Dov's Zafira GSi

[Dave Dempsey]

Well I appear to be back in the realms of the MK4 Astra/Zafira world again after managing an entire 18months away.

So a little back ground on this purchase:
I had originally planned to get something early 90's along the lines of a Cavalier GSi to use as a toy, however after a good few months of searching and an 800mile round trip with Mr Reid to Gloucstershire to spend 15 minutes in explaining to a chap how a) he cant describe cars very well and b) why his 83k mile Cavalier was not worth £3k with the amount of bodywork required we came home (we did however have a nice day out visiting Strentham service both East & West bound and found that RAC membership was cheaper on the East bound services than West.......bizzare).
However, luckily enough that purchase never went through as a slight change in circumstances meant that realistically I need a second estate/people carrier to run along side my Vectra SRi estate.
So with that Autotrader, ebay, Pistonheads & Gumtree were all hit. Many cars were considered mainly Vectra VXR estates, Zafira VXR's etc. etc. Then I happened to have some sort of weird mental episode and put a deposit down on this:



Thankfully as it turned out there were a few 'issues' along the lines with that particular moment of inspiration and the purchase fell through. I hold Mr Reid entirely responsible as even he thought it was a great idea ( either that or boredom was setting in)

It was then that Zafira GSi's came back on the radar. I had initially discounted them due to age, but really I do like them much more than their later VXR counterparts and I have always missed my origional one I had back in 2005:



So the hunt began, and luck would have it there was a 2003/53 Black GSi just 23miles away with 73,000miles on the clock Xenon headlights, full leather, rear park assist & Vauxhall roof mounted DVD for sale at £3,999:



The car is/was for sale at a local dealer, however he was selling it for a friend, and after a week of chasing around making appointments which he was then closed for and deciding that actually the bodywork was far far from great it was knocked on the head.

It was at this point Mr Reid stepped in having heard about a car that was not currently for sale but there may be a deed to be done. So Tuesday night with many texts & phone calls arrangments were made and Wednesday morning Helga the Volvo scooped me up en-route to Sunderland to pick up a Zafira GSi belong to CTOC's very own Ads:











she is a 2004 car with just 48,000miles on the clock factory fitted sat nav (which although one of the worst systems Vauxhall ever put in a car I actually really like), and is totally standard bar a decidedly ropey back box. Brucey bonus being that it had a brand new VXR turbo fitted just 2 weeks previous along with a recent timing belt & roller kit.

Bodywork wise the car is in pretty good shape with just the normal chipping to the bonnet, a loose lower bumper grille and some scuffs on the n/s/r door moulding:



The 150mile trip home was great and she never missed a beat, what did become apparent were that the pretty worn Runway tyres on the front and the Wanli's on the rear were not particularly great in the rain we had heading home, plus I;m a tyre snob. So Thursday afternoon I placed an order with Camskill's for 4 Toyo Proxi T1R's and they arrived 1pm yesterday and were promptly fitted to the car:





I had planned to hold off refubing the wheels until after winter, however once cleaned up and inspected they are in a worse condition than originally thought with a fair bit of bubbling especially on the insides of the wheels which look to be caused to to poor finishing after a previous refurb. So they will be done at some point soon.

Once back home I then started going over the car and making varying to-do lists and sorting a few minor issues.

First up was to sort the head unit which was sitting badly (the previous owner had an aftermarket unit in and this had been hastily re-installed):





The problem was the headunit cage was missing the torx screw which holds it in place, luckily I had a spare sitting in my garage and after some fiddling with the stereo wiring to get it to sit correctly (I forgot how little room there was behind the dash on these), it was back in far better:



Next up was the back box, now aside from sounding like a 747 on full chat it was not sitting particuarly well, so I set about it with some steel wool, some Autoglym paint renovator (I did not have any metal polish to hand so thought that would do), I cleaned it up then re-positioned it.

Before:



After:



This is just a temporary fix as I order a Miltek turbo-back system this morning which will hopefully be here next week.

