Dave's 1993 Cavalier 4x4 Turbo - The Never Ending Story...

[Kev_G]

The XEV injection loom will be getting binned in lieu of the LET loom. The LET loom plugs into the SRi body harness so it should be fairly straight forward. In theory.

Ill have it if you sell / dont want it then as i require one

[GaryVaux]

I agree with the plans also, makes perfect sense! Then chuck another ecotec in the sri once the turbo is finnished,

[Astra Dan]

So what codes does the ECU throw up?

[Turbodave]

So what codes does the ECU throw up?

Eh... what?

[matty john]

Good built man think i saw the sri at crail on the vuva vx day? I know there was atleast one cavi there but it was a while ago and cant remember the colour lol

[Dave Dempsey]

On the Turbo? Unfortunately I'm going to have to be brutal with it and accept I may not like what I find...

Gie us a shot, I is good at finding holes.

[Turbodave]

Figured I shoud probably add some pictures...

So, the Turbo currently looks sorry for itself and seems to be suffering from a bit more rust than I first thought. The upside is most of it appears to be surface on, structurally it's fine though the sills may end up coming off to a) check what lies beneath and b) replace them as they're a bit scabby. I had planned to put this on the back burner whilst I built a C20LET/F28 combo for the SRi but that plan seems to have gone to the wall for now.



And on that note, started to rebuild the C20LET that came from my ill-fated old daily driver Cavalier Turbo. The plan was to build the engine, stick an F28 on with a 2wd conversion and chuck it in the SRi as the SRi's current X20XEV is dying. The theory was to have it done for Billing but that's two weeks away and so for now, there's no rush. So far I've painted it and erm, that's it. My progress is staggering eh?



And finally for today, given the SRi looks like it'll be making the trip to Billing, I started attacking the wee 'to do' list before it goes. So far have tidied the wiring and subsequently sorted a long term EML issue, replaced the IACV (again) and the throttle position sensor, fitted a scene points gaing battery bag, painted the exhaust manifold, fitted 2 x new indicator lenses and machine polished half the bonnet.





Amazing...

[Kev_G]

Looking forward to seeing the Eco cav actually

[Turbodave]

Don't tempt fate sir!

It has several 'issues' so I'm praying it makes it down the road ok. Burns a bit oil on cold start, clutch is high and despite my best efforts... it still has wee hissy occasionally and idle at 1,000rpm. Nothing that should stop it heading down the road, just need to nurse it along as there's nae danger I'll be able to get the LET built and fitted in time.

On a more positive note, more than half the car now machine polished so that should be done and dusted by tomorrow.

[baz_rsp]

Hi dave this car wasn't owned by charlie simmers was it??

[Turbodave]

Which one?

The Turbo came from Aberdeen (11yrs ago!) and the SRi came from Newscastle-under-Lyme (4yrs ago) but that name doesn't ring a bell.

Cheers

[Turbodave]

Just noticed you're from up Aberdeen way yourself. The Turbo was bought from Indy Car Sales in Inverurie about 11yrs ago, bloke called Michael Cameron traded it in against an Impreza or something. I spoke to him a few years later at a show at Ingliston. Prior to him, I know it was in Glasgow then prior to that, Manchester and prior to that had begun life as a company car with B.T in London. Random facts there for you!

Cheers

[baz_rsp]

Think I remeber the car from between 12/ 15 years ago, leave it with me i'll find out, i might be speaking s**t. But if it is, it was owned by a lad called charlie simmers whos dad owned a massive farm in whiterashes, Aberdeenshire. Think he owned his one for about a year.
Your doing a grand job mate keep it up.

[Lugy]

Don't tempt fate sir!

It has several 'issues' so I'm praying it makes it down the road ok. Burns a bit oil on cold start, clutch is high and despite my best efforts... it still has wee hissy occasionally and idle at 1,000rpm. Nothing that should stop it heading down the road, just need to nurse it along as there's nae danger I'll be able to get the LET built and fitted in time.

On a more positive note, more than half the car now machine polished so that should be done and dusted by tomorrow.

Mine will sometimes idle at 1k, it's not something I worry about to be honest! I've got a tow strap too so surely between the 3 of us we'll all get down though!

