Kiltox’s YouTube Shenanigans - 28/12/2023 - BRING OUT YOUR TAT

[Kiltox]

It’s definitely an L. It’s registered as “VAUXHALL ASTRA LI” - how many left reckons there are 10 taxed and 23 SORN.

Manual windows. No idea what the factory radio was, it’s gone.  Does have seat height adjustment, it uses what looks like a window winder handle which is odd. 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Dave_Q said:

Was the L a fleet special? You could definitely order odd stuff as I remember a friend of my mum's was a notorious tight arse, and he ordered a 3 door estate Astra of a similar vintage to this, waiting absolutely ages for it to be delivered to save about £300 vs the 5 door.

I could be wrong but I’m sure they did a fleet spec that didn’t even have a title on the vans, you could specify vinyl seats if you wanted to be a real wanker to your staff. 

[Kiltox]

More photos of the grim 

 

[Fumbler]

Was the carpark already empty or was its forcefield of misery so powerful that everyone fled as soon as you parked up?

[Rusty_Rocket]

What a honey! Seriously though, it looks in good shape. 

L spec is an oddity for sure, I never saw any back when these things were everywhere, Merit was officially the base spec... I think maybe a mingebag fleet option as said above? 

That blue interior was, um, brave back in the day! 

[barrett]

I reckon the styling of these has aged incredibly well. One of the least inspiring cars I've driven, but I'd have one for the looks alone, preferably a 3dr in a funky colour

[Remspoor]

On 7/9/2021 at 10:23 AM, Dave_Q said:

Was the L a fleet special? You could definitely order odd stuff as I remember a friend of my mum's was a notorious tight arse, and he ordered a 3 door estate Astra of a similar vintage to this, waiting absolutely ages for it to be delivered to save about £300 vs the 5 door.

I had a Merit as company car. Lowest of the low. Mine even had a diesel engine which was non turboed.  Performance figs said that it would not even reach 100MPH.

My memories my be play tricks, but I have the impression there was no cassette player and no 5th gear.

  It shook in the slipstream of lorries. It was pitiful  Autoshite before there was Autoshite.com

[Kiltox]

Photos flatter it a bit - it’s a ten footer body wise for sure!

[Kiltox]

 

[Matty]

I learnt to drive in one of these but a van. 1.7 Isuzu diesel in doom blue. J320sbm I think. Fond fond memories

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I remember these being absolutely everywhere as a kid and then they all disappeared.

There's one around here that gets spotted on the way into work every now and then.  Doom blue, rusty and driven by a giffer in a flatcap that's probably owned it since new.  Other than that the last time I saw one was down in Hastings quite a while back.

The bassist in my old band had a gold Mk3 Astra that was just about the most depressing car I'd ever seen.  This would have been about 2007 and they were rare enough then.  The bastard deserved every minute of misery he got driving that - only had to get it because he'd crashed his Mk3 Fiesta.  Didn't like him much.  Did well with the kit though...

Prime Autoshite.

[egg]

We're K-reg blue interior twins...

God bless the early 90's...

[Dave_Q]

All the finest internet minds can't manage to capitalize their own names, in my experience

[hairnet]

what a heap

love it

how did you get the australian interior tho

yon cnut in the fb so the flying cars from the 50s are everywhere are they?

turbine?

aye right away tae fuck fb div

 

[bangernomics]

Back in the mists of time, it was a Tuesday I think? We had a compound of shite base model escorts to shift.

I remember the old Dealer Principal getting some alloys ordered up for the base model 3 door escorts the we had in stock at the showroom in Bury. (Quicks) just before we rebranded as Dixon.

He was a traditional Yorkshire car dealer at heart so they ended up pinstriped, rear spoiler’d and alloy wheeled. Called them something like “SR” etc.

All solid colours, all 1.3/1.4 gutless crap destined for the motability market.

Consequently the DP at the much nicer looking Vauxhall dealers next door brought in his best white 3 door Astra fleet and did the same with DTV motifs scattered on the wings and boots. The alloys were deployed and the alloy and pinstripe chaps made a good few quid.

For a short while Bury looked like a boy racer convention.

[Ian_Fearn]

I was in my early teens when these swoopy shaped Astra’s came out and they really were MY sort of thing. I absolutely poured over the brochures in 1992.

Having returned from living in the USA I really thought the GLS model looked like an Americanised style car and I just wanted one. My dad bought an LS estate that I later had and my uncle so very nearly bought an Si (not SRi). I can so clearly remember that test drive when the slimy dealer tried to convince my uncle to go for the SRi instead.

Despite thinking I knew every available spec through the 90s, the L is new to me. I thought it went Merit to LS. I saw this for sale and thought I’d never seen one and then a couple of days later in Barmouth, one casually drove past! Clear as day on the front wings…… ‘L’

I still reckon that 93 1.4 LS hi torq estate was the best car I ever had despite questionable handling. 

