Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

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cavalier1990
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Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

So finally I have got her home, my K plate Diplomat, Rembrandt Silver with Anthracite Leather and a total 78K on the clock. I went to garage where it was stored up today, gave the guy the sheckles, paid the tow man and got it home to my garage.

What's really amazed me about this car is every single thing that has happened to it since it was brand new has been documented, even including a running total of the miles clocked and the MPG etc. etc. boy was this old guy fastidious. I even have the brand new bill of sale for it from J Gillespie Vauxhall in Lenzie on the 6th of May 1993. And now the real shocker: the date it was purchased is the exact same day I passed my test would you believe :shock: . It cost £18532 brand new and he traded in a J plate 2.0i GL cavy P/E for £9532 !!

This is the first post I made about finding it.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15091

I will pull over the info I posted there just to keep it all in this post. Car is stored in my garage the now awaiting it's inevitable shake down and rebuild, of course keeping it as original as possible. Here;s some more pics of it including some I already had in the previous post.

Image

Notice the misaligned panel gaps where boot meets with wing on O/S, looks like it's been reversed into something as boot is crooked when shutting and panel gaps are out plus the orange reflector light is broken, indicating some sort of "trauma":

Image

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Amended information from old post:

Good points:
low miler 78k
Leather interior (not actually a great fan but it looks cool)
All interior looks still in good nick (electric sunroof works, headliner looks good etc. etc.)
Everything still feels tight/new inside
Well looked after and literally hundreds of receipts from day ONE yes from new! He even kept a log of the MPG from new - old guy lived close by andfrom what I am gathering he must have bought this to enjoy in his retirement as he was a doctor!
2.0 8 Valve
Diplomat
Lots of spares in boot
Original spare never used - how cool is that!
Bonnet not rotten or rusted anywhere - most of mine have been
Correct diplomat alloys

Bad points:
Most of the sills look as if they will need a good bit of work, especially front drivers and rear O/S but probably all corners once stripped back. It felt mostly like their was surface rust with paint peeling off more than actual rotten through rust.

Apparently the guy had had the sills and bottom of doors repainted several times. I don't know why this is but I would probably put it down to overall lack of use, maybe lying in damp garage, and being used for trips to UIST where the salt would have gotten to it. However running my hand along the downward facing lip where sill and floor join was solid enough feeling, as they usually are with cavys; that's the worst bit to fix on any car.

I've had a further look at receipts and he has had the sills and door skins "repaired", once in 2000 and again in 2005. I think it's probably a case of over reaction to rust on the sills, as having has a much better look most of the paint is peeling off the outward facing part of the sill, with surface rust and there is paint and surface rust flaking off of the downward facing part of sill at most points.

I havent ever seen this on a cavy, it's usually just plain and simple rust on the underside at both ends, usually rear sections the worst. I think the repair paint job, not being as good as factory finish, has deteriorated with resultant water ingress and acceleration of rust and paint peel.

Also noticed the very rear of boot floor where it meets back panel is holed through in what looks like the vast majority of the join line.

Back Arches look the same, some bits look more like the paint is flaking rather than bubbling, however more than likely it'll be new arches at some point.

N/S wing rotten at bottom so it's split and popped out a bit from being flush with door, also wing has a ding under the indicator so looks likely that will be getting replaced.

Outriggers at front have been "jacked on" so they look a bit mashed and quite rusty, they will probably need to be either removed or extensively reworked. I think I can thank kwik fit for this as they seem to have done quite a few tyre changes judging by reciepts!

Fuel leak, I put my hand under where the pipes go up under the tank and immediately felt a wet "drip" on the pipes, smelt it and was fuel. Not surprised the fuel pipes will probably be rotten. Had a further look at this and there has been a slap dash repair on the fuel pipe under rear floor to replace a rotten part of the pipe with an intermediate rubber pipe, which is still leaking.

Front and rear floors including the little drain hole nipples on floor look ok (these always rot out), back floor lip look a little rust but just surface and not structural - yet!

I'll not be surprised if the spring seats need done, every other one I have had needed it.

So all in all it's an honest car I think, I can tell it's lowish miles and has been (mainly mechancially) looked after and hardly been used by the old guy, shame he didn't try and keep on top of the bodywork more or clean the mud out from under the arches, and probably the sea salt from it when he got back from UIST; I put my hand under rear arches and it was absolutely caked with mud under the lip.
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Robsey
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by Robsey »

Nice honest car?
Hopefully.

