Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Garage clear out part 2

So after an evening of faffing about yesterday I was faced with this to sort out before the end of the day:




I was working up until 3pm so realistically I only had about an hour to sort it out and get to the dump.
Luckily I Just made it in time and was then left with this; getting there:




After a bit of space optimisation!




Mission accomplished!




I find it quite amusing that the LS was the first car in the right side of the garage when we first moved in and now it's become the first car to go in the left side almost 20 years later.

Now what's this, an empty space on the driveway?

I wonder what we can do with that...

Lets think...A Cavalier v6 CDX Saloon...

My lips are sealed.

Super89 wrote:Lets think...A Cavalier v6 CDX Saloon...

.. Hatchback surely.. in blue, with white wheels and a private plate..

Theres a nice one on ebay at the moment..


That centre column on the garage is just begging to come out and be turned into a large double garage James..

tonyo wrote:That centre column on the garage is just begging to come out and be turned into a large double garage James..

+1

Old girl had her MOT today.

MOT man removed this from my N/S front suspension:




That's right, failed on a broken spring. No idea how I didn't notice.

Other than that one of the headlights is aiming too low and I had 1 advisory about the N/S sill which I have been monitoring for some time.

Anyway, I'm now in need of a set of 1.6 front springs.
I've tried to look up the part number for genuine ones on Ecat24 by there are so many I haven't got a clue as to which is the right one.
I want some good quality standard height springs, any suggestions as to which brand to go for?

Hoping to go along to Billing in this one again this year so I want this done ASAP.

Oops! Any part numbers visible on the springs at all?

Unfortunately not.

They haven't been replaced the whole time my family has owned it so unless they were replaced pre-1996 they are the originals.

If they ever did have a part number on them it has long since rubbed off.

James McGrath wrote:Unfortunately not.

They haven't been replaced the whole time my family has owned it so unless they were replaced pre-1996 they are the originals.

If they ever did have a part number on them it has long since rubbed off.

Put your VIN number in when searching on Ecat24 James, should narrow down the parts to your car. I put my own in and it gave me a big list but all were for countries abroad, only one said except 4wd replacement set number 90350293 and never mentioned any specific country so must be UK/EU I assume.

Decided to get some springs from Sachs.
I've heard good things about them so hopefully there will do the job.

Determined not to be caught out by Billing this year I went out in full force yesterday and undertook an immense 8 hour cleaning session involving the cleaning of 5 cars.
The LS, CD manual, Diplomat, V6 and the Corsa were all washed.
On top of that the Diplomat had a full clay bar and polish.

This led to an unprecedented occurrence, all of my cars looking clean at the same time!

The CD Auto in unfortunately absent from these photos as it is currently in storage


Really pleased that the LS was still holding up after an effective 6 months of inactivity. Can't remember the last time I polished her but water is still beading even when it was dusty:




LS, Diplomat and V6, or 'my' three. The two CD's are my Father's technically:






LS:


Diplomat:


V6:


CD manual:



Couldn't resist lining them all up after getting them clean:








Now I can only hope they stay looking clean until Billing. I normally end up doing last minuet cleaning on the morning I need to leave!

Wow! They all look immensely smart!

I had a broken spring on my first Omega. Didn't realise until MOT time. After all, it's not as though a broken spring presents a knocking noise.

One of the benefits of taking one of my Saabs to Billing is that I won't need to clean any of the cars, hehe! My VXR was on the main stand at PVS, resulting in an exhaustive cleaning session before the show. Sheesh! I remember spending something daft like 36 hours out of 48 getting my first Cavalier Turbo prepared for its first show outing (PVS 2012). The car looked amazing, but I don't fancy repeating that again in a hurry.

If I'd know there was a club mini meet going on I'd have come along,

Yeah it does look that way doesn't it!
Must arrange another meet soon.

I settled for a set of Sachs OE springs in the end...



...which were fitted this morning:




Unfortunately I have been informed that I also need some new front shocks as well.

I was looking through the LS's massive wad of comprehensive history today, which is detailed enough to go back as far as a magazine advert for used Vauxhalls from 1996!
Anyway, apart from an MOT advisory for corroded springs in 2009, it doesn't mention front springs or shock absorbers at all! So I'm guessing that they may be the originals. Meaning that the have now covered over 199,000 miles without replacement.

I was considering a set of Monroe gas dampers. part number MG247.
Doses anyone have any thoughts or recommendations before I buy them?

Woops, well spotted.

Edited.

I had Monroe gas shocks fitted to the Cavalier in 1996 due to one of the originals dampers weeping.
Only replacing the the Monroes 20 years later as I am fitting Spax springs and Bilstein B4 dampers all round.

So 200,000 miles is quite easily achieved on original GM springs and dampers.

On that thought though - the front driver's side spring was getting week allowing the front arch to drop by about 2cm. So the front springs were due for a change anyway.

As you know, initially the car will ride slightly high until the springs settle.

In answer to your question - Monroes are perfectly fine for "normal" use.

Thanks Rob.

I got a full set of 4 as the rear ones aren't looking too great either.

They are all gas pressure ones so a bit on an upgrade over the standard oil type.

The shocks arrived!




Hope I've done the right thing by getting gas pressure ones. I know they can give older cars a harsh ride.
The V6 has gas ones and that handles markedly better than any of my other Cavs.

We'll see.

Also going to have another round of bodywork done on the old girl. The rear arches need doing again and that sill is over due for replacement.

Shock and awe!

Well on the 18th of July, she passed her MOT.
Only other thing on there was headlamp alignment which has now been adjusted.

On the 5th September she's booked in to have all the dampers fitted, rear springs cleaned up and painted, both rear arches repaired and the nearside sill replaced.

The welding that was done for the MOT in 2013 is holding up nicely so once this lot of work is done it should be pretty much rust free. Now she's being stored in the garage it should stay that way for a good long while.

Next thing to do is get the headlining sorted out and find some new front door cards.

Congratulations on the MOT.

It's good to get past the worry of that dreaded test.

Onwards and upwards.

Excuse me while I temporarily take over the showroom section with all my WIP thread updates!

First of all, I Managed to paint the wiper arms on the LS and the V6.
I saw Deeksin do this years ago and have been wanting to do it ever since.

Anyway, as you can see, they were looking a little worse for wear:




Picked up some supplies from Halfords and got to work:




Sanding down:






During:




After:




The rest of the car is filthy but the wiper arms are clean.


And the V6:




Surprised at how easy this was. Whole thing took about an hour from start to finish, perfect weather for it too.
All my Cavs could do with this to be honest.
Oh well, 2 pairs down, 3 to go!