Atlantis Blue 1.4 5DR Corsa

[nibnob21]

When I first bought the car it had 59,000 on the clocks, tigra alloy wheels and full service history:












Here is a list of everything that has been DONE to the car:

• Stebel nautilus horn
• Orange tigra needles
• Lights on warning buzzer
• Interior ceiling handles
• Mirror sun visors
• Vectra smoked interior map light
• Corsa C sunglasses holder
• New rear number plate light
• Tinted standard rear lights
• Tigra scuttle panel
• Underseat tray
• Vectra chrome door handles
• Uprated shocks
• Lowering springs
• Colour coded bodywork
• Boot light
• Cigarette lighter
• Drilled airbox
• Post 97 front bumper
• Debadged mesh grille
• Colour coded post 97 boot lock surround
• Number plate surrounds
• Clean ICV
• Clean throttle body
• 3rd brake light
• Black angel eyes
• Smoked side repeaters
• Debadged boot
• Debadged doors
• Beesting aerial
• Exhaust tip
• Blue LED interior lights
• Pressed plates
• Aero flat wipers
• Resprayed wiper arms
• Derestricted airbox
• M3 mirrors
• Flush interior wing mirror covers
• Black leather look seat covers
• Kenwood head unit
• FLI front speakers
• Alpine rear speakers
• SMD sidelights
• 15" irmscher softstars

Here's how the car stood after all of that:






















It's just had a good service in which a K&N panel air filter was added. Also some of the blue interior LEDs have been replaced with white ones. I have also fitted some Depos and I added the beam adjuster motors to them and the car now has an SRi 3 spoke steering wheel fitted. I've also resprayed the wiper arms gloss black.
















Here's a list of future plans:

• 5 door wind deflectors
• New brake discs and pads
• Chrome bonnet gas struts
• Paint calipers blue and the drums black
• Black leather gaiters
• 5dr lip spoiler
• Twin backbox
• Gloss black scuttle panel
• Gloss black door handles
• Swap mesh grill for slatted grill

And that's where I am to date.

All comments and opinions are welcome as long as they're kept relevant to the car

[nibnob21]

Over the last month or so not an awful lot has been done to the car.

I finally got round to washing it the other day, needless to see it's filthy again already!




















The colour coding definitely needs redoing properly after someone drove into the back of the car and chipped a load of it off.

Then I gave it a polish using AG Ultra Deep Shine.

Here's a picture of the polished wing compared to the non polished bonnet:




And here are a couple of half and half pictures of the bonnet:






I managed to pick up a spoiler from eBay for a good price and have started prepping it but because of the weather I haven't sprayed it yet.








I also managed to find some second hand Plasma Dials on eBay for not a lot So they have been fitted now. Slightly tacky I know but I still think they're pretty cool lol.

And yes I know the needle isn't on my temperature gauge, I accidentally broke it so a replacement is on the cards.






























That's it for the moment

[Kev_G]

cracking work there what future plans do you have?

[nibnob21]

cracking work there what future plans do you have?

Cheers mate

Future plans go something like this (in no particular order):

• Redo the colour coding as it's a bit flat and rubbish at the moment!
• 5 door wind deflectors
• New brake discs and pads and rear shoes
• Chrome bonnet gas struts
• Paint calipers blue and the drums black
• New gear gaiter
• Paint and fit the spoiler
• Gloss black scuttle panel
• Gloss black door handles
• Maybe swap mesh grill for slatted grill

The things that will take priority are the brakes, the colour coding and the spoiler. All the others are things I'm not hugely fussed about but may get round to doing at some point.

[CAH.]

Looks good mate, a lot of work done to her. Nice!

[nibnob21]

Looks good mate, a lot of work done to her. Nice!

Cheers. Yeah a fair bit has been done but it's all been done gradually over the space of a year on a student budget. So a lot of the time I've just had to wait for ages for a bargain to pop up that I can grab. The Softstars for example I got for £40 off some retired bloke on Gumtree who had them sitting in his shed for about 10 years lol.

[CAH.]

lol aha. Well no need in rushing any project really mate. Bargains are worth waiting for rather than overspending to get early.

[nibnob21]

lol aha. Well no need in rushing any project really mate. Bargains are worth waiting for rather than overspending to get early.

Exactly The only thing that springs to mind that I actually went and spent a lot on was the suspension (pardon the 'springs' pun). I say a lot, it was the cheap Jamex suspension kit on eBay but it was still a lot of money for me when I could have got some second hand lol.

[nibnob21]

UPDATE

Bought some Bilt Hamber clay, Tailored fit mats, Proper pressed plates from Germany, Mintex brake discs and brake pads set, Ferodo brake shoes, Black and Blue Hammerite for Drums and Calipers and engine bay and last but not least, these...

...Some Rondell 0058's which arrived Yesterday

Some slight lip damage and marking but the rest of my car isn't exactly perfect so I'm not too fussed by it, they still look great as long as you're not full on up close lol.

