Corsa B - little mint green dream machine

[lisbon_road]

Good luck!  I'm confident.

[auntiemaryscanary]

8 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

Your attempts at getting wood this evening appear to have been more successful than mine

It's Sunday night man, what you and Mrs GT16 get up too is none of my business

[MrGTI6]

31 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

It's Sunday night man, what you and Mrs GT16 get up too is none of my business

Currently getting the silent treatment. Not entirely sure why but I'm enjoying the peace and quiet. 

Much like the Corsa, my inspections are carried out on an annual basis on the understanding that I will be exempt upon turning 40.

[auntiemaryscanary]

Yippee, a clean pass with no advisories. Bit of a squeaky bum moment as the tester was struggling to get emissions down but he said it needed warming up and it got through them easily.

All good for 1 year and 28 days!

 

[auntiemaryscanary]

Whether I last 1 year & 28 days if I have too many celebratory 'Spoons gut busters is another matter!

Tester said it's nice condition for its age which is, well, nice.

If it stops raining before I go back to work Thursday I'll treat it to a wash & machine polish.

[lisbon_road]

2 hours ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

 

Yippee, a clean pass with no advisories. Bit of a squeaky bum moment as the tester was struggling to get emissions down but he said it needed warming up and it got through them easily.

All good for 1 year and 28 days!

 

I always take them for a ten mile run and book the first test of the day, so I turn up and it is straight on the ramp.  Tester co-operates fully, he's fully legit but hates failing on emissions. 

[MrGTI6]

6 hours ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

Yippee, a clean pass with no advisories. Bit of a squeaky bum moment as the tester was struggling to get emissions down but he said it needed warming up and it got through them easily.

All good for 1 year and 28 days!

 

Wonderful news! 

I make that 14 years without an advisory! 

[24vdiamond]

On 04/09/2024 at 18:28, auntiemaryscanary said:

Positive no. 2.

@24vdiamond offered me these

I agreed a purchase if he could hold them for me. Tues 28 Aug, after 2 great days watching BSB at Cadwell Park and staying in a lovely BnB me and mate rode over to 24vD to pay and collect.

24vD is a fine fella. Would have loved to stayed and chatted longer as well as looking at his veh-ic-ules and lovely plot but we had to get back home. Maybe next year's BSB I'll plan a bit better and call in for a cuppa 24vD!

After deciding it wasn't a good idea for me to try and ride back with 2 hubcaps strapped onto the backpack I was wearing we lashed the hubcaps onto the bikes and set off from Lincolnshire.

Just got to retrieve 2 of the hubcaps from my mate and the get the cable ties which luckily I've got in invisible* grey.

Mojo revived.

Nice too meet you, your more than welcome to pop in if your over this way, glad you got the trims home safely 👍

With regard to the oil leak there is no gasket between the cam box and head its metal to metal with a wee bit of sealant on, the head bolts pull the lot down so if it were me I would be tempted to tweak the head bolts a bit or it may be worth checking the breather pipe that comes of the back of the cam box, pretty common for the pipe to split

[auntiemaryscanary]

1 hour ago, 24vdiamond said:

too meet you, your more than welcome to pop in if your over this way, glad you got the trims home safely 👍

Good to meet you too. 2 of the wheel trims are still 10 miles away at my biker mates gaff!!

[auntiemaryscanary]

Just out doing a bit of shopping with Mrs AMC

[auntiemaryscanary]

I'd been kind of avoiding using the Corsa when the roads been salted but I then thought F*#" it, it's a £800 car that's not garaged. So it was dailied all last week. Still loving driving the little thing.

I got up this morning with the intention of giving it a good wash and using the attachment (bought with Xmas vouchers) that goes on the pressure washer to do underneath. Got outside and it's windy and cold, stuff that.

So I drove a couple of miles to nearest car wash that doesn't use slave labour. Went for the second cheapest wash as it supposedly has a chassis wash phase (probably kidding myself it will keep the rot away but I feel better about it).

That'll do me for 7 quid. Also proved definitely no leaks from the sunroof. I right enjoyed pottling about listening to Ned's Atomic Dustbin. Was a good boy and took the wife's Captur there for the same treatment.

[auntiemaryscanary]

So 52 Saturday's ago I went down to the v  south to buy this from the fine @MrGTI6:

This is today (wide angle photo makes it look slightly odd).

364 days and 2.5k on I'm still loving it.

I'm taking it (well it's taking me) to Northern Twixfest next month but it needs a bit of minor love.

The rocker cover oil weep continues, but gets no worse, and the affected areas get a periodic degrease. 

I seem to be loosing a small amount of coolant. I'm 99% sure it's not going into the oil - there is no mayo on the oil cap or dipstick. The planned oil & filter change will confirm this hypothesis.

Could the coolant be escaping here

and here?

