Triple V - Vauxhall Vectra V6

[w00dy]

With two out and another to leave soon, it's time for something new.

 

[tooSavvy]

ChodSpeed......

[SmokinWaffle]

Wheee! 

[w00dy]

 

[Datsuncog]

Crikey, V6 goodness in wagon format?

You massive winner.

Enjoy.

[w00dy]

Thanks. initial impressions are that it sounds great, cruises lovely and the non-telescoping steering wheel is an atrocious oversight. 

 

 

[horriblemercedes]

Nice engines, those. I've always quite liked these 

[stuboy]

driven couple these they great load luggers

[Isaac Hunt]

An acquaintance had one of those in black V6 estate form.  

Everyone called it a hearse, wouldn't be seen dead in it.  

He just laughed it off and was gutted when he got a job with a company car and the Ventura had to go.

as for the push iron outside the station with the racing slicks on it and the yellow cow horns, I hope that front brake cable doesn't let go as he comes down station hill at Mach 10

[Bstardchild]

Lovely lusty engine - bags of character and good performance in a mid size

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolute cnut to work on - change the timing belt asap unless you have a huge amount of evidence that it's been done recently - they proper make a mess of the engine when they let go

 

I probably still have the locking kit somewhere.............................

[w00dy]

12 hours ago, Isaac Hunt said:

An acquaintance had one of those in black V6 estate form.  

Everyone called it a hearse, wouldn't be seen dead in it.  

He just laughed it off and was gutted when he got a job with a company car and the Ventura had to go.

as for the push iron outside the station with the racing slicks on it and the yellow cow horns, I hope that front brake cable doesn't let go as he comes down station hill at Mach 10

It does have quite hearse like look to it, but it's a good shape for the tip runs it's going to be doing. Luckily the bike has a fixed wheel so the brake is only really there for when my legs start to struggle.

8 hours ago, Bstardchild said:

Lovely lusty engine - bags of character and good performance in a mid size

Absolute cnut to work on - change the timing belt asap unless you have a huge amount of evidence that it's been done recently - they proper make a mess of the engine when they let go

 

I probably still have the locking kit somewhere.............................

It does seem like a lovely motor, but it's definitely squeezed in there. The chap I bought it from has had it since 2003 and did the belt when he revived it from its slumber in July thankfully. He included the locking kit too. 

 

[sierraman]

A kid I knew had one of those but the last of the line 2.6 GSI. Really quick for what it was, it just went and went. Enough so that it once used a quarter of a tank between 3 junctions on the M1.

[tom13]

Need more bike pictures. That a woodman hub?

[Bren]

My mate had a brand new one as a courtesy car. Driving along the A562 past Fiddlers Ferry we were overtaken by a Yamaha R6. My mate reeled the bike in - were got up to 120 mph where it splits into a dual carriageway - I saw the rider do a doubletake in his mirror - he must have been surprised. The brakes were smoking when we stopped at the roundabout by the eight towers pub.

[w00dy]

Gave it a wash and some clear side repeaters (because clear front, orange side and smoked rear is an odd look)

 

 

Interior could do with a scrub

 

 

As far as driving goes it needs something sorting in the steering, it has some noticeable clunks in it, going to check the UJ pinch bolts first as that seems to be a common issue.

 

@tom13 They're Goldtec hubs.

 

[406V6]

Lovely engine in these. I had an SRi V6 back when P reg was current. Powerful, smooth and pretty economical unless you're very heavy with the right foot. Engine built in the Ellesmere Port factory too.

[Scruffy Bodger]

The engine gets a vote from me too, they sound even better with a free flowing exhaust on. Match a Gsi lump to a flywheel half the weight, a Calibra F28 6 speed and drop it in a Mk2 Astra for extra shits and giggles.

