dangte8v
26-08-2005, 07:05 PM
As my mk2 ownage is coming to an end, I thought I would post the pics and details of everything I went through. If you have any questions as to what I did, how I did it or parts for sale, please pm me!
__________________________________________________ _______________
This is the Astra GTE 8v as I bought it - for £350:
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/2707/astraorig5nl.jpg
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/654/astraorig42ui.jpg
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/8308/astraorig38la.jpg
It looked good, the rear arches had been replaced within the last year and it had a full respray. It was on lowered suspension, and the engine ran lovely with no problems or rattles!
The problems were minimal - the gearbox transducer didnt work, the foglights didnt work and the immobiliser and gearchange was a bit tempramental. The heater fan and headunit didnt work. At the time the car was just a between things car to get to and from Uni in Nottingham to home in Margate, so I wasnt too fussed!
She ran well, the engine was lovely and I had no complaints. After a month or so, the clutch disentegrated on the way up to nottingham - no slipping, just completely died! After a weekend in the garage she had a new clutch, and a new UJ bush on the top of the F16 box to stop the selection problems. I took the ignition shroud off, and re - fitted the wires for the immobiliser, swapped the transducer for one I bought on EBay for £10.
A flush tailgate came on EBay at a place near Somerset, where my uncle lives. It happened that he was coming up the next weekend so I won it for the princely sum of £5! I also managed to sell the old one on EBay for £25 cash in hand collection, and managed to sell the wooden steering wheel to the car to the guy who repaired my clutch (he wanted it for his Bentley) for £75!
I was pleased, to say the least! Here is a pic of the old wheel and one of the new one, also the new flush tailgate (in pearl white).
Old Wheel:
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/2971/pict01627lr.jpg
New Wheel:
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8291/picture260lo.jpg
New Tailgate:
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8855/pict00217bg.jpg
After this, things quietened down for a month or so, fairly uneventful motoring. On one journey back home before Easter the coolant check light came on - so I pulled into the station and topped it up with water. As it transpired, the water pump had started to leak.
It needed a cambelt change for my peace of mind anyway, so I took it to the garage and had the pump and cambelt replaced. The engine had a slight knock, which the mechanic drew my attention to. The whine of the water pump had been covering it. He said it was a strange knock, sort of intermittent, but he reckoned it was ok for now. By now I had really fallen in love with the car, and the digital dash too!
Two days later, whilst returning home frome dropping my girlfriend home all hell broke loose - the car noise got alot worse very fast! The engine actually seized, but when i lifted the clutch it un stuck and limped home (very noisily). It stayed at the bottom of my road for a week or so while i decided what to do.
I thought I had two options - scrap it take out a loan and get a newer car with less expensive insurance, or use what money I had to repair it. After a bit of ringing round, there was not too much change in the insurance on a newer car so I decided to build it back together over summer - a Coscast engine better brakes and a few choice performance modifications.
First, I bought a Coscast engine, loom and ECU from Durham and had it shipped down. It had been in a H reg GTE with 89k on the clock and FVSH. I dont mind admitting that it was expensive, but I wanted the best. The car had gone off the road, and the downpipe had punched through the sump. The engine was coming to me with a new sump, and assurance that no damage was done to the manifold bolts.
As i was still at uni for my 3rd semester, I handed my car over to a friend of mine and gave him £100 to pull out the engine and drop the new one in. I said that I would strip the old one down and do all work on the new one, all he had to do was undo the mounts drop the engine out, and push the next one in. I stripped down the old engine, and kept the water pump, PS pump, induction kit, head, ECU and loom. Turns out one of the shells had gone, and caused No 3 piston to become wedged, snapping the conrod. Half of the conrod then punched a hole in the side of the block, and the other half went through the sump baffle! Anyway, I thought, time for bigger and better things.
After getting it back home, and finishing Uni for summer, I took stock of what parts I would need. New manifold and exhaust system (mine needed replacing), new fuel lines connectors to connect to the unions, 16v throttle cable, a rear beam, restrictors and handbrake cable and a new 16v dash loom with connectors for the new engine loom, and to repair the interior electrics problems.