[Turbodave]

I'm more pissed off that it was mint for a couple of days and has since reverted back to its old ways. To be fair, it's not as bad as it was and it's fine when it's being driven (before it's rev up to 2k during gearchanges) whereas now it tends to rev high after it's been pootled about, ie parking and so on.

On the plus side, after three days it's now all machine polished and looking shiney. Rest assured it'll shit the crank out tomorrow. Karma...

[Turbodave]

A week today and we should be well on our way down the M6...

Did a few miles on Friday/Saturday and now have an even bigger list to attend to. Biggest concern is how much it tramlines... possibly a balljoint or bush issue or the front alignment is a country mile out the game. It's also appalling in the wet, three year old Nankangs are probably not the tyre of choice when it comes to adverse weather conditions.

If all else fails, Team Volvo is on standby...

[Benn]

Bay looks tidy.

[Turbodave]

Cheers sir...

Still much to be done though have since redone the whole front section of the loom (headlights etc) and amazingly, no comedy disco lights followed. Need to find a timing belt cover, a new airbox (lower mount has snapped) and then attend to any remaining scabby bits and then pray the fooker makes it down the road unaided. Annoyingly, it's started idling crap again though the EML has remained off so that's a bonus. Getting a bit fed up with it now but it's only got to scrape 800 miles then the old XEV will be getting thrown off a pier.

[Turbodave]

Righty, wee update seeing as it's been a while...

The Cavalier SRi... well, having replaced the air flow meter, throttle postion sensor and rewired half the loom the EML light buggered off, the idle improved and against all the odds it made it on a 1,200 mile round trip to Billing (and London) and even survived the great flood. By the time we were crossing the border ont he way home, the front pipe was blowinga bit and the clutch wasnt too happy but it made it. The plan was to fit the C20LET whilst the Turbo was being painted, but that idea has been shelved for now and so for the time being it's being used as a second car for times when the Volvo is off doing other shit. Tax is due next month, MOT the month after so need to make some decisions soon.

The Turbo...progress has been almost non-existant on that front. Too many other things to attend to, lack of spare cash, work, lack of direction and enthusiasm - you know the story. I did get some bodywork quotes, turned a whiter shade of white and so had to have a serious think about what I want the car to be and how I want to use it. In the end, it was decided that I want it tidy and useable. No point having £2,500 of paint if it means I'll be too paranoid to drive it or if the mechanicals have been comprimised because the paint swallowed all the budget. On that note, I spoke to another painter and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I made a 'to do' list and vowed to carck on with it then got side tracked by buying a Cavalier SRi 16v to break, then the Volvo decided to eat one of it's hubs for dinner, then Lugy's Cavalier decided to snap it's timing belt so all in all, more distractions. On the plus side, I have a plan... or at least I have a goal in mind so that's the main thing plus I had a serious unit tidy ealier, sorted all my shit out and then set about sorting my stuff so I can get the engine built up over the next week or so. Which in itself created a headache.

Given I have two of everything plus I wanted to avoid mixing and matching, but it seems that may not be the case. My original engine was thrown together from an old block, two of my pistons, two from a Calibra Turbo Dov broke plus had my original (replacement) clylinder head and a reconditioned turbo. So in short, it was a bit of a mix and match of crap really though to be fair, it never gave any issues.

The plan was to use the complete engine from the daily driver I broke as it was original and had never been open, plus it drove well for the 15,000 miles I did in it hence plan was out of one, into the other. I decided that wasn't a great idea so split the head of it just to make sure all was was well plus it'd be worth doing the head gasket regardless. So, the complete bottom end is being used and is sat almost ready and waiting so today was cylinder head day. And it's dilemma time.

Cylinder head # 1 - Original head from OUF...
Basically, this GM head came from a well know stock car builder locally a few years back when mine went porous. It's from a coil pack XE (hence has the mounts on the side) and it's also been skimmed slightly. It was rebuilt at the time - valves were reseated, new guides, valve stem oil seals and the lifters were cleaned. I used my original LET cams and job was a good un for many many miles. I dug it out today and had a look... and aside for the fact it's been skimmed, all seems good.



And as can be seen, it's had a mill or so skimmed off...



Cylinder head # 2 - Original head from the daily...
This GM head was the one taken from my daily driver and it too is nice a clean and looks to be in original, unskimmed condition however I there is a slight concerns with this one. Nothing major but it's corroded around a few of the water galleries, a sign that it's been run with a lack of or at least a low coolant content. Plus the valves are seriously coked up on the faces whereas the other head, they're clean and mint.



