Argh! It keeps going off the bottom!

Anyways, I got bored on my couple of days off work, so thought I'd 'liven' my engine bay up a bit:

Before:





After:





Now take some Nurofen, and have a lie down.

I'm 'prettying' up the engine bay, with various bits and bobs to go on (strut brace (yes, in green), new heat shield, bailey tanks, and alloy oil cap) The box at the back is waiting to be touched up. I've wanted some red Samco hoses for ages, they've only just started making them for my car.
Rest of bay needs a good steam clean.

certainly is different

wow its summin special lol

It will all make sense when I get the rest done... maybe.

Looks so much better in the flesh though, really 'fruity'. I can still see blotches of it in my eyes. haha.

love your car man. was thinking about dressing up my engine in red to match it being a redtop. what power is yours putting out now?

Different and i think it would look cool on shrek but not on your subtle red car mate. Why did you choose lime green. Wudda looked mint in a different colour but i aint a fan of snot green


You do know there is a second and maybe even three pages of our cars mate.The topic does still exist so theres no need to keep making the topic.

Looks better than the photo, but I can see going with white as in my original plan. I have a spare cam cover, so that's okay. I honestly don't know why I went for (apple) green, I think if the whole engine bay was done that way, it would look okay.

You have to take the everything off to paint it, which is a proper pain, especially the cambelt cover, my arms are in ribbons, there isn't much space there and you've got three bolts to undo.

I've never RR'd it, if I worked out what it had done to it, it'll be around 170-180, but could be less. Thing I'm chuffed with is the economy, 100miles to ten quid, and it seems to be getting better. Was about 40 miles when I bought it.
Badly needs a silencer though, it's so loud!

Its different but its clean

Good work

Looks well funky that

Just managed to stick Cruise Control in my car. Nabbed the unit from an Omega. Quite easy to do, just sort of reflect what's going on in the Omega. You could fit it to a Corsa or Saxo!

Nice touch

http://www.cruisewirral.com/forums/liveforum/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=26;t=000109

After spending the day messing about with the steering column and shaft, I swapped over with a working version. I took the old one out, which was easy, it only have four bolts holding the whole thing in. Only one of them was a 'shear bolt' which means it doesn't have a bolt head. You either have to drill it out or, in my case, cut through the centre.
I put it in, and had the same problems. So I had a look at where the shaft meets the steering rack inside the car, and there's a small coupling with rubber (to keep the steering from vibrations) in between. On the outsides of the coupling, the metal had worn down a couple of mm's. The shaft had obviously dropped down for some reason.
So then I spent the next couple of hour entirely removing the dashboard (sounds familiar) and had a proper look. Behind the coupling, there is a hole where port to the steering rack pokes through. It has a rubber 'gromit' on it, and it's dropped down. Gutted!! I remember when I went to London recently, there was something not right about the steering. As I haven't driven the car much recently, it just passed.

It could be one of two things; either the rack has just been jolted a bit (by hitting a kerb on full lock) and come away slightly, but has come away as it had been driven, or it has sheared from the bulk head. If it's the last one, the car is certainly a write off. Welding it back on isn't strong enough a bond, it had to be bolted on!!

Phew! Worry not people, I spent 12 hours on it today and managed to fix it and put half the car back together.

I also managed to slip with a screwdriver, and it went straight through the nail on my index finger and into the bone. owowowowowowowowowowww

nice, i hate them screw driver slips, i done it a while ago and it went through me hand, i didn t hurt much though, strange?

All the rust has now been cut out, the arches have been cut to shape and positioned to fit the rest properly, and it's now going to be riveted and welded!! Angle grinders are merciless, they cut through anything, but make an incredible amount of noise, I have to be quick and very infrequent as next door has a newborn babbee.

I'm worried about the petrol aspect, I'll be welding around the filler hole, are there any precautions, as I do not want to go anywhere near the fuel pipes (which is what I'll have to do!)

Huray. Both arches are now replaced and are fibre glassed up, and ready to be painted.

However, I have lost my one and only Clifford remote fob (fell out of a hole in my bag somewhere between Bebington and New Ferry), so now my car is ready, I can't drive it!
Any alarm experts, know how to reprogram a Clifford alarm to a new fob, without the old fob?!?

