1994 Cavalier LSi C20NE (was C18NZ) Work-horse

[Robsey]

That sounds great, and is very much appreciated.

I should get under the car and make a proper appraisal of the underbody, pending any decent weather.

Less Procrastinating!!

[Robsey]

I got under the car to see what was what...

The bad bit first -
The left / near-side is toast.
Crumbly, flaky and disintegrates to the touch.
Funbar'd.
But the floor pan above it feels solid enough.





Better prognosis...
The right / off-side is still quite solid, and the metal of the floor pan itself is also quite solid.



A bit of vactan or other rust treatment should keep it a little happier for a while longer.

Could have been a lot worse after being stood for nearly 30 rain filled months...

[3cav3]

After some of the things I've found on my van, it doesn't look to daunting. Personally I'd cut the ns one off, wire brush and see how solid the metal underneath is. If sound, shouldn't take to long to reattach a new one.

[Envoy CDX]

Yeah, do the left side now. Right hand side has a bit of life left in it.

[Robsey]

Well I finally bit the bullet - Outer reinforcer ordered.

No idea how long it will take to arrive.
I presume it will be coming direct from Klokkerholme in Holland, rather than from Carz2 in Malvern.
So lord knows when they will remember to stick it on the boat.
When I ordered chassis rails in 2016, they forgot to put one side on the boat... apparently they only shipped once a month.!!
The second rail arrived about six weeks after the first.

The gutter is the carriage costs... £15 for mainland UK.
Don't ask for Scotland...

For info - details are:-
KK5076781 Cavalier 89-95 N/S cross rail reinforcer panel outer section

Was - £85.00
Now - £67.85

It was only £73 (not discounted price) a month ago.
A bit of kidology going on here if you ask me.

[thomas]

Scotland!

Some are too wide in their restrictions, have seen a few postal exceptions which were just insulting.

Yesterday, a seller who refused to ship to Scottish Islands, in that he included all of the PA postcode area, which is Paisley and Renfrewshire, it's practically suburban Glasgow, for the sake of the few islands if any, that come under the PA postcode, possibly just Great Cumbrae/Millport?

Won't buy from sellers where possible who won't ship anywhere universally to the remotest nowhere at flat-rate.

More common is KA, much of Ayrshire excluded for the sake of an island or two.

[Robsey]

Indeed - I think 'Scotland' was £24 and somewhere else (still in the UK) was £35.
Crazy shipping charges.

Lets hope the part is a good fit for that price.

[Envoy CDX]

Wants to be for that money!

You could make a boxey one to get it through an MOT if you don't care how it looked, rather than ordering the panel. But then, you'd probably kick yourself later.

[Robsey]

You could make a boxey one to get it through an MOT if you don't care how it looked, rather than ordering the panel. But then, you'd probably kick yourself later.

After all the work put in by Troy back in 2015-2017, it would be somewhat crap of me to do anything less than an original looking repair.

Suppose now is as good a time as any to rip out all the modules and ecu's. Plus the front seat and carpets.
At least my retro-fit sound deadening / underlay isn't glued to the floor.

[Envoy CDX]

Rip out? :/

[ilovedmymantas]

Good to hear the cav's getting it's 'ounce of prevention' ( 28.xx grams doesn't have the same ring to it! ).

Lets hope the part is a good fit for that price.

I think Klokkerholme lead the aftermarket parts table because there's little or no competition?

My rear arch panels weren't great, the grooves above the bumper/bumper strip aren't parallel .
Fortunately your part is a hidden one so any fettling to make it fit won't be seen

[Robsey]

Rip out? :/

Okay - I shall carefully extract the engine ECU, Scorpion alarm, Vectra-B remote central locking module, and the airbag module from the car interior.

We all know that the harsh splurges of the welding process can damage any electronic device.

Most are easily accessible after removing various trim panels to remove the front carpets.

Good to hear the cav's getting it's 'ounce of prevention'...

I think Klokkerholme lead the aftermarket parts table because there's little or no competition?

My rear arch panels weren't great, the grooves above the bumper/bumper strip aren't parallel .
Fortunately your part is a hidden one so any fettling to make it fit won't be seen

I can get VW parts from many sources, but Cavalier parts suppliers are a lot more limited.

The rear arch panels never quite line up.
I know Troy had to do a bit of cutting and shutting to make mine look pukka.