The to-do lists:
Service
Wiper blades front & rear
Ariel base seal
Front brakes (theres plenty meat there but guessing they are cheap pads as stoppings not fantastic)
Possible rear brakes
Remove scuttle panel and clean down the back as theres a build up of sludge
Thermostat (sits at 90degrees in traffic but once driving drops down to 80 degrees).
Rocker cover gasket leaking (theres a surprise on a Z/LET)
Brake fluid change

So thats where she stands at the moment, there should be an additional update of tomorrow's planned work shortly and more to follow over the coming week once bits start to arrive.

[Dave Dempsey]

So todays little update.

Yesterday was spent amassing a few bits and bobs to be getting on with today seeing as I was off:



- Air filter
-Pollen filter
-Spark plugs
-Richbrook tax disc holder
-Poppy coral refill
(I had planned on doing an oil and filter change along with a fuel filter however I picked up the wrong sump plug seal and see no point putting it up in the air today just to do a fuel filter when it will be back up for an oil change)

Cracked on with the easy bits first (allegedly) and went to fit the tax disc holder, unfortunately the old holder was not in great shape and as soon as it was removed from the windscreen the tax disc promptly fell down the back of the dash. So what should have been a 30second job took a bit longer as I modified a knitting needle and covered the end in some UHU glue to retrieve said disc.
Eventually that job was sorted and I moved onto the pollen filter:



Old Vs new (me thinks that hasn't been changed in a while/ever):



Now the new filter had me baffled for a bit as it was different from the old one, presumably the filter been changed to a new part number since the original was put in the car and the rubber seals on the end have been done away with as seen here:



So some head scratching later the new filter was fired back in and the glove box re-assembled.

Next was the front bumper grille which had been loose, the 3 top clips are a little fiddly to locate back into place (more so given my hands are not the smallest in the world), however a few minutes and a little swearing and the 3 clips were re-located and the grille is now sitting nice and snuggley.

Then I went on to replace the air filter, and as luck would have it I found this lurking in the air box:



So one less thing to replace. I then moved on to the spark plugs:



It had been running some standard VXR plugs:



It has standard LET ones back in now, although I do have some Iridium's on order which will be fitted at a future stage of the project, at this point its just very much a case of get the basics right then move onto increasing power. As luck would have it the coil pack is in good condition and looks distinctly new.

Now while I was doing the plug I happened to notice something was not right with the top turbo water hose, anyone guess:





So 2 issues really, first the hose should be routed over the top of the inter-cooler as opposed to under where it was a little squashed, and secondly the hose had a bad kink in it.
So first off I cut the end of the hose to remove the kink (there's plenty of hose there to allow this without having to stretch it to fit, and it will be replaced eventually anyway), then I re-routed the hose over the top of the inter-cooler:



Next I happened to notice a vaccum hose had gone astray from the recirc valve:



A little searching revealed it hiding behind the aircon pipes, so popped it back on:



I then built everything back up and let the car get up to temperature before taking it on a short run to make sure everything was fine......it was......job's a good un.

[Dave Dempsey]

Double post

[Benn]

Only thing i dont like about Zaffies is the dash. Just looks unfinished.

Needs polished jubliee clips too. Nice project.

[Kev_G]

Agreed the dash is horrible but great cars. I need a bargain like you always find dave will be watching this one tho

[Turbodave]

I have Jaffa Cakes and 17 enthusiasm pills (been saving them up!) so game on!

[Melv]

Good buy Dov.

[steve1974]

Looking good, love these cars, bought one 8 months ago when I got rid of my z20let van when our daughter was a few months old. Should really get a thread started myself as I have a few plans. Keep up the good work will be following your progress

[Hutch-SCO]

Nice one dave, glad you didnt buy the one from dunfermline i saw the dents on it, he was after way too much for it in that state.

Although it did have some nice stuff in it, would be worth 3grand imo

It was in a garage in glenrothes to get painted whilst mine was next door for stem seals.

Mines in the background, small world aint it lol.



The one you just bought looks like the one i went to look at in lochgelly back in december, exact same exaust but it had a scuff on front bumper wing, i was going to buy it but she wanted an arden gsi.

Infact i've found a pic of it again, could it be the same one lol.

[GaryVaux]

Looks a good one! but 2 load luggers? surely some fast 90's lunatic mobile is way better fun as a second car

[big e]

Very nice love the zaffi gsi's..

