Warch's Back to the Future Astraargh experience!

[warch]

I have decided to create a dedicated thread for my Astra, which I have decided to press into proper service (I may well live to regret that). 

As most people are aware, I already own and regularly drive a much older vehicle in the form of my Land Rover, possibly the rawest, most basic driving experience available this side of stuff built before the Great War. I also occasionally use my motorcycle, which by its very nature is very much an open air experience. 

My (hopefully) outgoing daily is a petrol Nissan Qashqai which has done me very well. I may well hold on to it for a bit just in case the Astra isn't suitable for my needs. 

Having achieved a clean pass for its MoT last week, and having serviced it, I duly took the plunge for a 70mile round trip to the office today. 

A few observations;

• It's the base model so it really is basic, even by mid 80s standards. No door pockets, no fag lighter/charger socket (going to fit one of these), no split fold (or even  but foldable Thanks NT) rear seat. It has loads of keys too, one for the ignition, one for the filler cap and one for the rear hatch, so I suspect it has been nicked or broken into quite a few times in the past. It also lacks a cup holder for my morning cup o' tea.
• Additionally you really do notice the sudden absence of modern features. I especially missed the outside temperature measurement. The non power assisted steering is fine, but its an odd sensation driving something without PAS. 
• There's something weirdly open and exposed about sitting in an old car, the thin pillars do give good visibility especially to the front, whereas modern cars are a lot more cosy but with poorer visibility.
• It really does go well, the engine pulls well even from low revs and on gradients and it keeps up with modern traffic really well. Interestingly the bhp per tonne calculation for the 75hp Astra gives an almost identical figure (0.2 of a horse difference) to my 113hp Nissan. Unusually for an 80s Vauxhall it doesn't rattle at the top end. On the other hand the tickover is a bit lumpy (which I've partially cured by increasing it slightly).
• The temperature gauge takes ages to move off the stop and barely gets out of the cold section, even when sitting at lights for several minutes. I suspect a knackered thermostat so I've ordered a new Mahle one. 
• I've filled the tank right up so I can see what it'll do to the gallon. Mid 80s petrol cars were often pretty dreadful by modern standards, as most cars (including this one) used unsophisticated carb fuelled engines but this seems quite good. It's got that old car characteristic of the gauge going down at odd intervals, probably due to the shape of the tank.
• It does feel very very light (which it is at around 850kg) and somewhat overbraked. I did lock the non ABS brakes this morning stopping sharply for a lorry on my side of the road coming out of my village. The handling isn't actually as bad as I remember, bit vague and oversteery, but I put that down to the wheel offset which puts the face of the wheel outside of the line of the tyre. I may investigate improving this. Interestingly the brakes, suspension components, driveshafts and steering joints look about the same size as the components on a modern car (our X Trail is almost twice as heavy).

It is a old car and in many ways it feels like an old car. On the other hand I ended up just driving it and not nervously scanning the scant instrument display for signs of sudden borkage (touch wood). If it continues to work as well as it has, it will be a suitable daily, the performance and economy seem acceptable. Bear in mind that, barring rule changes in the next year or so it will be a 40 year old classic by the end of next year*

*I named this thread because December 1985, when this car was first registered was the same month that Back to the Future premiered in the UK. Eight year old me absolutely loved the film, especially the time travelling premise (something I've always loved the idea of), and I can remember collecting the Panini stickers for my album.

[auntiemaryscanary]

Pictures when you are ready @warch please.

[grogee]

I went to a mate's 50th birthday as [a pound shop] Marty Mcfly a couple of weeks ago. 

And I spent the years between about 1985 - 1992 in the back of an Astra. Looking back they were really good, easily a match for its rivals. 

Old car bork anxiety: I was like that with my Maestro, but I gradually increased the length of journeys to check it wouldn't let me down and now I'd take it anywhere. 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, warch said:

. I especially missed the outside temperature measurement.

Winding the window down might give you a clue

[New POD]

7 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Winding the window down might give you a clue

You can get those stick on strips with colour changing numbers. Put one at the bottom of the drivers side mirror. 

[24vdiamond]

I seem to remember the thermostat isnt that straightforward as the  timing belt has to come off, the bolts on the thermostat to head housing are also prone to snap and some of the thermostats dont come with the correct seal, the housing can also go out of shape where it bolts to the head 👍

The temperature gauge works off a single terminal sensor with a crappy spade connector so it may be worth checking the connection first

[Noel Tidybeard]

no folding rear seat- does not compute?

