Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Fitted, new cam, followers and thrust pads. Stripped, cleaned and rebuilt the lifters and replaced the head gasket while I was on as there were signs of it starting to go.

Timing belt was replaced for good measure, cam box was scrubbed out, top of the head was scrubbed out (18 years of bad servicing from the looks of things)

Bought some locking nuts for the new wheels and fitted those.
Car started first turn of the key, and sounds lovely

You got the lot done then, the Cav will be running like a dream now.Did you use the cam you had for the other engine? We need pics of new wheels too.

Greig

Greig Sri wrote:You got the lot done then, the Cav will be running like a dream now.Did you use the cam you had for the other engine? We need pics of new wheels too.

Greig

Cheers, it's running a new cam (for an 18SV) along with new (lighter) followers and some bog standard FAI thrust pads.
It's running alot better now, just done around 40-50 miles in it and I can't really hear anything other than the slight blow on the exhaust.
Will get some pictures once the cav has been washed, clayed and polished, hopfully tomorow as I'm off to bed now.

So, tonight, I went to a mates to borrow the pressure washer and set too on the cav





More pictures to come but you get the general idea, wish there were some before pictures now I think about it, but still have the wings, doors and tailgate to claybar and polish at some point.

That is looking really great,

don't know how you find the time for all this, but it looks well worth it.

No matter how bad you felt your car was, mine has got 14 years of washing, t-cutting and polishing to catch up on...

Makes me feel a little naff to see what a lot of tlc can do to really perk up the looks and drive of your car...even if it is the back-up car in your case.

keep up the good work..then when your cars are done, mine needs a good going over!!

Robsey wrote:That is looking really great,

don't know how you find the time for all this, but it looks well worth it.

No matter how bad you felt your car was, mine has got 14 years of washing, t-cutting and polishing to catch up on...

Makes me feel a little naff to see what a lot of tlc can do to really perk up the looks and drive of your car...even if it is the back-up car in your case.

keep up the good work..then when your cars are done, mine needs a good going over!!

Actually, it's now my daily drive due to the silver one rotting in not so safe places
I appreciate your opinions on this, as I was a little disheartened when I first started working on this Cav, but it's starting to give me the opinion that it's a little diamond in the rough so to speak.

You'll have to pop up sometime as we'll have a good going over the car see what can be done with your paint work

I could do a W.I.P of my own, but it would be better described as R.I.P, as I just seem to run it into the ground!!

All work and no play makes Robsey a miserable old git!! and his Cavvy very sad.

As regards to popping up, you are about 3 hrs up the motorway(s), so as said in another thread, I'll have to find out when the better half is going to see her friend in Chester-le-Street, only a couple of junctions down the motorway from you. (Jn63 iirc). and then I'll dump her there for the day.

I promise it won't be at 5:00am (There's only one 5 o'clock in my day (pm)

Robsey wrote:I could do a W.I.P of my own, but it would be better described as R.I.P, as I just seem to run it into the ground!!

All work and no play makes Robsey a miserable old git!! and his Cavvy very sad.

As regards to popping up, you are about 3 hrs up the motorway(s), so as said in another thread, I'll have to find out when the better half is going to see her friend in Chester-le-Street, only a couple of junctions down the motorway from you. (Jn63 iirc). and then I'll dump her there for the day.

I promise it won't be at 5:00am (There's only one 5 o'clock in my day (pm)

I don't get home till 7:45am most days anyhow
Aye, I'm sure it would be a good day, so we'll see how things pan out, never know we might sort out those running issues
Get a WIP started too, it'll be good to see what we have to work with

I'm making it mandatory for you to have a WIP started before Friday

Oh blimey...
Have you been talking to her indoors...

Ah well got my orders now...

I'll let you return to your own W I P now, apologies for yet another diversion!!

Robsey wrote:Oh blimey...
Have you been talking to her indoors...

Ah well got my orders now...

I'll let you return to your own W I P now, apologies for yet another diversion!!

Chin up, it's not that bad I don't mind the diversions - honest.

I'll see what archive pictures are available...

Between us we have had the car since 5th December 1995, so about 14 1/2 years..
that's a lot of research / looking back..

No problem chin is up, will see what I can do to keep it interesting.

The main changes have been since february 2009, but that will be another thread

Robsey wrote:I'll see what archive pictures are available...

Between us we have had the car since 5th December 1995, so about 14 1/2 years..
that's a lot of research / looking back..

No problem chin is up, will see what I can do to keep it interesting.

The main changes have been since february 2009, but that will be another thread

excellent

The paint is good in the pics.

Greig

Greig Sri wrote:The paint is good in the pics.

Greig

Thanks theres a good few stone chips in it.

Omega B wiper and FC stalk wired in, washed the Cav several times and each time some stupid bird has took a dump on it

It's always the way mate... my advice, shoot the bird...

Squig wrote:It's always the way mate... my advice, shoot the bird...

Aye, knowing my luck I'd hit the cav

I live next to a guy who keeps racing pigeons...

The only 5h1t3 hawks round here are the local kids and visiting chavs in their puntos and saxos..

Rather pissed off at the minute, all the work me and a friend put into cleaning the head out the other weekend and the bastard thing is just pressurising the hoses to the rad all the time now

I'm hoping its just an airlock or something.

either that, or the wrong head gasket perhaps.

Well, couldn't sleep last night, so I whipped the cap off, topped up the coolant ran it up to temp a few times let the fan kick in, watched it glug another half a header tank and settle. Hoses seemed fine after a 10 mile drive, so heres hoping.

Changed the plugs on the cav this morning (something I've been meaning to do for a while now) and noticed the hose from the thermostat to the rad had collapsed... Changed that at it seems to be running MUCH better now (I have no idea how that works though..)

No idea either, but at least it's much better

While you are checking hoses etc, check those at the back of the engine from the matrix and also from the manifold heating pipes.

Mine were very badly split on the waterpump stubs, pumping loads of fluid out last november.

On the whole my car has been water-tight ever since.

Thinknig about investing in a Silicone hose kit, the hose I took off was original (stamped Aug 93) I'll get some pictures of it up later on.

Just trying to justify the £220 on hoses is all