And anyone know why the +12 lead to my amp keeps going red hot and catching on fire?

Over two months later, and I'm still trying to sort the steering. I can't believe I haven't driven it for so long.
The steering is loose, the wheel moves as you steer left and right. I have traced the problem down to the clutch pedal (it is bolted to it). I've replaced everything in the chain, but no results, the same thing everytime.
Tonight I totally stripped the interior. everything apart from the gear selector and wiring (and a blanket) was left in.
I'm thinking it's the black panel which the pedals and part of the steering column are mounted, it's the last hope really!
Thing is, I can't really ask anyone for help, as this is a structural problem, nobody else has had it.

Haven't we been here before??


The panel:


Hello engine:


Where did I put my interior?


Missing the astra now, I haven't driven it in months.

looks like your having fun

Madness!! Have fun putting that back together!!

itll be christmas at least b4 u get all that s**t back together m8 gud luck hope you sort your steering problem after all this effort ;P

ur a crazy crazy guy,

one qu "why hav we neva seen this beast at a meet i wanna see it in all its glory wen its bk on the road, especially with all its omego bits an every off luxury uv added to to"

The CULPRIT!!



Close-up:



Crack in the bulkhead right in the middle of the steering rack, when the steering rack 'steers', it pulls one side towards the other, and pulls the steering column with it!! You can feel it overlap slightly, you can't see it move, but this is what's caused the whole bendiness.

I took the steering rack out:



As I pulled it out, I caught a hose, which flicked off and sprayed me with PAS fluid. I felt like I was the poor girl in the middle of a gangbang!

Anyways, I have drilled two little holes on either side of the crack to stop it spreading, and will get a mate to weld the 2 inch crack, and cover over with a plate or something. Told it was nothing, and welding would be more than adequate. Phew (again).

Also fully removed the heating system, couldn't believe how much space it took up. You can get tiny electric heaters for kitcars quite cheap, I'm going to make some kind of heating system that isn't in the way whenever you want to do something.
Here it is on my old car, takes up all the space behind the dash.


The coolant system was full of brown sh*te, so flushed it quickly and it's clean now for another winter.
Hopefully, this will be the last time I have my car apart!! :cheers:
Arches still need to be painted though.

OMG

Amazing

I'm suprised so few memebers have not picked up on this topic.

Its Brilliant, and really informative.
Ive never seen the "Guts" of a Astra like that.

I wouldnt have had the balls to go investigating as far as you have.

Hats off to you fella, i enjoyed reading your progress, and i'm saying a little prayer for you when that wiring has to go back in.

Keep us updated on the progress,
and a pickture of the screws that never found a home.

Top Topic

Agree with webby, that's one big job! and hats off to you for doing everything yourself, goes to show how much you really do care for your car.

Thanks for the comments!! My problem is I like taking things apart to see how they work, it always ends up in tears.

I've just programmed the new remote in, bit of a nightmare, but got it sorted out in the end (and I can get rid of my temporary wiring bodge).



Here's my wiring tidying job, getting a MIG welder on friday, so the everything should be back together then. Looks a bit better!



Apart from the arches, at least it looks better than it was (!)



Bad old days:


Arch needs fillering in, etc., just left it till last, must do it before it starts getting wet. Alloy has been 'refurbished' by me, water had reacted under the paint and all the paint was blistered, need spraying again. Quick job, will get around to the hub conversion ...

look good mate, i want to refurb my alloys myself but just dont have the confident to do it myself, did you find it hard to refurb your alloys?

Not at all, the one in the picture had a huge scratch in the paint, and all the laquer had blistered on the edges and all over, really bad condition. I just got some 150 grade sandpaper and rubbed it all over, all the paint came off in about ten seconds, and the blemishes disappeared. Gave it a clean up with a bit of car body filler, and then sprayed it about 8 coats of primer (the white you see), as they're bound to take a few more hits in the future as they're going on my Corsa. I'll spray them the normal colour when I get round to it. I've got new 16" ones to go on, so wasn't too bothered about how it looks. Fortunately, they're quite flat, so other types might take a bit more time, but not much.