Regarding muck under the arches- how many 96 year olds are still physically capable of walking without a stick, never mind getting under the arches with a hose and a brush?

Sill and arch work in 2000 and 2005?.
Suppose it depends upon the quality of the repairs, under-sealing and rust treatment. Still it is ten years since the last repair.

And chemicals have probably improved significantly in that time.

All in all - a good project car, with not too many surprises.

At least service history will indicate whether the usual fluid changes, service items and timing belt replacement are needed.
(Usually the first jobs on a new acquisition).
cavalier1990
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Robsey wrote:Nice honest car?
Hopefully.

I don't see anything to doubt that, and extensive paperwork alone backs that up.

Regarding muck under the arches- how many 96 year olds are still physically capable of walking without a stick, never mind getting under the arches with a hose and a brush?

Like most well to do owners, but not enthusiasts like ourselves, they keep the servicing/tyres/lights,exterior paint etc. up to standard but usually have no idea what's eating away at the metal underneath!

.
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Robsey
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by Robsey »

Well to do owners eh?
Sounds like Jeeves has been slacking on his duties. :p

Hopefully the rubbish weather will ease, and you will be able to have a good look and poke about to see how solid the old girl really is.

Another thread subscription beckons..
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by Lowrider Dave »

I like the sound of all that original documentation, so rare to get that nowadays. With a bit of love and careful metalwork this could be a lovely motor.
Lowrider Dave.

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cavalier1990
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

lowrider dave wrote:I like the sound of all that original documentation, so rare to get that nowadays. With a bit of love and careful metalwork this could be a lovely motor.
It's astonishing the maintenance that's been done to the car and how meticulous the owner was. Looking round the interior, door cards, trim, headlining, and all the switches all look brand new and everything feels really tight.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by Colorado »

Definitely worth spending time on it
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

First step get damp absorber kit from Halfords and place within interior. Front carpets are a bit wet, which will need some investigation. I noticed mould growing on the steering wheel and don't want to see the headlining going down the same road because it currently looks immaculate and had this on one of my old cavys, bugger to remove and spoils the total look of interior.
cavalier1990
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Checked the damp collector thingy yesterday and zilch water in it from Interior? Carpets feel a bit damp, not sure if they have been cleaned and never had time to dry out as the weather here has been atrociously wet; the carpets do look as if they have been cleaned, perhaps of mold as had been lying for a while. Oh well gave it another shot in the boot, lifted carpet and stuck it in right hand corner where its' a slightly damp as well; see what that turns up.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by humbucker »

Check your elephant trunk (ooer!), scuttle drain and the plastic bungs in the floor. The latter were missing on my Turbo, effectively flicking water directly onto the carpet underlay (which soaked it up like a sponge).
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

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cavalier1990
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

humbucker wrote:Check your elephant trunk (ooer!), scuttle drain and the plastic bungs in the floor. The latter were missing on my Turbo, effectively flicking water directly onto the carpet underlay (which soaked it up like a sponge).
Funnily enough pulled the trunk out the other day ( :lol: ) ! A check more than anything for rust, thankfully none, but quite a lot of muck built up in there. I will also check the plugs under the floor and the usual spots.

I do wonder where all this muck has came from that I am finding accumulated around the car. Under L/H wing was packed with it despite there being the usual wheelarch cover over it, same with under rear arches and in bulkhead trunk area; seems a lot for a car that has not done much all it's life.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Got a jack and had a better poke about underneath tonight. Managed to poke holes in both ends of the sills, the whole drivers side seems worse and while the 80% part between the ends is "solid" I think the surface rust is going to be just to much to rub down and treat for rust, but will judge that when I got it up in the air with all wheels off.

Back of rear chassis leg above exhaust on N/S looks pretty crumbly, spring seats look ok-ish, mainly flaking, probably could save them from welding but will find out once I get wheels off and right under. Also back panel is toast by the looks of it, mainly where it joins boot. Put my hand up under bumper and could feel it and can see it from inside boot as well where it joins boot panel.

Other bad news is all doors have a good bit of rust starting on the bottom joins, which is unfortunate, I've never seen a cavy with doors like this they are usually ok for rust. I'll probably need to get replacement doors all round as far too much work to reskin and all the that balony. Other thing is drivers wing is crumbly at bottom. So need another wing.