Though it hasn't been skimmed...



But... some of the waterways are less than perfect. Granted not the worst I've seen but again, not the best either.



So, need to decide which is the better of the two heads though to be fair, both were absolutely fine when they were in both the cars and never gave any cause for concern. I've already cleaned the faces up and to be fair, the original coil pack / skimmed head does seem to be the slightly better of the two. I shall consult the other half of team 2DD this evening and make a decision!

Aside for that, I tidied up my work bench so engine building shenanigans can begin...



And tidied up the rest of the unit so I could actually get moving up there as my patience is wearing thin, tripping over bloody gearboxes and random shite that really has no place being in there. I also discovered the car is on it's tipping point, as dicovered when I put my transfer box in the boot and wondered why the boot floor was getting lower. Thankfully relaised just in time and shoved a bit wood under the arse for the time being - note to self: move the rear axle stands back a bit!



Aside for that, I have decided that engine / gearbox build comes first then once that's done I'm ONLY going to tackle the floor around the subframe mounting points. Good reason for this a) I can't be arsed lying around under the car for days and also don't fancy tipping it on it's side and b) if I worry about those bits, it means I can get the front and rear subframes fitted quicker, get it back on it's wheels and then once it's been painted, I'll egt it up on the two post ramp and do the rest of the underside.

Makes sense in my head!

[Benn]

Lovely big work shop you have.

I dont think that tiny bit of rust around the water way would worry me. But then the difference is ones cleaner and skimmed over a unskimmed dirty... All down to the work of stripping and cleaning really.

[Turbodave]

Executive decision made... opted to go for the unskimmed head (with the slight marks around the water galleries) simply becauses it's a) the head that was on the block originally and b) it was last driven about a year ago rather than 3 years ago! So on that note, started cleaned the head with petrol first then cleaned the face up again and then got all bling on it's arse and gave it a couple of coats of VHT silver along with the cam pulleys, which I immediately regretted so went home to consider a new colour scheme.

Friday 31st August

More progress and solvent abuse... picked up my Elring head gasket set and a can of clear laquer then headed to the unit. First up, wasn't happy with the silver cam pulleys so I removed them from the cams, rubbed them back, cleaned them in petrol, etch primed them and painted the Vauxhall Diamond Black (because there was a can lying around the unit) and was much happier. Fitted new camshaft oil seals, cleaned up the head, cleaned every lifter (tedious!) then primed and fitted them followed by the cams and the pulleys. also fitted the lifting points, thermostat and the sensors.



I then decided I kinda liked the Diamond Black finish and decided to paint the block again too. I'd already painted it with VHT satin black but figured it'd get filthy really quickly so keyed it back, painted it and then when it dried, went all out and gave it a couple of clear coats too. Probably overkill and it'll probably flake off within a week but it looks pretty for the time being!



Next, gave the oil pump a couple of clear coats as it too had been painted with VHT silver but as it's a) very shiney and b) slightly satin in its finish, it will mark quite easily so the clear coat should in theory seal things nicely. In theory. Still need to get a gasket for it so for the time being it's just been temporarily fitted.



After that I figured the safest place for the head was on top of the block so popped some blue roll down the bores and then made a gasket from said blue roll (to soak up any oil that may leak out the head) and then placed the head on. And then got all bling and gave it a couple of coats of clea coat too to seal the silver paint. Again, it'll probably flake off but bollocks to it. Final mission, temporarily placed the inlet manifold (that was built and painted weeks ago) and called it a night as the pain was still tacky on all the parts so by the morning it should be dry and I can start fitting the likes of the 3 way water bar, ttiming belt back plate, water pump, front engin mount, power steering pump and so on. Only issuee being they're gloss black and the block is Diamond Black... OCD might kick in and they might end up painted again too. Or not.





Also need to do a final clean of the all the mating surfaces then fit the new gasket set, though it'd make sense to do the sump and gasket before I start doing that.

Slow, but progress is progress.

[Turbodave]

Sunday 9th September

The paint used was shite on the head and oil pump was shite... I discovered this when I removed the oil pump, stripped it down, cleaned it out and then wondered what the trail of silver fluid heading for the drain was. Seems anything this side of water and the paint just didn't want to know. Still, on the bright side, oil pump has been stripped, cleaned, oiled and rebuilt.