It looks like yours has survived well, I can't remember last time I even saw one

[twosmoke300]

Have you noticed that all 3 zeros on the air vents are a different font yet ? 
You 

are

welcome

[w00dy]

1 hour ago, 406V6 said:

Lovely engine in these. I had an SRi V6 back when P reg was current. Powerful, smooth and pretty economical unless you're very heavy with the right foot. Engine built in the Ellesmere Port factory too.

It does seem like a great engine and as you say surprisingly frugal for a turn of the millennium V6. Nice to have something so British built for a change.

 

51 minutes ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

The engine gets a vote from me too, they sound even better with a free flowing exhaust on. Match a Gsi lump to a flywheel half the weight, a Calibra F28 6 speed and drop it in a Mk2 Astra for extra shits and giggles.

It looks like yours has survived well, I can't remember last time I even saw one

That sounds brilliantly mental. Love it.

This has done well although Howmanyleft suggest there are more out there than I was expecting (not that many, but a few)

38 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Have you noticed that all 3 zeros on the air vents are a different font yet ? 
You 

are

welcome

AVAS. Great fact, they should've spent less time designing mirrors and exhaust tips and more time on the details and making a steering wheel that doesn't have to be with an inch of the bloody dashboard..

[twosmoke300]

I loved my 2.0 dti vectra b estate . Prob one of the best cars I’ve ever had .

[Ghosty]

7 hours ago, w00dy said:

That's class. Genuine track frame or modified dropout? 

[83C]

As good as the Y26SE engine can be, it doesn't take kindly to lots of short distance work. A relative owned one from new and used it almost exclusively for a 3 mile trundle into town and back most days. Full VX service history, the lot.

At 26,000 miles it was blowing blue smoke out of the exhausts because it almost never got warm.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

A superb car, my then girlfriend had a 1.8 SRI with the same wheels in a pearlescent metallic orangy bronze. A capacious load lugger even in  saloon form and a nice drive tho not super quick compared the this V6

[Noel Tidybeard]

the only thing i don't like is the gopping steering wheel!

[w00dy]

13 hours ago, Ghosty said:

That's class. Genuine track frame or modified dropout? 

Thanks, It's a genuine 70s Gitane Super Pista (well the frame is). 

12 hours ago, 83C said:

As good as the Y26SE engine can be, it doesn't take kindly to lots of short distance work. A relative owned one from new and used it almost exclusively for a 3 mile trundle into town and back most days. Full VX service history, the lot.

At 26,000 miles it was blowing blue smoke out of the exhausts because it almost never got warm.

Ouch, that's not ideal. I don't do many short journeys so hopefully no issues here. It does need a proper service, but it runs really nicely.

10 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

the only thing i don't like is the gopping steering wheel!

It definitely doesn't look great whereas the dash design I think is very smart and perhaps even elegant.

[Dan302]

I was a Vauxhall apprentice when I left school in '98 (Wilson and Co in Scunthorpe) the mechanics used to love taking the V6 Vectras out whenever they got the chance! 

Great looking cars especially in Estate form

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 29/09/2021 at 09:06, w00dy said:

Thanks, It's a genuine 70s Gitane Super Pista (well the frame is). 

Ouch, that's not ideal. I don't do many short journeys so hopefully no issues here. It does need a proper service, but it runs really nicely.

It definitely doesn't look great whereas the dash design I think is very smart and perhaps even elegant.

the std 4 spoke i had on my GLS was more pleasing to the eye

[Noel Tidybeard]

you will have to find the "police chip" which doesn't* exist and definately doesn't* boost them to 200ish bhp

[twosmoke300]

Ha yes ! Forgot about them . Same as all omegas too I think .

[Split_Pin]

Very nice indeed, one of the few estates which I'd actually call handsome (apart from Volvos obviously!)

I loved my 2.0 LS from many years ago. I fitted the leather interior from an early SRi, CDX wheels and a letterbox exhaust. I eventually had to break it up for spares when the steering rack exploded and I couldn't afford to fix it.  Had this been now I would have kept it on the road.