GM content inside - Opel and Vauxhall stuff
Discussion
Spurred on by the VX220 article a couple of days ago, I thought I’d share a few pics of my collection of GM vehicles. I know Vauxhall get a proper bashing regularly on here but I like to think I’ve got the pick of the marques products.
Starting from my newest and working back.....
03 VX220 NA
Bought as pictured a couple of years ago after trying a few, including a SC 2.2, I did what I always do when buying and bought the cheapest with a view to building it to my tastes.
The first 6 months of ownership were a lot of fun but the trips I took highlighted the slightly worn suspension, tired brakes and tatty bodywork. Last year I handed the car over to a customer who specialises in classics and sports cars and gave him a shopping list and unlimited time.
The suspension was stripped and painted, rebushed and new GAZ golds and rear toe links fitted. On went new brakes all round including callipers, cables, hoses etc and then a full alignment at another highly regarded garage.
Unfortunately that highly regarded garage decided to jack the car up on its fibreglass sills
my trip home was needless to say not a happy one, made worse by ripping the front bumper to bits after catching it while reversing up my drive. In the garage it went for 8 months.....
Here it is now, in my garage completely away from professionals with their knowledge, and right where I can get my teeth into fixing the bodywork and finishing the niggles I didn’t do last year. I pulled the front clam off last weekend, which would have been an easy job had a previous owner not cross threaded a bolt that was hidden behind the door! 5 hours for one bolt, 1 hour for the rest..... here’s the offending article
I’ve taken the rack and steering UJs out to be rebuilt/replaced and have an updated heater unit to fit too.
This weekends job is to remove the rear clam and see what horrors await......
Starting from my newest and working back.....
03 VX220 NA
Bought as pictured a couple of years ago after trying a few, including a SC 2.2, I did what I always do when buying and bought the cheapest with a view to building it to my tastes.
The first 6 months of ownership were a lot of fun but the trips I took highlighted the slightly worn suspension, tired brakes and tatty bodywork. Last year I handed the car over to a customer who specialises in classics and sports cars and gave him a shopping list and unlimited time.
The suspension was stripped and painted, rebushed and new GAZ golds and rear toe links fitted. On went new brakes all round including callipers, cables, hoses etc and then a full alignment at another highly regarded garage.
Unfortunately that highly regarded garage decided to jack the car up on its fibreglass sills
my trip home was needless to say not a happy one, made worse by ripping the front bumper to bits after catching it while reversing up my drive. In the garage it went for 8 months.....Here it is now, in my garage completely away from professionals with their knowledge, and right where I can get my teeth into fixing the bodywork and finishing the niggles I didn’t do last year. I pulled the front clam off last weekend, which would have been an easy job had a previous owner not cross threaded a bolt that was hidden behind the door! 5 hours for one bolt, 1 hour for the rest..... here’s the offending article
I’ve taken the rack and steering UJs out to be rebuilt/replaced and have an updated heater unit to fit too.
This weekends job is to remove the rear clam and see what horrors await......
Edited by entwistlecymru on Friday 26th June 22:52
Next in line is my 2000 Holden Commodore VT. I bought this last year from a local elderly gent who imported it when he moved back from Oz 15 years ago. He’d owned it from a couple of years old and had done various mods to it including fitting Harrop HSV brakes, Koni shocks, alloy rad, headers and exhaust system, and a quickshifter.
Unfortunately it had stood for the best part of ten years due to the owners bad health and after I expressed an interest before he got ill, he gave me first dibs when he decided (at age 82) that an A3 diesel was enough for him!
Here it is after getting dropped off last Autumn looking pretty grubby. I got stuck in to find the source of various fluid leaks and pulled the front end off as access to the bottom of the engine bay is fairly limited. Most of the PS pipes were rotten so I made up new lines and fitted a Mishimoto cooler. I flushed the rad and fitted new hoses, clips and generally tidied bodged wiring and scruffy fittings.
