RE: Vauxhall Cavalier SRI: Spotted
Discussion
The Crack Fox said:
Wow, that's absolutely identical to mine, D450 ARY (IIRC), where is it now? Either rusted to nothing or undertseered into the undergrowth, probably.
But .. £5k for a mk3 Sri is simply stupid, not that quick, not that special, not that rare and not that cool either. I'd chuck £4-5k at a flawless Mk2 Astra GTE, maybe, but not that repmobile, it's even on crap plastic wheel trims, not alloys.
Tax due: 01 June 1998, looks like it bit the bullet.But .. £5k for a mk3 Sri is simply stupid, not that quick, not that special, not that rare and not that cool either. I'd chuck £4-5k at a flawless Mk2 Astra GTE, maybe, but not that repmobile, it's even on crap plastic wheel trims, not alloys.
Bought a 1990 1.8L Saloon off a trader mate back in 1991 for a weekly commute from Ash in Surrey to Gloucester while I was relocating. It did the job but was nothing special - huge boot though! Got a company car in 1992 so sold the Cavalier to my sister who kept it for a number of years and never had any major problems with it.
Then in 1995 I bought a 1992 SRi hatch from my then employer, with 97,000 miles on the clock when I took it for it's first MOT! Great car, nothing went wrong with it but I sold it (for a decent profit!) about a year later so I could have a GLSi Sierra Sapphire as I wanted RWD - big mistake! Even though the Sierra had done less than 10,000 miles within a year or so the clutch thrust bearing failed and it was always plagued with electrical issues. Haven't had a Ford since!
With hindsight the Cavalier SRi was a much better car. Oh and mine had the same wheeltrims as the one in the photo - alloys were an option.
Wouldn't mind another, but not for £5,000!
Then in 1995 I bought a 1992 SRi hatch from my then employer, with 97,000 miles on the clock when I took it for it's first MOT! Great car, nothing went wrong with it but I sold it (for a decent profit!) about a year later so I could have a GLSi Sierra Sapphire as I wanted RWD - big mistake! Even though the Sierra had done less than 10,000 miles within a year or so the clutch thrust bearing failed and it was always plagued with electrical issues. Haven't had a Ford since!
With hindsight the Cavalier SRi was a much better car. Oh and mine had the same wheeltrims as the one in the photo - alloys were an option.
Wouldn't mind another, but not for £5,000!
Had a 2.0 4x4 as a company car (which included a petrol card) which shared the GSi 4x4's suspension and brakes.. It was much less susceptible to plough-on understeer than the SRIs, as I discovered when I borrowed a colleague's and frightened myself silly through a familiar high speed corner. The 4x4 would also oversteer like a champ in the snow.
I don't suppose there are any left now.
SS7
I don't suppose there are any left now.
SS7
RoverP6B said:
A car has to have some intrinsic style, design or engineering quality, or a lasting influence, to be a classic. The Chavalier has none of those. It was just another so-what also-ran repmobile which excelled at precisely bugger all.
Not sure I agree. There are a lot of 70s cars that are deemed "classic" that are little more than run of the mill. That includes most Hillmans, Fords, Vauxhalls and Austin morrises of the period, all of which are worth a bob today.The Cavalier in question was the benchmark hot saloon of its period. Its performance figures in 1989 were probably class leading, certainly way ahead of the equivalent 2 litre Sierra and not really much different to your typical 2 litre Insignia SRI of today up to 100 MPH. I cant off the top of my head think of a 1989 rival which was quicker, if you discount turbo specials such as the MG Montego, Sierra Cossy etc.
I think a classic can be anything that evokes nostalgia and typifies the age. The SRI was that car, definitely representative of later Thatcher era UK. Its time WILL come, believe me.
I had a 'H' plate one of these, which at the time (apart from my best mates GSI2000 and anothers Calibra) was the holy grail for someone in their late teens. I never thought at the time that either the GSI or Calibra with the Redtop felt any faster than mine, but they certainly looked better. At least mine had alloy wheels i suppose.
However, compared to the 'preferred' local competition of the time (XR3i's and Orion 1.6i Ghia) it was loads faster and a lot more comfortable - didn't stack up so well against the RS Turbo though.
It did have one thing over and above the GSI and Calibra though - factory Air con. I imagine quite a rare and expensive option at the time.
Saying that though, when i was looking for mine, some of the earliest 'F' plate Mk3 SRi's didn't have electric front windows either.
However, compared to the 'preferred' local competition of the time (XR3i's and Orion 1.6i Ghia) it was loads faster and a lot more comfortable - didn't stack up so well against the RS Turbo though.
It did have one thing over and above the GSI and Calibra though - factory Air con. I imagine quite a rare and expensive option at the time.
Saying that though, when i was looking for mine, some of the earliest 'F' plate Mk3 SRi's didn't have electric front windows either.
GreenArrow said:
RoverP6B said:
A car has to have some intrinsic style, design or engineering quality, or a lasting influence, to be a classic. The Chavalier has none of those. It was just another so-what also-ran repmobile which excelled at precisely bugger all.
Not sure I agree. There are a lot of 70s cars that are deemed "classic" that are little more than run of the mill. That includes most Hillmans, Fords, Vauxhalls and Austin morrises of the period, all of which are worth a bob today.The Cavalier in question was the benchmark hot saloon of its period. Its performance figures in 1989 were probably class leading, certainly way ahead of the equivalent 2 litre Sierra and not really much different to your typical 2 litre Insignia SRI of today up to 100 MPH. I cant off the top of my head think of a 1989 rival which was quicker, if you discount turbo specials such as the MG Montego, Sierra Cossy etc.
