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Hi, I'm Vincent from the Netherlands and had registered here ages ago, now finally posting some after just reading all the time....
Been driving around in Kadetts (Astra MK2) for almost 20 years now, had four up to now and had many other cars also. The Kadett keeps thrilling me and is fun to work on since it's not overly complex. I feel it is a car from the exact right era, where technology was aimed mainly at making a good car, not restricted too much by exhaust fume laws and safety regulations. Many modern cars are just tanks riding around with virtually no space inside and every tiny little option is electronic and computer controlled, wire looms going everywhere. Even changing a bulb is nowadays causing car owners headaches!:face:
I shall keep the story at just the car I have now. Bought it in 2007, body was in fairly good shape, wheel arches had been replaced by a Vauxhall garage years before and still without a spec of rust. Main reason I bought it because it is a five door chassis, a good feature with a son coming up, which is now 1 year and eight months old.
The engine was an E18NV which drank like an elephant and idled like an old granny just out of bed. This is where all the trouble started, been looking for ages to find a good 1-1 replacement, but they seemed pretty rare to find in good condition. A friend had a C20XE engine in his storage for three years, which he took from his Astra MK3 before it got broken due to the rust devil. Engine had a revised head 1K miles back, but had been laying still all that time. Got it for a crate of beer though.:thumb:
With the engine there was nothing, it had been stripped from the car in a hurry and external parts where either not there or broken. So it took me a long struggle and cost some money to get all the bits complete. Also fitted power steering, complete bigger brake system, braided brake hoses, Astra MK3 rear axle with discs, Astra MK4 enterior, Led illumination in the whole dash, different radiator beam to fit the original GTE 16V radiator size, Bilstein B6 shocks and original GTE springs (car is not lowered), stainless steel handmade exhaust system, placed Omega interior lights, also in the middle of the roof (to be able to see my son in the back), sprayed some plastic interior parts black, put central remote door locking in etc. etc....
Still working on some issues with the engine cooling system and the car is going to be resprayed in the spring time... Slowly but surely it is becoming better and better!
The pics!
How it looks now:
With some rims and tyres I bought last week, was a total steal!
Interior:
OLD (example taken from Google, this is NOT my car! My old interior was completely worn and stained)
NEW (when it wasn't finished yet)
The old door panels:
Refurbished:
Astra G knob:
Bracket I welded for the split rear seats:
Leds all over the place:
Engine-exhaust-brakes
Old and tired 1.8 carburettor engine:
Recent pic of the engine bay:
Front:
Exhaust:
New fuel pump and the bracket I made for it:
New oil pump and the pick-up pipe I welded for it:
After some annoying fuel pump relay problems I made one myself with check leds and built in automatic fuse:
Out with the old 8" servo, in with the refurbished 9" GTE servo:
288mm brake system:
Goodridge braided hoses:
Last week I fitted a full alloy radiator, but the cooling system trouble persists and next is going to be a new pump and timing belt kit. Also got some hoses coming up from Roose motorsport....
If anyone has got some black door panel parts, like the handles for the front doors (5-door) I'm very interested!! (if they even exist at all...) You see, the black paint works very well, but not on all surfaces, the door handles are also pretty worn and the layer of paint just wears off pretty quick.
Also want to have another pair of MK4 sri front seats (see above) from the UK one day, so I will have height adjustment on both sides and off course the wear of the drivers seat is at the other side!:thumb:
Been driving around in Kadetts (Astra MK2) for almost 20 years now, had four up to now and had many other cars also. The Kadett keeps thrilling me and is fun to work on since it's not overly complex. I feel it is a car from the exact right era, where technology was aimed mainly at making a good car, not restricted too much by exhaust fume laws and safety regulations. Many modern cars are just tanks riding around with virtually no space inside and every tiny little option is electronic and computer controlled, wire looms going everywhere. Even changing a bulb is nowadays causing car owners headaches!:face:
I shall keep the story at just the car I have now. Bought it in 2007, body was in fairly good shape, wheel arches had been replaced by a Vauxhall garage years before and still without a spec of rust. Main reason I bought it because it is a five door chassis, a good feature with a son coming up, which is now 1 year and eight months old.
The engine was an E18NV which drank like an elephant and idled like an old granny just out of bed. This is where all the trouble started, been looking for ages to find a good 1-1 replacement, but they seemed pretty rare to find in good condition. A friend had a C20XE engine in his storage for three years, which he took from his Astra MK3 before it got broken due to the rust devil. Engine had a revised head 1K miles back, but had been laying still all that time. Got it for a crate of beer though.:thumb:
With the engine there was nothing, it had been stripped from the car in a hurry and external parts where either not there or broken. So it took me a long struggle and cost some money to get all the bits complete. Also fitted power steering, complete bigger brake system, braided brake hoses, Astra MK3 rear axle with discs, Astra MK4 enterior, Led illumination in the whole dash, different radiator beam to fit the original GTE 16V radiator size, Bilstein B6 shocks and original GTE springs (car is not lowered), stainless steel handmade exhaust system, placed Omega interior lights, also in the middle of the roof (to be able to see my son in the back), sprayed some plastic interior parts black, put central remote door locking in etc. etc....
Still working on some issues with the engine cooling system and the car is going to be resprayed in the spring time... Slowly but surely it is becoming better and better!
The pics!
How it looks now:
With some rims and tyres I bought last week, was a total steal!
Interior:
OLD (example taken from Google, this is NOT my car! My old interior was completely worn and stained)
NEW (when it wasn't finished yet)
The old door panels:
Refurbished:
Astra G knob:
Bracket I welded for the split rear seats:
Leds all over the place:
Engine-exhaust-brakes
Old and tired 1.8 carburettor engine:
Recent pic of the engine bay:
Front:
Exhaust:
New fuel pump and the bracket I made for it:
New oil pump and the pick-up pipe I welded for it:
After some annoying fuel pump relay problems I made one myself with check leds and built in automatic fuse:
Out with the old 8" servo, in with the refurbished 9" GTE servo:
288mm brake system:
Goodridge braided hoses:
Last week I fitted a full alloy radiator, but the cooling system trouble persists and next is going to be a new pump and timing belt kit. Also got some hoses coming up from Roose motorsport....
If anyone has got some black door panel parts, like the handles for the front doors (5-door) I'm very interested!! (if they even exist at all...) You see, the black paint works very well, but not on all surfaces, the door handles are also pretty worn and the layer of paint just wears off pretty quick.
Also want to have another pair of MK4 sri front seats (see above) from the UK one day, so I will have height adjustment on both sides and off course the wear of the drivers seat is at the other side!:thumb:
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