humbucker's satin red cavalier turbo WIP

[humbucker]

Well it was only a matter of time I guess... I’ve been thinking about adding a Cavalier Turbo to the fleet for a while now. It had to be satin red, I absolutely love this colour, and it had to be near standard. Oh, and relatively unmodified. The lower the mileage the better and obviously free of the dreaded rot. A tall order you might think, and you’d probably be right. I decided to put it to the back of my mind while I started to get my V6 roadworthy again.

Then this one came up for sale. It had been in the custody of a member of the owners club for the last twelve months or so, who in turn had bought it from Bennymac. Benny had bought it to break, but once he had it home and saw how solid the car was he ran it for a while and then sold it on so that it could be cherished by another enthusiast. Knowing it was a good low mileage example, and ticked all the right boxes, I promptly booked my train tickets.

Anyway, I figured I should put a WIP up. Here’s a snap or two that I took today following a quick hose down (the car, not me):







Near mint Turbo leather:




"Probably the most desirable engine Vauxhall have ever produced"; the C20LET:


More or less as it stands:

1993 Satin Red Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 16v Turbo 4x4
6 speed Getrag F28 gearbox
Standard 16” light alloy wheels
Recent respray
Koni adjustable shock absorbers all round
30mm lowering springs
TX Autosport alloy radiator
Renault Laguna splitter
Magnecor KV85 HT leads
Samco / Roose Motorsport silicone hoses
Collins dump valve
Head skimmed and pressure tested
New valves and lifters
New gaskets
Metal head gasket
Helicoils reworked
Recent water pump and timing belt
Toad alarm, immobiliser and locking system
Delocked with Vectra door handles
Uprated door and rear shelf speakers
Dash mounted boost gauge
Complete Mongoose stainless exhaust system from manifold back (decat)
Courtenay Sport cool running thermostat
Relocated door and boot badges
Smoked side repeaters
Vauxhall tailored mats
Alloy door pins

This particular Turbo also has air conditioning, airbags, and wipers for the headlamps (although the air con is currently inactive as it needs a rad fitting). The car came with a great deal of service/parts history too.

The car has been very well maintained by its former keepers and it’s rock solid underneath. It’s in need of a new set of tyres which I’ll be sorting this week, a head unit, and I have already spoken to Mike Hayward about sourcing a locking kit for the transfer box. I’ll have it up on the ramps tomorrow so will post some pics of the underside then.

This means there are no less than six cars in the Humbucker household right now... *gulp*. The intention is to maintain the Turbo to a high standard with some sensible / subtle mods, building on what’s already there. In case you were wondering, my other Cavalier, the V6 project (humbucker’s cavalier v6 WIP (pic heavy)), isn’t going anywhere either; that’s still a long term restoration project and getting the Turbo doesn’t change anything. I’m looking forward to having both cars running side by side

[Astra Dan]

Noice!

[pie]

best colour

[humbucker]

Noice!

well i had to save at least one from the breakers lmao

best colour

you're not wrong

[Admin_Steve]

Very nicely done! Amazing

[3.0V6]

Very nice! Nice to see one finally being saved.

I have a set of suitable tyres, just bought off ebay but managed to find a set of alloys with tyres so up for sale if interested.

4 x HANKOOK R-S2 RS2 205 50 16 ZR 87W PERFORMANCE SPORTS TYRES

[Ted_CDTi]

Nice. I do have a soft spot for these and its in the best colour.

[daddy cav]

Mine was Satin Red

[rc]

very nice new addition

[Melv]

Very nice. Laguna splitter, very 90's but still suited to the Cavalier Turbo.

[humbucker]

Nice. I do have a soft spot for these and its in the best colour.

Yes, I always said if I got one it had to be satin red. The fresh coat of paint really has brought it back to life. I have some 'before paint' pictures here somewhere that I'll be sure to post up later. The difference is incredible! Can't wait to get my V6 in the paint shop now hehe!

Very nice! Nice to see one finally being saved. I have a set of suitable tyres, just bought off ebay but managed to find a set of alloys with tyres so up for sale if interested

Thanks but I just ordered some new boots prior to reading your message. Ah well.

very nice new addition

Thanks Ron, I thought you'd approve hehe!

