Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

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Robsey
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by Robsey »

Another beautiful example of Vauxhall's finest from the McGrath family fleet.

Simply stunning to look at.
I don't know how you decide which one of the 5 Cavaliers you wish to drive each day.

Too much choice makes decision making difficult.

I think you should shock the neighbours and have the next southern meet at your house.

Might set a record for the most cavaliers in one place since the late nineties.

Even if no one else turns up, there will be more Cavalier's there than the typical northern meets.
(Average is 5 cars... but the last 3 meets had only 3 cars). :roll:
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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

Thanks Rob. :thumb

Generally the Diplomat is the one I use the most.

I don't really like using the LS in winter, the CD manual is my dad's daily driver and the CD auto is normally in storage, plus I don't like adding too many miles to it (It was on only 37,000 miles when we got her, now it's nearly on 47,000).
I drive the V6 a bit more, but I'm not insured to drive it to work (social and domestic only) and it is the least economical so it just makes sense to take the Diplomat most of the time.

I must admit it's great to have the variety though. I never get bored of driving put it that way.


By the way, I fitted a GM thermostat today.
I bought two of these from genuine part search. One as a spare; with 4 cars that use the same part I'm bound to need one again in the future.

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Fitted:

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Part number for these is 90571273.
I looked the number up and apparently it's for a Vectra B or Omega B but that was the number that was on the original part I took off so that's the one I ordered. Ecat24 will tell you 90232012 is the right part number but these two parts are identical and both will work fine. I know because I fitted a 90232012 part to my LS not too long ago.

The 90571273 part is by BEHR by the way. So if you are looking for an OEM replacement, now you know.
chrisash86
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by chrisash86 »

Hi James how's the v6 doing? Do u still want the sump?
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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

chrisash86 wrote:Hi James how's the v6 doing? Do u still want the sump?
PM sent.
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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

Day 2 of preparations and my attention has turned to the CD auto.

After giving it a quick wash and blackening up the plastics last night I made a start fitting some new parts this morning.

First up was a new front grille.
The old one was looking a bit tired. I was suggested that I paint the original one but with my painting skills it probably would have made it look even worse. I've kept the original for good measure.

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I got this form Vauxhall green parts a few months ago:

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While I was there, I gave the whole area a good clean too.
Before:

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After:

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Looks allot cleaner with the new one fitted:

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Next job was to replace this bit of trim:

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It doesn't show very well in the photo but it was quite badly scratched and had been slightly squashed inwards after I had a low speed encounter with a parked van a couple of years ago. :? Don't ask.

I actually bought this back in January 2016 all the way from Germany. Took me ages to find one and I have only just got round to fitting it. Part number 90312113

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The larger trims can be difficult to remove, but being small once I made a start it came off pretty easily:

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Cleaned up:

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I think I just about fitted it on straight:

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Next up was to fit these beauties:

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Again I've had these for years. Probably since early 2014.
I've been putting off fitting them as I wanted to preserve them; they were still sealed and unopened.
But what's the point if no one is ever going to see them?

This is what the old ones were looking like:

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As far as I know, they were the originals apart from the rear offside one which is one of the later plastic ones.
When I first got the car they looked a good deal better; the badge on the front nearside one has fallen since I've owned it.

Fitted:

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I do somewhat regret using these, they were practically museum pieces.
At least people can see them now.

After all that, I went to see the original owner, Gordon Jackson.
Today was his 100th birthday.
I had been meaning to get in contact with him for a long time just to let him know how his much loved car was doing.
He seemed remarkably well for a centenarian and was delighted to see his car again.

Today (5th July 2017) also marked the 4th anniversary of my ownership of this car. Hurrah! :cheers

Anyway, after that I made a start on the LS. Just about managed to clean it and clay bar it before it got dark.

Tomorrow, I plan to clay bar and then polish the CD auto and wax the LS then they will be ready for the big weekend. :cheers

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ilovedmymantas
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by ilovedmymantas »

Great job there. That looks amazing, the last pic could be a brochure photo :thumb
" It's not rust. It's age-related patina " ;)

1980 vauxhall cavalier MK1 1.6L, 1982 opel manta berlinetta 1.8s, 1985 opel manta 2.0 gte, 1990 cavalier 2.0 gl ,1994 cavalier sri x20xev

-1995 cdx x20xev

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Matt
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Mk3alan
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by Mk3alan »

That looks great! I am sure Gordon was happy knowing it is being looked after.
So we're the original mudflaps of rubber? I fitted mine in 96 and always thought they were plastic, or are we talking earlier.
Grill looks good, I sprayed mine after it was showing many stone scars, Star Silver, same as the wheels but I think your grill looks better in that colour - got me thinking!