I realised that it would be cheaper to get a rotten 16v and break it. This would give me the parts I need and also help with understanding the car. This is when the real fun began! I bought a red 16v locally for £200:
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/2694/projastra5pe.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/4164/projastra22sb.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/7361/projastra35dn.jpg
I started by stripping the interior:
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/3406/strip6re.jpg
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/1356/stripfinal0tk.jpg
Then onto the body:
(You think your rot is bad...?)
http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/2673/rot0gf.jpg
And then onto the engine:
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/213/engineout4ro.jpg
I removed the linkage, the cables and cut through the driveshafts (couldnt be bothered with taking the hubs off and popping them out!).
75% through:
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/9100/dscutmid9pp.jpg
Right through on other side:
http://img323.imageshack.us/img323/5193/dscut6lb.jpg
Cut around engine for removal of oil cooler without draining the oil (another excuse to use the angle grinder!):
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/2295/chascut4ne.jpg
Then I supported the engine with the crane, and undid the mounts. Then I dropped it down onto two mini skateboards, and used the crane to lift the car clear of the engine. Then I slid the engine out from under the car. Good job the car was being scrapped - look at the cross member!
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/8220/engineout24mg.jpg
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/6600/engineoutfinal2wf.jpg
This is a photo of all the bits in our spare room (!) :
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/8777/bits0xt.jpg
After stripping the car (in two days by myself!) I sold the engine, doors, windows, headlight washers, front bumper and skirts on EBay. I made £450 from everything - a £250 profit! I was knackered and we were moving house so things quietened down for a few weeks.
I still maintained a full time job mon to fri, and used the money to buy a racing flywheel, induction kit, strut brace, twin headlight conversion and almost Rob@RSC's exhaust system. Luckily Rob took ages to sort it out then left his job there so I never bought it. This was the first thing that made me realise how much money I was throwing at it.
Following this, and a few other factors I wont go into, I decided to break the car and get a (gasp) five door Focus. I think I am just too young to afford this and the insurance. It was gutting to make this decision after all I had been through! Still I feel it had to be done. I will be sorry to leave the site, as some of you have been so helpful and all of you have been friendly!
So now everything is up for sale. Here is a pic of the coscast engine and a custom Apexi induction kit and mirror stainless heatshield. The induction kit is for sale seperate from the engine, so let me know if you are interested:
http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7564/finalengine0qj.jpg
Hope you have all found this interesting, any comments/questions please let me know!
__________________________________________________ _______________
This is the Astra GTE 8v as I bought it - for £350:
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/2707/astraorig5nl.jpg
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/654/astraorig42ui.jpg
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/8308/astraorig38la.jpg
It looked good, the rear arches had been replaced within the last year and it had a full respray. It was on lowered suspension, and the engine ran lovely with no problems or rattles!
The problems were minimal - the gearbox transducer didnt work, the foglights didnt work and the immobiliser and gearchange was a bit tempramental. The heater fan and headunit didnt work. At the time the car was just a between things car to get to and from Uni in Nottingham to home in Margate, so I wasnt too fussed!
She ran well, the engine was lovely and I had no complaints. After a month or so, the clutch disentegrated on the way up to nottingham - no slipping, just completely died! After a weekend in the garage she had a new clutch, and a new UJ bush on the top of the F16 box to stop the selection problems. I took the ignition shroud off, and re - fitted the wires for the immobiliser, swapped the transducer for one I bought on EBay for £10.
A flush tailgate came on EBay at a place near Somerset, where my uncle lives. It happened that he was coming up the next weekend so I won it for the princely sum of £5! I also managed to sell the old one on EBay for £25 cash in hand collection, and managed to sell the wooden steering wheel to the car to the guy who repaired my clutch (he wanted it for his Bentley) for £75!
I was pleased, to say the least! Here is a pic of the old wheel and one of the new one, also the new flush tailgate (in pearl white).
Old Wheel:
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/2971/pict01627lr.jpg
New Wheel:
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8291/picture260lo.jpg
New Tailgate:
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8855/pict00217bg.jpg
After this, things quietened down for a month or so, fairly uneventful motoring. On one journey back home before Easter the coolant check light came on - so I pulled into the station and topped it up with water. As it transpired, the water pump had started to leak.
It needed a cambelt change for my peace of mind anyway, so I took it to the garage and had the pump and cambelt replaced. The engine had a slight knock, which the mechanic drew my attention to. The whine of the water pump had been covering it. He said it was a strange knock, sort of intermittent, but he reckoned it was ok for now. By now I had really fallen in love with the car, and the digital dash too!