The tales of woe didn't end there. Seems the various engine parts I'd painted earlier in the year had taken a dislike to something and had all started to react in a weird manner. Bit annoying given the parts were shot blasted, etch primed, dried then painted with chassis black and baked so I'd have expected the finish to last. Seems not though.

Power steering pump mount...



Alternator bracket...



Get's worse. The couple of parts I painted the other day were no better. They to were rubbed back to bare metal, primed and in this case, painted with Halfrauds car paint but whilst the finish was ok, the slightest breath of wind would chip the paint off. The dipstick tube ended up like this after being gently scraped with the car keys.



So, not really sure what's gone wrong there but given my track recored with paint on the project, I'm guessing me and it just don't get on. Never mind, rubbed everything back to bare metal, cleaned the parts with thinners and then panel wipe, primed them, let them dry then applied a few coats of basic Halfords gloss black and let them dry again. Guessing there's no way of getting a proper strong finish unless they're powder coated so I'll just need to exercise caution and try and not chip/scratch bits when the engine'es going back in.

I also decided the paint on the head and oil pump were just a disaster waiting to happen so took as much of it back off as I could with several wire brushes on the drill and then cleaned what was left with Scotchbrite. So as it standards, the pump and head are unpainted but look ok plus when fitted and in the car, they'll barely be noticable. Ie, I can't be bothered stripping them all down to paint them again...

Timing gear backing plate primed...



And the finish on the alternator bracket, far from perfect but better....



I also gave up with all the bolts and rather than paint them (which again was just chipping off) I soaked them all overnight in petrol then cleaned off the resultant mess and then gave them a clean up on the wire wheel and though they'll rust within about 30 seconds, for now It's better than chipped and flaking paint.

Once I'd wasted a day doing all that, I got the timing backing plate painted and fitted, the ttiming belt roller bracket painted and fitted, the power steering pump bracket painted and fitted then fitted the three way water hose at the back and the plastic water pipe. Ignore the cam cover, it's just temporary to keep the dust out the top end whilst work continues...





Sunday 9th September... a bit later on

Stopped play ealier, came home for dinner, relalised she was a) crabbit and b) planning an evening of inane television so made my excuses and buggered off back to the unit with the intention of sorting through several boxes into piles of 'need' and 'don't need' but as per usual, got distracted when I found my original rocker cover and a spark plug cover... and well it would've been rude not to...



This somehow sparked a small wave of enthusiasm so cleaned the auxialiary drive belt tensioner and bolted it on followed by the pulley wheel and then the power steering pump (which still needs painted) and then I found my starter motor, bolted it in place (though it too needs painted) and then figured the complete inlet manifold/throttle body would be as well being on the engine than in a box in the cupboard so fitted it and then finally popped the turbo on... though said turbo is in it's original, un-refurbished state so kinda ignore that for the time being.



Still go many many little tasks on the engine to do including:

Torque the cam pulley bolts
Torque the crank pulley bolt
Tighten up the inlet manifold > head
Get a water pump o-ring and seal it in place
Get another four exhaust manifold studs and copper nuts
Buy a cambelt kit, time the engine up and then fit it
Get a silicone rocker cover > dipstick tube pipe and fit the bracket
Fit the distributor, HT leads and sort the hall sensor
Refurbish the turbo, paint it and change the actuator to the Courtenay Sport one
Fit the oil pick up pipe onto the oil pump
Get an 8v sump gasket and baffle, fit it and then fit the sump
Connect up the block > turbo oil feed
Buy more Jaffa Cakes

Cheers

[Lowrider Dave]

Excellent write up and progress, pity about the paint woes. Nice garage space you have there!

[Benn]

Bugger about the paint. Could be the rattle can over the hvt stuff where that's been done. as things like that can react.

Engine looks great tho all painted.

[Turbodave]

Cheers chaps...

I suspect the XHT paint didn't bond as well with the head and oil pump as it did with the block as the latter, touch wood... seems ok so far. I'm probably expecting too much of to be fair, thinking I'll get a nuke proof uber glossy finish using rattle cans when really it's not ever going to be that great. I dear say there will always be issues but guess it's be be expected unless you're prepared to invest considerable time and expense getting it as perfect as possible and to be fair, that's not what I'm aiming for.

Cheers