Good news is the floors on back and front look fine, bulkhead looks ok. I think it'll be a case of get the car up on the stands and get stuck in to see what's what. I've got a pair of rear arches so this one can get treated to new arches at the very least and a set of replacement doors and wings. Going to see what I can get away with regarding the sills . If it's just surface rust I may just treat it but the front and rear sections are going to need replaced at the very least.

Something else I noticed was running it and when I gave the throttle a jab it's had a bit of a misfire, maybe just as it's been lying so long I don't know but least of my concerns just now; this can wait till I get my other one back on road.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by Robsey »

Hmm plenty to have a go at.
It's a good job we love Cavaliers.

I had rust on the rear near side door.
It ended up as a hole about 7 or 8 inches long.

It was so bad, you could see the central locking loom inside. Oops!!

A dented but solid door made a good repair.
You'll be pleased to know that door pins are quite cheap. About 43 pence each.

Regarding the sills - it depends how far you wish to go. Also depends on how good any post welding protection is.

Not that I am expert - I am not by a long stretch.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Robsey wrote:Hmm plenty to have a go at.
It's a good job we love Cavaliers.

I had rust on the rear near side door.
It ended up as a hole about 7 or 8 inches long.

It was so bad, you could see the central locking loom inside. Oops!!

A dented but solid door made a good repair.
You'll be pleased to know that door pins are quite cheap. About 43 pence each.

Regarding the sills - it depends how far you wish to go. Also depends on how good any post welding protection is.

Not that I am expert - I am not by a long stretch.
If it's any consolation I've got an honours degree in welding cavalier sills :) I'm just going to take it as it comes. I'm thinking that most of the rust on them is external, not working it's way from inside out so that might help me decide whether to cut the whole sill and replace or patch, although some bits seem a bit tinnier than others so if it looks like I might be patching all over then I'll just plum for a full replacement.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Gave the sparkies a wee clean out, nothing untoward but if I'm really picky far right plug looked a bit darker than the other ones. Original GM plugs of course judging by maintenance record not surprised. Ordered other wing for drivers side, which I think has arrived at my folks house. Rocker gasket leaking quite badly, suspect either loose bolts, gasket or clogged breather mesh and pipes, or combination of those. Gasket looks ok from what I can see of it however might be toast.

Goals are to get my 1.8 ls back on the black, then get stuck into this one. Once "summer" arrives I can get more work done on the polar blue express!
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Next wee job was to go round the wheels and try removing each hub cap cover. The little locking nuts looked ominously rusty so decided to shock them with the flat end of a 1/2" extension bar, because the flat end wouldn't damage the flat face of the locking nut, however I did have to reopen the pin holes a little with a punch end as the bar was flattening the face. I now have all but one cover off as can't budge the R/N/S locking bolt. Not sure of next step, likely some sort of chisel although I don't want to knock the head from the bolt and end up with the thread stuck on the wheel if possible.

While I was mucking about in the garage I let the car run up to temp, pumped tyres up and decided to give it a drive in and out of garage. First thing I noticed after letting temp rise up the fan wasn't appearing to kick in. I know from experience on other cavs it kicks in about 3/4 up the needle however nothing happened so decided to switch off.

Also noticed when I was moving the auto box selector back and forth that the sport light on dash came on and was flashing. I have a similar problem on a vx senator, fix was turn off/on to reset so that's what I done. On moving the car back and forth I noticed a bit of a bang underneath when I selected reverse and jabbed the throttle. Noticed the reverse torque is quite violent on the auto, using same gas prod you would use for moving forward, so likely a worn mount or selector, perhaps exhaust mount too.

Not worried about that right now but things too note down for future attention.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by Robsey »

I have next to no understanding of auto-boxes.

Sounds like fun.
As per the other thread, I would use bent-nosed needle-nosed / snipe-nosed pliers or bent nosed cir-clip pliers to get those little bolts out.

Replacement sets including matching keys are still readily available from your favourite on-line auction site.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Robsey wrote:I have next to no understanding of auto-boxes.

Sounds like fun.
As per the other thread, I would use bent-nosed needle-nosed / snipe-nosed pliers or bent nosed cir-clip pliers to get those little bolts out.