Today I put everything back in the car, it now runs, there is no smoke (as the oily deposits have all burnt off the exhaust - hopefully!). The car was making a whining noise (I thought one of the pumps had gone), but it was the alternator 'fan' spinning against the lambda cable. phewee. It's making a rattle under load but I'm suspecting that's a cable against metal or just a tool I've dropped in the engine somewhere (done it so many times, and have it bounce out down the M53 somewhere!!).

wow, that crack, its like finding a peice of hay in a giant stack of needels, well done for that, what a night mere to find though

ive got some of those wheels that daz106 gave me and the paint is coming off like your ones where, will give them a sand down and give them a few coats of primer and see what they look like,

The little crack is now welded. As I'm no expert at welding, the 1mm wide, 3 cm long crack turned into a 1 inch thick, 2 inch long and 1 cm high 'pile' of welding. I wish I'd have taken a photo, it was hilarious. Sh*tty weld or not, it was done, and I put the sound proofing back in, and the carpetting:


I've discovered three leaks so far, so most nights I come out to find the whole passenger footwell full of water, and the carpet has to be hung out, as the whole car stinks.

I messed around with the steering wheel, and couldn't really get a good view whether it was bending as usual or not. But after a while I saw that it identical before I welded the crack up, so it had nothing to do with the crack. Would you believe that?!

I 100% believe it's down to that black panel in the above pictures, there's something wrong with it, but I can't see anything. The only thing to do is to change for a new one. The clever people at Vauxhall put the loom right through the centre of it, so you have to chop it in half to get it out. Superb.

Slowly becoming a NIGHTMARE.

Today, I got up at 8am, to face the mess I left last night, just launched the whole lot inside the car, tidied everything up and did the whole thing methodically.
I took that black plate thing out again and welded the clutch pedal to it, then put everything back together again. I finished at 8pm, and that includes putting a middle section pipe in my mate's Astra, I've gone non-stop!! Finished the lot, and checked the steering, it moves a tiny bit, but to be honest, I think that's me being paranoid, and it's with one tyre flat, without PAS and not in motion, so when the car's moving it'll be fine I think!!

Put everything together, and then realised I'd lost my gearknob (heater matrix hanging out behind dashboard)!!



The Sh*thead:




Tomorrow is MOT and tax, then next weekend are fillering and spraying the arches.

some work you put into that mate!!!

bet you cant wait to drive it problem free hehe

you still got the calibra? if so why not use that. same engine.

Had no tax or MOT, it went a long time ago..

Seeing as it's a bit wet out, I decided to put a new heater matrix system in. The windows cloud up in seconds, so the whole thing had to come out again, and putting the new one in was no picnic, more lacerations down my arms, and more money in the swear box, but at least it'll be warm on those winter morns.

I also cracked my forehead on a sharp pointy piece of metal (I thought there was rain water dripping down my head, I looked at my hands about 10 minutes later, and they were covered in blood!!) and then, when tightening a bolt on the steering column, I noticed a little chip on the windscreen where the ratchet was touching. I thought to myself, 'wouldn't it be typical if I accidentally tapped it on there and it crac..." CRACK!! - bol(locks)!!!

New windscreen then.

Unlucky as hell mate.The car just does not want to play. Stick with it and the sweet motor will return

Ugh.. gutted mate! =\ hows your head?

Ahh, still been busy with three different cars, I finally sort the V6 stuff. Suspiciously easy to do.
Corsa owners take note!

The front struts and rear beam is from a Cavalier V6. The advantages being the discs are massive, the calipers are bigger, and there are five studs instead of the four.
I've got one side done, here's the other:

Cav v6 on the left, Astra GSi on the right. Astra discs are brand new and both had been left outside for a few days, look how they rust!!


Tops of Cavalier/Calibra strut are completely different to the Astra ones.


Everything from the damper upwards comes off.


This is all you need:


Depending on whether you are keeping the Astra/Corsa damper, the Cav's damper rod is thicker, and will need the top mount drilled through, and whichever bearing fitted.

Wheel bearings can stay, they use the same driveshafts (phew):


Brake comparison:

Good old Hammerite! If you are painting anything that gets hammered by bits of stone or rain, put a coat of Hammerite on it, it will never chip through to bare metal and rust. It also gives a smooth finish, magically filling in bumps and valleys, esp. on brake calipers! You can then apply any old spray paint on top. I'm either sticking with black or silver, I'm not that fond of painted calipers.