Two days later, whilst returning home frome dropping my girlfriend home all hell broke loose - the car noise got alot worse very fast! The engine actually seized, but when i lifted the clutch it un stuck and limped home (very noisily). It stayed at the bottom of my road for a week or so while i decided what to do.
I thought I had two options - scrap it take out a loan and get a newer car with less expensive insurance, or use what money I had to repair it. After a bit of ringing round, there was not too much change in the insurance on a newer car so I decided to build it back together over summer - a Coscast engine better brakes and a few choice performance modifications.
First, I bought a Coscast engine, loom and ECU from Durham and had it shipped down. It had been in a H reg GTE with 89k on the clock and FVSH. I dont mind admitting that it was expensive, but I wanted the best. The car had gone off the road, and the downpipe had punched through the sump. The engine was coming to me with a new sump, and assurance that no damage was done to the manifold bolts.
As i was still at uni for my 3rd semester, I handed my car over to a friend of mine and gave him £100 to pull out the engine and drop the new one in. I said that I would strip the old one down and do all work on the new one, all he had to do was undo the mounts drop the engine out, and push the next one in. I stripped down the old engine, and kept the water pump, PS pump, induction kit, head, ECU and loom. Turns out one of the shells had gone, and caused No 3 piston to become wedged, snapping the conrod. Half of the conrod then punched a hole in the side of the block, and the other half went through the sump baffle! Anyway, I thought, time for bigger and better things.
After getting it back home, and finishing Uni for summer, I took stock of what parts I would need. New manifold and exhaust system (mine needed replacing), new fuel lines connectors to connect to the unions, 16v throttle cable, a rear beam, restrictors and handbrake cable and a new 16v dash loom with connectors for the new engine loom, and to repair the interior electrics problems.
I realised that it would be cheaper to get a rotten 16v and break it. This would give me the parts I need and also help with understanding the car. This is when the real fun began! I bought a red 16v locally for £200:
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/2694/projastra5pe.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/4164/projastra22sb.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/7361/projastra35dn.jpg
I started by stripping the interior:
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/3406/strip6re.jpg
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/1356/stripfinal0tk.jpg
Then onto the body:
(You think your rot is bad...?)
http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/2673/rot0gf.jpg
And then onto the engine:
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/213/engineout4ro.jpg
I removed the linkage, the cables and cut through the driveshafts (couldnt be bothered with taking the hubs off and popping them out!).
75% through:
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/9100/dscutmid9pp.jpg
Right through on other side:
http://img323.imageshack.us/img323/5193/dscut6lb.jpg
Cut around engine for removal of oil cooler without draining the oil (another excuse to use the angle grinder!):
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/2295/chascut4ne.jpg
Then I supported the engine with the crane, and undid the mounts. Then I dropped it down onto two mini skateboards, and used the crane to lift the car clear of the engine. Then I slid the engine out from under the car. Good job the car was being scrapped - look at the cross member!
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/8220/engineout24mg.jpg
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/6600/engineoutfinal2wf.jpg
This is a photo of all the bits in our spare room (!) :
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/8777/bits0xt.jpg
After stripping the car (in two days by myself!) I sold the engine, doors, windows, headlight washers, front bumper and skirts on EBay. I made £450 from everything - a £250 profit! I was knackered and we were moving house so things quietened down for a few weeks.
I still maintained a full time job mon to fri, and used the money to buy a racing flywheel, induction kit, strut brace, twin headlight conversion and almost Rob@RSC's exhaust system. Luckily Rob took ages to sort it out then left his job there so I never bought it. This was the first thing that made me realise how much money I was throwing at it.
Following this, and a few other factors I wont go into, I decided to break the car and get a (gasp) five door Focus. I think I am just too young to afford this and the insurance. It was gutting to make this decision after all I had been through! Still I feel it had to be done. I will be sorry to leave the site, as some of you have been so helpful and all of you have been friendly!
So now everything is up for sale. Here is a pic of the coscast engine and a custom Apexi induction kit and mirror stainless heatshield. The induction kit is for sale seperate from the engine, so let me know if you are interested:
http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7564/finalengine0qj.jpg
Hope you have all found this interesting, any comments/questions please let me know!