Aly Mac

A blast from the past eh !! , was wondering if anyone on here has ever owned one, before my scoob i always had vauxhalls, now i`ve sold the scoob and have the merc i`m thinking about looking for one of these to have as a kind of toy, possibly one needing tlc and some restoration, just to put in the garage and play about with. I know of the problems with t/boxes etc etc but they seem to be affordable toys and they are getting rare

any opinions ??

The Zohan

Transfer boxes are a weak point, the important thing is to keep the tyres evenly worn and replace all 4 at once to minimise the differences in rolling radai of the tyres. Sadly a lot of owners don't, the cars are getting on and perhaps less well maintained as they used to (enthusiasts with deep pockets excluded)

Watch for RUST and damage and non std cars unless modded by reputable specialists.

I like them, mate had a new one badged as a Cav CD and we 'roasted' many a fast car in it.

Kermit

Watch out for pourous heads and snapped manifold/head studs.

16vmarc

I like them, 204bhp nice leather interior and gauges as standard. Some had the Cosscast head i believe too?

pete1977

Used by the police a lot aswell if i remember rightly.

4x4chris

Mate of mine used to have a Calibra turbo.... pretty much the same thing...
... not too bad while it lasted by nothing but trouble to be honest, had to replace the transfer box.
crappy turbos too (think its originally a light pressure one from a GM diesel engine).
As with all Vauxhalls of that era, can be a bit flakey on the electrical front too...


Always a nice looker tho.

4x4chris

Dorset Police used to have an un-marked green one until a while ago.
I saw it just outside my work having been totally mashed by some dozy ****** rear-ending it. There were a LOT of coppers around, bet he sh@T himself after realising what he hit!

scooby595

get yourself over here and have a looksie in the "cars for sale section". There's a really nice Tubby for sale in there.

Also links and great advice on where to and what to buy.

Steve

The Zohan

You may have forgotten a little something Steve

The Zohan

Yep, mate had this new one in '93
it was a real Q car with the 2.0 CD badges, the Wheels looked identical expect larger/wider so no real clues except the twin tailpipe.

beasted an H reg M5 off the lights, the guy laughing his head off at the next set and asked what it (Cavalier) was

Bob Rawle

I had one from 1996 to 1998, fantastic even given the t-box blew, did as much as I could to mine, hybrid turbo, variable boosdt cotroller (1.45 bar normal) 5th injector, induction, exhaust, fuel reg etc etc, remapped as well, never had it rolling roaded properly but it just got quicker and quicker . Did the suspension, brakes etc, dropped it 60mm to the bump stops.

My t-box went cos some idiot abused it, the temp sensor wiring had been cut and spliced and the fluid that came out of it at the first change I did was so black and full of crap it was always going to go, lucky I had a friendly dealer who did me trade parts and labour to replace. Had the porous head as well but got that replaced with the Cosworth one under warranty. At the time I had mine we were fighting Vauxhall over the plastic cam belt tensioner pulley, helped out in the campaign that involved Watchdog and we finally got Vauxhall to admit defeat and stand down.

great cars

bob



Its still going afaik.

Andy S.

I had a GSi 4x4 and then a Cav turbo quite a few years ago. I never had problems with the transfer box myself. but had lots of problems with Vauxhall dealers. One telling me that it was a very complex car there for more likely to go wrong!!!

I took my GSi to the dealers for 30000mile service, picked it up in the afternoon drove half way home and the 4WD packed in light on the dash board. Turned round and went back to the dealer who put it on there test machine. and told me that the transfer box had gone and it would be £2500 for a new one. I did not believe them as there where no nasty noises.
I then saw in autotrader a advert for Ultravox in Derby offering transfer boxes replaced for £999 inc fitting. So I took it there and the guy took it for a test drive and came back telling me it was not the transfer box as it was quiet as a mouse. He put it on his ramps and then 10 minutes later came with a bunch of wires and said it was the heat switch on the transfer box that had caused the 4x4 not to work. total bill came to £38 LOL

Then a yaer later I had the head gasket go, or thats what we thought 2 head gaskets later we sussed out that the head was porous !! and the general opion was that 30% of the Vauxhall heads will go the same way!! I got an early cosworth head (first Astra 16v) and all was ok.

Also got to watch out for the dodgy track control arms, if you get a dodgy garage they will jack them up on the track control arms!! then they will fail causing the front suspension to colapse!! not pleasent. another arguement with Vauxhall as they said that a dodgy garage must have jacked it up, but they where the only garage to touch the car!!! LOL

To drive the GSi was good. Mine was after having the head done 180bhp @ wheels with no cat. Handle sweet I had bilstien sports suspension.
The turbo I had was fault less not sure if they had the same porous head problem or not? Went well and all leather in side lots of toys and very balanced car due to the Supertouring era of development!

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

i had a cav 4x4 turbo before my impreza, they are cracking cars. transfer boxes are ok as long as the tyres wear doesnt exceed 2-4mm dffernce on all 4 tyres, the porus head thing is an easy check just open up the header bottle and if there is brown sediment in it, it has a porus head. but htere main weak point is the heat under the bonnet. add a larger intercooler and there will be no engine problems and you will also make better power they have a really slow 1st gear but once you get into 2nd gear the car pulls really well and it will do 160mph + as well coupled with a cracking 4x4 system its a really good car

Dave uk blue mica

i had one before my impreza but i converted mine to 2 wheel drive which made it a better car, no transfer box problems and it makes the car quicker too cos of less drag, their genuine 160mph cars that will surprise loads of people, rust is the main problem these days.

Frazer

180@WHEELS on a GSi with head work? Yeah oookkk

Dave uk blue mica

Can't believe a GSI put out 180bhp @ the wheels, my Cavalier turbo in 2 wheel drive put out 162bhp @ the wheels and was loads quicker than any GSI Cavalier or 16V Calibra

Aly Mac

cheers for all the comments folks , seems that they were pretty popular cars in their time, even if a little fragile , i think the biggest problem that i would face is actually getting my hands on a good one that has been looked after most of its life, i`ve seen a few sub 100k milers with a fair bit of history and fairly good storys for pretty decent money. I just fancy one as i`ve owned alot of vauxhalls and this is one that i never quite managed to own, now i`m in a position where i can probably justify one as a toy and as there are only a few left still registered, they are getting rare, possibly a kind of classic for the future


cheers

Aly Mac

Do you mean the Owners Register ???, i did see that rather nice satin red one on there.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Might as well get a Saab 9-3, basically a Cavalier platform but much improved fitted with a grunty turbo lump !

And they dont rust to bits either.

matchmaker

I had a 4x4 Cavalier - not the turbo or GSI, just the boggo 130 bhp 8v. Great car and I had no problems with it. You had to watch tyre depth and pressures - if you got a "clunk" when you braked there was a difference in pressures (the vauxhall 4x4 system disengaged when you braked - I forget the reason now!)

scooby595

oopsy !!! Bit late but here's the link !!!!


http://www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/index.php

o dear o dear o dear, sorry !!!!!!!!!!!

Steve

Diablo

Something to do with the ABS IIRC

DavidChief

Have a very good look for rust... we've had a few Cav's in the family and all have had big rust problems.

Andy S.

Was not just head work!! SBD Dev engine!

If you go the full hog with steve you can get 300+ @ crank still @ 2 litre!