Moving on to winter and I’d stripped the skirts and back bumper off to give it a proper rust proofing, ready to hit the road this year. Being busy with my business it took a couple of months to get the time to finish it for its fist MOT in a while and after a proper service I took it for a little spin down the lane..... 1st, 2nd, no 3rd and clutch pedal on the floor so after some helpful advice on the HSV forum I got onto Rockauto and ordered a clutch and flywheel and various other bits.
I’ve farmed the job out to a mate who has time on his hands at the moment and hopefully it’ll be MOT in the next couple of weeks and ready for use as my daily.
Waiting to be sorted...... next to a frightening creation
Unfortunately it had stood for the best part of ten years due to the owners bad health and after I expressed an interest before he got ill, he gave me first dibs when he decided (at age 82) that an A3 diesel was enough for him!
Here it is after getting dropped off last Autumn looking pretty grubby. I got stuck in to find the source of various fluid leaks and pulled the front end off as access to the bottom of the engine bay is fairly limited. Most of the PS pipes were rotten so I made up new lines and fitted a Mishimoto cooler. I flushed the rad and fitted new hoses, clips and generally tidied bodged wiring and scruffy fittings.
Moving on to winter and I’d stripped the skirts and back bumper off to give it a proper rust proofing, ready to hit the road this year. Being busy with my business it took a couple of months to get the time to finish it for its fist MOT in a while and after a proper service I took it for a little spin down the lane..... 1st, 2nd, no 3rd and clutch pedal on the floor
so after some helpful advice on the HSV forum I got onto Rockauto and ordered a clutch and flywheel and various other bits. I’ve farmed the job out to a mate who has time on his hands at the moment and hopefully it’ll be MOT in the next couple of weeks and ready for use as my daily.
Waiting to be sorted...... next to a frightening creation
Back another 15 years to my 1985 Bedford CF LWB crew van. I bought this as a bare shell 5 years ago to swap the running gear out of a SWB van that was terminally rotten.
After a bit of welding and a lot of paint, this is what I’ve got to. I’ve fully rebuilt the suspension with polyurethane bushes, new shocks, steering components, rebuilt brakes with SS brake lines from a S3 Landy and refurbed GKN Turbovecs.
Number 2 son lending a hand...
I originally made the interior suitable for me, wifey and the 3 kids (number 4 is now here so I need to rethink it!) the front seats are Senator while the rears are from an Airbus. A friend retrimmed them all in blue diamond-stitched vinyl
Mechanically, the original 75hp isn’t really enough so I decided to up the cylinder count by 50% and fit a 12v Senator engine with big valve head - 200hp should shift it nicely. I want to use the original ZF 5sp box to keep it looking factory so I’m now working on how to get an extra 30cm of engine hanging out the front to fit under the already stubby front end. To address fuel economy, I’ve made an alloy 20 gallon tank to fit in place of the original 10 gallon unit - I reckon I’ll easily get 600 miles on a tank.....
Modifying the block slightly instead of farting around with a bellhousing adaptor...
Engine sitting nicely inside with a bit too much hanging off the front...
At the moment, I’m looking at fitting a pair of small rads either side of the crank pulley and blanking the standard water pump and fitting an electric one. I’ll fit an oil cooler and an auxiliary heater for the rear seats which can act as a small bit of extra cooling. I’ll be cool enough with the sliding door open
Another obstacle I need to overcome is the fact the inlet won’t fit if I want to utilise my left leg. Thankfully I have a good friend with every engineering toy known to man so I’m going to try a 3D printed item when time and money allows.....
After a bit of welding and a lot of paint, this is what I’ve got to. I’ve fully rebuilt the suspension with polyurethane bushes, new shocks, steering components, rebuilt brakes with SS brake lines from a S3 Landy and refurbed GKN Turbovecs.
Number 2 son lending a hand...
