Left-hand drive ''Cavalier''

[Skara]

Ok so first of all hi everyone and thanks for letting me join this great community, so I made a new topic to present to you my beloved car it's an Opel Vectra A, 1.6 Diamond, 55kw, 1993. year of manufacture. This car has been in the family from new so I am second owner(apart from my father who was first owner).Now let's see some pictures, they are almost a year old, since then it has been mot'd and soon it will be going on a respray.(excuse my English if I got somethnig wrong, it's not my mother language after all)

[Cavalier342]

Always nice to see them in Left-Hand drive, for me anyway, other than the huge dent in the rear wing and the lack of lacquer (see what I did there), it looks quite tidy. Nice project to fix up. Are you keeping the same colour when re-spraying, or going a different one?

[Skara]

Definately keeping this one, just love this color on this car.

[Cavalier342]

It is a nice colour. Good decision.

[Lowrider Dave]

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking cavalier you have. Keep up the good work!

[Robsey]

Agreed - it is a lovely colour.

Amazing the difference a fresh coat of paint and lacquer will make.

I am guessing that your engine is the C16NZ2?

And I always liked those alloy wheels.
as found on the UK versions of your Ascona-C ( LXi ) and Vectra-A ( Expression).

Your English is perfectly fine - much better than some English people speak.
Oh - and welcome to the Vauxhall Cavalier family

[Skara]

Thanks everyone, engine is C16NZ, I haven't been able to find out what's the difference between C16NZ and C16NZ2.

[Cavalier342]

As far as I know, the NZ2 is a slightly refined version of the standard NZ, it has more similarities to the C18NZ. Someone will tell you exactly what components the NZ2 has, (Robsey) and will be able to tell you how to spot them, what they do and how to tell the difference.
Nice simple to work on engines, you'll find it a joy to service and carry out repairs on.

[Robsey]

If I remember correctly...

The C16NZ is a smaller "family 1" engine.

The C16NZ2 is the 1600cc version of the larger and later "family 2" engine as also used for the C18NZ .

I am guessing - but not certain that the 16NZ engine will have a standard V belt for the alternator, which is set manually.
The timing belt is also tensioned by rotating the water-pump body.

The later NZ2 engines will have a multi-vee flat belt for the alternator which has a sprung pulley for tensioning it.
The timing belt also has a sprung auto tensioner rather than relying on the water pump orientation.

I think the NZ2 also has a slightly more clever ignition system than the NZ.

(I am happy to be corrected as I do not have my books in front of me).

[Skara]

Heard about the ignition system but not for these other things, thanks for the info.

[humbucker]

Any updates? Has the car been painted?

[Skara]

Not yet mate, thanks for asking. I'm currently in the process of finding the best offer for painting, as soon as it's done I'll post them pictures here.

[Skara]

Ok then, a lot of dust has accumulated on this thread time to sweep it up. I'll try and keep it short I'm not much of a talkative guy so there will be mostly pictures but hey better something than nothing right.



As you can see on the images the car has been repainted in its original color (code E 549), that was about 2 years ago, this was the end result.



I enjoyed my freshly painted car for about 6 months and then this happened, I just can't describe my sadness at that exact moment.



After replacing the fender there was some work to be done on the car: new shocks and springs (Bilstein B12 pro kit), whole car has been polybushed, striped the starter motor and lubricated it, taken out intake manifold and injection unit striped and cleaned, gaskets replaced, injector cleaned, shortshifter mounted and many other things that are not on the pictures.



I apologise for the long post, in my defense I haven't posted anything for about 4-5 years.

[Robsey]

A lot of pictures of a great looking car.

Having a Vectra-A / Cavalier 3, always brings a lot of emotion.
Great happiness when everything works okay.
Great sadness when something breaks or someone damages your car.

Thank you for sharing.

[cavalier1990]

That looks pretty smart that one. Well done on the amount of work you've put in, hope you're keeping the car good, it looks like you are.

Andy

[Skara]

Thanks for the kind words, I'm doing my best to keep it on the road for as long as I can.

[Skara]

Just a minor update, new radio unit with retro look and modern technology and sound deadening on all doors plus parcel shelf. Next thing in line would probably be engine transplant. Until next time, stay well.

[Robsey]

I found that most of my outside noise comes through the 28 year old door seals.
Especially on rainy days.

Nice to see your car is still getting the love.

What engine are you going to fit?
I recommend going through the engine and ECU loom to ensure that all wiring and connectors are clean and in good condition.
Nothing worse than having running issues due to old damaged or dirty wiring.

[Envoy CDX]

Looks tidy!

[Skara]

The engine will be C20NE, I found cheap donor car with A/C (the summers are really hot out here so driving a car on a hot day without A/C is nearing mission impossible). I won't be doing the transplant as unfortunately I don't have a garage nor the space to do it but I'll make sure it's done as it should.

[Robsey]

I fitted a C20NE in place of my old C18NZ.
I did it on an open parking area.

It is not ideal, but can be done quite easily without a garage. But not nice during cold winter months.