[Dave Dempsey]

Hutch-Sco - it is indeed a small world, the 53 plate was being sold on behalf I the guys mate but given his attitude he can't like his mate much. Some nice bits on it but was needing a fair bit done.

The one I bought is indeed the one you looked at in Lochgelly, Ad's bought it in January, guess the wing scuffs been sorted, there a light scuff on the n/s/r door trim that will need painted and the bonnet has a fair few chips out of interest how much was it for sale for in December? I did fancy another blue one but this one was too good an opportunity to turn down

Gary-until Lugy sells me his Sri no more cars are joining the fleet.

Been busy on the bus ye last few days (albeit not massively productive) hopefully get that posted tomorrow.

[Hutch-SCO]

It was for sale for 3850 back then, he was going to give it to me for 3500, it was pretty mint condition bar the scuff which i wasnt worried about (pretty sure it was the osf wing and a wee bit on bumper), it was only down to her wanting the arden i didnt buy it lol.

Mine is off for a remap on weds, lesson be learned on using local idiots in the first place lol.

[Dave Dempsey]

Not too bad its had a belt kit and vxr turbo fittes along with a few other mot related bits by the guy i bought it off.
Lol always the problem with remaps, where's yours off to? I've got an Eds ipf due here Monday with a few other bits.

[Hutch-SCO]

Heading down to dastek (HQ) at dalgetybay, i did use falkland performance had my pants pulled down and arse skelped lol.

Can't wait to see the comparision of how poor it is now till ross sorts it.

[Dave Dempsey]

Been there and done the whole Falkland experience, was 10years ago mind but looks like nothing's changed.

[Hutch-SCO]

Aye i'm sure i've went from a whopping 200 standard to maybe 220 tops, it should be 260bhp 300lbt atleast with the mods i have ross reckons. wish i'd just set the 400 quid on fire lol.

[mac1976]

was the first one for sale at mvm in dunfermline dave ?

[Hutch-SCO]

Aye thats the one mac.

[Dave Dempsey]

Okay, so about time an update was added.

So back on the 10th of August my new exhaust turned up from Roadrunner Motorsport. As there is not a great deal of off the shelf options for the Zafira I opted for a full Miltek Turbo back system. Im far from Milteks biggest fan but with time constraints etc. I did not have the time for a customer system, miraculously this systme actually fitted properly and first time (its the first Miltek system Ive had that has).

Next up on Friday the 17th of August it was towbar time. Now I put a fair bit of researching into the tow bar. I wanted a detachable (however at nigh on £400 supply only for a GM bar that was quickly ruled out). I wanted one that was as close to OEM as possible with no or very minor trimming to the rear bumper being required. After several quotes I eventually went for supply only of a Westfalia detachable from Towbarman on ebay at £182. Next up came fitting, and as luck would have it the chap that fitted the towbar recently to the Vectra estate agreed to supply the single electrics wiring and fit everything for £80 all in, this meant that the detachable supplied and fitted came in at less than the standard supply and fit cost of a fixed bar. Ive managed to get away without trimming the rear bumper at the moment, but ideally it will need a very minor trim.

Inbetween the above I also took the opportunity to change the front and rear indicator bulbs to some silver coated indicator bulbs front and rear (as usually supplied by MIGweb's Dom):




I also fitted a rear load liner sourced from Eternalcar on ebay, I have a similar one fitted to my Vectra which has been really good, however Im not convinced this one is quite as good as it doesnt feel quite as sturdy, time will tell:



So the evening of Friday the 17th and it was up to the unit with Mr Reid to make a start on a couple of jobs.
The brakes on the Zafira left a little to be desired, they were biting fine, however they just were not stopping the car. I had intended just fitting some new GM discs & pads, however another trawl of ebay and I found Mtec offering drilled and grooved front & rear discs with Mintex pads delivered for £175. As this seemed a bit too good to pass up a set were ordered:



and stripped off:



Now at this point I found that the front brake hoses looked decidedly ropey with a fair bit of rot on the ends:



So I decided that rather than spending the time painting calipers etc. just to dismantle again I woudl order some new hoses and return to it (this does not go well)

So all back together:


Whilst I was doing this Mr Reid had cracked on and changed the rocker cover gasket which had been leaking

[Dave Dempsey]

Fast forward to Wednesday the 20th and a few bits had arrived in. When I bought the car the coolant warning was showing on the dash, this was because the header tank had cracked at one of the returns and the tank had been temporarily replaced with a standard header tank which doesnt have the level sensor, the previous owner had bought a replacement tank and sent it on, unfortunately when it arrived it too was broken:



So that was put on the back burner whilst a new one was ordered. So being a bit fidgety and having a new GM thermostat sitting I decided to crack on with that. The old thermostat had been sitting around 90degrees when stationary but dropped to around 80degrees once moving.

