Astra mk3 Arctic 1.6 8v to 3.0 24v build

[Harvey]

The mk3 is current SORN and due out again in a few months. Just as I was hibernating it last year the darn ABS warning light pinged on and fault codes indicated it was the front left sensor. I’d used some original Astra mk2 sensors which were 27 years old so bought a pair of brand new generic brand sensors and replaced both last week. The light is now out and fault codes cleared.

[Harvey]

Dug the motor out from its Winter sabbatical to have a new alarm installed on Thursday. The existing one was no longer on the Thatcham Cat 1 approved list and the siren had died with no replacements available. I had a local mobile installer complete the work and he did a top notch job so recommend Joe at Top Marque Vehicle Security to anyone. He also does house and business alarms as well as being a fully qualified electrician.





I was going through my spares looking for something else then came across a fuel filler cap & had one of those “I think I need this” moments remembering the one on the mk3 was pants. I lost the original mk3 cap after leaving it stuck on one of those magnets at a filling station years ago so grabbed one from the scrappers to replace it. I’d obviously got a better one at a later date but had forgot about it.

Current mk3 cap on the right and one I found I had on the left looking much better.



I noticed the plastic body was larger and easier to grip on the old manky one so swapped them over as they simply clip on. The OE supplier must have revised the design at some point.





Job done, much happier with a shiny cap. Yes I know nobody will see it but I know it’s now sorted.

[Harvey]

I’ve never been happy with the front and rear door side trims and no matter what I did they kept lifting at the ends. Enough was enough and it took some finding but I’ve managed to obtain brand new genuine trims which have been dropped off with my paint man.





Got a new aircon pressure switch to be installed as it’s weeping from the main body of the existing one.

[Harvey]

When the alarm was replaced it came with a stupidly bright blue LED which looked completely out of place in a 20 year old car.



I’ve new replaced it with a more subtle green version in keeping with the vehicle colour.



I had a suspicion the exhaust was blowing as the paste I had used had dried, cracked and fell off yet for the second time. To try a more permanent fix I’ve used high temp silicone, the same stuff used when building engines. First impressions are its working but time will tell so I’ll keep an ear out for it blowing.



You can see the original A/C hi/low pressure switch on the left and the switch body moulding on the underside where it’s weeping from. I’ll be getting the A/C man in soon so it can be replaced with the brand new switch that I’ve bought.

[Harvey]

The original door trims haven’t been playing nicely as the trim tape I used wasn’t up to the job and has caused me a few headaches with the ends bending back and lifting.









I had a call from my paint man at Fleets Ahead saying the new door trims were ready for collection so popped in on Friday. As always he’s done a cracking job and comes highly recommend.



The most important part is they all have the original mounting tape.



Ben at Fleets Ahead also loaned me some commercial grade mounting tape made by KENT so I could pop extra at the ends of the trims. I really hope that’ll stop them lifting.







Old trims removed, surface cleaned and prepped ready for install.



Gentle heat applied to door and tape prior to a very firm press when in position as its pressure activated mounting tape. All fingers crossed that does the trick and they don’t lift again. Failing that I’ll get them bonded on with Tiger Seal or similar.

[Harvey]

Last weekend I heard a clunk somewhere from the front end but couldn’t figure it out as it only occurred twice. I had a closer poke and prod this evening and found it. The nearside ring nut that retains the shock absorber cartridge had worked loose.



Strut removed as I didn’t have enough room in the arch to get to it.





Just enough room between the spring coils to get my stilsons in there. It had loosened off a number of turns so I was lucky to find it if I’m honest.





Tightly tightened so hopefully it won’t come loose again. Glad I found it prior to the 200 mile round trip to PV this Sunday.



On another good note the side trims seem to be holding tight and not peeling at the ends, whoop whoop.





All done and back to bed until Sunday.

[Harvey]

I had the ac man booked in for today so last night swapped over the hi/low ac switch. I held the main body with a ? inch spanner and used a 14mm to loosen the switch. The fitting has a valve so you don’t lose any refrigerant when you swap them over.





You can clearly see where the old switch was leaking on the left.



New switch fitted.



If you’re in the Nottingham/Derby area he comes highly recommend and is mobile so comes to you, website here.