Here's one side done, with brakes fitting snuggly in the 16"'s.


and the back (ignore the arch and flatness of wheel )...


Will post the top mounts tommorow, and the rear hub conversion on t' weekend.

I just love this topic,
there is somthing for everyone.

Its pretty much becoming the Astra Re-build topic.

Loving the advice, and pictures.

Keep them coming, you cant be that far away from the finish now.

TOP TOPIC.

ive got them brakes on my corsa an the stoping power on my car is amazing in the dry weather an even the wet

Yeah, I might even get to try them out by next year!

Sorting the other side out now, on the final hurdle so to speak and have been here before. I cannot get the nut off the top even when the suspension rod is being held in really big mole grips, it just spins in the grip! And if you look at an astra top mount, the nut is recessed so you can't get a grip of the top of the rod any other way- *groan*.

Anyone know of any tools that will grip like a bugger??

i had the same problem with my corsa i jus cleaned it an clamed it as hard as i cud the other option is borwing an inpact socket

I had a think about it for a while and bolted something onto the top mount (which was spinning round with the rod) and it worked first time.

Little hole:


Big hole:


Spring and spring seat on:


Strut complete (I forgot about the little springy bar thing on the caliper until I assembled everything onto car)


woooo


Balljoint separator is too big to do the lower arm joint, so finally got round to cutting a bit off after about five years of struggling to fit it in.

Thanks for the comments!!

I feel i know your car inside out.

When its finished it has to be the warmest and softest car around.

Amazed at the time and effort your putting in to your car and the detail and pictures
in your topic.

Loving it

Yeah, this is an awesome topic mate. Would love to see the thing in person when it's finished.

Haha! I'm sick to death of it!! There's so much to do and winter's round the corner!

Here's a further little addition, thought I'd put it in as it's a bit easier to read, and it looks cool (in a knight rider kind of way):



Looks better at night.

Hmmm, yeah it's different i guess. Looks kinda dated though imo, anything you can do to make it look a little more modern? Maybe a lick of paint?

sweet, i want one for my corsa, but its too much hassle

Wow, I have never looked through your MMC topic, i am amased at the detail you have gone to with pics and descriptions matey

Keep up the good work, Top Topic......

How come we have never seen you out and about ??

Thanks! The car's been off the road for a while (since may), this is the last little job. It really needs some kind of respray.

I removed both the rear hubs today. A bit of investigating revealed new Astra Coupe hubs go straight on, no faffing about with the Cavalier ones, especially as the handbrake cable connector part is such a pain in the ar$e. So I got a pair and stuck them on.

Uuuup she goes (yoyo style):
4 axles stands and trolley jack, you can't be too careful.



Astra GSi vs Astra Coupe:
Coupe is a fair few mm bigger, handbrake cable fitting is on t'other side, GSi used a brake pipe to the caliper, Coupe uses a flexible pipe to caliper (gsi caliper been removed).





One occasion I didn't want 4x4:
Part of stub axle, that's all that holds the wheel on!



Fitted, handbrake bracket on top, Coupe handbrake cable goes underneath, cured by getting a Coupe HB coupe. phew.



The wheel on:


Need to shorten the brake pipe, and put the new HB cable on. This job was pretty easy, undoing really tight nuts in 2 foot of space was exhausting, I'm still shaking like a sh*tting dog.

Arch repaired and awaiting some kind of temporary respray (Halfords rattle cans )

saw u at the end of the drive today or yesterday u might of hear me drive past

Loving it,
Your topic is great reading,
and any one who has a astra can see
the in's and outs of what's underneath.

Can't thank you enough for taking the pictures
as your working, i know it can be a pain.

But hopefully you will be able to look back
in years to come at this topic and smile.

I love catching up on this one.

Cant wait to see it with some Road Tax on it.
I bet your the same?

What webby said. Love how much effort this car gets fella. Keep it up and soon it will be a tarmac terror

stunning, keep the good work up

Bought a new battery for it today (old one had been recharged about ten times and wasn't holding charge anymore!) and fixed a leak as one of the pipes from the sunroof had come loose and filled the passenger footwell with about an inch of water Let it run for about 1 hour, engine sounds really, really smooth, apart from the odd exhaust splutter. But I think that's normal. I can't really remember anymore.