I think a classic can be anything that evokes nostalgia and typifies the age. The SRI was that car, definitely representative of later Thatcher era UK. Its time WILL come, believe me.
Later SRi 16v got the same engine as the Gsi - redtop XE - fantastic engine
Well I've manage to go through all the cavalier collection
mk1 sport hatch at 18 it looked like a manta gte wished Id kept it but drank petrol
mk2 1.3 given it by my grandad it was his old rep car had 130k on the clock got me through uni got rid at 180k got driven flat out every where refused to die. Sold it for 100quid to a mate he wrote it off in 6months.
mk3 sri J reg no cat ex ambulance response car brought with 91k, first ever fast car had it chipped lowered alloys and boy did i love this car unbelivable went all over the UK in it raving and working. Had it for over 6 years and it was fantastic sold it with 180k. Was starting to rot but i paid 2k for it drove for 90k sold it for 500 quid. Hardly any problems really easy to fix when it did have a moment for instance the clutch could be changed in less than an hour. It paid for itself many times over as I used get paid 40 pence a mile at work.
Now only if Vauxhall could make another cav id buy one, ive been looking for gsi's but they simply dont come up any more for sensible money. The vectra and insignia just dont have the same character or reliablity ive driven miles in both and currently have a vectra cdti its not a patch on the cav.
And yes mine would show 13* regular it had the rev limiter knocked out I still have the chip somewhere.
I know this all sound rose tinted but vauxhall havent really moved forward with current offerings
mk1 sport hatch at 18 it looked like a manta gte wished Id kept it but drank petrol
mk2 1.3 given it by my grandad it was his old rep car had 130k on the clock got me through uni got rid at 180k got driven flat out every where refused to die. Sold it for 100quid to a mate he wrote it off in 6months.
mk3 sri J reg no cat ex ambulance response car brought with 91k, first ever fast car had it chipped lowered alloys and boy did i love this car unbelivable went all over the UK in it raving and working. Had it for over 6 years and it was fantastic sold it with 180k. Was starting to rot but i paid 2k for it drove for 90k sold it for 500 quid. Hardly any problems really easy to fix when it did have a moment for instance the clutch could be changed in less than an hour. It paid for itself many times over as I used get paid 40 pence a mile at work.
Now only if Vauxhall could make another cav id buy one, ive been looking for gsi's but they simply dont come up any more for sensible money. The vectra and insignia just dont have the same character or reliablity ive driven miles in both and currently have a vectra cdti its not a patch on the cav.
And yes mine would show 13* regular it had the rev limiter knocked out I still have the chip somewhere.
I know this all sound rose tinted but vauxhall havent really moved forward with current offerings
BL Fanboy said:
I remember way back in the early 90's these were the company car of choice where I worked in 2.0 litre flavour, either Li,GLi or SRi CDi.
It was common for folk to come back in to the office with regular claims of 130mph from the Li,Gli,CDi's and just a touch more from the SRis whilst on the M62. I believe them - they were credible no nonsense people.
I never suited the SRi recaro - I kind of sat on the seat base bolsters and had my kidneys massaged by the chair back bolsters.
I had 3 of them in quick succession (first one died when I rolled it down an embankment) in the late 80's as company rep fodder. They were the fastest thing on the road at the time (sic) and you could get them off the clock if you had a long enough run (M40 IIRC).It was common for folk to come back in to the office with regular claims of 130mph from the Li,Gli,CDi's and just a touch more from the SRis whilst on the M62. I believe them - they were credible no nonsense people.
I never suited the SRi recaro - I kind of sat on the seat base bolsters and had my kidneys massaged by the chair back bolsters.
Official figures were grim by today's standard (0-60 was 9.5 seconds), they understeered like pigs and it was pretty easy to set fire to the brakes. The hubcaps used to regularly part company with the steelies under cornering load of 185x60 tyres.
It was the first car that I had that I thought was actually sporty and set me nicely on the pistonhead track. I got a BMW 320 (E30) afterwards and whilst that was cooler, nicer, posher and quieter is just wasn't the riot that the 8V 130 was.
I miss mine even now.
Drive Blind said:
GreenArrow said:
The Cavalier in question was the benchmark hot saloon of its period.
Autocar road test from oct '88 named the 405 SRi as the better car
k. I had a j reg cavalier sri in red, latterly pink... and it remains my favourite car. it wasn't the best but as others have said it just went well, was comfortable, reliable and felt reasonably solid.
it was none of these things in reality but for a young bloke in the 90's it was a decent fast car. I had it for about 10 years and it never actually went wrong, literally didn't break down once in over 100k miles. when it failed an MOT in 2006 I actually made the guy at the garage laugh, the thing was worth about £250 and I was umming and ahhing at his £500 bill to get it through the mot.
I was just very fond of it....!
Oh and in january this year i was in Lviv and i got into a taxi (a black mk3 hatch also badged as a vectra GT witht he wheel trims and not alloys) it felt like i had walked into a timewarp especially as thier was lada riva's and such driving around, the driver seemed like a younger bloke who seemed to enjoy the car i felt quite safe until i noticed he had a loaded hand gun inbetween the drivers and passenger seat and all of a sudden became a pretty frighteneing journey!
all weekend i kept asking myself ''why was that guy armed?'' still dont know to this day but im thankful he wasnt planning on using it.
all weekend i kept asking myself ''why was that guy armed?'' still dont know to this day but im thankful he wasnt planning on using it.
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