Shitting in the shallow end. *Arse friends electric*

[loserone]

11 minutes ago, SiC said:

Down here we don't call surfaces like that as roads. 🤣

Southern softies 😹

[Dick Cheeseburger]

1 hour ago, Jim Bell said:

Far anyone keeping track (mainly for me keeping track)

What's been done since purchase:

New Toyo T1rs all round. 

Fixed intermittent wiper function. 

Fixed windows electric windows. 

Fixed horn. 

New front shocks. 

New Bosch wipers (lol)

New rear spring,

Welding on front arch bottoms,

New rear cylinders, 

New master cylinder, 

CV boot,

Front section of exhaust, 

New front top mounts. 

One engine mount. 

Erm. 

Think that's everything so far. 

That's a keeper fella. 

[Jim Bell]

11 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

That's a keeper fella. 

If I had a quid for every time I said I was keeping a car, I think I'd have about £73.

I don't think there is such a thing as a keeper for me. Not really. 

The most exciting car is always the next car.  

[loserone]

2 minutes ago, Jim Bell said:

The most exciting car is always the next car.  

Jesus, imagine if you'd won that Musso

[Dick Cheeseburger]

1 minute ago, Jim Bell said:

If I had a quid for every time I said I was keeping a car, I think I'd have about £73.

I don't think there is such a thing as a keeper for me. Not really. 

The most exciting car is always the next car.  

I always assumed you'd keep the SLK as you fitted your private plate to it, but clearly that didn't stop you moving onwards and upwards!

The shopping list to keep the Cav sweet looks like a reasonable commitment - the td lump in this shell certainly seems like a decent one to run for a while. Keep it! 😆

[Jim Bell]

1 minute ago, Dick Longbridge said:

I always assumed you'd keep the SLK as you fitted your private plate to it, but clearly that didn't stop you moving onwards and upwards!

The shopping list to keep the Cav sweet looks like a reasonable commitment - the td lump in this shell certainly seems like a decent one to run for a while. Keep it! 😆

Yeah. I wish I had kept that one, but I say that a lot. 

I'm definitely going to keep it till someone offers to buy it!

[Split_Pin]

Just noticed that yours has a filler section on the bootlid with extra lamps. Must be because yours is a GLS and mine is simply an LS. I had thought all late Cavaliers had this until I got mine.

[Jim Bell]

16 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Just noticed that yours has a filler section on the bootlid with extra lamps. Must be because yours is a GLS and mine is simply an LS. I had thought all late Cavaliers had this until I got mine.

Yeah, I noticed that when they were back to back. Must be a spec thing as you say. I think I prefer them with the panel. More plastic tacked on to cars from the 1990s the better, right?

[Split_Pin]

Yeah it looks better with it I think. I'd like one of those moulded boot lid spoilers some had, I think its was an SRI item.

[Floatylight]

2 hours ago, Jim Bell said:

As an aside, it's still got a quarter of the tank it set off to collect @Split_Pins Cavalier from Mcoli loaded with (see earlier in Fred). I think that's more to do with the lack of use during lockdown but I'm confident it's getting mpg in the forties. The 1.7td lump hurries it along well enough and it cruises at 79.9 mph beautifully. It'll never beat modern diesels on speed or economy, but it's chock full of character and charm.  

The one car of mine i regret getting shot of a '91 GLS TD in burgundy, part x'd for a '98 red I Passat in 2001 which was nowt but trouble..

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Just noticed that yours has a filler section on the bootlid with extra lamps. Must be because yours is a GLS and mine is simply an LS. I had thought all late Cavaliers had this until I got mine.

I had two Ls cavs. First was on an m plate and had the extra lamps inboard on the tailgate. Second was on an L plate and didn't have them. Was it a face-lift thing? My second was the spit of yours. Written off outside our house when a lad ran in the back of it at high speed and pushed it down the row, writing 4 cars off in the process. It was only about 3 feet long after that 

[Shirley Knott]

Lovely to see this being looked after and getting new bits. 

On paper it would be out trumped by almost all of the modern diesels as you say, but  there's something weirdly comforting about an old smoker that the modern stuff lacks.

 

 

 

[Jim Bell]

8 hours ago, Shirley Knott said:

Lovely to see this being looked after and getting new bits. 

On paper it would be out trumped by almost all of the modern diesels as you say, but  there's something weirdly comforting about an old smoker that the modern stuff lacks.

 

 

 

Yeah, it's unrefined and agricultural but utterly dependable and very hard to upset. Absolutely the opposite of the complexity of modern diesels really.

My old man had one years ago and his bottom hose popped off and all the coolant escaped on the way home. He didn't notice till he got home and he was sure it would be wrecked. Let it cool down, trimed and reseated the hose, put some tap water in, and off he went to buy some coolant in it. He was very impressed with them.

They'll also run on just about anything as fuel. Vegetable oil, used engine oil mixed with diesel mixed with old petrol mixed with old chip fat.

Once his Cavalier had rotten through beyond redemption, my old man tried putting anything he could find through the tank to see if it would run through it before the MOT expired. Anything remotely combustible. He said it didn't seem to run any worse or grumble much no matter what you fed it. It drove happily to the scrap yard when the time came and he pedalled home on a racing bike he pulled out of a skip on his walk home. 

