I'm back in a Cav

[Pootz]

Well, after being taken ill on new years day 2016 I sold the cavalier and regretted it but needed something easier to get in and out of so bought a zafira.
Although it was vauxhall, it wasn't what I wanted so after thinking long and hard about it I put it on Gumtree and disposed of it and I'm now the proud owner of another Cavalier as of 1pm today.
It's a 2 litre CDX and needs a bit of work but has MOT until September and I knocked the price down to £250 so I'm well chuffed.
Main things it needs is a wing mirror and some scratches on the bumper and drivers front wheel arch sorting out but that will come with time.
I'll post some photos tomorrow after its had a clean as it was parked under a tree for 2 months.

Anyway....it's good to be back

[Robsey]

Welcome back.
Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

[Pootz]

Welcome back.
Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Cheers.
Will get them posted as soon as possible tomorrow

[Pootz]

As promised....some pics

[Robsey]

Looking nice.
Polar Sea Blue - a stunning colour in the bright sunshine.
Same colour and body shape as mine.

I wasn't aware that the CDX trim level came with Toyota floor mats - ha ha.

Still - a nice tidy example

[Pootz]

I forgot the mats were in there to be honest.
They were a free optional extra from the guy I bought it off.
I have a set of rubber mats to put in so they will be swapped over tomorrow.
Cheers for letting me know what the colour is as it will make it easier to source a wing mirror now
It's not as tidy as it looks in the photos as the scratches on the wheel arch and bumper are hard to see.
Hopefully I can find parts in the right colour as don't really want to start getting things resprayed

[Robsey]

From memory your paint code should be 13L / 282.

The colour code is on the bottom left corner of the plate rivetted to the top of the engine bay slam panel.

Yup only seems to find parts in that colour on ebay for Astra-G's.

But it is a common colour, so as easy to find that colour as any other colour on a scrap yard cavalier.

[Pootz]

Cheers

As for finding parts in scrap yards...I have a job finding scrap yards themselves round by me as they've all closed down.
That's the downside of owning older cars. I have to rely on eBay now and keep fingers crossed

[VectraGoVroom]

Oi, take a look at my thread. I've painted my mirror casings with Motip color-coded spray cans and got rather good results. It's quite an easy job, takes an afternoon if you have a warm place to paint, or do as I did and just bring the parts inside to dry. Car looks great, by the way.

[Pootz]

Oi, take a look at my thread. I've painted my mirror casings with Motip color-coded spray cans and got rather good results. It's quite an easy job, takes an afternoon if you have a warm place to paint, or do as I did and just bring the parts inside to dry. Car looks great, by the way.

I'll have a look at that.
May be my only option as all I can find that are reasonably priced are grey mirrors

[Lowrider Dave]

Tidy looking and a CDX for 250 notes - bargain. Love that colour too - my V6 had that.

[Pootz]

Tidy looking and a CDX for 250 notes - bargain. Love that colour too - my V6 had that.

Cheers
I'm hoping to get it tidier

[Robsey]

You can buy new mirror casings ready primer painted.

I think they work out at about £13 a side.

[Pootz]

You can buy new mirror casings ready primer painted.

I think they work out at about £13 a side.

Nice one cheers
My only reasoning for using second hand parts is because from previous experience new paint and original painting doesn't always mix well as the new can stand out too much and I'd like to keep as much factory paint as possible but I suppose on the mirror it wouldn't hurt whereas the bumper which I need to replace eventually is a rather large surface

Are these mirrors with primer a dealer item?

[Robsey]

I got mine from genuine parts search.
They are Vauxhall original parts.

I have just checked.
The left casing is unavailable, but the right side is at a stupidly high price (£22) just for the casing.

Part numbers are:-
90369190 - left
90349052 - right

If you paint them yourself, they shouldn't look too shiney.
Not unless you are a professional painter.
Or paint them but don't lacquer them.

[James McGrath]

Welcome back into the fold!

That looks lovely. Nice spec too.

[Pootz]

I got mine from genuine parts search.
They are Vauxhall original parts.

I have just checked.
The left casing is unavailable, but the right side is at a stupidly high price (£22) just for the casing.

Part numbers are:-
90369190 - left
90349052 - right

If you paint them yourself, they shouldn't look too shiney.
Not unless you are a professional painter.
Or paint them but don't lacquer them.

I'll need the whole thing that
Thanks anyway

[Pootz]

Welcome back into the fold!

That looks lovely. Nice spec too.

Thanks. It's good to be back

[Pootz]

Well it's off to the mechanics on Sunday as the head gasket has gone so instead of buying a mirror and other little things that I needed I'm afraid my cash has been diverted to get the gasket fixed.
Oh well...the joys of owning older cars I'm afraid

[Pootz]

Cav is now at the mechanics and he is going to start stripping the engine tomorrow (Monday).
Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping no other damage has been caused by the gasket going

I should get it back either Wednesday or Thursday so I'll post an update then unless I get any news beforehand

[Robsey]

Fingers crossed for you.

Hopefully the person you bought the car off, didn't flog you a lemon.

[Pootz]

Fingers crossed for you.

Hopefully the person you bought the car off, didn't flog you a lemon.

Cheers.
Worse case scenario is a new top end I reckon but I'm 90% certain it's going to be fine with a skim and gasket replacement

[Robsey]

The engines usually are quite bomb proof, so I am sure you are right.

It is just my cynical mind that wonders about the mind-set of the previous owner.
I am sure the car did not "just happen to blow it's head gasket" within a day or two of you picking it up.
Unless you gave the car a good blow out on the way home...Italian tune up.

That said though, I know my C18NZ was not very happy about being driven enthusiasticly.

My wife and I blew the gasket twice.
She blew it racing a Rover 220 turbo up a local motorway...
And I blew it a few years later keeping up with Squig in his V6 on the way back from a club meet in Buxton / Bakewell.

I was within the speed limit - honest guv'nor.

Since changing it to a C20NE, I have not had to work the engine as hard to get the same performance out of the car.
The extra 25 horsepower does make a huge difference.

[Pootz]

The engines usually are quite bomb proof, so I am sure you are right.

It is just my cynical mind that wonders about the mind-set of the previous owner.
I am sure the car did not "just happen to blow it's head gasket" within a day or two of you picking it up.
Unless you gave the car a good blow out on the way home...Italian tune up.

That said though, I know my C18NZ was not very happy about being driven enthusiasticly.

My wife and I blew the gasket twice.
She blew it racing a Rover 220 turbo up a local motorway...
And I blew it a few years later keeping up with Squig in his V6 on the way back from a club meet in Buxton / Bakewell.

I was within the speed limit - honest guv'nor.

Since changing it to a C20NE, I have not had to work the engine as hard to get the same performance out of the car.
The extra 25 horsepower does make a huge difference.

I'll was a good boy on the way home to be honest. As I didn't know the car and it's capabilities I took it nice and steady

[Robsey]

Which lends more weight to my cynicism.

These cars usually need to be neglected or abused to blow the gasket... although any gasket can fail after a lengthy period or moderately high mileage.