For £14 quid a new hose arrives next week which has got to be worth a go. For now 10l (it was on offer is my excuse) of coolant/antifreeze will keep me going. The radiator itself is original and doesn't look stunning so that may get replaced in the future which at £45 is cheap enough.

This has got to go on too 

The current one is blowing from a rot hole. The mid section which has the cat is in good condition so I'm guessing has been replaced at some point.

Whilst I was moving the mint green dream machine around to look at the exhaust the EML came on. Mild panic was averted when this was pushed back on.

The pipe internal wire coil has partially lifted so a jubilee clip will be fitted for piece of mind.

Bar the £200 quid I spent on mid range tyres (it was on a mix of original 1997 Michelin's and 15 yr old rock hard death rings) it hasn't cost a penny in repairs until now which I don't think is bad on a virtually daily use 1998 vehicle.

But that will all have to wait, my back went* in the week. Bleaching and scrubbing our disgusting wheelie bin just now has shown my back isn't yet right.

[alcyonecorporation]

this is very green

[auntiemaryscanary]

6 minutes ago, alcyonecorporation said:

this is very green

And that's one of the main reasons I like it. Plus folks see me coming and I can't loose it in a car park!

[alcyonecorporation]

2 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

And that's one of the main reasons I like it. Plus folks see me coming and I can't loose it in a car park!

agreed, very handy 

[Dan302]

It's nice to see a Corsa B getting some love. I worked at a Vauxhall dealer for a few months after leaving school in 1998 so I feel a lot of nostalgia. IMO they were a better car than the Fiesta of the period.

[auntiemaryscanary]

21 minutes ago, Dan302 said:

IMO they were a better car than the Fiesta of the period.

To me it feels and drive likes a modern. Part of that I think is the low miles (42.5k), nothing feels sloppy in the suspension or steering. It handles city driving well and will sit at a satnav 70 on motorways all day long as I hope to reconfirm up the A1 and A66 to Northern Twixfest.

Of course I know the only modern* things on it are PAS and electronic ignition. No airbags or leccy windows for me. I suppose even in '98 it must have been basic and a bit antiquated but it has these badges so I'm happy:

 

Edited June 7 by auntiemaryscanary
Mileage included

[grogee]

35 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

To me it feels and drive likes a modern. Part of that I think is the low miles (42.5k), nothing feels sloppy in the suspension or steering. It handles city driving well and will sit at a satnav 70 on motorways all day long as I hope to reconfirm up the A1 and A66 to Northern Twixfest.

Of course I know the only modern* things on it are PAS and electronic ignition. No airbags or leccy windows for me. I suppose even in '98 it must have been basic and a bit antiquated but it has these badges so I'm happy:

 

That is a nice badge. I'm glad your miles are smiles mate 👍

[MrGTI6]

It's not been a year already, has it!? 😯

Given that it's a lot older than the car it replaced (new-shape Sirion if I recall), it'd be interesting to hear how it compares after 12 months.

Also it's great to see it getting some love. Hope your back gets better soon.

PS: Your road looks very steep!

[auntiemaryscanary]

52 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

PS: Your road looks very steep!

It's all bloody steep round here!

The main-ish road at the bottom of our street climbs steadily and in one section very steeply 2 miles up to wide plateau which is about the highest point in the County.

The plateau starts as a steep ridge v close to the city centre and over about 6 miles widens out into the countryside. The main-ish roads radiate from the ridge/plateau in the valleys/vales criss crossed by streets which go over the hills and join up with the next main-ish road. I'm on one of the criss cross streets. We are about halfway along the plateau and then down, down, down. This whole system covers a good chunk of the north and east of the city.

From our front bedroom I can see for miles over the old railway sidings (now a massive retail & industrial park inc the BCA site), across the Trent and onto the villages in the south. From the back bedrooms you can only see a couple of hundred yards to the top of the next sodding hill! My wife is from South Lincs and 20 years on she's not fully used to having a view

[auntiemaryscanary]

1 hour ago, MrGTI6 said:

Given that it's a lot older than the car it replaced (new-shape Sirion if I recall), it'd be interesting to hear how it compares after 12 months.

Yes it was a 57 plate Sirion. In the last year of my ownership it was completely shagged- burning oil and all the suspension & steering knackered by the terrible roads and I ended up hating it, feeling depressed whilst in it. That's why it was scrapped. I should have really scrapped it a year earlier.

But the 1st 3 years of the Sirion it was alright and was the most modern car I'd ever had. Chuffing 50 before I had a car with AC! Of course now I don't have any vehicle with AC (this Corsa, a Doblo and motorbike).

At 1 litre is was sluggish and you had to wring every ounce of power out of it. You'll have seen about the hills in the above post. My wife used to crack up when I turned the AC off to get a bit more power going up the said hills. It took us 4 and luggage 200 miles down to south Devon one year, when the wife's Captur broke, without a problem bar the planned oil top up halfway.

