Jump to content

Shitting in the shallow end. *Bile Hatred* pseudo collection.


Jim Bell

Recommended Posts

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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! 😆

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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..

20200429_134942.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

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. 

 

IMG_20210320_133108640-01.thumb.jpeg.0f8efdc8e4fbc9fa55f02cd63ab69895.jpeg

 

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. 

 

IMG_20210320_132404877-01.thumb.jpeg.9a071b48d1fece9769bc7248284f31c5.jpeg

 

 

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. 

IMG_20210412_101830255.thumb.jpg.6018758a59b8caff48e17fd4de432f4e.jpg

 

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. 

 

IMG_20210412_105652905.thumb.jpg.1dcc155a8beb64dfc942181377dcee88.jpg

 

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

IMG_20210412_122213231-01.thumb.jpeg.18ef0d47d2516940f0d25a7f97264bc1.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...

image.png.16738913d29bec395e3cebf59bc5da3f.png

Which can obviously FRO.

Top bombing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

It's about that time. 

 

Time for a cervix and twiddle. 

IMG_20210428_134839278.thumb.jpg.373a2d055e3cd47bb407f44483db6369.jpg

 

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. 

 

1012442456_Screenshot_20210430-1717282.thumb.png.8a6e51f0cd78f13ff466d813c63b690c.png

 

 

 

Few pics from around the doors.

 

Tip. 

IMG_20210426_142459939-01.thumb.jpeg.ae1a5fea29d91f5a32001efc9f3d2af9.jpeg

 

 

 

Ship. 

IMG_20210430_123200870-01.thumb.jpeg.c9b94e847231dad2449e70b13cdb93bd.jpeg

 

 

Tyne. 

IMG_20210430_122552099-01.thumb.jpeg.832c834cbd276b398c14434e63111774.jpeg

 

 

Mouth. 

IMG_20210430_121836165-01.thumb.jpeg.4dc79b0f9899366eabc527d906169728.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 😁😁😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...