I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

[easytrans]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Well don't ya just hate how one simple little job turns into one simple one followed by about 3 difficult ones!!

A small section under the bonnet of the N/S chassis rail just below the battery shelf has been bugging me for weeks as the dirtiness of it just catches your eye so I thought time to dab a bit of smoothrite on it to smarten it up .....


Just catches your eye (well did mine) .... so

Decided to just move the PSU header pot and bosh some pain on but not that simple as really the bottom hose is in the way so if I'm having that off then may as well remove the radiator as well .....


by right thats better can see what we are doing now ....

So heres job No.2 ... spotted these pipes in the barn the other day (and her-in-doors allways wants to know why I by so many of everything I need ... well glad I did as 10 years later "or 10 years from now I may" need one) ........


Nothing wrong with the one I removed but while I'm there may as well fit one of them ..........

As I managed to stab my hand on the clutch cable end I may as well fit my new cable while I'm about it !!


been sitting in the back waiting for an oppertunity ...... well! the bit under the dash (pedal end) was literly a pain in the ass and with my beggered back haing upside down to workout how to disconnect the pedal end took its toll and it was in for a quick shot of Oramorph to keep me going and then back out to study the Haynes manual........

Simple when you can see what U'r doing but I ended up removing the pivot pin and unhooking the spring and cable end ......


If youre fit and can work upside down then you just need to unhook the spring to release the cable end ..... I pulled the spring pin and undid the 15mm nut and pushed the pivot pin out ......


Looks like this when its out .....

The old one was worn and the nylon sheath gone through to the wire and bending the cable sounded like moving someone with rigormortis so was due for a change!!


.. excuse my mobile work bench .......

So anyway Cable in and adjusted and its nice and smooth and set at a better hight (was too high before) so thats job No.3 done ... or was it No.4 ???? .....


So need to clean this up a bit and a coat of rust inhibitor .....

Then some time later .........


OOP's !! that was close .. knocked the tin on the battery tray and before it spillt I picked it up and lifted it out but then tipped it all over me hand and it was blowing in the wind like party spray towards the car !!! a real near miss !!!

I did manage to get some on the car "but only where I wanted it" phew ! .......


Not brilliant but better than the rusty distraction of before .....

Better if done with more time to spare as it got a bit knocked about putting the radiator and fan back in ..... (personal Note: remember to reassemble in the reverse order to what you took it apart !! saves having to unbolt the PAS tank and remove the bottom hose from the radiator to get the BLOODY fan and cowl back in :-p )..


Refilled with 30% antifreez, ran it up until fan kicked in a few times and checked all hose clips and al looks good .....

So the jobs "To-Do" list has shrunk and then grown and shrunk again .... and now I just added another small job to do which I just remembered ..... and theres still the wash and wax and hoover out before Billing .....

Well what better way to spend your Sunday afternoon?

Laurie.

[easytrans]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Well I was getting resigned to the fact that I may not see my new floor mats arrive on time as I was a bit late ordering them but I sent a message to the guy (Dave) at justmatz Tuesday afternoon and he said he would do his best to get them to me for midday Friday and I got a mail last night to say they were dispatched for today and sure enough Mr Royalmail came a short while ago with them .....

I was resigned to the possibility of keeping these £8 ones in .....



But I think this looks better .......









They are not cheap but these guys were happy to use the real GTE Logo (where others would not) I'm very pleased with them .... (only problem is I will be having to wash my feet now as I'll be driving barefoot !!)

They came from http://www.justmatz.co.uk/

These pictures are not that good as we actually have bright sunshine here at the moment and my camera work leaves a lot to be desired but enough words .....







Laurie.

[zygalski]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

I do like a nice mat

[DarrenH]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

good work on the chassis clean up, the only bit you missed was having to fix a tool before doing the bit that needs doing before fixing the bit than originally needed fixing.

i forgot to ask about the mats, did you have to supply a pattern or are they generic shape ?

[easytrans]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

good work on the chassis clean up, the only bit you missed was having to fix a tool before doing the bit that needs doing before fixing the bit than originally needed fixing.

Don't ... its like painting the Severn Bridge .... start one end and keep working back and forward until one day you decide its never going to end and choose instead to "jump off" !

forgot to ask about the mats, did you have to supply a pattern or are they generic shape ?

I just specified the Make, model and year of the car and discussed the logo, how big then the choice of colour and binding (oh and what type) thats what I got! and they are spot on compared to the 1990's Vauxhall ones (I guess I could have tried for a larger logo "I think this is "the large" according to the supplier" but ) the old ones were a bit gory!!

