Vauxhall Cavalier GSI - Track Car
Discussion
Can you hire the trailer and get a friend/family member with a slightly older licence i.e. with towing qualifications to drive you over to the cage fitters for a beer or two? Might be the cheapest option.
BTW, I too loved the early-mid 90's BTCC and can understand the temptation to replicate the livery that some have recommended but the way I se it is this isn't a replica of something else, it's YOUR track car and you'll probably want to do various things to it over time which wouldn't be true to the racing livery. For what it's worth, I say don't cover it in decals. But that's obviously up to you!
BTW, I too loved the early-mid 90's BTCC and can understand the temptation to replicate the livery that some have recommended but the way I se it is this isn't a replica of something else, it's YOUR track car and you'll probably want to do various things to it over time which wouldn't be true to the racing livery. For what it's worth, I say don't cover it in decals. But that's obviously up to you!
What about buying a towing dolly? Don't know if they're legal or not or if you could use one with your license but if all ok could be a permanent solution to moving cars round for you.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/car-recovery-towing-doll...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/car-recovery-towing-doll...
Buggles said:
In other news, I've just found this;
https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/83915/va...
A Swindon built, 240bhp race C20XE!
I can see some spending happening very soon! https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/83915/va...
A Swindon built, 240bhp race C20XE!
My niece works in Allams of Epsom - the same Jeff Allam that used to race these in the BTCC with John Cleland. I could get her to ask if he's got any stickers left over? I mean yours is the right colour already!
I take it you missed my post about the XE engine:
High I'm not sure what you're doing engine wise I had twin 48's on mine when I had it I then switched to throttle bodies the car also had cams a gas flowed head etc the result was 224bhp & then by accident whilst in for some more work my engine guy discovered that the inlet manifold from the RS Cosworth engine bolted straight onto the GSI as did the RS Turbo Manifold which meant Cosworth engine management & the opportunity to run Eight injectors after a bit of work it was done.
The result was 352bhp with 340ft/lb unfortunately my Cossie got finished 4 months later so I sold the engine put a standard one in & sold the car, so if you're looking for turbo power that might be something worth considering.
RS Turbo Manifold:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Escort-Rs-Turbo-T3-Manif...
With the Turbo:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Escort-Rs-Turbo-T3-Manif...
Cosworth Inlet Manifold with the throttle body:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-COSWORTH-4WD-Intake...
Or you could use the RS500 setup:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-RS500-Sierra-Coswor...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RS-COSWORTH-RS500-8-INJE...
I ran mine on the standard pistons for a while it was around 245bhp with 230lb/ft then went low comp pistons etc:
High I'm not sure what you're doing engine wise I had twin 48's on mine when I had it I then switched to throttle bodies the car also had cams a gas flowed head etc the result was 224bhp & then by accident whilst in for some more work my engine guy discovered that the inlet manifold from the RS Cosworth engine bolted straight onto the GSI as did the RS Turbo Manifold which meant Cosworth engine management & the opportunity to run Eight injectors after a bit of work it was done.
The result was 352bhp with 340ft/lb unfortunately my Cossie got finished 4 months later so I sold the engine put a standard one in & sold the car, so if you're looking for turbo power that might be something worth considering.
RS Turbo Manifold:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Escort-Rs-Turbo-T3-Manif...
With the Turbo:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Escort-Rs-Turbo-T3-Manif...
Cosworth Inlet Manifold with the throttle body:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-COSWORTH-4WD-Intake...
Or you could use the RS500 setup:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-RS500-Sierra-Coswor...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RS-COSWORTH-RS500-8-INJE...
I ran mine on the standard pistons for a while it was around 245bhp with 230lb/ft then went low comp pistons etc:
My apologies I must have missed your reply, my mate did it for me (he now lives in the States) yes we used the cossie throttle body on the N/A engine the hard part was plumbing up the throttle body but (mainly getting the throttle cable to give 100% openings) the stand alone cossie management made life easy I was running cams & pulleys with a gas flowed head.
The Turbo conversion involved an extra head gasket & change of Cams at first to give the 242bhp but I had to get low comp pistons stronger rods & another head to go for a more full fat approach.
I'll contact him & see if it's okay to give you his Email, he got the idea from some guys who started doing the same & then they just never bothered with it they were based in Ashford.
I hope this helps if there's anything in particular you'd like to know, feel free to ask.
The Turbo conversion involved an extra head gasket & change of Cams at first to give the 242bhp but I had to get low comp pistons stronger rods & another head to go for a more full fat approach.
I'll contact him & see if it's okay to give you his Email, he got the idea from some guys who started doing the same & then they just never bothered with it they were based in Ashford.
I hope this helps if there's anything in particular you'd like to know, feel free to ask.