Replacement sets including matching keys are still readily available from your favourite on-line auction site.
Hmm that sounds like a worthwhile idea, or two thin screwdrivers one in each 'ole and a pair of grips get it moving. I'd probably have got it moving if it weren't for the flimsy plastic key, why they not make it metal the dunderheeds!
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

Was cleaning up photobucket folders and moved dippy pics into own folder so link URL has changed and pics in first post are gone (cant edit first post?)
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by James McGrath »

cavalier1990 wrote:Was cleaning up photobucket folders and moved dippy pics into own folder so link URL has changed and pics in first post are gone (cant edit first post?)
Fixed!
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

James McGrath wrote:
cavalier1990 wrote:Was cleaning up photobucket folders and moved dippy pics into own folder so link URL has changed and pics in first post are gone (cant edit first post?)
Fixed!
Cheers James
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by FatherTed »

Diplomat saloon is possibly my favourite spec! :love

Regarding the auto issues, I would recommend removing the selector switch on top of the gearbox and giving it a good clean out and re-grease. This thing tells the car what position the gear lever is in. It unbolts and the wiring plugs detach; you can then dismantle the switch, clean the contacts and put some fresh grease in there!

Good luck with the welding, very worthwhile saving this car I'd say :)
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

FatherTed wrote:Diplomat saloon is possibly my favourite spec! :love

Regarding the auto issues, I would recommend removing the selector switch on top of the gearbox and giving it a good clean out and re-grease. This thing tells the car what position the gear lever is in. It unbolts and the wiring plugs detach; you can then dismantle the switch, clean the contacts and put some fresh grease in there!

Good luck with the welding, very worthwhile saving this car I'd say :)
Cheers, I think there's going to be quite a bit of welding and bodywork to do although made easier by having the arch panels and 2 new wings. Quite glad I saved it, was so close to getting crushed.
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Re: Rescued a One elderly Owner K plate Diplomat saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

While I had some spare time the other night decided to try and get the wheel nut cover off the rear N/S wheel. Since the fastener was stuck solid I resorted to the old hammer and chisel and split a line in the wheel cover downwards towards the bottom of the wheel, then more or less peeled it off. The cover was shot anyways so wasn't bothered.

Next step - jack rear end up and whip the wheels off, inspect the underside with a careful eye to see what work I am going to need to do to the old dippy. Well I wasn't disappointed I suppose. Plenty for me to do under there. From my pokings about I reckon that I am probably better off ripping the sills and arches off, and the whole lower back end behind the bumper will need done too, including the inner arch where it meets the boot well right at the back, and at the sill end where the little rubber grommets are. Basically the usual spots on the cav.

The difficult thing with this is that a lot of areas are crusty, but some spots are just surface rust so it's hard to tell where is rotten and where is not. The chassis leg at back N/S looks shot but it's mainly just crust.

Saving grace is the floors seem ok with only some crust at the back of the rear floor pan, also bulkhead is ok,. Rusty bulkhead is what I really would not have wanted to see.


So lets go through some of the pics I took. The first one is just a general underneath shot looking kind of at an angle towards the front O/S from back N/S.

Image

This next pic one shows N/S sill with rust, mainly just crust on N/S but still with holes at front and rear ends of sill where it usually happens. Looking inside the sill where the holes are I'm relieved to see the inner sills are intact with all white paint on them.

2
This one is another general underneath shot but more from the back directly to other side. If you can see it the leaky fuel pipe is just visible and the small stain left. I put that little yellow tray under it to catch the fuel when it is running. Was expecting to see crumbling pipes when I looked under but they don't look that bad really. I think it's more the rubber pipe that is perhaps leaking than the metal.

Image

This shows picture of the little drain nipple on the back floor, which is usually succumbed to tin worm by now but nope, not on this, as I said floors seems to have escaped the worst of the rust.

Image

Rear floor on N/S here showing slight crusting starting on floor but nothing requiring welding, so more treatment required and keep an eye on it.

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And now for one of the really bad bits, back N/S of sill, rusting away nicely. /well I'm a dab hand at repairing these, just rinse and repeat!

Image

And the next really bad bit! Rear N/S spring seat is sporting an iron oxide induced hole with layers of crust above to top it off!

Image

And if you thought that was bad, and I didn't, then look at this. One absolutely crumbling rear lower quarter. This was more or less disintegrating on ever bit I touched here. Think I need to call in the A Team to patch this one up :)

Image

Other spots I noticed while closer to the front were inner wheelarch just behind wheel, again the usual spot, defo on N/S and feels more than likely on O/S. Good thing is got templates for rear spring chassis section, can buy spring plates, and also got templates for sill section if I decide to try and repair rather than replace. I'll only know that when I start grinding it down so keep your eyes peeled for updates in coming weeks when I start getting into this.
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