Gas pressure being checked and we only required a small top up as there was plenty still in there. I’m hoping it won’t be intermittently working now when we press the magic stay cool button in the car.

[DarrenH]

that high temp silicon should be ok. i've used it on the flu slip joint on our log stove and stood up to the heat well.

are you doing "billing" this year?

[Harvey]

Double post

[Harvey]

On a bad note I killed my ever so faithful Opcom (v5 hardware) that I?ve had since 2007 but this must have been a sign as I bought a new one and it can communicate with the ECUs my previous one couldn?t namely the Astra mk3 airbag, Vectra ABS and Vectra cruise control. I?ve previous been forced to use my Delphi DS150e for these.

I had another eureka moment last weekend as the cruise control has never worked on the mk3 so I spent a day trouble shooting and double checked my wiring which was perfect, I?m darn good at wiring even if I do say so myself. I did find the cruise control motor wouldn?t talk with my Opcom so tested another spare and it communicated straight away. In addition to this I found I had incorrectly fitted the clutch switch so instead of being compressed with the clutch pedal at rest it was uncompressed breaking the circuit and not allowing the cruise to activate. A few hours battling in a rather confined foot well had it sorted. Test drove last night and it all works lovely.

Sorry no pictures as I?m still figuring out what to do with my Photobucket and this darn blocking of 3rd party hosting malarkey.

[Harvey]

Back in August the mk3 got a set of free GSi tail lights from RallyMarshal (aka Paul) who was breaking a mk3 as I?ve never really liked the series 2 standard items.

Original stock series 2 tail lamps.



Early GSi rear clusters.



After fitting I stood back and realised they needed de-tangoing as they were just too darn orange, minutes later they were done.







Bought some chrome/amber bulbs and whacked them in.





All sorted and looks so much better. I?ve even added a light tint to the spoiler brake light to tone down the redness but you obviously can?t see that.

[Harvey]

The wife and I noticed the fuel pump was getting loud and being a second hand scrappy item I decided to fit a brand new one. So in November the V-Power go go juice extracted so I could add fresh after the pump change.



I had visions of having to drop the tank but there was just enough room by the looks of things to get it out the top.



Ten mins later and I won. Checked in the tank for debris as my Vectra B tank had started rusting from the inside the other year but all looks fresh and clean in there. The remainder of the fuel got hand pumped out so it was totally empty.





Ordered a stock replacement Sytec pump which come branded at ?Hi?. I?ve used the ITP318 previously for my Vectra B which uses the exact same pump but that came in a Sytec box. The ITP318 also includes a new filter.



Next job was to strip the carrier and replace the pump.





I also ordered a new gasket for the tank to pump carrier (part no.90232009) as the original had gone a bit hard. They are still readily available from Vauxhall should anyone need one. I then put it all back together, stuck some fresh fuel in for good measure, primed the fuel system and it fired first turn of the key. The pump is lovely and quite so all good.

[Harvey]

Dug the mk3 out of its Winter slumber last weekend and fired it up for 30 mins before tucking it back into bed until the nicer weather arrives. I forgot how nice it sounds, it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside.

[Harvey]

The old girl had a few minor but very annoying dents for a while now so I thought it was high time we got these sorted out. The main really obvious one was a ripple on top of the offside front wing from a previous badly done smart repair prior to the wife owning the car. It’s really hard to photograph but hopefully this gives you an idea.



I was recommended a local chap who I hadn’t used before, turns out he lives less than a mile from me. Dean who’s business is Speedy Dent Repair (also on FaceBook) popped round and started bending, poking, prodding, heating, hammering, tapping…you get the idea…and then just over an hour later and as if by magic, no more dents. Top skills, thanks Dean He covers the Nottingham/Derby/Mansfield area so if you have a dent and you want is gone give him a call.





I’ve never been happy with the look of the lower radiator Frankenstein hose I made up using Astra mk3 and Omega items and a joiner. Last month I took the plunge and spoke with the nice chaps at Roose who relieved me of some pennies and supplied a custom conversion hose in OE look and no logo print. I’ll be fitting it as soon as another tweak has been completed.

[RallyMarshal]

Small but worthwhile touches...