[Jimbob McGregor]

13 hours ago, Jim Bell said:

Far anyone keeping track (mainly for me keeping track)

What's been done since purchase:

New Toyo T1rs all round. 

Fixed intermittent wiper function. 

Fixed windows electric windows. 

Fixed horn. 

New front shocks. 

New Bosch wipers (lol)

New rear spring,

Welding on front arch bottoms,

New rear cylinders, 

New master cylinder, 

CV boot,

Front section of exhaust, 

New front top mounts. 

One engine mount. 

Erm. 

Think that's everything so far. 

Also strip/clean/free-up/lube of brakes all round.

Vactan on sump which was rather rusty (and up here I see a lot of rusty sumps that fail). 
 

Probably more...!

[Jim Bell]

I knew I would have forgotten at least some of the work you did. 

Couldn't recommend the services of @Jimbob McGregor highly enough. Fastidious and thorough. Keeping YOUR CAR in the best shape it can be, while you get on with less important things like bacon and having a nice sit down. 

Oh! I've just remembered handbrake cables too!

Will update the list!

[Jim Bell]

There ain't been much motion on the ocean of life too recently. The old Cav has enjoyed rare usage and has not been piloted far from shore. 

 

 

As an essential shopping go getter, it's not really done much other than fetch the essentials. Seen here at the local brewery, fetching a BIG BAG OF FUCKN STOUTS. 

 

 

 

One thing that was bugging me was one of the wheels losing air even though the tyre and valve are new. 

I know everything so I decided it was a pourus wheel and decided to swap the new tyres onto some mini steels they were sat in the garage. 

On popping to the garage, after about six months of not popping to the garage, I found that the slider on the padlock had scaled up with the old RUST BASTARD and prying, swearing and banging had to be liberally employed to gain entry. 

 

You made me bleed my own blood. 

 

 

Pain in the arse but it'll be worth it to get these wheels on so I set off for the not very local at all tyre shop I rate highly. 

 

 

A couple of millimeters rarely make a great deal of difference in life if you're not an engineer or microsurgeon. Or I suppose if you're a centre bore on a steel wheel that's too small to fit on a Vauxhall Cavalier. 

That's right. I'm a fool and they don't fit. 

I had checked the centre bores and thought they were slightly big which would be fine in my eyes, but as it turns out, they were slightly too small. Which is plainly much worse. 

 

Not to be defeated and keen to see me happy again, the fitter suggested checking them for leaks.  A watering can full of soap and water was produced. 

Sure enough, there was a leak around one of the valves where the wheel was corroded a bit. 

Here's a 2 second video that basically shows nothing. 

[Jim Bell]

The tyre was popped off, wheel cleaned up and a new valve popped in.

With that done, I went home. 

They couldn't fit it in for an allignment so that still needs done. 

Next up will be a service, alignment and a couple of engine mounts. 

 

There's definitely worse old boats to fetch your shopping in. 

[loserone]

Gud Cav that

[garbaldy]

Yup she looks well nice 😉

[BorniteIdentity]

Oooh lovely to catch up with this.  What a handsome old crock.  Strangely, I've never had a Cavalier - despite my best mate being a fully paid up member of the Cavalier appreciation society.  

Everything in the last few pages is brilliant.

Oh, apart from this...

Which can obviously FRO.

Top bombing!

[New POD]

2 hours ago, Jim Bell said:

 

 

Gsi slab alloys. 

Very nice. 

They always make me laugh. Like how Vauxhall manage to design alloys that look so much like plastic wheel trims. 

[Jim Bell]

Big saloon car here, along with a compact car and an supermini. 

🤔

[High Jetter]

WOHU!

[Jim Bell]

It's about that time. 

 

Time for a cervix and twiddle. 

 

The oil filter that was on the car was the short variety so has been replaced with the correct higher capacity longer type. 

The air filter top resonator box thing has been changed, along with one in the traditional filter housing. 

Fuel filter done and some fresh oil slopped in. 

 

Ready for another 4000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. 

 

Last tank, which was all local driving, still returned 42.5 mpg. Really need a good run out somewhere far away to up these figures somewhat. 

 

 

 

 

Few pics from around the doors.

 

Tip. 

 

 

 

Ship. 

 

 

Tyne. 

 

 

Mouth. 

[sdkrc]

What's this behind you at the tip?

[Matty]

Some sort of maserati? How good are cavaliers though? Perfect example of how that period of car manufacture was something of a high water mark

[Jim Bell]

17 minutes ago, sdkrc said:

What's this behind you at the tip?

 

I beat him in and I beat him out. 

Cavs are faster in and out of the bins than even some kind of Maserati. 

I have the proof.  

[Leyland Worldmaster]

33 minutes ago, Jim Bell said:

 

I beat him in and I beat him out. 

Cavs are faster in and out of the bins than even some kind of Maserati. 

I have the proof.  

Ha! Brilliant ! It reminds of when my Nan and I proved a Rover 75 2.0V6 is faster* than a Porsche 911. We got to a Hospital Parking spot quicker. 😁😁😁

[Jim Bell]

It's the diesel torque figures. Can't argue with science.  

[Split_Pin]

That looks class on those anthracite slab wheels. I tried to get a set for mine but scene tax appears to have bled into all areas of  the Vauxhall world and it made sense just to keep the ones I have.