Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

I think any reasonably thick water-proof (oil based liquid) would work fine.

old oil of any type should be fine...I understand that diesel has more waxey additives in it and so diesel engine lubricating oil may not need to be as protective as say standard oil.

Unleaded petrol tends to strip / wash any kind of lubrication from the cyclinder walls, and so the engine is more reliant upon the sump oil for protection and lubrication.
Hence the need for hardened valve guides etc.

The old leaded fuel (4 star) used to use the lead content for lubrication...

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I do believe that this is so

Yep, can't beat pattern parts...
also I didn't realise until a few years ago, that the black coating on panels needs to be removed via sanding, before painting, or else the panel finish will be ruined.

I had thought niaively that the black paint would easily paint over...nope it does not..(not for a suitable exterior finish anyway)

Robsey wrote: also I didn't realise until a few years ago, that the black coating on panels needs to be removed via sanding, before painting, or else the panel finish will be ruined.

I had thought niaively that the black paint would easily paint over...nope it does not..(not for a suitable exterior finish anyway)

its a pain in the ass to remove as i've had the same problems in the past. i asked a mate who's a panel beater and sprayer and he says to key it with a scotch bright pad then needs 2 coats of primer. its a kind of etch primer that protects the panel of rusting. the pattern part black is total crap

Tell me about it...

I welded in a rear n/s wheel arch to my Mk2 Cavalier Saloon - in white.
I keyed in the black paint to ensure a good adhesion, and then sprayed 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of white.

Within hours, the panel turned a snotty cream colour.

The weld looked great,in fact I'd dressed and filled it well, but the colour looked embarrassingly awful.

Now I would completely sand off all the black, tack wipe,
etch prime surface and then prime and paint until finished.

(Wet and dry smoothing between coats)

Robsey wrote:Tell me about it...

I welded in a rear n/s wheel arch to my Mk2 Cavalier Saloon - in white.
I keyed in the black paint to ensure a good adhesion, and then sprayed 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of white.

Within hours, the panel turned a snotty cream colour.

The weld looked great,in fact I'd dressed and filled it well, but the colour looked embarrassingly awful.

Now I would completely sand off all the black, tack wipe,
etch prime surface and then prime and paint until finished.

(Wet and dry smoothing between coats)

its hard to get all the black paint of as i have the nobbles for the body kit clips.

might have a go using a non reactive paint primer from my paint suppliers. i must say i have not really had a problem with leaving the black on. only thing i find is it can chip easily if you dont key it well. i did my wheelarch a couple years ago it was a quick job but looks ok nobody has noticed anyhow.

Key the surface, scotchbrite, tackcloth, give it a good coat of etch, followed by 2 good coats of primer (3 if using rattle cans in my opinion), guidecoat and lightly flat back, then 3-5 coats of top coat.

bit of an update. i have finished welding the sill on and ground down all the welds ready for a slight skim of filer.

pleased with my results so far.

pics to follow

Great, looking forward to seeing your progress

Pics?

Envoy CDX wrote:Pics?

yes there's pics lol. just need to upload them, had to put my car back togther so i could go to pvs. The camping is a better experience as there is 0 tollerance on noise after 11, still get the odd d**k head there though.

its been a fantastic weekend, with lots of great cavalier examples there

Glad to hear you had a good weekend.
I did hear that it was good overall despite the odd shower.

I spent 14 hours ( eek) fitting a clutch to a 2001 Punto 1242 16V for my nephew... what a £%$"*&@ of a car to work on.

Anyway back to the Topic (WIP).
Looking forward to the pics when you have time to get them up .

What else is there for you to do on it now?.

Robsey wrote:Glad to hear you had a good weekend.
I did hear that it was good overall despite the odd shower.

I spent 14 hours ( eek) fitting a clutch to a 2001 Punto 1242 16V for my nephew... what a £%$"*&@ of a car to work on.

Anyway back to the Topic (WIP).
Looking forward to the pics when you have time to get them up .

What else is there for you to do on it now?.

well my gf needs her clutch doing on her siecento which has that engine fitted in it. thought it was a simple job lol.

i still have loads to do on my cav to get it how i want it. mainly repairing rust. i have ocd wen it comes to my car so things have to be right

anyway more pics as promised.

sill is finished just needs slight skim of filler to hide weld lines.

this was the stage i got up to before i went to pvs.

sriguy wrote: well my gf needs her clutch doing on her siecento which has that engine fitted in it. thought it was a simple job lol.

In essence, should take between 1 and 4 hours dependent upon skill level, but there is a long bolt that passes from rear of gearbox bell-housing and into the flange of the engine.. this just kept getting in the way.

Also, when refitting the bell-housing, turn the crankshaft, so that the splined output shaft of the gearbox can "drop" into the splines in the clutch plate.

It took me so long, because there is so little space at the rear of the engine, and anything that could go wrong, did!!!

Anyway, looking forward to the pictures...of the Cavalier

Pictures!! It's the Law !

since yesterday i've ripped the interior out once again and cut a section of the rear floor pan where it has been welded once for the mot.

as its to far gone i've started to fabricate a simular repair panel. its quite a difficult piece as theres lots of bends curves and pressed areas this it my efforts so far.

bear in mind it isnt finished lol

1 more for now

I'm impressed

Hmmm, looks like you have access to some serious fabrication equipment there.

I can see where the OCD is coming into it now

I know you were going to check out your bulk-head...is there much work to do on that bit aswell.
Sorry, I should wait, I'm sure you will be doing that in a few pages..

Looks like it will be a mint car when you're finished.. all credit to you.

Robsey wrote:Hmmm, looks like you have access to some serious fabrication equipment there.

I can see where the OCD is coming into it now

I know you were going to check out your bulk-head...is there much work to do on that bit aswell.
Sorry, I should wait, I'm sure you will be doing that in a few pages..

Looks like it will be a mint car when you're finished.. all credit to you.

i have basic equipment for fabrication. wish i had more tbh.

id love a proper steel sheet folder but im running out of room lol.

my best tool is my sand blaster makes me pleased after ive used it.

good results can be achieved with simple metal work techniques. using rubber and plastic mallets can mould steel nicely without bruising it.

i know i have a crack in my bulkhead but im not worried about that as i know i can fix it. i can always cut panels from a scrapped cav lol.

Some good fabration going on there.

Greig

thanks for the comments, should look good when its done

some more pics of progress. the rear upright section of the floor is finished just need to make a piece to fit the floor pan then spot weld the 2 bits together

just need to make a small area with a few awkward bends, then weld into position

I've been an engineer for 26 years, but I am simply amazed at how tidy and precise your fabrication is.

I know you said you had some basic kit, but blimey, doesn't look like you need anything more state-of-the-art.

That is top quality workmanship!!

Robsey wrote:I've been an engineer for 26 years, but I am simply amazed at how tidy and precise your fabrication is.

I know you said you had some basic kit, but blimey, doesn't look like you need anything more state-of-the-art.

That is top quality workmanship!!

thanks for the compliment, makes me want to do my best work.

sriguy wrote: thanks for the compliment, makes me want to do my best work.

Makes me think that this is way better than my best...my problem is that I am too hasty!!
I would want to get it done quickly, and so I would probably rush or cut some corners.

Saying that though, I never skimp on safety items