As for weighing an ounce... I hope that I can give it as much as it needs without the car taking its four pound of flesh in return. We know how thankful these cars are - hence the name Cavalier... never a more apt name given to a car.

[Envoy CDX]

Rip out? :/

Okay - I shall carefully extract the engine ECU, Scorpion alarm, Vectra-B remote central locking module, and the airbag module from the car interior.

We all know that the harsh splurges of the welding process can damage any electronic device.

Most are easily accessible after removing various trim panels to remove the front carpets.

You know me, I am pedantic.

[James McGrath]

Ouch! Has that all happened since the restoration?

[Robsey]

Hi James,
Yes it is just over five years since the resto was finished (March 2017).
Sadly for the past two years, the Cav has been parked up, out in all weather on an exposed hill-side car park.

As it happens the new near side panel has arrived.
Surprisingly small, thin and thinly painted for the money.
Quite disappointing at the quality...
I was spoilt by the excellent quality of the rear chassis rails.

Anyway here is the part in question.







Just need to pray for good weather and motivation to get it sorted.

[cavalier1990]

Remember to drill 2 drain holes in the lower section between the 2 big holes. Then copious amounts of primer/underseal inside the box to keep the tin worm away. Wish they made these for the senator!

[Robsey]

Remember to drill 2 drain holes in the lower section between the 2 big holes. Then copious amounts of primer/underseal inside the box to keep the tin worm away. Wish they made these for the senator!

Let it be so...



Drilled 2 x 3.5mm holes,
Dressed smooth,
Painted with Vactan,
Painted with Rustoleum Rust Restorer matt black primer paint.


Then coated the "hidden" areas with lots of epoxy primer



To be followed by more black paint. Possibly hammerite smooth for the win.

[Envoy CDX]

Pre fitting prep?

[Mk3alan]

Shame it's out of sight!

Alan

[Robsey]

Pre fitting prep?

I am prepping in advance, so that all the protection is fully cured. I will use an abrasive wheel to whizz off the coating immediately around the proposed weld locations.
I will do the same with the underbody.
Hopefully this way, there will be minimal exposed metal open to the elements.

Shame it's out of sight!
Alan

Out of sight usually means out of mind, so potentially will be forgotten about in future...
I am not very good at proactive / pre-emptive maintenance.

So needs to be well coated to take into account of my future laziness.

[Envoy CDX]

Pre fitting prep?

I am prepping in advance, so that all the protection is fully cured. I will use an abrasive wheel to whizz off the coating immediately around the proposed weld locations.
I will do the same with the underbody.
Hopefully this way, there will be minimal exposed metal open to the elements.

Makes sense, it'll look great when done, and will hopefully get the Cav back on the road when funds allow.

[cavalier1990]

Looks good mate, I noticed mine is starting to rust a bit round the edges, probably not enough black goo, so slather it in the stuff once your done.

[Robsey]

Minor update:-

I was testing the Megamos alarm in the Cavalier.

I used a really old battery to test it.
It was taken out of the car last year because it was completely cream-crackered, but hopefully enough balls to operate the anti-theft unit.

A re-jig of the flasher relay wires got the indicators working with the anti-theft unit.

Unfortunately it would appear that the wire for the hatch light is not connected in the back somewhere.

My horn relay is not wired up in the Swiss style (relay terminal 85 is not connected to the alarm connector).
So the car stayed quiet when I triggered the alarm.

Just for giggles I tried cranking the car.
Despite being stood for several months and recent wet weather, after a few cranks, the car fired up.
It was initially reluctant to keep idling until the engine had chance to warm up and dry out.
Then it just purred as if it had only been used yesterday.
Pretty good for the last dregs of 3 1/2 year old E5 standard 95 octane fuel (before Covid and before E10).

[Envoy CDX]

Nice! It'll be running properly in no time. Look forward to seeing it back on the road
We need an end of year coffee catchup!

[Robsey]

Aye - long overdue a catch-up cuppa.

Sadly the Cav will be going nowhere any time soon.
Probably Easter at the earliest.

UPDATE - 14/11/2022.
Took the loom out today, so that I could make a few tweaks on the loom.

Looking down, I found that both front footwells were sopping wet.
Hopefully just due to ambient condensation from being stood... I can do without the car raining in...