[warch]

1 hour ago, 24vdiamond said:

I seem to remember the thermostat isnt that straightforward as the  timing belt has to come off, the bolts on the thermostat to head housing are also prone to snap and some of the thermostats dont come with the correct seal, the housing can also go out of shape where it bolts to the head 👍

The temperature gauge works off a single terminal sensor with a crappy spade connector so it may be worth checking the connection first

According to the Book of Astra Chapter 3.3. 4 you can access it without removing the belt, it is located just below the cam pulley.  But I take your point about the gauge, I'll check that first. I should point out that the gauge is working but isn't registering anything like normal working temperature which should be halfway on the gauge. I had a failed thermostat on my mum and dads old Astra I drove 30 years ago and it went much better once it was at the correct operating temperature. 

[loserone]

AliExpress sell USB C and A rapid charging faceplates which take a 12v feed.  I have a few and use one in the express to charge my phone overnight when I'm camping in it.  Works brilliantly.

 

 

I'm sure you could pay more at Amazon and keep treehugger in a job

[warch]

25 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

no folding rear seat- does not compute?

You're absolutely right, didn't notice that.

I've made an amendment. 

[D.E]

9 minutes ago, warch said:

According to the Book of Astra Chapter 3.3. 4 you can access it without removing the belt, it is located just below the cam pulley.  But I take your point about the gauge, I'll check that first. I should point out that the gauge is working but isn't registering anything like normal working temperature which should be halfway on the gauge. I had a failed thermostat on my mum and dads old Astra I drove 30 years ago and it went much better once it was at the correct operating temperature. 

I've changed the thermostat of my 1300 two years ago for the same reason. Belt can stay on, the thermostat isn't as easily accessible as the one on a 1200, but assuming all bolts cooperate it's a fairly easy job.

[warch]

27 minutes ago, D.E said:

I've changed the thermostat of my 1300 two years ago for the same reason. Belt can stay on, the thermostat isn't as easily accessible as the one on a 1200, but assuming all bolts cooperate it's a fairly easy job.

Thermostat bolts on almost anything are invariably made of chocolate, so I'll proceed carefully.

[Ian_Fearn]

20 hours ago, warch said:

I have decided to create a dedicated thread for my Astra, which I have decided to press into proper service (I may well live to regret that). 

The world needs more of this.

Lots of pictures please and thank you.

[Low ontime]

This is  a mk 1 or 2 Astra? 
 

they always seemed good on fuel for the OHC stamped rover covers ones 

I have used an old trainer in the passenger footwell for cupholder in the past works well unless driving gets “  spirited “

[warch]

I love how pleasingly dinky eighties cars look compared to modern motors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[warch]

Update. 
 

Managed about 300 miles so far. Did a fuel consumption calculation on the first tank, it averaged 38mpg. That’s actually not bad for an 80s petrol car, especially with a carburettor, tadts malfunctioning autochoke and four speed box. Short journeys, the time of year and a possible sticking thermostat might have dragged that down too. It’s acceptable though.

It is conspicuously underscale compared to modern traffic seen here near Welshpool.

[Cavcraft]

38mpg is brilliant.

[Homersimpson]

My SIL used to have a mid 90s Astra and she had a problem with the thermostat, I remember it was the same/similar issue getting to that and here partner fitted a renault 5 inline thermostat in the hose as a quick fix.  Might be worth considering?

[rusty_vw_man]

11 hours ago, Homersimpson said:

My SIL used to have a mid 90s Astra and she had a problem with the thermostat, I remember it was the same/similar issue getting to that and here partner fitted a renault 5 inline thermostat in the hose as a quick fix.  Might be worth considering?

The Astra G was fully behind the belt, so my estate had a Renault 5 thermostat in the hose. Very easy to just pop off the hose, pop in the thermostat and put the hose back! I did fit a jubilee clip to hold it in place but apparently even that was overkill. Depending on the exact model of thermostat you may need to drill a small hole in it to allow air to bleed through it. 

Mine was supposed to be temporary until I fixed it properly, but it ended up staying until the car was scrapped. 