I originally made the interior suitable for me, wifey and the 3 kids (number 4 is now here so I need to rethink it!) the front seats are Senator while the rears are from an Airbus. A friend retrimmed them all in blue diamond-stitched vinyl
Mechanically, the original 75hp isn’t really enough so I decided to up the cylinder count by 50% and fit a 12v Senator engine with big valve head - 200hp should shift it nicely. I want to use the original ZF 5sp box to keep it looking factory so I’m now working on how to get an extra 30cm of engine hanging out the front to fit under the already stubby front end. To address fuel economy, I’ve made an alloy 20 gallon tank to fit in place of the original 10 gallon unit - I reckon I’ll easily get 600 miles on a tank.....
Modifying the block slightly instead of farting around with a bellhousing adaptor...
Engine sitting nicely inside with a bit too much hanging off the front...
At the moment, I’m looking at fitting a pair of small rads either side of the crank pulley and blanking the standard water pump and fitting an electric one. I’ll fit an oil cooler and an auxiliary heater for the rear seats which can act as a small bit of extra cooling. I’ll be cool enough with the sliding door open
Another obstacle I need to overcome is the fact the inlet won’t fit if I want to utilise my left leg. Thankfully I have a good friend with every engineering toy known to man so I’m going to try a 3D printed item when time and money allows.....
Thanks chaps! Here's some more....
I'm a serial Carlton buyer, having owned 7 in the last 10 or so years. I bought this one in 2013 from its second owner, a retired Norfolk County Council petroleum inspector.(?!). it had 45k on the clock but had been off the road for a couple of years. I had a mate collect it and got it MOTd without too much drama.
I used it daily for a couple of years (bar a small break when I owned an XJR), then my new-at-the-time missus (now my wife) used it to ferry her two little ones around. We did 30k between us. I even managed to average 37mpg once while A-framing a Manta back along the M4. After that time living outside, doing all the chores including taking us to Ireland on holiday, Consuela as she was now called, was starting to look very down at heel. I decided to take her off the road to sort the little blisters on the wheel arches, front turret tops and various dings and scrapes accumulated in car parks. My Mrs got a Mito 155hp to take over school run duties and Consuela went to another customer with a bodyshop. 3 years later she emerged looking very shiny....
The two-tone paint job is meant to ape the Cavalier SRi - we never got a Rekord SR/E here but I've always like the look of them - Google for a peek.
As its not going to be used daily anymore it'll be lowered a bit and used for the odd show and run out. I'm running Holden Commodore front suspension now so the bushes are all beefed up, HD shocks, thicker roll bar and boxed in lower arms. The brakes are standard 2.2 which are enough for 1200kg of car, but if I keep her, I have Monza stub axles ready which mean I can fit the bigger discs and calipers. I also have a Monza engine, but I'm undecided on what to do with that.......
I'm a serial Carlton buyer, having owned 7 in the last 10 or so years. I bought this one in 2013 from its second owner, a retired Norfolk County Council petroleum inspector.(?!). it had 45k on the clock but had been off the road for a couple of years. I had a mate collect it and got it MOTd without too much drama.
I used it daily for a couple of years (bar a small break when I owned an XJR), then my new-at-the-time missus (now my wife) used it to ferry her two little ones around. We did 30k between us. I even managed to average 37mpg once while A-framing a Manta back along the M4. After that time living outside, doing all the chores including taking us to Ireland on holiday, Consuela as she was now called, was starting to look very down at heel. I decided to take her off the road to sort the little blisters on the wheel arches, front turret tops and various dings and scrapes accumulated in car parks. My Mrs got a Mito 155hp to take over school run duties and Consuela went to another customer with a bodyshop. 3 years later she emerged looking very shiny....
The two-tone paint job is meant to ape the Cavalier SRi - we never got a Rekord SR/E here but I've always like the look of them - Google for a peek.