I was going to get the brakes all changed today but due to it raining loads last night the ground was still wet, so I didn't really want to be rolling around on the floor.

I have however got some other things done. I managed to fix one of my speakers that was playing up due to the window knocking the wires when it would get wound down. I'd bodged it a few times but today I completely stripped the door down to properly sort out the wiring.

I have given the interior a good clean and put in my new mats. Such a massive improvement to the disgusting tacky universal fit ones that were in the car when I got it.

To finish tidying up the interior all I'm bothered about now really is getting a few small bits gloss black and getting a new gear stick gaiter.

Today I also gave it a wash and I clayed it for the first time too. What a bloody pain in the arse claying is though! Took bloomin ages but I'll be giving the car a good polish tomorrow with Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine which should leave it gleaming!!!

And here's the state of the clay after literally just a couple of rubs over the bottom of the front door. I definitely need to get my front mud flaps fitted lol.

The clay also managed to get rid of some really stubborn white overspray on the rear bumper that has been there since I got the car. I've never been able to get rid of it but with a bit of elbow grease and this clay it's come right off! Really happy about that!

[Gary-C]

Nice work. I'm going to have to try out using clay soon. Where did you buy the mats, are they good quality?

[nibnob21]

Nice work. I'm going to have to try out using clay soon. Where did you buy the mats, are they good quality?

The clay I got is a Bilt Hamber 200g regular bar. Better than others in the fact that most are only 100g plus you only need water as a lubricant but I added just a drop of car shampoo to it which made the clay work even better. Here's a link to the one I got...

Bilt Hamber Auto/Car Clay Bar Regular 200g Detailing on eBay (end time 19-Mar-11 16:48:53 GMT)


I got the mats from eBay as well. They're pretty good quality and are a great fit, they improve the look of the interior so much, especially compared to the embarrassing mats that were in the car before! Here's a link to the ones I got...

VAUXHALL CORSA B 1993-2000 PERFECT FIT NEW CAR MATS on eBay (end time 02-Mar-11 00:13:32 GMT)

[Gary-C]

Cheers for the links!

[nibnob21]

Well here's a pic of the car after I'd put the polish on this morning, nice and even and swirly all over




Then it started pissing it down but we had a 5 minute dry spell when I quickly went back out and saw that part of the boot and rear bumper hadn't been hit too badly so I buffed them up and they are nice and shiny




Here's that part of the rear bumper that had a load of white overspray on it before. Now you can see it's nice and clear and blue and shiny




But then it started pissing it down again But the polish is staying on the car as it had dried on before the rain first started. So I'm hoping I'm not going to have to reapply it when the car dries off hopefully tomorrow!

[nibnob21]

I went out to the car this morning to buff it up. All the polish had stayed on which is good I dabbed the wet bits dry with a microfibre cloth and then used another one to polish it up. Still have the roof, bonnet, passenger's side wing and front bumper to do but it started lightly spitting so I've had to temporarily stop. Here are some pics so far though:










And my euro pressed plates arrived today. Despite the seller's best efforts, they were slightly bent lol.




Got them straightened out easily enough though

[nibnob21]

Just went back out and finished the rest of it. Roof could ideally do with another going over as it's still a bit faded and patchy, but I can't be arsed to do it right now lol.

The pictures don't really do it justice as the shine and colour is much deeper than it appears. And man do I need to sort out my arches and bumper tops! They are really letting the car down at the moment in my opinion.














Also just test fitted my new number plates. I know they're note everyone's cup of tea but I like them a lot I probably won't be leaving them on until I get the new wheels on though. Here are some before and afters:

[nibnob21]

Another small update is I sprayed up a couple of small interior pieces gloss black. The clock face bit and the air slider bit. Photos are sh*te because of the glare from the sun, but they are nice and glossy and smarten the inside up nicely






Only things letting the interior down at the moment are the gear and handbrake gaiters so I got a new set ordered

ASTRA MK3 CORSA B CAVALIER TIGRA GEAR SPEED GAITORS SET on eBay (end time 18-Mar-11 09:08:12 GMT)

[nibnob21]

I've been spraying the heater knobs gloss black but they got some stuff blown onto them whilst the lacquer was drying so they need redoing now

Anyway here's a couple of pics of the new gaiters and just a couple of other random ones.














And if I get up early enough I should be going into the garage tomorrow morning to get the wheels fitted on the car

So in preparation I though I'd give them a good clean...

Dirty:










Quick rinse and they're getting cleaner:






Wheel cleaner applied:








One wiped down, one not:






Nearly done:








After a very quick polish:

[nibnob21]

Gave the car a wash yesterday and got a few pics and messed about with them a little

[nibnob21]

Up to date list for everyone:

• Gloss black some interior parts of the dash DONE
• Front mud flaps DONE
• Genuine pressed metal number plates from Germany DONE
• Tailored fit black mats DONE
• Full clean, clay and polish DONE
• Full clean inside DONE
• New gaiters DONE
• Hammerite the calipers blue and the drums black NEED PAINTING
• Gloss black scuttle panel NEEDS SPRAYING
• Gloss black exterior door handles NEED SPRAYING
• 5 door spoiler NEEDS SPRAYING AND FITTING
• New brake discs, pads and shoes NEED FITTING
• Allcorsa stickers NEED FITTING
• Recolour code bumpers
• 5 door wind deflectors
• Swap mesh grille for Steinmetz or slatted grille
• Chrome bonnet gas struts

I haven't been doing much on the car recently. Funds and time are both hard to come by at the moment!