I put the equal-length driveshaft (the long driveshaft in two parts) in, looks meaty.

I took it for a mini-spin, and the dash 'oh shit, something's gone wrong' light was on and off as well as the ABS and TC warning flashing up. I suspect I haven't plugged something in.
The engine spluttered to nothing, and wouldn't start, but remembered I hadn't put fuel in for about 8 months!

My wiring to the boot release and a few other bits also must have shorted with the body or something as the whole length of wire turned into a big load of black smoke filling the car!! Need to buy some decent wire, it all has to be done!

Hopefully sort everything out tommorow, and then I can hopefully get it back on the road instead of on my folk's driveway!

Crap! Good luck getting it sorted fella, sounds like you're well on your way to havin her back out on the road.

Where can I buy a big roll of 500ma wire? Not the audio type. Preferably in different colours.

halfords do red,and black,and im not sure what its rated to. Try a decent auto electricians

Just used conventional household electrical wire seperated from the big insulation. Does the job!

Everything works now, the grab handle light, the contact was touching the body, and the whole wire was burning up, put some insulation on it. Tyre has gone flat again, will need a new tyre!! £££

Another little addition to the black hole:



Speedo/rev dials from an Astra mk4 and silver Irmscher/Vauxhall gearknob.



Fitting was an absolute pain, had to cut most of the metal behind the original dials, and have yet to mount it properly. Ooo, oo, new speedo has 36 wires, old one has 24!!
Nobody has done this yet to my knowledge, which is bad, but my car uses a mechanical speedo cable, new ones take the signal from ABS or gearbox.

That sounds like hard work. You dont half make things difficult for yourself!

I've been trawling the net for most of the day, there's nothing on there. I need an Astra mk4 haynes manual. Anyone with one can you scan the wiring diagrams in the back for me please?!?!

Wires...



wires...






The speedo runs off the GTE gearbox speed transducer, and everything else is just a case of checking both haynes books.

Sorted the pesky clocks out, they look so much better than the digidash and the old plasticy mk3 ones!

Here's a vid if you're interested. It's a bit boring like... (6mb - quicktime mov format)
Video 1 Click Me

get quicktime alternative here (smaller, ad-free version of quicktime)
Quick Time Click Me

Incredible mate.Im so surprised all the voltages etc are the same,got me thinkin about stickin some new clocks in mine now,sorry to rip your idea off

I got the whole bugger working. Took five nights though!



The improvement over the older dials are 100 times.

That looks sweet mate, obviously the engine is running as the tacko is reading 1200rpm but how do you get it too run on fumes or isnt the fuel gauge working ??

Nice one mate, looks well. Just out of interest when's the last time you put fuel in it? Whatever's left must be turning to jelly by now!

BTW that's a fair sized crack in your windscreen

The needle needs moving around a bit, I had to take them off to do it!! The speedo and revs are magnetically turned. Think the video shows it moving properly.

I cracked the window undoing a bolt, and thought 'wouldn't it be mad if I cracked the windscreen' and then I did.

Does fuel turn to jelly after a few years? I heard it changes colour and smell, also heard it goes rubbery??

Dont believe everything you hear mate....

i heard it goes off,especially super unleaded. Not sure if itll still work ok or weather itll damage the engine,I say run optimax and some cleaner (redex) thru it for the first tank full.

Fuel is only a week old! Before that it had been in there for about six months!
I think my fuel tank is full of sediment, I was always running out of petrol.
I've got four brand new injectors I've had for ages I will change over.

them dials look abeast there the same as the ones that are in my 2.2!! when you hoping to get the car finished!? for pvs 2006!!??

monster motor keep the good work up!

nice work on the dials. fuel has a shelf life of around 6 weeks, after that is sort of like 90ron. you can still use it but best top up with optimax next time!

respesct 4 having the balls to strip ye car like that, i think if i done all that at 1nce id probably lose things lol

I have to get the dials recalibrated to my mileage though at Vauxhall. I think they charge 20 quid to plug something in for a couple of seconds.
The windscreen is getting replaced on Monday which is the last thing it needs.
I've pretty much returned it to standard. The struts from the Calibra raised it back in the air, and a spring had snapped somehow, and I'm wondering should I put some spare 50mm springs on it?
I've got a car PC for it, the centre console has been carved out to make way for a screen, etc.
A few more cosmetic things to do that will take a few hours, but it's so cold!

