white with red velour. it always seemed better built. dad traded it for a mk3 cav gl. the new owner smashed it up 2 days later. it deserved a better fate really.  

 

i had a 1600gl in babyshite beige for a while till it got nicked. still want a red mk1 4 door. one day etc. 

 

there was a mint red 2 door up in hull for a while. on a late w. wasnt a ltd edition just a 1600l. 

[Cavboy80]

Blimey has it really been over two years since i last updated here on my Cavalier?

Well, too be honest not much has been done with this, oil changes and driving......Summer only though.

Since last October it's been sat up and due to the current stuff in the garage it's stayed. In early March it passed yet another (and offically it's last) MOT with no effort.

This week i'm going to be giving it a coolant flush, oil change and replacement of the old fuel lines. Now, whilst the current rubber lines are good as gold i've read too many horror stories of classics burning to the ground due to bursting lines and as i want to have this Cavalier for life i'm happy to replace the lines over the car.

Pictures of my efforts coming soon.

[Eyersey1234]

Looks like a nice Cavalier you have, one of my mates likes old Vauxhalls and has had several Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 Cavs. 

[Cavboy80]

My bad, i totally forgot to photograph the tinkering recently to the Cavalier.

Yesterday i taxed it and today for the first time this year i took it out for a bimble around the South Norfolk countryside.

I hope these photos make up for my  lack of updates.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Hang on, two door mark one? 

[Macscrooge]

That must have been a rarity even when new! 
‘My’ Mk1 Cav story:  my dad had one on order as a company car (to replace a poo brown Avenger 1500 Super) in 1976. He ordered a 1.6GL in yellow with black interior. Bizarrely it never turned up and Vauxhall couldn’t trace it. On the plus side when his boss found out dad was told ‘just order a 1.6 Avenger’. He did - a twin-carb 1600GLS in sexy metallic kingfisher blue with nostyles and a black vinyl roof!