vauxhall carlton gsi 24v

[belmont_dazz]

Has anyone here had one or know someone with one, if so what are they like? Suspension set up any good? Handle ok? Reliability?

Iv been offered one for a swap with my cav, looking at it its cool, looks comfy and abit iconic. Do you think it would be worth it? Absolutely no issues with the cav but I could always build another later on and carlton gsi's are quite rare now.

Should I?

[Cavalier342]

I wouldn't say no to one. Up to you mate, bare in mind it'll piss through petrol like no tomorrow but from what I've heard from others, they are rapid! Heavy too so should have some grip round corners as they're quite wide.

[belmont_dazz]

well mines not exactly what would call economical!! but im not expecting it to be fast, not fast like the cav anyway.

just looking again and he said its got a slight bit of juddering when its warmed up, thinks its the lsd oil that needs changing? he said it only judders when setting off whilst turning.

[planetc]

Cracking car, as long as it's not rotten. Very few issues overall, as long as they have been reasonably well looked after. Never seen any issues with the lsd tbh. Rear ends rot, similar to the independent rear end cavs.

[belmont_dazz]

arches look good but where in particular should I be looking?

[iancav6]

Its probably the closest you will get to owning a Lotus Carlton.

[TurboDan]

I dont know anyone with an actual carlton gsi but my friend phil has a Lotus carlton which is actually his 4th one now (2 of them were breakers). So he knows pretty much everything there is to know about them.

I have seen some nasty bits of rust around the rear arches and the lotus carlton is known to have some nasty chassis stress cracks around the rear turrets/ boot floor area. These can all be easily fixed and are probably common on the gsi's too although obviosely the lotus has more power so maybe they wouldnt be as bad.

The lotus also suffers from hairline cracks between the pistons/waterways etc.. Some can be so bad that the block is scrap but again not sure if the gsi will have the same problem.

[TurboDan]

The bottom of the doors on the lotus also rot badly due to the bodykit.

The windscreens are near enough impossible to get hold of now, phil is trying at the moment and has tried everywhere he can think of so far with no luck and also the door glass he has had to have imported from germany although i think they are tinted slightly on the lotus

[belmont_dazz]

in the pictures the arches look really good, considering. engines not really a problem as it may or may not stay. so if I peel back the boot carpets and look for stress marks, which hopefully wont be there.

not too good on the parts side of things! don't like the idea of not being able to get easily accessible parts as it would be a daily car pretty much.

my cav just doesn't seem as exciting to look at or sit in I guess compared to the carlton

[TurboDan]

Personally unless it was a lotus or a lotus replica then id keep the cav but thats just me. A replica wouldnt be that hard to do, its only a bodykit and a set of wheels, the rest is optional

[James McGrath]

arches look good but where in particular should I be looking?

You want to look for rust everywhere! Wheel arches are the least of your worries really as they are a relatively simple job to fix. You want to look all round the suspension components especially at the rear as Paul (PlanetC) said, check the floor pans and sills too.

Your biggest enemy apart from rust will be finding parts, simple things like shock absorbers are hard to find.

Check all the electrics thoroughly as although they are fairly reliable, if something does go wrong it can be an expensive fix.

If it's a manual check the gearbox for noises too as they are more difficult to rebuild than most.

If it's a sound car it should be a pleasure to drive. They were renowned at the time for their excellent handling and road manors.

I'm a big fan of the Carlton and I plan to get one eventually.

[belmont_dazz]

Ok so even with a Good body im gumma struggle with parts. Well im certainly not as for it as I was this morning but still wanting it

[planetc]

The rear end, around the suspension mounts rots. They were generally pretty tough, and were a fleet favourite like the cavalier because of the reliability. Electricals generally not too bad, apart from trickery like climate control where it was fitted, otherwise nothing that would put me off. Parts obviously won't be anywhere near as readily available as a cavalier. Personally I think the engine is the best bit, and you would need to be looking at something special to make it worth swapping. Carlton was a great, reliable car and when coupled with the 24v straight six it gained a little bit of excitement.

[belmont_dazz]

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/ ... ales-price

This is the car in particular. Awaiting more pics but im also in Wales next week so plan on paying him a visit.

[TurboDan]

Doesnt look to bad actually. The passener arch has issues though from that pic.

Great looking engines too in them.

[btcctroy]

Looks great. I'd say make the swap.

[Cavalier342]

Gsi automatic? I love automatics but that doesn't sound right....