As its not going to be used daily anymore it'll be lowered a bit and used for the odd show and run out. I'm running Holden Commodore front suspension now so the bushes are all beefed up, HD shocks, thicker roll bar and boxed in lower arms. The brakes are standard 2.2 which are enough for 1200kg of car, but if I keep her, I have Monza stub axles ready which mean I can fit the bigger discs and calipers. I also have a Monza engine, but I'm undecided on what to do with that.......
Edited by entwistlecymru on Saturday 18th April 19:48
Next up was the family fun bus - I decided I needed a bigger family wagon when son number 3 turned up.
I bought this from the S
horpe sea scouts - at the time it was the 2nd most expensive car I’d bought next to my E63! I rode my Thruxton R up to collect it, loaded the bike in the van and drove back home to West Wales cruising at a comfortable 65.
On it’s way to Wales......
The van was originally white with bench seats but at some point it was painted green and the seats were removed - probably due to H&S! It had a 2ltr low compression CIH (as seen in Manta and Carlton) pushing a whopping 75hp in 1986, but it was nippier than it sounds and returned good mpg. I used it daily for another year or so and it got so many positive comments
Having bought something else ( can’t remember what) I decided to give it a freshen up. Despite in having 50k on the clock, it’s still 35 years old so I polybushed everything, rebuilt the brakes and got hold of a Frontera 2.4 engine to plonk in - it should now be pushing around 125hp
This is how she is at the moment, resplendent in British Rail blue. I have more Airbus seats for this one, all mounted on unwin rails so they can be moved or taken out easily. It also sports that fantastic full length roof rack big enough for half a dozen kayaks (one for each of the family now that child 4 has appeared). I’m hoping to get it running in time for summer but it’s fighting me all the way.....
I bought this from the S
horpe sea scouts - at the time it was the 2nd most expensive car I’d bought next to my E63! I rode my Thruxton R up to collect it, loaded the bike in the van and drove back home to West Wales cruising at a comfortable 65.On it’s way to Wales......
The van was originally white with bench seats but at some point it was painted green and the seats were removed - probably due to H&S! It had a 2ltr low compression CIH (as seen in Manta and Carlton) pushing a whopping 75hp in 1986, but it was nippier than it sounds and returned good mpg. I used it daily for another year or so and it got so many positive comments
Having bought something else ( can’t remember what) I decided to give it a freshen up. Despite in having 50k on the clock, it’s still 35 years old so I polybushed everything, rebuilt the brakes and got hold of a Frontera 2.4 engine to plonk in - it should now be pushing around 125hp
This is how she is at the moment, resplendent in British Rail blue. I have more Airbus seats for this one, all mounted on unwin rails so they can be moved or taken out easily. It also sports that fantastic full length roof rack big enough for half a dozen kayaks (one for each of the family now that child 4 has appeared). I’m hoping to get it running in time for summer but it’s fighting me all the way.....
I've owned this next car since I was 19 (I'm now 36) and it's been in this state for most of the time I've had it. I bought it with an MOT but quickly found a LOT of rot and, not being able to weld at the time, I farmed it out to a local bodyshop to get it sorted. It came back solid and running which is when I stripped it down and started my first, and the way its going, my last restoration!
Dry build around 15 years ago with my old mk1 Cavalier 16v in the background
At the time I bought it, Mantas weren't worth a lot so I had plans to chav it up but thankfully I grew up pretty quickly and decided to restomod it. Over the first few years I collected a load of new panels for it - all cheap at the time. I collected NOS trim, period accessories and tuning bits and other bits and bobs to make it handle and stop properly.
One thing I never decided on was the engine.... I've bought 5 different engines including a 190e Cosworth, T5R, E46 M3 and a BMW 750 lump (now for sale on eBay!) but in the end I've decided to stick with the standard CIH albeit built using modern parts by an F1 engine builder. At the moment I'm still collecting parts but should make a start with the build this Winter once a few of the cars and vans above are finished.
