Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Well, at the weekend I picked up a Corsa Breeze, no tax and no test.
Belted it in for an MOT and failed on play in the rear bearings and a sticky rear brake drum.

40 minutes 2 streets away, it was sorted and back in for test.

Clean pass with 1 advisory (1 tyre) not bad at all.



Probably the cheapest MOT ever for me!

So, it's a 1998 Vauxhall Corsa Breeze in Flame Red (read: faded so badly its learning towards white in places)

In need of a good hard wash, and several coats of polish - it will get its day I'm sure :thumbs::thumbs:


Couple of pics.

Nice simple car to work on, and the engine should be just a miniature version of the C18NZ... C14NZ if I remember correctly.

Looks like loads of cutting and polishing will be needed to get rid of all that lovely pink bloom.

Remember if you do take a liking to that pink, I have loads of PINK heat shrink tubing -

I am sure tinkering with the Corsa will stop you getting bored, whilst you wait for Fogs to be sorted..

Just remember not to get too carried away working on the Corsa... any spare money is Cav money - lol.

Ta Rob,

So far, just a head unit swap (I don't really remember what a cassette tape looks like) and there were some blown bulbs in the date / time / temp display.

Looking at fitting the Nokia kit too.

So far, just a head unit swap (I don't really remember what a cassette tape looks like)


Cheers Gary, make me feel old why don't you - ha ha.... so not an 8-track then !!??

and there were some blown bulbs in the date / time / temp display.

If your's goes belly up for any reason, I have a display from an Astra-F, which is the same as the corsa-b unit - mine is just back-lit with blue LED's

Looking at fitting the Nokia kit too.

A nice easy job, just a few wires to fit... a doddle for a man of your calliber -
However if you need any reminders, then let us know, I have fitted two of them.

Great cars, 8v corsa b is probably the second best car vauxhall made in the last 20 years, lol

I was driving one that i "borrowed" before i got the cav, this one was a 1998 s 1.4 8v without pas or central locking even though it was an ls..fair play though it was 100% reliable with 171,000 on the clock!!

It was a x14sz so same as a c14nz but with a coil pack instead of a dizzy cap

cavboy180 wrote:It was a x14sz so same as a c14nz but with a coil pack instead of a dizzy cap

The primary difference was the addition of an egr circuit on with the x series engines. The first letter on the prefix relates to the emissions standard.

get it mopped; will turn the flame pink into flame red in no time. you'll be there forever with t-cut and still not get it looking right otherwise.

and colour code it.....

corsa + redtop = best fun i have ever had

sriguy wrote:corsa + redtop = best fun i have ever had

I had a corsa gsi back in '95, tame by comparison, but also a really fun little car. It was like a roller skate.

they were good, the gsi, though not that common though

Hopefully the Corsa will stay standard. Can't really afford to run 2 cars, but needs must. So will be spending the bare minimum.
That said, new shocks all round won't hurt...

So, after a couple of weeks of ownership, the little gokart is actually winning me over, I do rather enjoy driving it for the most part, zips along at a fair rate, stops well - though the temptation to chuck some spare 256discs and matching calipers has crossed my mind.

Keep looking at the Astra and thinking those SXI alloys will be going on the Corsa soon

Looking for an aerial if anyone wants to donate one.

Envoy CDX wrote:Well, at the weekend I picked up a Corsa Breeze, no tax and no test.
Belted it in for an MOT and failed on play in the rear bearings and a sticky rear brake drum.

40 minutes 2 streets away, it was sorted and back in for test.

Clean pass with 1 advisory (1 tyre) not bad at all.



Probably the cheapest MOT ever for me!

So, it's a 1998 Vauxhall Corsa Breeze in Flame Red (read: faded so badly its learning towards white in places)

In need of a good hard wash, and several coats of polish - it will get its day I'm sure :thumbs::thumbs:


Couple of pics.

Nothing that a bit of T Cut and some elbow grease won't sort out, great little discovery, you must be well pleased!

Envoy CDX wrote:So, after a couple of weeks of ownership, the little gokart is actually winning me over, I do rather enjoy driving it for the most part, zips along at a fair rate, stops well - though the temptation to chuck some spare 256discs and matching calipers has crossed my mind.

Keep looking at the Astra and thinking those SXI alloys will be going on the Corsa soon

Looking for an aerial if anyone wants to donate one.

a new found love

So mixed up a batch of Autoglym Super Resin Polish and Colour Magic Red which was recomended to me a few years back by Angryman.

Tested it on the bonnet.. and drivers wing
Then I changed the steering wheel with a Cav SRi leather wheel

Smart move with the steering wheel

cavboy180 wrote:Smart move with the steering wheel

I had one of those on my mk2 astra, nice wheel

cheers nice simple mods sometimes make the most impact.

Well, the front discs and pads are shagged, and since I am not shelling out any money for the Corsa (at least where ever possible I'm not) I decided to recycle some old Cavalier calipers - I had a set of new discs and pads that I never got round to using prior to 5 studding the cav, so it would be rude not to..

Free off one stubborn bleed nipple (1x 9mm spanner, and a longer 17mm spanner for leverage)
Eventually found some shiney metal, but this is going to take too long by hand..


Removed the slider bolt boots - took some doing with a screwdriver and pair of pliers..
Lower alternator securing bolt saves the day! I'll continue with it tomorrow, probably using a flappy disc on the grinder to move most of the crap out of the way to nice shiney metal, I have a litre of hammerite black to tart the calipers and carriers up with.. Hopefully, it won't look bad when it's finished..

Did some more work on the Caliper(s) tonight.

Not getting through it as fast as I'd like - but c'est la vie..

My choice of weapon...


The offending item...


A tickle here, and a tickle there..


Cricky! I went too far.. It'll sort


And onto the caliper, now I still haven't got the piston out, but that will happen


Really impressed how well this is coming up with a bit of TLC (Total Lack of Care)




Washed with a bit of brake and clutch to remove the dust




New boots required..


Started with a coat of cold galv - not sure it it will last when the brakes heat up, but we shall see.

All progress Gary,

I think the flappy wheel would be a bit less agressive than the angle grinder disk.
I use rotary brushes with stiff brass wires - cleans the rust off, without ripping into the steel castings.

Cold galve should be fine in the heat, as it should chemically bond to the steel bracket.
Have you chosen a top colour for your callipers? - Red, yellow, blue or simple black?

Robsey wrote:All progress Gary,

I think the flappy wheel would be a bit less agressive than the angle grinder disk.
I use rotary brushes with stiff brass wires - cleans the rust off, without ripping into the steel castings.

Cold galve should be fine in the heat, as it should chemically bond to the steel bracket.
Have you chosen a top colour for your callipers? - Red, yellow, blue or simple black?

I used a 40grit flappy paddle - and thats what it did to the bracket :/ so swapped for a wire brush method instead..

Calipers are going a Hammerite Black if I can be bothered to brush paint them, or a Jet Black from a rattle can (machine paint).

Should give me a nice braking effort, and look half decent at the same time