In comparison the Corsa is nippier, more powerful and handles better. I also like being low down (Sirion being tall, boxy and well ugly). You also feel v close to the windscreen. It doesn't do too bad either at traffic light race offs during commutes - I don't even try against EVs or ought sporty tho. Being small and narrow I can get through gaps most cars can't.

The main thing is the Corsa just makes me smile even if it's just a glance at it on the way to the bin etc. The Corsa gets admiring glances, working builders asking about it when I'm waiting at lights etc. Unsurprisingly that never happened with the Sirion. Folks know I'm in the office as the Corsa stands out in the sea of moderns in the work car park. 

The only downside is some twats think I'm an old dodderer and do stupid stuff to get past me. Edit: oh and the Corsa ain't £35 tax either.

[MrGTI6]

That really does look steep. Serious potential for things to get interesting* in winter! 

You reminded me just how much positive attention the Corsa attracts, and not necessarily from petrolheads. Almost everyone either had one or knew someone that did! 

I think the Corsa only has 60bhp or thereabouts and, whilst it's no rocket, it never felt especially slow to me. I reckon that's down to the 1.4 engine. Most small cars with that kind of output tend to have a thrashy little 3-cylinder that needs revving out while the 1.4 is under-stressed in comparison. 

Pretty sure they put the same engine in the Astra Mk3 of the same vintage.

[auntiemaryscanary]

2 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

That really does look steep. Serious potential for things to get interesting* in winter! 

Yep, they aren't gritted. Fortunately I can go to work the long way round and avoid the hills.

[auntiemaryscanary]

8 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

You reminded me just how much positive attention the Corsa attracts, and not necessarily from petrolheads. Almost everyone either had one or knew someone that did! 

I think the Corsa only has 60bhp or thereabouts and, whilst it's no rocket, it never felt especially slow to me. I reckon that's down to the 1.4 engine. Most small cars with that kind of output tend to have a thrashy little three-cylinder that needs revving out while the 1.4 is under-stressed in comparison. 

Yeah I reckon you right on all that. Woman at work fondly remembered her Corsa. Was her 1st car and the Breeze edition too.

The Sirion was exactly that, a 3 pot that needed thrashing.

[auntiemaryscanary]

Unsurprisingly it sounds better with the new one fitted

[auntiemaryscanary]

Saturday I changed the oil and filter. Neighbour mechanic spent an hour aligning (inc use of big hammers and scaff bars) the back box which was banging on the bumper. A good drive round my local potholed and speed bumped roads confirmed exhaust clanking has gone.

Also degreased the oily bits of the engine and pressure washed those bits plus gave the engine bay and gullies a quick blast whilst there.

I started the car this morning to drive to work and to my horror the EML come on. I drove a 1/4 mile and had to pop in somewhere. After those 5 mins the EML didn't come back on following a re- start. No idea why it came on or went off. Poss water got in somewhere when I'd had the pressure washer out?

@JMotor provided advice via Ask a Shitter on the code reader required plus the paperclip route. I tried paperclip this evening but just got a continually flashing EML. @JMotor has kindly offered to bring his OpCom to plug in at Twixfest.

I gave the Corsa an Autoglym polar foam wash and a quick machine polish this evening. I have been loosing a small amount of coolant and there was evidence of red staining from one of the hoses. I'd bought a new hose so thought might as well fit it.

Fancy Gates for me. Don't like the look of this though...

...or this

Some form of scaley deposit and slime.

A quick scrape and wipe and it's looking better

So the new hose went on.

Final car prep tomorrow for Twixfest to include an interior clean and locate and fit the 2nd hand Vauxhall wheel trims purchased from @24vdiamond 10 months ago. Then if there is time I'll try and improve the ICE in a @tooSavvy AVAS style.

I'm right looking forward to Twixfest now. 

[auntiemaryscanary]

Well, I cleaned the interior yesterday, checked the tyre pressure but didn't have time for ICE improvements/bodges.

These went on though 

Not immaculate, and not advertised as such, but certainly better than these

The replacements being secured with grey cable ties does look a bit shit. Had to done though as one of the originals escaped into a hedge bottom some time ago.

That's me all Twixfest ready.

[AnnoyingPentium]

I really like this wee car. My mate has a silver 3 door one as his daily, heaps of fun.

I've got a decoded CDR500 CD player here that'll fit this if you fancy it. Can't vouch how well it works, but it did when it was in my Vectra.

[auntiemaryscanary]

Just now, AnnoyingPentium said:

I really like this wee car. My mate has a silver 3 door one as his daily, heaps of fun.

I've got a decoded CDR500 CD player here that'll fit this if you fancy it. Can't vouch how well it works, but it did when it was in my Vectra.

Oh yes please! I'll pm you. Thanks.

[MrGTI6]

The new wheel trims are looking good! 

Hope you have a great time this weekend. The weather couldn't be better for it.