Tuning isn't the big minefield it's portrayed to be, the first thing I would do is get it on the dyno to see how much bhp it's making now so you have a base setting, it's also a good barometer to your engines health so if there are any issues (02 sensors etc) you can address those before starting any tuning work, it's also a good opportunity to build up a good rapport with them & tap into a bit knowledge they'll know tuning & engineering companies worth talking to.
Tuning wise I'd buy a spare head that way you can still use the car while you decide which way you want to go NA or Turbo?
Then start with a Manifold & Exhaust system with either a direct replacement air filter or cone filter.
Cams wise I went with race cams at the start but the delivery was too high up the rev range for my liking (it was a road car though) so I went with a rally cam on the inlet to give me a bit more torque lower down the rev range.
The head I used was already Gas Flowed when I bought it.
Tuning wise I'd buy a spare head that way you can still use the car while you decide which way you want to go NA or Turbo?
Then start with a Manifold & Exhaust system with either a direct replacement air filter or cone filter.
Cams wise I went with race cams at the start but the delivery was too high up the rev range for my liking (it was a road car though) so I went with a rally cam on the inlet to give me a bit more torque lower down the rev range.
The head I used was already Gas Flowed when I bought it.
ZX10R NIN said:
Tuning isn't the big minefield it's portrayed to be, the first thing I would do is get it on the dyno to see how much bhp it's making now so you have a base setting, it's also a good barometer to your engines health so if there are any issues (02 sensors etc) you can address those before starting any tuning work, it's also a good opportunity to build up a good rapport with them & tap into a bit knowledge they'll know tuning & engineering companies worth talking to.
Tuning wise I'd buy a spare head that way you can still use the car while you decide which way you want to go NA or Turbo?
Then start with a Manifold & Exhaust system with either a direct replacement air filter or cone filter.
Cams wise I went with race cams at the start but the delivery was too high up the rev range for my liking (it was a road car though) so I went with a rally cam on the inlet to give me a bit more torque lower down the rev range.
The head I used was already Gas Flowed when I bought it.
The thing is a B Series Saab will drop straight in and will do 300HP with just basic downpipe, used 9-5 Aero Turbo and remap. Saab Engines can be picked up for a couple of hundred pounds. Even whole cars go for 500 notes themselves. You could even use 9-3 parts as many of them are uprated from the cavalier days. Wishbones, bigger brakes, anti roll bars etc.Tuning wise I'd buy a spare head that way you can still use the car while you decide which way you want to go NA or Turbo?
Then start with a Manifold & Exhaust system with either a direct replacement air filter or cone filter.
Cams wise I went with race cams at the start but the delivery was too high up the rev range for my liking (it was a road car though) so I went with a rally cam on the inlet to give me a bit more torque lower down the rev range.
The head I used was already Gas Flowed when I bought it.
If you want to go N/A then you could do worse than get a set of Motorbike throttle bodies they're cheaper & can easily deliver the fuel you'll need.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-C20XE-2-0-Bike-...
But you're right to get the car set up first as Suspension will give you more than BHP will to begin with.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-C20XE-2-0-Bike-...
But you're right to get the car set up first as Suspension will give you more than BHP will to begin with.
LanceRS said:
Good luck with this. I have a soft spot for these. I remember picking up the literature at the 88 Earls Court Motor Show and then driving a fair few of them back in the early 90s. With the except of the 1.7 Turbo diesels I liked driving them.
I always liked them, a much better car than the Sierra ever was. A rare accidental gem in the GM back catalogue of s
te 
I have that engine in Westfield. I have stayed NA and experimented a bit. Rather that out and BHP I have focused on torque and driveability so only have a relatively modest 225 BHP, but the engine is so easy to drive as it is not a 'peaky' mess. But what is great about the setup is it does both torque and also loves to be reved and sounds immense above between 7k and 8k rpm.
I also built for reliability and getting power from these engines is relatively easy there are a few things that can be done to help this. Oil temperature control being the one I struggled with. I am now at the point where you can empty the fuel tank on track, c. 45 mins to an hour stints, with temperatures and pressures stable.
Give me a shout if you want to know what I have done and the pitfalls I fell into.
I also built for reliability and getting power from these engines is relatively easy there are a few things that can be done to help this. Oil temperature control being the one I struggled with. I am now at the point where you can empty the fuel tank on track, c. 45 mins to an hour stints, with temperatures and pressures stable.
Give me a shout if you want to know what I have done and the pitfalls I fell into.
Buggles said:
Hello chap, that sounds about the perfect sort of output to be honest. NA, with a decent power output and torque curve. I'd quite like something that isn't peaky, I've never driven a car on track so something that will not catch me outside of a power band would be perfect. Are you running throttle bodies?