Old Vs New:



and fitted:



Flushed the coolant system through and refilled with some new GM Anti Freeze. Quick test drive and the temp was holding steady at around 90 degrees....jobs a good un.

So on to Saturday the 18th and back up to the Unit with Lugy. A few more bits arrived in.
First off were the brake hoses, wheels back off and things did not go well. I stripped the caliper off gave it and the bracket a good rub back before painting. I then attempted to remove the old hose at which point the male end disintegrated....hmmmm, so as I was at the unit with limited time/light (the Zafira does not fit inside due to height), I had a look at the drivers side, theory being if one side was easy it left enough time to sort the hard side etc. Now the brake hose on this side was easy enough to come off, unfortunately at some point in the past someone has attempted to bleed the brakes (clearly been done as the fluid in the system is clean), and when they came to the drivers side caliper rounded the bleed nipple off, and rather than sort the issue just left it. So its was deemed a job to come back to with a bit more time.

However, a nice new header tank had arrived, so that was fitted up. The old cap was rather manky so it got a clean as well:



And final update for the night, I had some packages arrive in from Regal, Courtenay & TX-Autosport, most of which I havent had time to get around to (currently having issues with the IPF unit as its not compatible with Windows 7 Home edition a fact that Im far from happy about, a mention of compatibility when ordered would have been nice, even the EDS site is hee haw use)

I did however have some Iridium plugs arrive along with a new panel filter, so I took the opportunity to fit the plugs & de-restrict the air box with the new filter:





Pre-derestriction




and after:





And thats all for tonight, hopefully over the weekend Ill get the new jubilee clips (sorry Benn, unpolished) and fit the TX Autosport water hose kit along with the Forge diverter valve and S1 software.

[Hutch-SCO]

Nice one dov.

[kevstergsi]

I will keep a eye on this !!!!!, keep thinking of playing around with my one lol

[Dave Dempsey]

Well another small update (although there will be a bigger one shortly).

Since my EDS IPF unit arrived its been a bit of a nightmare. The initial issue was the IPF not being compatible with Windows 7, when you go onto the EDS site there is a section regarding windows 7 and additional downloads so that you can use windows in XP mode which allows .....great......however this does not work with Windows 7 Home premium. Basically after a lot of messing around I managed to get Windows 7 Ultimate, download the required software so happy days.

So once the software side was sorted out it was time to crack on. Firstly the IPF unit has to be connected to the OBDII to download the current software, then connected to the IPF server to download the new software. This again is where an issue has been hit. Looking at the list of maps the unit is only letting me down load the 2 phase 1 maps, not any of the 2 or 3 maps. Laterlly Ive been informed this is due to Regal locking the higher phase maps to prevent people sticking maps on that they shouldnt, so a few calls shall need to be made on Monday.

Ive installed the P1 237bhp 390NM map. Perfoarmance wise the car is transformed.....however.......I now have a surging issue in the higher gears. Third gear is especially bad where by under hard acceleration the car pulls hard, dies of, pulls hard, dies off then pulls hard again as it goes through the rev range. Now this is not something unusual for a ZLET, and unfortunately can be caused by more than a few different things. So I plan to check the basics (boost pipes for leaks etc), change to another set of spark plugs and failing that Ill put the standard map back on to check if the problem is still there.......happy times. However in 1st & 2nd gear its pulling like Peter Stringfellow on a 1lb of coke (even for P1 it seems to pull hard).

[Hutch-SCO]

Sounds like a pain in the arse dave, i had mine on the rollers and it has a fault similer to yours, it dies a death at 3500rpm and doesnt pick back up, once out of 7 runs it fired into life which indicates it could be a failing sensor or somthing along those lines, absolutley no codes though which makes it worse to find the problem.