I want the car to look like it could have been built in 1979 so it'll be painted in Astro silver and keeping the Chrome bumpers and anodised trim. I have a NOS Kamei front splitter, i2800 arches like these: https://auto-zer.com/photo/opel-manta-irmscher-i30... and a NOS Irmscher boot spoiler. Inside I have some Corbeau fishnets, doorcards and rear seats trimmed in brown velour with sand coloured carpets - very 70s. The wheels are the only piece of the puzzle I haven't decided on but I think I'll be going for Image BB5, similar to Gerry Marshalls Mega Bertha - I just need to work out the offset to fill the arches.
The bodywork is really solid but I'll be adding a rollcage and 5 linking the rear end with Carlton top arms (a la Manta 400). The brakes are custom made discs with Brembo 4 pots designed to fit under 15" wheels.
Dry build around 15 years ago with my old mk1 Cavalier 16v in the background
At the time I bought it, Mantas weren't worth a lot so I had plans to chav it up but thankfully I grew up pretty quickly and decided to restomod it. Over the first few years I collected a load of new panels for it - all cheap at the time. I collected NOS trim, period accessories and tuning bits and other bits and bobs to make it handle and stop properly.
One thing I never decided on was the engine.... I've bought 5 different engines including a 190e Cosworth, T5R, E46 M3 and a BMW 750 lump (now for sale on eBay!) but in the end I've decided to stick with the standard CIH albeit built using modern parts by an F1 engine builder. At the moment I'm still collecting parts but should make a start with the build this Winter once a few of the cars and vans above are finished.
I want the car to look like it could have been built in 1979 so it'll be painted in Astro silver and keeping the Chrome bumpers and anodised trim. I have a NOS Kamei front splitter, i2800 arches like these: https://auto-zer.com/photo/opel-manta-irmscher-i30... and a NOS Irmscher boot spoiler. Inside I have some Corbeau fishnets, doorcards and rear seats trimmed in brown velour with sand coloured carpets - very 70s. The wheels are the only piece of the puzzle I haven't decided on but I think I'll be going for Image BB5, similar to Gerry Marshalls Mega Bertha - I just need to work out the offset to fill the arches.
The bodywork is really solid but I'll be adding a rollcage and 5 linking the rear end with Carlton top arms (a la Manta 400). The brakes are custom made discs with Brembo 4 pots designed to fit under 15" wheels.
entwistlecymru said:
I’d forgotten all about that. If you’re ever delivering pastie machines around here, gimme a shout!
Will do, I seem to have spent the last 8 years creating children and working so have not been able to keep up with old manta mates. I was booked to go to Sywell this year with a manta and the Nova but that's looking rather unlikely now.
Still, the lock down has meant my poor v8 manta has been dragged out of its auto-cocoon and is well on the way to actually hitting the road again.
So, a little update on progress so far. My budget VX220 project has turned into a full resto. I’ve removed the front and rear clams and taken a DA over the whole car which revealed A LOT of minor damage.
Now, my experience of fibreglass extends to stuffing some P40 into the sills of an old Punto to get it through an MOT so I was a little nervous of doing any work on this. Thankfully I have a good friend who can turn his hand to anything - one of the things he does is teaches motorsport students about composites, so a little stress fracture here or there is nothing...
This first one that appeared was on the top of the NS sill. It’s started like this....
30 minutes later it looked like this...
And shortly after looked like this...
Since finding that damage I’ve repaired the rear clam mounts, both sills where it was jacked up incorrectly, and the front of the NS sill - this bit looked perfect before a bit of digging...
After all this I’m starting to enjoy fibreglass so I think I’ll get some Carbon fibre this winter and remake some interior trim.
Now, my experience of fibreglass extends to stuffing some P40 into the sills of an old Punto to get it through an MOT so I was a little nervous of doing any work on this. Thankfully I have a good friend who can turn his hand to anything - one of the things he does is teaches motorsport students about composites, so a little stress fracture here or there is nothing...
This first one that appeared was on the top of the NS sill. It’s started like this....
30 minutes later it looked like this...
And shortly after looked like this...