Alan
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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

Mk3alan wrote:That looks great! I am sure Gordon was happy knowing it is being looked after.
So we're the original mudflaps of rubber? I fitted mine in 96 and always thought they were plastic, or are we talking earlier.
Grill looks good, I sprayed mine after it was showing many stone scars, Star Silver, same as the wheels but I think your grill looks better in that colour - got me thinking!

Alan

Yes indeed. the original mud flaps were made of hard wearing rubber.
The ones I just fitted are technically MK2 cavalier mud flaps, note the Griffin wing is not quite square.
But as you can see they do fit the MK3 and they were the ones that were available when the MK3 was first sold in 1988.

These were the first mud flaps specifically designed for the MK3
Front on the bottom, rear on top (ignore the one on the top right):

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When the Griffin was redesigned into it's round format, these were the ones that followed:

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For the major facelift in late 1992, the design was streamlined and their construction was improved (these are my personal favourite ones):

Front:

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Rear:

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In around 1995 ish, they changed the rubber ones for plastic ones.
These are the rear ones but the front ones look identical apart from the mounting bracket:

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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

Right, time to get another of my WIP threads up to date. This may be a long one!

Time of start, 10:41pm...

So picking up where I left off, it's November 2017 and, Rembrandt, as the car is now called, has just ticked over 49,000 miles.
My Dad is using the car probably only about once a week just to keep it ticking over.
He pops to the shop in the village high street and parks outside.
When he comes back, this is what he finds:

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According to an eye witness, the driver of a ford pickup truck reversed into Rembrandt, pushing their tow-bar through the font bumper.
They then pulled away at speed, tearing the bumper off. It was lying on the ground when my dad found it. :cry
These photos were taken a few days later, after it had been cable tied back on.

The driver was known in the Village and we were able to get their details. When we contacted the person, they denied all knowledge of the event.

Thankfully, our insurance was able to cover the cost of repairs and parts were sourced over the next few weeks:

New GM wheel arch liner:

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New GM front bumper, in original packaging:

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New GM fog lamps:

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From memory, these were all sourced from genuine parts search.

Luckily, no structural damage was caused and the car was looking like new in no time.

To be honest, that was about the only thing that happened to this car until now.
It only gets occasional use and is well looked after by my Dad so it simply hasn't needed anything.
That and moving away from home in May 2018 meant that I wasn't around to spot any jobs that needed doing.

When the diplomat was taken off the road (a story for another WIP) in March 2020, I started using the car more and inevitably spotted a few things.

First of all, I think the car has only been polished once in my Dad's ownership, and has never seen any wax. :shock:
This colour really hides dirt and scratches incredibly well. It just seems to look clean no matter what.
That being said, it definably made a difference when I finally got going and give it the full clay bar and polish treatment in September 2020:

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A minor service was then conducted on 3rd October 2020. One of the few socially distanced outdoor activities I could do with my Dad that year:

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Next job was the cam cover gasket which was is in a dire shape:

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It hadn't been fitted properly at the back and was weeping oil quite badly:

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I find that the hammer and block of wood method is the most effective at removing the cam cover:

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It's really important to get both surfaces perfectly clean when fitting a new gasket.
I thoroughly recommend this stuff for removing traces of old gasket:

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I use this occasionally at work and it's great for removing light surface corrosion too.
Make sure it's the 0000 grade stuff, anything coarser will cause scratches.
And put some tissue paper in the head to prevent any detritus getting into the engine!

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Then, to remove any traces of oil, isopropanol:

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Once that was all cleaned up, my attention turned to these crud covered things:

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Bolts and HT lead clips cleaned, a new GM gasket was fitted:

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Minor job next.
Noticed this clip was broken:

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New part found on eBay:

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After all too short a time, I had to return the car to it's rightful owner.