If you could ping me a mail with your rough spec, that would be wonderful. Or post it up here, whichever is good for you really. Interesting you mention oil temperature control, what were the major pitfalls? I've planned to use an enlarged MOCAL oil cooler, but unsure on how many rows to spec yet as I'm not sure on running temperatures.
The sort of engine you've got there, sounds like what I'd really like to end up with eventually. Reliable power, so I can take it out and use it all day on a track without worrying about the engine blowing up.
I have dropped you an email as we can then have a conversation as I have gone through a few engine iterations so dependant on budget etc I can advise on what I did to see it can help you.If you could ping me a mail with your rough spec, that would be wonderful. Or post it up here, whichever is good for you really. Interesting you mention oil temperature control, what were the major pitfalls? I've planned to use an enlarged MOCAL oil cooler, but unsure on how many rows to spec yet as I'm not sure on running temperatures.
The sort of engine you've got there, sounds like what I'd really like to end up with eventually. Reliable power, so I can take it out and use it all day on a track without worrying about the engine blowing up.
But on the oil cooling side, as it could be useful to others, initially I found I could make it either work on track or work on the road:
With no cooler temperatures on road were a little low on the road but started climbing on track. I am guessing you would be OK on the road given the extra mass of your car compared to a Westfield. I then went to a large 19 row MOCAL cooler and thermostatic take-off, oil was far too cold on the road and too low on the track. I then tried a 13 row MOCAL and thermostatic take-off, too cold on the road and perfect on the track. So I then tried the standard Vauxhall thermostatic take-off and 13 row cooler, still to cold on the road and by too cold I mean falling to 53 degrees on a motorway cruise. What I found out is the thermostats let some flow past even when closed and their opening is not binary so they start to open at much less than the fully open figure.
After a good deal of swearing given the costs involved to this point, I went for a good radiator and a Laminova oil water heat exchanger. This gave me much faster oil warming from coolant heating the oil and stable temps (oil at 83 degrees) on the road then on track heat gets dumped through the coolant to give stable temperatures (between 100 to 106 degrees).
I'm following this with huge interest mate, absolutely iconic BTCC cars - Cleland's 95 Cav is probably my favourite "racing car" of all time!
Just a thought if you're not sure about a livery, go with the test car pattern? From what I remember it was mainly plain white, with yellow mirrors and grille surround, and smaller Vauxhall sport flashes on each door, with Mobil and Michelin logos dotted about. Could have a play with the different bits and resize them?
Cannot WAIT to see this roll out completed!
Just a thought if you're not sure about a livery, go with the test car pattern? From what I remember it was mainly plain white, with yellow mirrors and grille surround, and smaller Vauxhall sport flashes on each door, with Mobil and Michelin logos dotted about. Could have a play with the different bits and resize them?
Cannot WAIT to see this roll out completed!
Buggles said:
BatchS3 said:
I'm following this with huge interest mate, absolutely iconic BTCC cars - Cleland's 95 Cav is probably my favourite "racing car" of all time!
Just a thought if you're not sure about a livery, go with the test car pattern? From what I remember it was mainly plain white, with yellow mirrors and grille surround, and smaller Vauxhall sport flashes on each door, with Mobil and Michelin logos dotted about. Could have a play with the different bits and resize them?
Cannot WAIT to see this roll out completed!
Ha ha, cheers mate! I'm working my arse off to keep the progress going with this thing, but working away half the time is a nuisance when it comes to getting garage time.Just a thought if you're not sure about a livery, go with the test car pattern? From what I remember it was mainly plain white, with yellow mirrors and grille surround, and smaller Vauxhall sport flashes on each door, with Mobil and Michelin logos dotted about. Could have a play with the different bits and resize them?
Cannot WAIT to see this roll out completed!
However, I expect by the end of this week to have the front coilovers on, front brakes on, subframe back on, a load of other little jobs, and hopefully it'll be rolling out of the garage on its new wheels.
There's a lad coming to take the windscreen out on the 14th and then it's having it's rollcage fitted on the 23rd October. A while yet, but it's getting there.
With regards to decals/livery etc. I was thinking at the most, I'll maybe go with some red griffin decals on the mirrors as per the BTCC cars?
phil_cardiff said:
As I've said before, please don't make it look like a racing car. Think purposeful yet still vaguely discreet. Just my thoughts.
I do have to agree, I'm tempted to do something but I don't want it to be over the top. I think it will look purposeful enough with the cage, big brakes etc but yes, discreet too. Here's hoping it turns out ok and doesn't look chavvy anyway. I think Cavaliers are old enough to not be chavvy now.
And at the end of the day who cares what a bunch of car nerds on the internet thinks?
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