Excuse the horse shite on the old one ... I had to pull it out of the muck skip for this picture



BTW: mine are the Executive model ... his new supplier can now include the heel pad on this model as with mine where as before, they could not... double comfy!!

Laurie.

[DarrenH]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

very nice ! always wears through on the clutch heel so thats perfect.

[gte 16v]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Nice mats bud, will look at these when i get some, you had sunshine as well and me for a bit anyway, raining now not good.

[easytrans]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Tiny update to the diary..........

Apart from a wash down and a check under the carpets for any damp (since driving through the deluge last weekend) nothing much in the way of GTE activity apart from ......

Since bring the car back on the road (and probably even back 10 years ago if I could remember that far back) I have a small hesitation at low down revs just as you first start to pull in each gear and so as a first step I decided to fit a new set of HT leads and then maybe I'll look at doing the breather mod.

Looking around the tinternet I was amazed to see some of the prices being asked for a set of HT leads ... I used to make them up from a hand full of fittings and a big roll of HT wire back in the day ..... lol
Anyway, I eventually opted for a set of 8mm RED DOUBLE SILICONE at just under £30 delivered .... only time will tell if they are any good or not. The lengths were a little longer than the (I assume) standard ones I removed (probably about 20mm - 25mm on each one, I guess to make the kit universal across more than one model ... but they do supply a 4 point collector clip in the kit to keep them tidy.

Anyway fitted them one by one and I'll give it a run later to see if this alone has made "any" difference (which I doubt it will alone).

I should have popped the plugs out at the same time but I want to have a run first as its been started and stopped a few times this week to move about so will need to clear out the soot first before I can check the colour of the plugs.

Nice dry day yesterday and looking the same next week so no excuse not to take the outdoor cover off again and have the bonnet up





What's the black and red clip for you may ask? ...... Well its a bugger remembering what way around the cover is when its all scrunched in a heap (shame they didn't put a logo or some hem marking to identify the front from the back) so just helps orientating it first time...



Anyway all tucked up until next time


Laurie.

[dancedj]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Nice work again Laurie - Window bolts shipped 1st class recorded yesterday - is that a custom fit cover ?

[easytrans]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Nice work again Laurie - Window bolts shipped 1st class recorded yesterday - is that a custom fit cover ?

Thanks John, ..... yes the cover is custom fit and one that my Brother bought for me for a birthday present last Aug ... not cheap though and fits quite well, never had to put the crossover straps on even in the bad winds we had earlier in the year. (I think I have more detail of it somewhere back in my diary probably last sept +- )

Laurie.

[Davey J]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

I know you mentioned you were going to get the cam cover re-done at some point. If you could also track down a replacement header tank that under bonnet would look awesome. I am on the lookout for 2 or 3 myself. If I find any I will let you know.

I also know a guy who does good powdercoating. Done a few cam covers and plug covers for me.

[NormW]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

What's the black and red clip for you may ask? ...... Well its a bugger remembering what way around the cover is when its all scrunched in a heap (shame they didn't put a logo or some hem marking to identify the front from the back) so just helps orientating it first time...

I've got a universal car cover on my Vectra with those same black and red clips on it front and rear just to hold the thing on as the elastic is useless! Is only temporary until I pull my finger out and fix up and sell. I also think I've put it on back-to-front but it fits enough so I've left it alone!

[Vxlgsi]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Nice motor, cant believe i live 2 mins up the road from you and never seen this out and about?

[easytrans]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

I know you mentioned you were going to get the cam cover re-done at some point. If you could also track down a replacement header tank that under bonnet would look awesome. I am on the lookout for 2 or 3 myself. If I find any I will let you know.

I also know a guy who does good powdercoating. Done a few cam covers and plug covers for me.

Yes I was thinking exactly the same myself yesterday that header tank does let it down a bit. I'm not sure if you can bleach them out or if once they are discoloured there's no way back?? But yes if there are any new still kicking around that would be good.

As for the cam cover and plug cover I will probably do the cam-belt cover at the same time but not sure what route I will go respray with heat resistant paint or powder-coat.

I've got a universal car cover on my Vectra with those same black and red clips on it front and rear just to hold the thing on as the elastic is useless! Is only temporary until I pull my finger out and fix up and sell. I also think I've put it on back-to-front but it fits enough so I've left it alone!

Apparently this one cost around £200 so you would think they could have put a tag on it saying Front or Back (or left/right)

Laurie.

[Vinci]

Re: I suppose its only fair I share my 16v GTE part restoration with you all

Nice read Laurie, love to see how you touch up all the bits at a time!

May I ask where you got the HT leads there?