My 1993 SRI 16v

[Oggy 1978]

[https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lx9HwEHkfjjY1FhL9]
Just few pics of my sri 16v as it was as a preserved police car and how it it now still a lot to do but getting there.

[vexorg]

If you use something like imgbb.com then you can embed the images into a thread easier. Google doesn't seem to offer a separate link.

[Robsey]

Ah - I see you have gone down the same wheel colour scheme as me. even down to the red centre badges.
At least you have the correct centre caps.
Mine are modified Astra caps I think...



I could never decide whether I liked gun-metal grey on my car.
Other members like it though.

If it is an ex-police car, I hope you are good with electrics.
Police electrical installers were not the best at fitting or removing the extra gubbins fitted to their cars.

I recommend at least a good manual with wiring diagrams.

[Oggy 1978]

I really didn't know what colour to do the wheels i narrowed it down to original silver, white or gunmetal, i saw another white cav with off white fan blades and it just looked a bit much (still nice though). So i did a coin toss with gunmetal and silver and gunmetal won, I'm glad it did i am really pleased with the look. 90% of the police wiring has now been removed and put back to standard that was a fun project but i managed to get it done over a long weekend. The main issue has been body work whoever fitted the livery cut it with a stanley or razor blade on the car cutting into the paint and over time water has got under the paint so when i removed the livery most of the paint came with it so i have had to do quite a bit of spraying and prep.

[thomas]

Welcome Oggy.

I'm very tempted by that gunmetal, darker grey for the wheels for mine which are peeling in places, as are the center caps, as are the badges. I need two more wheels so I can get them powder-coated in pairs without the car being off the road. Looking in-period 'original' matters to me too, but not uncompromisingly, rigidly.

Those red (too loud for mine but not for an SRi) centers look the same size as I have -are they about 7.4cm diameter too?. Never found anything suitable on that well-known auction site, when searching last time for some. I'm running low on good badges then was given some and some spare thru'penny bit shaped alloy centers, (cheers Craig, you legend!) which saved the day. The badges seemed to have been stuck on with an adhesive weaker than that used on post-it notes, and I have lost a few, blasting them off with the jet wash, then driving over them squashing them flat.

Thought maybe the lighter coloured cars would suit the darker wheels, and the darker coloured cars, the lighter wheels, now not so sure.

Like these though, less loud than dazzlingly silver, more stealthy.

[3cav3]

Have seen this car before on websites and dvds, personally I'd of kept it as a police car, but each to their own. Got to admit it does look good in the current photos, though.

[James McGrath]

I really don't want to be negative as you've obviously put in a lot of effort but I'm not sure how enthusiastic I can get about this project.

I believe that this car used to belong to one of our members about 5 or 6 years ago.
It was one of the only police Cavaliers left and certainly the most intact example.
I believe the previous owner left it to the museum so that it would be preserved.

[Robsey]

I believe the previous owner left it to the museum so that it would be preserved.

Ah - I presume this was Bob's car.
I agree that there would be a lot of mixed thoughts about this car -

If it ever did go to the museum, maybe they had to sell it on - but I get the feeling that it never got there.

Maybe Bob is related to Oggy.

On the up-side, the car is getting a new lease of life, and it really isn't practical to have a fully liveried police car as a daily driver.

And on the negative, it is tinged with some sadness and disappointment that a virtual one-off is going to be changed forever to the point it will become "just another Cavalier" and not a piece of history.

Maybe, someone on here would buy the ex-police parts and make up their own replica.
I am sure that it could be done - assuming there are enough photos to work from.

Do you fancy converting one of yours James?
Use it as an exibit at one of your historic locations

[Oggy 1978]

I'm afraid i don't know Bob, I wonder if this was another police car although as far as i know this is the only original sri 16v ex police car left it did have a sister car in the force but i don't know what happened to that one. This car has never been offered to a museum as far as i am aware. My father purchased this vehicle in 2016 and i think somebody called Nick owned it from 2012 this is when it was used for filming etc. I knew this project would be controversial as it is a genuine piece of vauxhall history but the vehicle was offered for sale in full police guise for at least 18 months and after several i will have it and then excuses the only genuine offers for it was someone who wanted to grass track it or me. The livery had to come off anyway for the bodywork to be sorted as whoever fitted it cut it on the car so water got behind the paint and started to lift it all, plus it had been slightly modified from original to suit filming. I have kept all the police kit and have photos and measurements of all the livery and when i come to sell, if i do it will be put back to full police spec i think this is a little better future than a grass tracker although each to their own. As Robsey mentioned it is a complete pain to have a fully liveried police car as a daily driver, police attention, vandalism keeping a log of every journey you make to prove where you have been for the police and making sure all markings, crests and logos are covered whilst on the road i can't afford to have it as second vehicle as every penny i have is invested in this so i need a daily driver plus i haven't got a garage so it becomes a target overnight.

[Robsey]

Now you mention the name Nick -
Hmmm - you could be right.
The years have confused my tired old grey cells.

Here we go...

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9799&p=99745#p99745

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=9803&p=99732#p99732

And a video

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=10562&p=107909#p107909

Don't worry Oggy,
I know James wasn't being judgemental.
History is his passion, but his comments as always are carefully worded and reasoned.

Overall - it is a Cavalier, and it is being cared for rather than run into the ground, or left to rot behind the concealment of police livery.

What was a historic vehicle, could be made historic again in the future.
So all is not bleak.

[James McGrath]

Ah, OK.
The last time I spoke to Nick I think he was considering leaving it to a museum. I guess that never came to fruition.

As Robsey says, history is my passion but also my profession. I work as a Conservator for the National Trust. (basically I look after the collection)
So my natural instinct is to keep things as original as possible.

Sounds like you're being very sympathetic though; keeping all the original parts and documenting the changes.
That's the important thing really.

[iangsi]

I remember seeing this car & Nick at a meet I went to at a now closed car museum, he had a load of old police uniform in the boot to complete the illusion.

https://www.vauxhallcavalier.com/forum/ ... 19&t=12445