1991 Astra GTE 16V

[zygalski]

From the advert when I went to see it up in Scotland late last year:

[zygalski]

A few weeks later down at his new home in Sussex after a bit of spit & polish (and clay baring!):

[zygalski]

The single best upgrade you can give a GTE is wider & lower profile rubber.
I bought these original 15" GTE Champion alloys off a member of the Mk2 Astra owners club:



And they came with the original centre caps which needed re-finishing:





Also bought some cap covers off the bay:



Now the car handles in a much more purposeful way with 195/50/15 Uniroyal Rainsport 2's.





The plastics were all faded, so I used Forever Black on them:

[Maty]

That. Is. Lovely!

Any plans for it?

[zygalski]

Thanks.
I just want to look after it.
It has 71k on the clock now, with previous MOT's to prove. The guy I bought from is an MOT tester, so that was handy.
Fortunately for me there's a local specialist who can deal with all the oily bits, so that & the fact that the whole underside has been waxoyled & several litres put into the cavities, should mean that it's around for a good few years

[northandy]

Lovely car, my favorite colour too.

[chris80]

Very nice.

[RS 172]

very rare car

[james n]

Fantastic mate, these were the cars me & my mates all wanted but couldnt insure when I was 17/18
Looks a nice example too, hope you enjoy it.

[grenpayne]

Very nice indeed, looks superb in that colour! Lovely job on the wheels too.

[wackojacko]

Minter, very nice indeed.

[MrMoonyMan]

Lovely lovely lovely.

My first car was a 1196cc 'merit' version of this with a huge wing on the back!

I so wanted a GTE. Or even an SR

What's it drive like? I see there is a big strut brace, anything else?

[zygalski]

It's got 3 strut braces, a Toad AI606 with remote central locking, ebc greenstuffs all round & that's about it.
Standard shocks/suspension & the engine is the standard redtop with no mods. I don't think they really need any tbh, providing it's looked after with quality oil & filter changes every 5-8k. Pulls really well through all gears & is plenty fast enough for me!
I suppose I could lower it by 20mm all round, but I'm definitely not taking it on a track so not really a priority...

[martin mrt]

Lovely, not a massive vauxhall fan but I love the mk2 GTE and Mk3 GSi

Looks great on the champion wheels

[stevenr]

Nice car that one,did it come from Oban direction?

[Gooly]

That's stunning, I'm a big Ford fan but I've always loved the hot VX Astras and the like.

[zygalski]

Yeah - that's the one stevenr.
Drove it 520 miles back to Sussex leaving Taynuilt at about 15:00 & getting home (after 2 stops) at 23:30 with absolutely no dramas, apart from being rather knackered!

[vrtrooper]

Very nice indeed. Most of these have gone now: Tin worm, Twoc'ed or crashed.

[MMA4life]

My dad had the 8v one of these, lovely cars! I liked the digital display for the rev counter, where it climbs up to a peak then drops off down the other side. Great car bud!

[C. Grimsley]

Reminds me of mine, was a great car but I bought a basket case and totally restored it, only sold it a few years ago and got £2k for it at the time.

Great cars, still got a few spares, engine/box/looms etc

Carl