Got new wing mirrors, another Omega item in the form of an electric rear view mirror (those lazy Omega drivers ffs) and I've completely wayoyled the inside arches.
I need two tyres as one's the wrong size (foh) and the other one's a bit worn around the edge. And some petrol.
It goes in for the MOT this weekend, harray!

so whens she goin to be on th road!

MOT saturday morning, taken two days off work to sort everything out. I'm really hoping she doesn't fail miserably on the MOT or I'm throwing it in the wheely bin.

so u goin to bring her down to the next meet if she passes!?

good luck mate,cant wait to see pics of this car alive.Such an inspiration

Haha! Failed on the fact that I'd forgotten to do a few things - the flexible brake pipes were not clipped up to something solid, and the handbrake went up too many clicks, and that's it. 5 minute jobs I completely forgot to do.
My alarm decided it didn't want to let me in in the morning either, and took me a worrying 30 seconds to break in, and 2 hours to mess around with the stupid Cliffordy thing and reprogram everything in again.
Was playing up again tonight, doors won't lock, and I can't do certain things with the fobs.

Wing indicators have stopped working as well. Fixing at 11.30 at night proved to be difficult.

Getting rid of smooth tailgate with the original one as well (due to number plate being dodgy).

Booked back in for sat 18th.

good luck, ive got my mot next week,

Aye, good luck, it's always the things you don't expect to go wrong - even if you're 100% sure it'll pass!

I've sprayed the arches, I only need to cut the paint on the passenger side and it's done. I used Halfords rattlecans, they're great on flat colours, but metallics - forget it!
Photo's are off phone, so look a bit pink!

So whats the latest on this mean machine now then. Is it back on the road or not.

looks ace mate,hows it look in the flesh,nice and shiny and red?

It's been back on the road for about two weeks now, I've wanted to get some pics, but have never got round to it due to dark nights.
I had the day off work so I did a bit of work on it, and thought I'd put it in for the MOT at Walsh's drive-in on Cleveland street at 4.25pm on a Friday afternoon (the last test is at 4.30) and it flew through with no problems whatsoever. Got it taxed the next morning, and have been using it since then.
I have the Koni suspension on the back and the standard on the front, so will have to sort it out (it's quite hairy round rolling corners), but all the bushes have been changed for new stuff and it feels so responsive to drive, I'd recommend anyone to change all of their bushes for polyeuruthane stuff, it's -amazing-.
There's a fair few gremlins though, the mirrors work when they want, brakes are spongey, and the dash computer says I'm doing 850 mph when the speedo dial says 60mph.
I also spilt a bit of brake fluid down the bonnet and front wings on the day of the MOT. argh!
It took about three days to fully clear the engine of crap, it's been sat on my folk's driveway since last May!

I bet they love you!

hi av been trying to pm you but ur mailbox has been full. You can come this monday if you wish, or we can leave it till the wkend after the national, upto u either way

Monday is great, my number is 07789 365 213 - I'm free all day.
David

I am happy with monday do you want to come around about 12oclock, I will try and clean it up a bit and get the engine out to make it easier to move okay.

Thanks mate, I'll be round 12 o'clock - I'll bring the van.

Here's the first pic of my car since it's been on the road for about two months.



Everything's done on it now, so I'm a bit bored. I replaced that smoothed boot with the standard boot - I don't mind them, they just look a mess with the number plate, they look a bit 'lost'. I noticed the boot matched up incorrectly, and realised it's had a bit of back end damage from the previous owner. It needs a bit of jigging, but I'm not too bothered as it's barely noticeable. I've put some phase 1 mirrors on it, which look better than the later ones. It's had new brake discs and pads all round, and I'm changing the water and oil every 3000 miles.
Apart from that, I've done nothing else, and I'm pretty much happy with it!

I've got my other black Astra I'm putting a Vectra GSi V6 in, the outside is totally standard poverty spec with the faded grey bumpers and a few dings here and there, and inside has the GSi wiring loom with all the trimmings with cream Calibra leather and door cards. It's been lowered 50mm with a crafty twin exhaust. I'll put another thread up when I make progress.