Mine was Satin Red

Definitely the nicest stock colour they produced this car in.

Very nice. Laguna splitter, very 90's but still suited to the Cavalier Turbo.

Yeah nice to see it wasn't cut to fit as well. I've got a Megane splitter for the V6, same thing but deeper at the front. Like you say, they really do suit these cars.

[humbucker]

The wheels that were previously on the car were Dare RS7 17’s but I was pleased to take it with the OE standard 16’s. The tyres on these wheels, however, aren’t in the best condition and one of them had damage to the tyre wall. This was replaced with what looks like the original spare wheel so that I could get home safely. This is a different size tyre to the other three and so I drove most of the journey home with fuse 19 pulled (4x4 ECU) so that the uneven tyre size (and tread) didn’t wind up and overheat the transfer box. It was when I had the fuse in that the 4x4 warning light came on sporadically and was accompanied by the 4x4 disengaging with a loud clunk from the rear end (when braking). At one point the ECU disengaged the 4x4 and switched to 2WD so I’m hoping the problem was/is tyre related, especially as TurboNic said she had not experienced any transfer box issues when the other wheels were on the car. There aren’t any fault codes anyway and the whoosh test suggests the accumulator bulb has a fair amount of life left in it.

A couple of days after getting the car home I booked her into the local tyre place for one of their free health checks. On the way there I was tailed and pulled over by the rozzers who thought that I must have been a car thief because I was wearing blue latex gloves. Sheesh...

The manager at the garage was kind enough to let me use their four post hoist as they were having a quiet day, so they left me to it and I had a good look over the underside of the car.











Chassis legs are in great condition, certainly a lot better than my V6 was when I got that. A rub back and some weatherguard is in order but good news all round:





It’s very tidy underneath, but ‘tis a bit wet around the drivers side wishbone / oil filter housing area. The sump gasket appears to have failed and it’s dripping at quite a rate so that will need to be sorted at some point soon, and even though the transfer box breather pipe is as clean as a whistle I’m hoping that none of this is PAS fluid. It’s a bit difficult to tell tbh, will need to have a further probe.









I got a quote or two on new rubber but the budget tyres they were offering worked out at the same price as sourcing my own Toyo Proxes T1R, so I said thanks for the use of the ramp and off I drove. The Toyos should arrive later this week.

[humbucker]

Funnily enough I was stood around the car at Billing this year; Dent Devils were pulling a small dink or two out of the bodywork and I was stood around watching them work their magic. I took pics of (almost) all of the Cavalier Mk3’s to post up on Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 Owners Club for the benefit of all our members who couldn’t make it down to the event, and this is the snap I took of what was soon to become my very own Cavalier Turbo! At this point it was sitting on the Dare rims:



The pics of all the other Cavalier Mk3’s from the weekend can be found here if you’re interested; I’m sure you’ll recognise a few:
Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 Owners Club | View topic - The Mk3 Cavaliers of VBOA National Day, Billing, July 2011

[humbucker]

I have been advised that there isn’t shot of the rear end of the car so far... so this one goes out to all the rear-end fans out there hehehe:



The PAS fluid was looking a little low so I bled the system and topped that up earlier in the week and also spent a while giving the car a good going over with the Tech1. I did a brief readout to see if there were any stored fault codes when I first went to see the car, which proved clear, but this time in addition to a fresh code readout I performed all the actuator tests ranging from fuel pump to injectors to ICV etc etc. Unsurprisingly, the car passed all the tests without any complaints at all.





Even from cold the engine on this car runs like a dream (touch wood!). No tapping, no hesitation... it really is quiet and I imagine this is in no small part to the replacement lifters, valves, and other head work that was undertaken within the last twelve months (not to mention the low mileage!). Spot on.

The new tyres arrived earlier this week. I did feel bad about not ordering them through the tyre shop that were generous enough to let me use their ramps, but at the end of the day their lowest price budget tyre was still more expensive than it was for me to source my own good quality rubber. To make matters worse they have a policy (like most tyre places) where they won’t fit tyres that aren’t purchased through their own parts desk. Fair enough I guess. Anyway, I couldn’t ignore the bottom line, so I ordered my own and went to my local independent tyre fitter to get the old tyres replaced with my new set.

