Hatch rebuild and transplant

[Readie]

Hi guys! First post just new to the site.

So I've had my red ls c20ne hatch for about 8 years now and has been in the garage for the past 2. I acquired a new red shell which had been resprayed but not finished and with no engine. however the interior is just about mint condition, full leather, front is heated, electric sunroof and electric windows. I got the shell about 2 years ago and its sat in my unit on the ramps ever since. Yesterday I decided to make a start and stripped the whole underside.
Although the underside is not too bad I'm going to strip it back to bare metal and it's getting coated in upol raptor.
Just thought I would do a build thread for anyone interested.




I was going to pop the c20ne engine from my other cav into this, but have decided to fit the z20let engine to it for a bit more fun! Probably going to build it to about 350bhp nothing huge but enough to be a bit of a hand full. I have a mk4 astra cabby turbo as my daily which is nice but it's not as much fun as cavalier.
Hope you guys enjoy my build thread!
I'm still undecided on what brakes to run so if anyone has done similar and has brake info it would be appreciated!

Cheers

[Cavalier342]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Sounds interesting, we've had a lot of folks here putting in various higher performance engines from Saabs, Astras, etc. I'm no expert by any means, although if I remember rightly, some folks put on Saab brakes as they are larger and more heavy duty than the Cavalier ones.

Regards.

[iangsi]

Hello & Welcome, what's up with the mk2 astra ?

[Robsey]

what's up with the mk2 astra ?

As with all enthusiasts, it has to join the queue for restoration.

Near side front door looks like it is under-going repairs.

I think, if you are putting a beefy engine into the car, you will need to fit V6 suspension, brakes and 5-stud wheels.

And at that sort of bhp, I would look at fitting extra shell bracing / strengtheners to cope with the extra strain going through the shell.

Looking forward to see this one develop.

The mk4 Astra Z20LET has been tried a few times now, so we know it can be done with a lot of careful planning and adaptation.

Here is TurboDan's thread from a few years ago.
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2934&start=275