One thing I've found out this month is, engines are very heavy, and engine hoists are very expensive.

engines are heavy, tell me about it mate. A 1.8 4 pot with gearbox must weigh circa 200 KGs and ive had to move one around by hand.

So the V6 is going in the black one?? why not put it in the red one?The red one looks sweet as hell mate. Wheels look a bit dirty tho,are there any other VX wheels u cud use as IMO u cud do better

Engine in the red one is spot on, and while it's in a good mood, I'm not touching anything! Black one has 1.4, and has been sat in a lock-up for nearly 2 years - I feel sorry for it I really do, as it was my run-around for a fair few years and never let me down ever, not even a puncture.

The wheels are dirty, I haven't washed the car in about 2 weeks, and they're covered in brake dust! They're bubbling and cracking and are in severe need of refurbing! I've replaced two brand new Pirelli tyres in two months due to punctures, and should've really got it done then. I like the Caibra ones I have on now, but they're really tatty.

I was after some Omega ones like these:

I think they're 17's or 18's, I'm not sure.

This is still going strong!
I've decided to leave it alone for a bit, but changed the cylinder head for a new one, new injectors and all the other bits like spark plugs etc. The interior is back to original and the speedo is back in. I've removed the Clifford alarm as I'd never liked it at all (anyone who's owned one knows they're really too much), and connected up the original one. Also got a new boot, and I've put a pair of new doors on (the old ones where molested to fit the calibra panels on), and they were a bit faded.

It needs new front/rear bumpers, as a low speed crash on a roundabout cracked the mounting points and they're just sort of hanging off.

Seen this motor about, nice mate, can't wait to see the 2.5v6 let rip.

cant beat those turbo wheels, looks spot on mate

i like it mate, oem all the way.

sorry to be off topic but dont moderators resize pics any more

nice motor

Apologies Mr Andy, I will get ontop of it.

We wouldn't have as many images to resize if members used the upload feature instead

very nice, seen you the other week in prenton, just seen a mk3 gsi on turbo wheels and had to come on here to check it was you

i was in my green corsa if you seen me

Where did you see me?

I've just put it through the MOT, first time it's failed - front indicators have shed their amberness, rear wheel was bald on the inside, and the lower wishbone bush had perished - took it out, and there was nothing wrong with.

Took two weeks off, and replaced the suspension, brakes and bushes with new GM stuff, and new ball joints. Bought a pair of Yokohama's and nice safe Pirelli P6000's, and it's completely transformed the car ... except the tracking is now totally, it wants to go in two directions on corners and is very unpredictable. Needs a load of bodywork doing this weekend.

Good stuff.

I had to replace bushes and ball joints on mine to pass the MOT and it wasa bitch of a job. I hate working with suspension.

Was yours easy to do?

Keep us updated with pics of the bodywork

Yeah I went to a place recommended by someone, and they were so strict and expensive. Went elsewhere to get the retest.
Suspension wasn't too hard, just hate getting filthy.
Ball joints make the difference, steering is a lot lighter now.

Did nothing over the weekend, due to this unpredictable weather!
When is it going to warm up, this is taking the urine now.

As per a couple of weeks ago, I scraped my car up a wall reversing onto my folk's drive!

OOF!





Damage was pretty hefty, left a healthy scrape in the metal. Replaced the door (which I was going to do anyway):



This gave me an excuse to get the paintwork sorted. I have been waiting since the start of last year (or probably earlier), to tidy it up, but it's been either raining or windy or winter since then. On Saturday morning, I thought I'd give it a light sanding just to prep it for more paint ( ). On closer inspection, I realised there were about five layers of paint, about 2mm thick, and anymore would mean all the edges would be fluffed.

I got the drill and wire wheel out and just got rid of the lot:





Felt satisfying to see it come off! There was lots of it!









Think that will do for now until it stops raining again!!

Stop making it look so bloody easy lol

doesn't look very smooth above the arch though?

Wire wheel dug into the filler on the arch. I welded it in last time and used filler (yeuch)but want to do it again with a joggler and lead. Just primered for now to stop it rusting!!

Removing paint took from 11.30 to 4 o'clock, still recovering now!!

seen you the other night by rock ferry, looked good fella