Four brand new 205/50/ZR/16 Toyo Proxes T1-R:



Sourcing them myself saved well over £100, even with fitting costs:



Got the car up on four jacks outside the tyre fitters and removed the wheels so that I could get another good look underneath. I really can’t get over how amazingly clean the underside of this car is (sump gasket leak aside). I had a good poke around and it really does go to show how sheltering your car/Cavalier from the elements can pay off. She could no doubt benefit from a bit of a strip down, rub down and fresh coat of weatherguard but suffice to say she’ll be kept in the dry over the impending winter months.





Huzzah! New boots!



This might not seem like a particularly important update, but I was a little worried as the 4x4 light was coming on when fuse 19 was in. Three of the tyres were pretty shot, and one of them was the original spare which also happened to have a different size rubber on it. Running them with the fuse in was causing the transfer box to overheat and clonk heavily under braking. After the new tyres were on I ran it for a bit in FWD mode before putting the fuse back in. I drove the old girl over to TeamSlinky’s house and back to ensure she was up to temperature and am pleased to report we managed the trip without incident. So far so good; not even the slightest suggestion of a clonk (and the 4x4 light hasn’t come on either)! Pseudo-panic over. The trip computer and speedo should be more accurate now too. A locked transfer box is definitely on the cards, but in the meantime... onwards and upwards!

[humbucker]

If i were you i'd do some nice little touches to it just to bring it upto date abit, nothing too much just a few bits here and there. Thats the way i wanted to go with mine. Have you got any more pics of the inside? It does look like its in good nick in there.

Yup, here they are. Gave the car a bit of a hoovering out so took the opportunity to take some interior snaps. Near mint Turbo leather, obligatory ‘Vauxhall’ tailored mats... but no head unit! Will sort one out at some point but otherwise very tidy indeed:









I’ve never really understood why Vauxhall had ‘16V TURBO’ printed on the fascia of the dash clocks on these cars. Did they think that people would forget what it was that they were driving?



Boot carpet could probably benefit from a steam clean at some point:



None of that space saving nonsense here thank you very much!:



Boot floor is in fantastic condition, bit of a wipe around and it will be as good as new (almost!):



Am now awaiting delivery of a few bits and bobs for jobs that I will do on the car in the coming weeks. Service parts, 8v sump and replacement bolts, new badges, headlight trim, a few other odds and sods and that all important 4x4 transfer box locking kit. Tally ho!

[pie]

looking good fella

[humbucker]

thanks pie, i'm very pleased with it and i know, i know; it's difficult to comprehend seeing one that's not getting stripped for parts any time soon hehehe!

[Paul]

Looks ace, love it.

[TurboRix]

Awesome car buddy, I saw this Cavalier turbo at Santa Pod and it looked like a good example. Look forward to seeing more updates pal.

[serek]

very nice

[Todi-Corsa]

that interiour is unbelivebley spotless, like new even, rest of the car is spot on too

[RodOGW]

That's a superb example of a Cav Turbo.....

[humbucker]

Awesome car buddy, I saw this Cavalier turbo at Santa Pod and it looked like a good example. Look forward to seeing more updates pal.

Cheers Rix, more updates to follow. Think I've got a PAS leak as the 4x4 light is back on; will report back shortly.

very nice

Thanks man, we'll meet up soon and you can see the ol' girl in the flesh.

that interiour is unbelivebley spotless, like new even, rest of the car is spot on too

Yes the interior is mint, which is more or less reflective of the whole car. It's not without it's niggles, which I'll attempt to sort over the winter months, but I can't complain with the standard of this Turbo.

That's a superb example of a Cav Turbo.....

Thanks Rod. I'm thrilled to have found one in such immaculate condition, and one that is pretty much standard too. The breaker's ain't getting hold of this one lmao

[pie]

get it locked mr humbucker

save alot of problems

[show n shine]

what a beautiful example