astra gsi c20let

laff · 01-03-2007, 22:08

i brought this astra gsi in may last year with the intention to convert to let but my 4th child was born on 9th of june and my time and money have been best spent elsewere (well thats what my dear wife said)

this is the astra

the arches are shot

i removed the rear bumper and the shirts. removed all the loose rust by hand.
now the arches look like this!

now i can see how bad the rot is i can order my panels. the lower quarter and rear panels are ok so ive just ordered inner and outers both side plus a fuel filler panel. £80 delivered to my door.

laff · 01-03-2007, 22:23

after searching for let engines and all the parts i wanted i decided to buy a whole calibra turbo with 120k.

mechanically its great with working 4x4 and smooth box. the engine doesnt have noisey lifters and had a cambelt and new clutch 3000 miles ago.

i am just going to drop it straight in to my astra and get the car running before i start rebuilding and tuning.

the first stage of my project will be:

fit c20let and f28
swap over calibras 5 stud hubs and brakes and sourse 5 stud rear hubs to fit fan alloys.
weld and paint new arches.
mot

braders · 01-03-2007, 22:32

good luck with the project mate, always had a soft spot for GSI'S in that colour

laff · 10-03-2007, 18:03

ive converted the rear end to five stud.
i brought a pair of vectra 5stud rear hubs. as the vectra backplates have the handbrake at the bottom i had to remove the hubs, easy i thought but they were rusted so allot of penetrating oil and hamering was needed. i used my astras backplate and calipers with new cav v6 rear disks and pads and the vetra 5 stud hub.

not done much else just started to strip the front. ive took the bumper, grill and lights off plus the radiator and manifold. i have another project at the moment in the form of a type 2 vw camper so i dont have that much time for my astra but i will have the astras engine out, calibra turbo stripped and the front struts on the astra by the end of next week

slappycarp · 10-03-2007, 22:15

NICE ONE MATE,
hope all goes well of for ya,
as im going to do this meself later in the year,fingers crossed!!!

anything to look out for with the calibras when looking for a good one bud??

laff · 17-03-2007, 14:38

dropped the old xe out this week. didnt take long 3 hours to disconect all pipes and remove ecu and loom. i brought some new axle stands, they are monsters, on the lowest hight thay are still higher than my halfords ones.

up she goes, and drag the heart out

Barber · 18-03-2007, 18:47

looks like you've got a lot of work ahead

would love to do the same with mine

rc · 18-03-2007, 18:55

very nice mate! good luck with it all.

always loved them Kahns, any reason for the 5 stud change? or just wanted 5 studs?

slappycarp · 18-03-2007, 19:33

keep up the good work mate,
hope ya getting there : - )

laff · 18-03-2007, 21:30

i liked the kahns but i wanted to go for a factory look. in the end i will put phase 1 vectra gsi alloys on. i hope to have her up and running in 2 weeks. it will take me half a day to drop the let out of the calibra. 1 day to tap the f28 box for fwd kit and rear mount then a whole day to fit and plumb in the let to the astras bay.

Boosha · 28-03-2007, 09:05

where did you get your axle stands from mate ?

Gaz86 · 28-03-2007, 09:11

looks a good project fella good luck
always a good investment decent axle stands

Leigh16v · 28-03-2007, 17:41

Don't trust this bloke, he's just ripped me of £100 for a magnex that hasn't turned up, heard nothing back about my messages, asking what's going on, If you buy anything off him, make sure you collect it, don't get it posted for your own sake, this is not the last he will be hearing off me either
leigh

laff · 28-03-2007, 17:47

had a good 4 hours stripping the calibra today bumper off, lower arms and legs off. i would of had the sub frame off but i snaped 2 rackets.

disconnected all the wiring and pulled through to the engine bay.

i removed the radiator, cooler, and turbo but all is not well there was oil in the boost pipes!

also at the weekend the interior was collected so its a great place to store the parts im removing.

ive ordered fwd kit and braided hoses from chris astley so they will be here soon. i was going to keep the standard cooler but the temptation for a front mount with wide mouth is to much. i had to finish as it was my turn to pick the kids up from school but i brought a 16mm and 18mm socket in 1/2 drive so i could use my breaker bar to get the subframe off tomoz.

Gaz86 · 28-03-2007, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leigh16v

Don't trust this bloke, he's just ripped me of £100 for a magnex that hasn't turned up, heard nothing back about my messages, asking what's going on, If you buy anything off him, make sure you collect it, don't get it posted for your own sake, this is not the last he will be hearing off me either
leigh

who are you on about, and in future if you have a problem with a user/member use the help desk

Boosha · 28-03-2007, 21:52

Laff where did you get those red axle stands from mate ?

rallyman · 28-03-2007, 22:05

Those red axle stands look the same as some i use in the workshop from machine mart!

Chris

Boosha · 28-03-2007, 22:21

just checked the catalogue and it sure does lol !
If im wanting to lift and xe in from the floor which ones would be best chris ?

laff · 29-03-2007, 09:41

axle stands where £20 from machine mart, bargin.

Nemesis · 29-03-2007, 09:45

Is it not going to be harder to put the power down in the Astra, with it being FWD? And was the Calibra not in better condition?

laff · 29-03-2007, 10:13

axle stands where £20 from machine mart, bargin.

laff · 29-03-2007, 10:17

its more of a novelty with a turbo astra. the calibra was knackered needed to much work for mot. im not a fan of the calibra and ive loved astra gsi's since i was 14 and my uncle had one. traction will be a prob but i will fit a lsd soon.

laff · 29-03-2007, 10:42

got my fwd kit and braided hoses today

any advice on how to fit the fwd kit as i have no instructions.

rallyman · 29-03-2007, 12:40

Hi mate, its easy enough to fit, Press the seal into the alloy adaptor plate. Then ensure the O-ring is in place on the rear of the plate, hold it up[ to the gearbox and bolt on in position, it will only line up with the bolt holes in one place. Then place the steel spacer tube on to your inner cv joint before inserting in to the gearbox.

Job done.

Chris

laff · 29-03-2007, 14:42

nice one, thanks!