[hairnet]

your thread title

friend is in jfk about to head for anchorage

(he really does fly rubber dogshit from hong kong) (lol but week before last he took a pratt and whitney engine for one of their planes)

this was parked as he was walking about heading for the twa hotel

 

[warch]

On 17/11/2024 at 11:20, Homersimpson said:

My SIL used to have a mid 90s Astra and she had a problem with the thermostat, I remember it was the same/similar issue getting to that and here partner fitted a renault 5 inline thermostat in the hose as a quick fix.  Might be worth considering?

That’s an ingenious fix

[rusty_vw_man]

1 hour ago, warch said:

That’s an ingenious fix

If you google Renault 5 thermostat there are more places discussing it as a fix for any number of cars with difficult to access thermostats than there are about Renault 5s!

you can see why though - tube shaped and cheap, designed to be fitted in a pipe  

 

they even do a variety of temperatures for opening should you need a cooler stat.

[IronStar]

These do not fail safe AFAIK!

Fitted en-masse to Alfa 156s here as they are 1/10th of a price of the one that actually fits the 1.9 JTD. Utterly despised by enthusiasts and reason for BMW owners to take the piss out of Alfistas. 😄

[warch]

Didn’t like the road salt but I went to Wrexham today. The first 10 miles was on snow, which the car coped with beautifully, 175 tyres, no abs and minimal weight are ideal in wintry conditions. I did pass some poor sod who’d gone off on a corner and put themselves in a hedge. 
 

I’ve been more comfortable at the wheel of a car I must admit. I’ve got a cold or flu at the moment so I couldn’t get warm. Neither could the car actually, the stat is definitely borked. I’ve got a Mahle replacement sitting on the side ready to go on ( used the nice day we had last week to put new rear suspension on Mrs Warch’s 2019 X trail instead). Surprisingly still runs ok, considering the cold weather, but I don’t suppose efficiency is all that could be if it isn’t getting up to temperature.

[warch]

Btw for @Dyslexic Viking and other proper Northerners, yes that is what constitutes snow in our damp little corner of the globe. 
 

Up to 39.2mpg now.

[Dyslexic Viking]

How much road salt do you have per year? I have about 5 months of heavy road salting that kills cars.

So I can just forget about driving older cars like the Astra in winter any longer.

[New POD]

6 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

How much road salt do you have per year? I have about 5 months of heavy road salting that kills cars.

So I can just forget about driving older cars like the Astra in winter any longer.

Yesterday we had salted roads near me. Today ? The local Bypass 60 mph limit was an ice rink.  Like a Scandinavian WRC stage. 

The coast road 50 mph limit was worse.  Once into Lancashire it was fully gritted again. 

[warch]

47 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

How much road salt do you have per year? I have about 5 months of heavy road salting that kills cars.

So I can just forget about driving older cars like the Astra in winter any longer.

Yeah I try and avoid it, road salt did horrible things to the underside of my Landrover when I used to daily it. I’m going to slather them both in old engine oil it’s ideal for staving off corrosion.

[warch]

Finally gave into temptation and decided to change the thermostat. 

As previously mentioned this lives behind the timing belt cover so five bolts to remove that, remove the radiator top hose and two 13mm bolts to remove the thermostat cover. Having prised the old thermostat out I thought I'd test it. Annoying it did seem to open and more annoyingly close as it should. Even more annoyingly it in no way resembled the nice new one I'd bought to replace it. 

Happily a quick phone call to my lovely local motor factor (I've been buying stuff from there for about thirty years now) revealed that not only did they have one on their system but they had one in stock. 

It wasn't too hard to reassemble the build quality on these old cars was fantastic, no chocolate fasteners encountered so far.

Pleasingly the car now seems to run with the temperature needle on either of the two centre marks, whereas before it would barely creep off the stop. Should run a lot more efficiently now, and be a bit warmer in the cabin. Not absolutely sure about bleeding the coolant system, I filled it up, squeezed the top hose a bit, then drove it around the village with the heater circulating. Suspiciously it seems to be at exactly the right level in the header tank, but I'll keep an eye on that. 

[JMotor]

It should barf any air out on its own. Unless there is another issue.

I'm glad this car serving you well and you like it. Astras are good cars. Simple, tough and not too bad looking things either.

Strange to say, but it's almost fun to own something (by today's standards) brutally basic.  No pretence, just car.

What more do you actually need?