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astra 1.4 road rally car

20K views 89 replies 11 participants last post by  vauxhall222 
#1 ·
just thought id start one of these, the car started as a 1.4 accident damaged astra. the shell is very clean and the damage was just a slam panel and light and bonnet. cant realy complain as the car was free and so was the doner car, the doner car was an l reg astra gsi with no enjine, the plan is to take all the gsi bits ( panels etc }to use on the 1.4 and then use it for local road rallies. the plan will be as follows

repair damage( fit slam panel)
fit gsi kit
fit uprated suspension
repaint panels that need it
new seats
3 point harnesses
half or full roll cage
spotlights
full exhaust system
mudflaps
oil light in centre console
push button start
vertical hydraulic hand brake
bias valve

that will be it for now, then as soon as the car is motd il start on the enjine when funds allow as this is on a seriously tight budget
 
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#60 ·
well after a few months of hard work and some time thinking i decided to sell the astra as i never realy used it much, but after a few months of missing it i heared it was for sale so i bought it back realy cheap, the only thing that changed was the lights and seats are no longer fitted and it needs a good clean, so the plan over the next few months is to get it back looking even better than before and for it to never leave my ownership again, so will update very soon
 
#62 ·
its not too bad, hoping to have a respray in the summer but firstly need to get the enjine side of things sorted, just need some time off work to actually do it
 
#63 ·
today i made a stat on the enjine, nothing major just removed the injection system and wiring that i wont need, got the exhaust manifold off also so now almost ready to remove the head, also picked up a pipercross panel filter to be used with the bike carbs when i get round to fitting them, progress will be slow on the enjine side of things as im working loads over the next few months and this is my first time at any sort of enjine work, used to focus on the bodywork side of things so the enjine side is a bit new to me,
 
#64 ·
got a bit more done today,i removed the powersteering and the pump and trial fited the carbs so i could check i had enough clearence



just need to check a few things regarding the coil amplifier wiring bfore i tear it apart and get it all running
 
#66 ·
the manifold was made with straight steel tube cut and welded to the correct angle, then i used a dremmel to smooth the tubes inside so it should flow nice , the pipies are about half an inch from the carbs , this was my first attempt at the manifold so its pretty much trial and error for me
 
#68 ·
ceers mate, just cant wait to get it running now, just have to wait for my head to come back from having new seals and a skim, should have the head back week then il make a start next weekend, cheers for the comments
 
#69 ·
well after a few weeks away from the astra i decided to go and pull the enjine out the astra after loads of running issues finally tracing it to a crack in one of the bores, at this stage i was going to throw in the towel but then a friend stepped in with the offer of a free x16xel enjine, its only a head and block so need manifolds etc but for free i cant complain, so over the next few weeks i will be fitting this when time allows,
 
#70 ·
still no real updates, ive sourced all the parts to do the conversion, loom, transponder key fuel pump, should get the enjine cleaned and painted this weekend and my gearbox fitted, then i plan to put it in in one go to save time, cant wait to get started on it
 
#71 ·
not done much the last week or so as i tore all the ligaments in my left hand so not been able to lift, the enjine is in but not running yet as im in the midle of making a powerbox for it, also sourced a new lamp pod so now has 4 massive lights on it also, will post up photos sometime today
 
#73 ·
cheers, hands all strapped up at the moment so things are going realy slow, hopefully it will be running in the next 2 weeks, then i can get the new rollcage in and seats,
 
#74 ·
been a bit busy the last few days, well as busy as i can be 1 handed, i made a start on a powerbox for the enjine as the ones you can buy are unsuitable for the astra as the corsa ones dont have the servo to worry about,
i made one out of steel instead of alloy so its a little bit heavier but needs must,

almost done so should be worth a few bhp
new roll cage to go in in the next few weeks

also i will be getting the car painted up in plain white and getting it stickered up as a david llewelin replica from the 90s so i think my latest addition will suit it when its painted

four lamp pod
enjine is in also so will post up pictures sometime today
 
#78 ·
the car i had it out of had been on its side , so the cage is been pushed over to the drivers side, so its tight to the driversside door pilar and about an inch gap on the passengers side
 
#83 ·
well spent an hour on the car tonight and got the car running, had no exhaust on it so didnt run it for long , i have a few running issues but im happy i got it running
 
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