[Kiltox]

It’s really odd this, lots of people questioning the L. 

There’s documents on Vauxpedia about the Astra F *Saloon* that mention an L spec, but not the hatch. 

[Rusty_Rocket]

Carol Vorderman in a brand new Astra-F...?  TAKE ME BACK TO 1991!!

 

[Ian_Fearn]

46 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

It’s really odd this, lots of people questioning the L. 

There’s documents on Vauxpedia about the Astra F *Saloon* that mention an L spec, but not the hatch. 

I so wish I still had those original brochures. Is it possible the L was only sold to rental fleets like Avis? It doesn’t make any sense, the LS only additional features that I remember over the Merit were electric front windows and a rev counter.

I think the manual tilt/slide sunroof in our LS was an option.

edit: our LS didn’t have power steering either. 

[Kiltox]

2 minutes ago, Ian_Fearn said:

I so wish I still had those original brochures. Is it possible the L was only sold to rental fleets like Avis? It doesn’t make any sense, the LS only additional features that I remember over the Merit were electric front windows and a rev counter.

I think the manual tilt/slide sunroof in our LS was an option.

edit: our LS didn’t have power steering either. 

Interesting! I have the sunroof and I’m pretty sure it has PAS (not as light as the modern stuff I’m used to but not as heavy as the non-PAS stuff I’ve driven!)  but it has literally fuck all else. 

[Rusty_Rocket]

Does it have central locking?  The early Merits didn't, which was a proper pain in the arse on a five door car!

The deadlocking was a really good feature back then though.  If your average 90s TWOCer tried to screwdriver the locks, it would just spin and not operate the mechanism.  Also, if the door was forced outwards at the top, it was nigh-on impossible to pull the lock button up when the deadlocks were activated.

[Kiltox]

43 minutes ago, Rusty_Rocket said:

Does it have central locking?  The early Merits didn't, which was a proper pain in the arse on a five door car!

The deadlocking was a really good feature back then though.  If your average 90s TWOCer tried to screwdriver the locks, it would just spin and not operate the mechanism.  Also, if the door was forced outwards at the top, it was nigh-on impossible to pull the lock button up when the deadlocks were activated.

No central locking here. 

[St.Jude]

13 hours ago, Rusty_Rocket said:

Carol Vorderman in a brand new Astra-F...?  TAKE ME BACK TO 1991!!

 

I wish she could go back to 1991, would save her a fortune in plastic surgery 

[Remspoor]

This says there was an L trim level.

https://tractors.fandom.com/wiki/Vauxhall_Astra#Third_generation_.281991.E2.80.931998.29

I can only find relevant showroom catalogues for sale on ebay. No PDfs or images of inside pages.

[Kiltox]

👀 

[SRi05]

[LoftyvRS]

My old jab was Fleet Manager and I ran a solus Vauxhall Fleet, we used to order the mingebag spec Mk3 Astra 1.7D vans for the tradesmen, early ones were 1.7d N/A but the vauxhall unit, not the isuzu one, vinyl seats, radio (no cassette) and no PAS or central locking.

The cars were either Merit Spec 5dr 1.7 n/a diesel, again no PAS or c/l, if you were higher in the food chain you could have the LS 5dr 1.7 n/a, and for the real high flyer you could have had the 1.7 GLS with the TD Isuzu lump.

I ran the 300 cars/vans fleet from 1991 to 2001 and we never had access to L models, so maybe that was for bulk buyers like daily rental etc?

[Kiltox]

I’m going to have both the “OMG THATS NOT AN EV” and “OMG MODERN FONT” people coming after me, aren’t I?

[Kiltox]

Just now, LoftyvRS said:

My old jab was Fleet Manager and I ran a solus Vauxhall Fleet, we used to order the mingebag spec Mk3 Astra 1.7D vans for the tradesmen, early ones were 1.7d N/A but the vauxhall unit, not the isuzu one, vinyl seats, radio (no cassette) and no PAS or central locking.

The cars were either Merit Spec 5dr 1.7 n/a diesel, again no PAS or c/l, if you were higher in the food chain you could have the LS 5dr 1.7 n/a, and for the real high flyer you could have had the 1.7 GLS with the TD Isuzu lump.

I ran the 300 cars/vans fleet from 1991 to 2001 and we never had access to L models, so maybe that was for bulk buyers like daily rental etc?

I’ll need to have a look through the paperwork to see if there’s any indication of it’s provenance. Not sure if I have a service book or not, the PDI stamp could be a useful clue. 

[SRi05]

1 minute ago, Kiltox said:

I’m going to have both the “OMG THATS NOT AN EV” and “OMG MODERN FONT” people coming after me, aren’t I?

Oh absolutely. I'm with you though, the old font looks shit, and shiny new modern plates can really tidy up an older car. Have done so myself and will again.  Obviously retaining the originals.

Fuck da poleece