Brake pads and discs, painting drums and calipers and stripping the bumper tops and arches are the things that will be getting done next. I have everything I need to do them, like I said it's just finding the time.

And here are another few random pictures

[nibnob21]

Managed to FINALLY get my front brakes changed. After soaking the brake disc screws in WD40 that didn't work. After soaking them in coke that didn't work. After heating them up with a blow torch that didn't work. After whacking them with a screwdriver/hammer as suggested that didn't work. So ended up having to drill them out and tap a reverse thread into them to get them out. Complete pain in the arse but after getting some replacement screws from Vauxhall everything is now fitted

Old discs:






Calipers cable tied up to stop them hanging:




One of the offending screws after being drilled out:




Removing the rest of the caliper assembly and the discs:








New discs and pads:




Old vs new:




New ones being fitted:




I'm also having a change of plans with the car.

Basically, I don't have the money available to put into the car to make it as good as I want tit to be. Truth is the paintwork is very shabby and the colour coding is ****e just for starters. It's never going to be a show car as I can never make the shows and I can't afford to raise the standards to make it suitable for a show car.

I drive very sensibly and so the lowering benefits on the handling is wasted on me so I'd honestly prefer to have a more comfortable car than one that looks slightly better but breaks my spine when I go over a bump lol. It's a daily driver and the roads where I live at home and the ones around Leam and Cov are awful.

I've given this a lot of thought and have my mind up so the new plans are as follows:

• Put original suspension setup back on
• Swap the wheels for a set of standard steelies (cheaper tyres, better for the car, better in the snow!)
• Strip colour coded parts back to standard
• Get standard wing mirrors
• Either paint the steelies or just get a nice set of hubcaps
• Chrome bonnet gas struts
• Wind deflectors
• Change rear brake shoes
• Hammerite calipers and drums
• Change front bumper back to pre 97 one as it is in better condition and fits much better!

So bascially it's the suspension, wheels, wing mirrors and bumpers that will be returning to standard.

I'll be keeping hold of everything else so the depos, tinted rear lights, colour coded boot lock surround, side repeaters, plasma dials etc etc etc will all be staying. I'm just focusing my attention to the little things and just keeping it tidy and comfortable as that suits my budget and lifestyle far better.

So to start with, I have got my front bumper changed over and have started stripping the rear bumper top:

[nibnob21]

Purchased this lot the other day

Arch lining rivets - Arrived

New arches

Wind deflectors

Driver's side wing mirror - Arrived

Also have a set of steelies coming next week.

Also went to the scrappy and picked up a load of arch fitting bolts and plastic nuts for a couple of quid so I saved myself a small fortune there as Vauxhall quoted me around £25 for 20 nuts and bolts!

Here's a few pictures from when I washed it a couple of days ago, nothing exciting.










The new driver's side wing mirror arrived in the post today so the wing mirrors are now changed over.

Before:




During:




After:














And a couple of cheeky interior shots just for the hell of it

[nibnob21]

Few pics of the new arches

Before:




After:





Finally I have some arches that fit properly, with all fixing clips intact and everything


Pics of the Wind Deflectors that came this morning:

[nibnob21]

Suspension and wheels changed over.

I took it for a quick spin round the block and the steering is much lighter due to the narrower wheels. My house is surrounded by speed bumps and I can drive over them at a reasonable speed now

Here's how it is currently sat:





Getting there

PLANS:

• Put original suspension setup back on DONE
• Swap the wheels for a set of standard steelies DONE
• New arches DONE
• Standard wing mirrors DONE
• Wind deflectors DONE
• Change front bumper back to pre 97 one DONE
• Paint the steelies WHITE HAMMERITE ORDERED
• Chrome bonnet gas struts
• Change rear brake shoes
• Blue calipers and drums
• Strip rear bumper top

FOR SALE:

• M3 style wing mirrors

[adamaracorsab]

what have you done with the softstars? want to sell them?

[nibnob21]

what have you done with the softstars? want to sell them?

Already sold along with the suspension setup and the Rondells. The only things I have left for sale are the mirrors now I'm afraid.

________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE:

Painted the steelies

Quick before and after:









Much better me thinks

Here's a few more photos. You can see in the close up picture how bad a job I've done but like I said, I'm not bothered lol

Oh and I haven't driven it since putting the wheels back on hence why the suspension looks particularly high in the 3rd pic, it just hasn't settled properly yet.

Next plan is to give the tyres a good going over with a brush and some tyre cleaner to get them looking nice and black again They're a bit brown and murky at the moment.