320touring's 2001 Vectra SRi 150 daily beater

[320touring]

Having suffered the failure of my £250 Pug 306 timing belt in January ( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...)

and having pressed the £200 Alfa 156 into daily service covering 4000+ miles in 2 months
( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...)

I have done what any right minded chap would do..

I Flew from Glasgow to Gatwick to collect a £150 Vauxhall Vectra.

But this was not just any Vectra! Oh no. This was an SRi Vectra. And not yer poor man's 130. this was the full fat 150bhp 2.2.

I must be out my mind.


Anyways, have some pictures and a touch of narrative:

I happened upon this 92k mile example whilst perusing a forum. It was almost being given away, and I knew a little of the history of the car. At the money asked, I'd have been a fool not to have bought it. It has MOT until Jan 2017

A quick consult with the ruling party allowed for the booking of flights to collect - with 1 proviso. Her ladyship wanted to break up the return journey with some nights away.


We caught a redeye down to Gatwick - and enjoyed the complimentary BA breakfast!



Then it was time for our third mode of transport for the day - a train to Sunny* East Croydon







Yer man the Vendor met us at the station and we retired to his abode to complete the deal






Deal done, it was time to fuel up and head to meet mates in Rye for lunch - heading in the wrong direction for getting home!




Over the course of that first drive I figured out 3 main things:

1. The 2.2 lump has a good dollop of torque, so you can drive it lazily

2. The front tyres offer sweet FA grip in the wet - Hopefully new rubber will tame that, but I think its also something I'll need to get used to as I don't think the front suspension is as good as the Alfa's

3. It is most pleasant having a car that doesn't rattle and bang over bumps due to worn suspension.


After an elephant's sufficiency of a lunch, it was time for the good lady to get her first shot of driving it. On the 45mins back to our hotel, she found it comfortable and easy to drive - good news!

Our day ended by bringing a bit of "Photocopier salesman" Chic to the Tunbridge Wells Hotel we were staying at



If anyone is still reading and interested at this point, I'll pap some more up later

[andyastrasri]

The car looks pretty decent in the pictures

What level of information did you get upfront from the seller before embarking on such a long trip ?

A company I used to work for had a couple of pool car Vectra 150's, they drove pretty nicely and were kitted out pretty well

[jamiebae]

The Mercure Tunbridge Wells, lovely, if you like hotels which feel like they're stuck in a timewarp...

I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to prevent it, but the 2.2 engines are well known for timing chain failures (oil sludge build up around the tensioner I think).

It's a long time since I've seen that model of Vectra on the road!

[320touring]

andyastrasri said:

The car looks pretty decent in the pictures

What level of information did you get upfront from the seller before embarking on such a long trip ?

A company I used to work for had a couple of pool car Vectra 150's, they drove pretty nicely and were kitted out pretty well

It appears to be in pretty decent all round condition - certainly moreso than the 3 cars which preceeded it.

I'd seen some photos of the car prior to leaving, and had assurances that it drove ok (from the vendor, whom I had never met).

TBH at that price and with flights at 42 quid each, sometimes you just need to take a chance

jamiebae said:

The Mercure Tunbridge Wells, lovely, if you like hotels which feel like they're stuck in a timewarp...

I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to prevent it, but the 2.2 engines are well known for timing chain failures (oil sludge build up around the tensioner I think).

It's a long time since I've seen that model of Vectra on the road!

Time warp is ok with me (I'm driving a 2001 vectra after all!) but hotel was clean, quiet and cheap so cannot complain too harshly.

Thanks for the heads up re the cam chain issue-I had read up about it, and will likely at least service this so I can claim to have tried to offset it.

However, at the price I paid, I'll not be too upset if it fails..

[Rensko]

Vectralicious!

I remember back in the day - my mate had a Vectra 2.0 16v CD and I had a Peugeot 406 2.0 16v. I envied the trip computer and multifunction display! Was discussing that we never see any Vectras on the road anymore. Even in mainland Europe - they are few and far between.

[320touring]

Rensko said:

Vectralicious!

I remember back in the day - my mate had a Vectra 2.0 16v CD and I had a Peugeot 406 2.0 16v. I envied the trip computer and multifunction display! Was discussing that we never see any Vectras on the road anymore. Even in mainland Europe - they are few and far between.

Cheers!

Yeah they seem much thinner on the ground than the Mondeo of the same time..mind you, it was about 2001 that BMWs 320d e46 was starting to maul its way into the market.

Its a bad day when the rare car is a vauxhall.

Funnily enough there is a 130SRi that has popped up on ebay nearby- and for once I don't really need any parts.

that may change when I have a proper look at it at the weekend

[davebem]

Looks pretty good from the pictures, a good bargain (although I preferred the Alfa). How on earth did they only get 147hp out of the 2.2? Interesting link, the Alfa 159 used this engine but it had around 183hp.

[320touring]

davebem said:

Looks pretty good from the pictures, a good bargain (although I preferred the Alfa). How on earth did they only get 147hp out of the 2.2? Interesting link, the Alfa 159 used this engine but it had around 183hp.

Ooh- possibly a cheeky lil remap;)

good knowledge!

I think this 2.2 was in the Omega too- wonder if they tuned it for torque much like old landrovers got very little hp iut of a rover v8 vs the rover cars?

[poing]

I've no idea how you find drivable cars so cheap, I can spend that on a night out and still need a taxi to get home which probably in worse condition than your cars. My winter wheels and tyres cost more than twice your entire car, I'm really st at budget motoring.

