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!
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
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.
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.
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.
Last edited by BMW Joe; 12th Mar 20083:18am. Reason: Uploaded Images
sorry to be off topic but dont moderators resize pics any more
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
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