So a manic few days to say the least; earlier in the week, Practical Classics magazine made contact with a few owners clubs looking for cars to feature for a forthcoming issue. The theme of the article will be ‘Tight Budget Turbos’ and as the name suggests it will focus on a number of different cars that readers might be interested in purchasing if they have a few quid burning a hole in their pocket and are looking for some turbocharged fun. Fun that also happens to be practical. And classic. Crucially, each car had to be standard (or as close to unmodified as possible). This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when they approached the MR2 Owners Club who virtually laughed them off of the internet. With a resounding “good luck” ringing in their ears the Practical Classics boys continued their search.
Having narrowed down their lineup of potential feature cars to just five, I’m pleased to report that the Cavalier Turbo had made the shortlist. I had a good chat with Ross from Practical Classics and before you could say “transfer box? what transfer box?” he was forwarding over details for the shoot. It was all a bit short notice as the meet was taking place on Saturday just a few days after our telephone conversation, so I booked a day out of the office for the Friday and started to work on a plan of action.
Now charged with the daunting task of getting my Turbo in shape for a magazine feature I realised that I was going to have to get the V6 out of the garage so that I could wheel the Turbo in for its makeover. Notwithstanding the fact that the V6 was on axle stands and with no brakes, there was the small matter of fitting the new exhaust! A fun filled few hours followed where I lay on the floor cursing a great deal, but out she rolled (if a little dusty and a little lacking in the stopping distance department!). Work will resume on this car later.
Not a happy bunny:
Having got the Turbo in the garage it was ‘mission accomplished’ for one night, however, the following evening saw me dust off the AutoGlym and start on the interior. This ended up being a five hour job. Quite aside from the deep clean and moisture restoration that I forced upon the unsuspecting leather, there was a good eighteen years worth of grubby paw prints to contend with. It’s not until you start wiping down this stuff that you realise just how mucky your car is! The windows, carpets, mats, head lining, pillars, sunvisors and grab handles were all given a long overdue scrub once the leather had been treated and then it was time for some shuteye.
A couple of snaps after the event:
Fitted that all important tax disc holder hehe:
It was now the day before shoot and work on the car resumed at 8am sharp. I finished off the interior (yes there was still more to do) and fit the headunit out of the V6 as I didn’t want there to be a gaping hole in the dashboard for the photographer to include when the feature goes to print! I then turned my attention to the exterior of the car.
Having a lovely gleaming Cavalier Turbo complete with its sparkly polished new-ish paint was always going to be let down by the badges on the rear end. These were showing their age and had lost the silver lettering, instead showing a dull black. With the assistance of Mrs Humbucker’s hairdryer and some tried and tested advice from the chaps at
http://www.vauxhallcavalier.com these were removed to make way for some brand new badges. I also managed to source a brand new front grille badge as well as those for the bootlid:
Old:
New:
Bootlid debadged:
Having sorted that it was time to attack the exterior with every shampoo, conditioner, polish, wax, glass, bumper and wheel treatment known to man. All in all I started at 8am and finished at 1am the following morning. This was a megaclean. Every bit of the car got blitzed. Even bits of the car that didn’t even know they existed got blitzed! I didn’t take many pics to be honest as I was working flat out and didn’t really stop unless I was waiting for some polish or another to dry. Or the kettle. Besides, I’m sure you don’t want to see the car in the various stages of being cleaned. Oh, you do? Well these two snaps are just for you then hehe:
The recently detango’d rear lights in place:
The rear lights are a massive improvement, and it’s amazing how a new set of lights can freshen up either end of the car. One light in particular that needed some attention was the rear number plate lamp. With age it’s gone all yellowy. I ordered a new one but what arrived was just the bulb holder. Thinking the part must have come as two separate pieces I then ordered what I thought was the lens, which ended up being the complete unit. That’ll teach me for trusting a ‘useful’ part number guide online! Anyway, the new rear license plate assembly was fitted and it makes a big difference. The light is bright white too!
Let me know if you need one of these as it is now surplus to requirements:
Apparently I’ve ordered the last two of these at the factory and “they won’t be getting any more in” so you have my apologies if you’re now having difficulty tracking one down! :
I then turned my attention to the engine bay. It is in need of much more of a clean than I had time to give it but I did what I could in the time available. It is caked in a layer of crud so I got shot of as much of it as I could and will attack the rest at a later date.
The engine bay also features a mix of blue and red silicone hoses, Samco and Roose respectively. I’m going to replace all blues and blacks with red Roose hoses so started with the AFM to turbo pipe:
Much better. Will get the cam cover and timing belt cover sprayed nice and silver in the not too distant. In the meantime I threw a battery jacket on and took a quick snap of a much cleaner looking lump. I’d now been at it for 17 hours straight and decided to call it a night:
The next morning I had a few hours spare before I needed to be at the shoot so I darted out into the garage and finished off some engine bay bits and bobs. I was also going to fit the new boot badges but disaster struck. I had the wrong Griffin badge for the spoiler! The one listed on the ever-so-useful parts guide was for a non-spoilered Cavalier. Arrgh! I had to reluctantly refit the grotty old badge in the hope that it would go unnoticed.
Having given the wheels and tyres a final going over I tried to wheel the car out of the garage so that I could get ready to leave but the battery was flat. I couldn’t believe it! I’d spent a total of 24 out of 36 hours on the car and it didn’t look like I was going anywhere! Thankfully the V6 battery wasn’t quite dead so I robbed that and started the ol’ girl up.
The pics don’t really do it justice but she didn’t turn out too shabby. Not too shabby at all!
all good publicity
. I've booked Friday off work to do a mini blitz of the car prior to heading over on Saturday so I'm a little up against the clock but fingers crossed everything will work out OK.