150bhp for £150. Can't really go wrong for that!

[Jimmy Recard]

davebem said:

Looks pretty good from the pictures, a good bargain (although I preferred the Alfa). How on earth did they only get 147hp out of the 2.2? Interesting link, the Alfa 159 used this engine but it had around 183hp.

Why did the Audi A4 of that time manage the same power from a 2.4 litre V6?

[320touring]

poing said:

I've no idea how you find drivable cars so cheap, I can spend that on a night out and still need a taxi to get home which probably in worse condition than your cars. My winter wheels and tyres cost more than twice your entire car, I'm really st at budget motoring.

150bhp for £150. Can't really go wrong for that!

2 key components:

Patience
Low Standards

Keep watch in all the usual places - every day could be bargain day, and focus purely on a vehicle wiht MOT/no major faults - there's no room for badge snobbery in this game

Its good fun, and at these prices,you can afford to have a few misses between hits.

Jimmy Recard said:

Why did the Audi A4 of that time manage the same power from a 2.4 litre V6?

What's German for "backwards through technology"?

[Stenn]

Looks decent enough that. I love random trips like this and I've got a bit of a thing for old Vauxhalls. I did Glasgow to Norwich for a £800 Mk3 Astra once, great fun.

320touring said:

I think this 2.2 was in the Omega too- wonder if they tuned it for torque much like old landrovers got very little hp iut of a rover v8 vs the rover cars?

Different engine in the Omega.

Always liked the 2.2 in the Astra/Vectra, goes quite well.

[320touring]

Stenn said:

Looks decent enough that. I love random trips like this and I've got a bit of a thing for old Vauxhalls. I did Glasgow to Norwich for a £800 Mk3 Astra once, great fun.

320touring said:

I think this 2.2 was in the Omega too- wonder if they tuned it for torque much like old landrovers got very little hp iut of a rover v8 vs the rover cars?

Different engine in the Omega.

Always liked the 2.2 in the Astra/Vectra, goes quite well.

For an £800 car I'd likely cross the channel;)

I stand corrected re the Omega and its 2.2- what Astras was this engine in?

[em177]

320touring said:

For an £800 car I'd likely cross the channel;)

I stand corrected re the Omega and its 2.2- what Astras was this engine in?

Mk4 Astra SRI got that engine, cracking little cars especially if you can find one with the Prodrive bodykit. Incidentally if there are 2 different 2.2 variants, which went in the VX220?

[jamiebae]

em177 said:

320touring said:

For an £800 car I'd likely cross the channel;)

I stand corrected re the Omega and its 2.2- what Astras was this engine in?

Mk4 Astra SRI got that engine, cracking little cars especially if you can find one with the Prodrive bodykit. Incidentally if there are 2 different 2.2 variants, which went in the VX220?

VX220 got the Astra engine, transverse mounted.

[bungz]

Never seemed to get much love the Vectra B but although my sheddy one many years ago lunched itself I found it a very comfortable place to be.

Problem is they fall to bits and rust like nobodies business, one I had about 8 years ago was about 9 years old and its arches were well on the way to going and it had a hole in the boot lid!

Think the fact they are all 13-14 years old means only ones which received a bit of care are left.

[320touring]

jamiebae said:

VX220 got the Astra engine, transverse mounted.

Aha- so i have a Vx220tra;)

bungz said:

Never seemed to get much love the Vectra B but although my sheddy one many years ago lunched itself I found it a very comfortable place to be.

Problem is they fall to bits and rust like nobodies business, one I had about 8 years ago was about 9 years old and its arches were well on the way to going and it had a hole in the boot lid!

Think the fact they are all 13-14 years old means only ones which received a bit of care are left.

this one seems fairly light on scabs of rust-I may even gird mysel to resolve those that I can see.

when I get a look at it during the weekend I'll be in a better place to comment re whether it has been looked after.

[Beejayhay]

Once was given a courtesy car by Vauxhall with that engine in it ....a big people carrier thing a Sintra. Horrible thing. First ever people carrier I'd driven so was some initial novelty in the 'armchair' type seating...lasted about 2 minutes... nothing else to like. Thought it would be pokey with that engine...wrong.

Funnily enough I had that I'm sure 'cos my Vectra Supertouring was in for repair.....168bhp from a 2.5 V6....another epic fail of the day

[320touring]

Beejayhay said:

Once was given a courtesy car by Vauxhall with that engine in it ....a big people carrier thing a Sintra. Horrible thing. First ever people carrier I'd driven so was some initial novelty in the 'armchair' type seating...lasted about 2 minutes... nothing else to like. Thought it would be pokey with that engine...wrong.

Funnily enough I had that I'm sure 'cos my Vectra Supertouring was in for repair.....168bhp from a 2.5 V6....another epic fail of the day

Heh, its no 191bhp m50 out an e36, thats for sure.

that said the 2.2 does have a good dollop of torque, seems to rev freely and also has decent ratios in the Vectra based on my limited experience.

I think 150bhp is adequate, no more, no less for a mid range car/people carrier.

[Jimmy Recard]

The X20XER would have been a nice engine - 2.0 litre with 167bhp (not bad in 1999, I feel)

As far as I know, it was saved for left hand drive Opels. I think it's to do with tax on engines over 2000cc in plenty of European countries. Instead, we had nothing between the 2.2 here and the 2.0 turbos apart from the V6s