Since finding that damage I’ve repaired the rear clam mounts, both sills where it was jacked up incorrectly, and the front of the NS sill - this bit looked perfect before a bit of digging...
After all this I’m starting to enjoy fibreglass so I think I’ll get some Carbon fibre this winter and remake some interior trim.
Next up was the front end. I knew it had been lightly damaged previously, but when reversing up my lane last winter, I found out how many bits it had taken to stick it back together. I’d caught the lower section on a tuft if grass in the middle of the lane which was enough to shatter the lower section and craze half of the front clamshell where previous damage had been badly repaired.
I got straight onto eBay and ordered a new lower section which on first inspection looked nicely made. I clamped it loosely onto the clam but it looked appalling. After much head scratching it appears the previous repairs had distorted the front end enough that the new section wouldn’t fit. I decided to undo (prise off with a screwdriver) the old repairs, refitted the clam to the car carefully and clamped the lower section up again.....
I’ll post more pics next week - I’m hoping to have the front sections bonded back together this weekend all being well
I got straight onto eBay and ordered a new lower section which on first inspection looked nicely made. I clamped it loosely onto the clam but it looked appalling. After much head scratching it appears the previous repairs had distorted the front end enough that the new section wouldn’t fit. I decided to undo (prise off with a screwdriver) the old repairs, refitted the clam to the car carefully and clamped the lower section up again.....
I’ll post more pics next week - I’m hoping to have the front sections bonded back together this weekend all being well
So, a small update……. I bought more cars, and didn’t do much with the ones in bits….. My wife passed away December 2022 and being left a single dad of 4, I decided my Merc Viano was a bit soft, so I bought is this..
LS3 -497whp NA, Wortec exhaust and brakes, Pedders suspension, lots of other tasty bits - it all adds up to a very grumpy but fun and fast child mover. I loved driving it almost daily last year, not every day as I kept my Merc…… that’s because i bumped into my childhood sweetheart and we’re now back together, so I’ve now got 6 kids to think about
So, with 6 kids to transport the next car I bought was, you guessed it…..
A mk1 Tuscan in cascade purple, Powers Performance 4.5 engine and many other goodies. My Mrs let slip she’d always fancied one at the start of the year so after a couple of months of dithering we drove to Gloucester and bought this from Mark at Amoré.
So far we’ve done a few hundred miles and loved every second, though it is one of the only cars I’ve driven that initially feels it wants to kill you. I’m settling into it now and it’s an absolute blast - fast, surprisingly comfy, big enough for a weeks worth of luggage if needs be, sounds brutal at full chat but quiet enough on a cruise, I think it handles well though my first performance car was a 130hp Frogeye on crossplies so it’s a low bar
I may start a separate thread on it if it throws up anything worth putting into writing!
LS3 -497whp NA, Wortec exhaust and brakes, Pedders suspension, lots of other tasty bits - it all adds up to a very grumpy but fun and fast child mover. I loved driving it almost daily last year, not every day as I kept my Merc…… that’s because i bumped into my childhood sweetheart and we’re now back together, so I’ve now got 6 kids to think about
So, with 6 kids to transport the next car I bought was, you guessed it…..
A mk1 Tuscan in cascade purple, Powers Performance 4.5 engine and many other goodies. My Mrs let slip she’d always fancied one at the start of the year so after a couple of months of dithering we drove to Gloucester and bought this from Mark at Amoré.
So far we’ve done a few hundred miles and loved every second, though it is one of the only cars I’ve driven that initially feels it wants to kill you. I’m settling into it now and it’s an absolute blast - fast, surprisingly comfy, big enough for a weeks worth of luggage if needs be, sounds brutal at full chat but quiet enough on a cruise, I think it handles well though my first performance car was a 130hp Frogeye on crossplies so it’s a low bar
I may start a separate thread on it if it throws up anything worth putting into writing!Edited by entwistlecymru on Monday 3rd June 22:38
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff