93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will get finished)

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Envoy CDX
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

The rebuild is going to take approx a year. I need to work on alot of bits outside of the car and juggle it between 5 exams, and a few other bits :'(

Yaris will be in service for a while yet I think.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

Still - it is a step in the right direction.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

Yup, I'd say so :D
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by James McGrath »

Fantastic news Gary.
Glad to hear it.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

Just been reading the first few pages.

Still love that colour.
Looking forward to seeing the progress over the next year or so :cool
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Lowrider Dave »

Great news Gary!
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

Thanks.
Yeah, I stil love the lagoon blue colour and I am currently torn between that and something slightly more modern. If I'm throwing this much cash at it, I may as well do something new to her right?
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

It is a personal preference thing.
Do you want to bring the Cavalier upto a "as new" but original standard or do you want something totally updated and unique?

My head was all over the place with my car.
But in my case it was the interior - totally original or totally updated to modern specs.

At this point, I am looking at original, but I still have a yearning for a totally modern and indevidual interior.

I thought that if you were going for a colour change, then you would go for Smoke Grey as a homage to Smokey.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

Robsey wrote:It is a personal preference thing.
Do you want to bring the Cavalier upto a "as new" but original standard or do you want something totally updated and unique?

My head was all over the place with my car.
But in my case it was the interior - totally original or totally updated to modern specs.

At this point, I am looking at original, but I still have a yearning for a totally modern and individual interior.

I thought that if you were going for a colour change, then you would go for Smoke Grey as a homage to Smokey.
The problem with having 6 years to ponder things, you have ALOT of ideas.
I have toyed with more modern variants of the Lagoon blue, similar colours, completely different colours not on the GM spectrum and then I've considered something so far off the map it isn't even funny (seriously, Candy Red with rainbow fleck crept in there at some point, and it was a very scary moment!)

Interior wise, you know some of the mods and such I am planning. Sadly, my aircon idea when out the window when I scrapped the SAAB cos I was too lazy to remove the required components.. Still, another time maybe!

Seats I have bounced a few ideas about and may have to look outside of the Vauxhall spectrum again, but I keep coming back to Vectra B seats. However, that said - nothing is concrete currently.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

So, today I got a phone call and I thought "Oh f...." but I was pleasantly surprised. Rear passenger side chassis leg is back in now :)

I will have some pictures of progress at the weekend :thumb
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

Soo, yesterday I went to see the Cav for the first time in probably 6-7 months (easily).

Took some pictures, but as it stands - Rear passenger side leg is refitted, needs the last 2 inches lopped off, folded and shaped as I was supplied with a Saloon variant. rear floor and inner rear arch has been repaired too.

So, rear view - leg sticking out the back there - rear panel was rotten on the lower half, so out with the grinder.
Image

some awkward view under the car - my knees are shot so I wasn't crawling about! - you can just see the jig made up to keep everything in the right place. It picks up on the front wishbone bolt holes. The rear seat base and the rear legs / rear axel mount.

Image

Lower inner wheel arch repairs installed and primed :)

Image
Image
Image
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Rear boot floor (passenger side) after the welds have been ground back. Rear corner has been repaired, drain holes to be put back in. But unsure if I want to go back out through the floor, or out the back panel.

Image
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

Spied more rust in the rear turret... out with the grinder:
Image
Hmm, that won't do at all - whizzy tool and a flap disc cleaned it up (eventually). If anyone says "It only takes a couple of minutes" to prep a panel - they are either VERY good, or extremely crap.. Prep takes time.
Image

Started cleaning off the underseal inside the arch.
Image
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Plate welded in, and spotted to the strengthening plate.

Image

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Rear turret repair pretty much cleaned up.
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Floor shot.
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Think this is ready for the scrap bin now :thumb
Image

6 years of corrosion on the brake discs. I think i'll need some discs and pads when this if finished :/
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

So, yes - progress has been made.
Looking at Jan for the bodywork to be somewhere near. Probably the later half of Jan at that. Depends how bad the winter is really.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

All very good progess.

That chassis leg looks almost new compared to my pile of flakey rust.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by James McGrath »

Great stuff. :thumb

Are you keeping the 1.8 MPI engine?
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

I am sure he will.
He does love his Cav Mk2 power plants.
A lot more bhp than the spi set up.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

James McGrath wrote:Great stuff. :thumb

Are you keeping the 1.8 MPI engine?
Well, in the short term.. yes. However, there are plans afoot.

a) either get more out of the engine, upgrade the management to a c20ne / 20seh management so I get things like injector cut off ( this involves dropping the crank and swapping the sense wheel), lighten and balance the crank, flywheel and so on whilst it's out.
b) replace it with something a bit more modern such as an x18xe2 (the smaller 1.8 16v lump found in Vectra's and Astra's.
c) Build some form of 18SE / 20SE hybrid with some form of forced induction...

I am currently torn between a and b as I have LOTS of 18SE spares.
Robsey wrote:All very good progess.

That chassis leg looks almost new compared to my pile of flakey rust.
In fairness, it is still very solid in overall. But this is something I didn't want to be revisiting later down the line.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by James McGrath »

I always liked the idea of a 1.8 MPI in a mk3, don't know why Vauxhall didn't put one in from the factory to be honest.

Personally I would go with option A
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

James McGrath wrote:I always liked the idea of a 1.8 MPI in a mk3, don't know why Vauxhall didn't put one in from the factory to be honest.

Personally I would go with option A
All boils down to funds. But as I have 3 of them (2 in bits, one in the car) I can probably sort something out.. The thing I like about the one in the car is it came out of a low milage Astra GTE and runs very sweetly.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by iangsi »

The 1.8SE 115 BHP is a great engine very under rated by a lot of people , the one in my mk2 Astra SRI pulls like a train especially over 3000 revs.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

Yup more bhp than a 20NE.

:cool
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Envoy CDX »

iangsi wrote:The 1.8SE 115 BHP is a great engine very under rated by a lot of people , the one in my mk2 Astra SRI pulls like a train especially over 3000 revs.
Yup, they really really do. However, it's the fuel they consume when belting the loud pedal that is upsetting. :mrgreen:

That said, more modern management would be nice I think.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by iangsi »

Envoy CDX wrote:
iangsi wrote:The 1.8SE 115 BHP is a great engine very under rated by a lot of people , the one in my mk2 Astra SRI pulls like a train especially over 3000 revs.
Yup, they really really do. However, it's the fuel they consume when belting the loud pedal that is upsetting. :mrgreen:

That said, more modern management would be nice I think.
That could be said of any engine when giving it boot fulls.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by Robsey »

Agreed - I am sure you will find a 2005 -2008 Vauxhall 1.8 engine is not particularly any more economical or oomphy than those fitted to the mk2 Cavaliers and Astras.

On my diagnotics forum, I hear of very similar economy figures from Zafira-Bs and Cs.
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Re: 93 Cav LS - Cav Number 3 (This one will will get finishe

Post by iangsi »

Agreed most modern engines are tuned (strangled) for economy & emissions.
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