It wasn't until in the run up to VBOA this year that I had a chance to do some more work.

I took the week before VBOA off work and had been intending to spend the time cleaning, waxing and polishing.
Also, plaguing my mind, was the thought that that car had now spent 8 years in our ownership sitting outside in the rain.
The previous owner, who owned the car since new, kept it garaged, never drove in the rain and gave the car a wipe down if it ever got wet. :shock:
I actually bought some underseal when we got the car but never got round to putting it on. :?

I was feeling ambitious and decided that it was finally time I did something, so it was up on the ramps for Rembrandt:

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I was greeted with not the most pleasant sight:

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The tin worm has indeed has some fun under there. It certainly doesn't look as clean as it did back on page 2 of this thread. :?


thankfully it's still solid so I gave it a dam good going over with the wire brush and gave it some of this:

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While I was waiting for that to dry, I thought I'd tackle these:

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I just so happen to have these left over from the Diplomat's suspension overhaul a few years ago:

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This was one of those jobs that looked really simple but was a total pain in the backside.
These bolts were stuck fast and resisted every turn right to the end of the thread.
With patience and persistence, and some WD40, I eventually got them free.

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Old and new:

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Fitted:

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Yep, they weren't doing very much:

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After doing these, I have found out that mineral grease of any kind is potentially damaging to rubber. :shock:
So if you're thinking of doing this yourself, don't smear them with copper ease as I stupidly have.

That took about an hour and a half and in that time the rust converter had done it's job.
Time to finally put this Dynax s-50 to work:

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Not the perfect job, but at least it's got some protection now.


That pretty much brings things up to date. Well done if you've made it this far!

I have a few jobs planned for sometime soon.
I'd like to get under the car again and finish the undersealing and the the slider for adjusting air flow to the feet is stuck in place so that needs investigating. :scratch

I'll leave you with this image taken just before VBOA, after I'd just given it a well deserved wax:

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Time of end, 00:58am
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Robsey
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by Robsey »

Excellent work fella,

I know how bad being out in the rain can be for any car.

These cars really do need to be kept moving, allowing the air flow to air dry the under-body.
It is amazing how fast the rust can set in, on a car that sits immobile for the majority of the time.

Good work as usual on the general maintenance.
I note with interest about your cam-housing cover gasket leak.
I changed my gasket a year or so ago, and it now leaks worse than ever. I have done this job thousands of times, so I have to ask if I fitted them wrong all this time.
The cork gasket holes only line up one way, so for the gasket to sit correctly and the holes to line up, should be straight forward

Back to you for basic mechanics training Rob. :no
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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

Thanks Rob :thumb

I really do wish I could keep them all in garages. I feel like I'm not really looking after them as well as I should. Just had a totally disastrous MOT on my Dad's CD manual; lots of unexpected rust. Considering it was totally rust free when we got it, it's very upsetting. :cry

I does seem to be luck of the draw sometimes with cam cover gaskets.
I've spent hours of them before, making sure that it's sitting right and everything is perfectly clean, only for them to start weeping oil within weeks.
Whereas I've also done a really quick 'last minuet before I have to leave' job in 20 minuets and it has sealed perfectly.

This one has sealed nicely though, no weeping when I checked yesterday and I replaced that gasket in September last year.
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vectra1903
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by vectra1903 »

This car looks stunning. All of the visual details match themselves, the wheels, the chrome strip, foglamps, headlamp wipers, it's perfect. I could only wish for my Vectra to look even remotely as good as this Cav. Nice job.
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James McGrath
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by James McGrath »

Thank you :D

I've always loved the pre-facelift CDs.
They really stand out, especially these days.

This car was a total indulgence when we bought it. As soon as we saw it we had to have it.
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vectra1903
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Re: Mike and James' 1990 CD Auto

Post by vectra1903 »

James McGrath wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 2:28 pm Thank you :D

I've always loved the pre-facelift CDs.
They really stand out, especially these days.

This car was a total indulgence when we bought it. As soon as we saw it we had to have it.
I prefer the Cav/Vectra pre-facelift, the facelift reminds me of the Astra a bit too much.
At first I didn't like that the front grille isn't colour matched to the rest of the car though, but now I can see that it adds a lot of character It looks boring when it's matched to the rest of the car.
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