RE: Vauxhall Cavalier GSI: PH Ad Break
Discussion
Loplop said:
Caulkhead said:
I love the nostalgia for truly mediocre cars on this forum. I had an SRi130 and a 4x4 from new as company cars and if you take off your rose-tinted glasses for a second they really were average. Decent engines mated to unpleasant gearchanges, poor steering and dead handling.
Out of here heathen.
Period mag article comparing the various manafacturers 4x4 turbo offerings of the time.
http://berlinasportivo.com/magazine/alfa/Performan...
http://berlinasportivo.com/magazine/alfa/Performan...
Loplop said:
That picture is also of that exact car you're talking about.
Alas, nothing came of it
That is a shame, it is a beauty. Just confirmed with my friend what his experiences in the Cavalier Turbo were. Three years in an L reg Cavalier Turbo after handing over his Sapphire Cosworth. Apparently it was 'no Cossie, but a good urban patrol car all the same', with weak gearboxes. Getting paid to drive these cars...what a dream.Alas, nothing came of it
NotNormal said:
Loplop said:
The 4wd System is the same as on the Cavalier and Calibra Turbo
Not quite true if you want to get geeky.The GSI has a 5 speed F20 gearbox mated to the transfer box. The turbo uses a 6 speed F28 Getrag gearbox and a stronger beefed up transfer box.
This takes me back to when my dad got a brand new red 2.0 SRI in 1990. I was in primary school at the time but thought it was amazing. In my eyes it seemed a much more modern looking car than the Sierras of the time.
I also remember the days of John Cleland doing great things in the BTCC Cavalier which won the championship in 95.
I also remember the days of John Cleland doing great things in the BTCC Cavalier which won the championship in 95.
Caulkhead said:
Loplop said:
Caulkhead said:
I love the nostalgia for truly mediocre cars on this forum. I had an SRi130 and a 4x4 from new as company cars and if you take off your rose-tinted glasses for a second they really were average. Decent engines mated to unpleasant gearchanges, poor steering and dead handling.
Out of here heathen.Always found my 2.0 16v Alfa 155 was a match for the Cav GSi.
Baryonyx said:
... with weak gearboxes.
I assume he means the transfer box as the gearboxes are good for LOTS of power. Transfer boxes are not that strong though and are prone to failing primarily down to poor maintenance as not a lot of people (inc. dealers) don't know that there are two seperate chambers within the casing. Both of these need to have the oils changed at service intervals. Couple to this, owners need to ensure that the front and rear tyres are within 2mm of each other and the difference in tyre circumference must not exceed 15mm. If either of these limits are exceeding when driving then the viscous clutch plates burn out and you end up with a car that is just FWD.
Moving house a few years ago I found a VHS of Star Wars Christmas Day TV showing on ITV, for fun put it on and laughed my arse off at all the adverts, the same tape had shows from a few other years to so saw the following adds-
Jumping Astras
Peugeot 405 driving through Fireballs
Montego driving into a lake and coming out of the splash as a Speed boat
Genius- wish ads where still like that :-(
FWIW, Had a Mk11 Cavalier Estate as first car, great fun lightweight car, back when Vauxhall had the best engines before Ford learned not to use Pig Iron and spit to make cars and Rover was respectable.
Jumping Astras
Peugeot 405 driving through Fireballs
Montego driving into a lake and coming out of the splash as a Speed boat
Genius- wish ads where still like that :-(
FWIW, Had a Mk11 Cavalier Estate as first car, great fun lightweight car, back when Vauxhall had the best engines before Ford learned not to use Pig Iron and spit to make cars and Rover was respectable.
exgtt said:
Steamer][Correct me if I wrong said:
The GSi pumped out 150bhp in N/A mode didnt it? That seemed alot back in 1990...
Ummm white ones looked bloomin' ace!!
Yeah 150 bhp and a bloody healthy torque curve. This and the fuel economy is what i love about these engines. Ummm white ones looked bloomin' ace!!
scubadude said:
Jumping Astras
Peugeot 405 driving through Fireballs
Montego driving into a lake and coming out of the splash as a Speed boat
Genius- wish ads where still like that :-(
don't we all. did you see that top gear where they all had a go at making an advert and presented them to (i think) the ad agency who handle audi. the bloke basically said you can't show cars going fast or doing anything exciting these days. recently that toyota gt86 ad got binned by the advertising watchdog. Peugeot 405 driving through Fireballs
Montego driving into a lake and coming out of the splash as a Speed boat
Genius- wish ads where still like that :-(
Edited by astra la vista on Thursday 7th March 16:51
having driven both versions I think the normal FWD was much more fun and felt a lot faster. The 4x4 felt a bit staid but very grippy. My personal fave was the 130hp SRi, good honest fun and they could take such beating, the only real weak point was the CV joints that would give up the ghost after much hard cornering!
Baryonyx said:
Finding a good Cavalier Turbo these days is the issue. There was a good Reader's Rides thread a while back about a PH'er who had a minter, but it took loads of work to get it to that standard again and even finding a garage willing to do the bodywork to a reasonable standard was an issue IIRC!
I've always quite liked the Cavalier Turbo. It's a good looking car; smart and purposeful in the way that good late 80's and early 90's sports saloons were. My friend, an ex-traffic copper who drove one at work, is less generous than I am when it comes to them. He, and his colleagues, thought them far inferior to the Sierra and Escort Cosworths, in terms of build and drive. The Sierras were Sapphires (often adorned with the 4x4 vented bonnets though) and so RWD, so not a fair comparison. The Escort Cosworth was a fairer match being AWD, but unlike the Cavalier, it was permanent 4x4 and much preferred to the Vauxhall, though it was in itself criticised for being too small and uncomfortable for police work at times. The Cavalier used a viscous coupling AWD system, which typically drove 85% front to rear but could direct up to 100% of power eitherway when the wheels were slipping. In spite of this, my friend reckons it still felt like a nose-heavy FWD'er most of the time, whereas the Escort Cosworth was a dream handler.
I would still like to try a Cavalier Turbo 4x4 to find out for myself, but having driven and owned Haldex coupled cars in the past, I get a feeling I know what it will be like!
Lovely looking thing though:
I've always quite liked the Cavalier Turbo. It's a good looking car; smart and purposeful in the way that good late 80's and early 90's sports saloons were. My friend, an ex-traffic copper who drove one at work, is less generous than I am when it comes to them. He, and his colleagues, thought them far inferior to the Sierra and Escort Cosworths, in terms of build and drive. The Sierras were Sapphires (often adorned with the 4x4 vented bonnets though) and so RWD, so not a fair comparison. The Escort Cosworth was a fairer match being AWD, but unlike the Cavalier, it was permanent 4x4 and much preferred to the Vauxhall, though it was in itself criticised for being too small and uncomfortable for police work at times. The Cavalier used a viscous coupling AWD system, which typically drove 85% front to rear but could direct up to 100% of power eitherway when the wheels were slipping. In spite of this, my friend reckons it still felt like a nose-heavy FWD'er most of the time, whereas the Escort Cosworth was a dream handler.
I would still like to try a Cavalier Turbo 4x4 to find out for myself, but having driven and owned Haldex coupled cars in the past, I get a feeling I know what it will be like!
Lovely looking thing though:
Loplop said:
I read that RR thread a couple of days ago, even bumped it in the hope of some progress as his 850R is the one that James May drove over Africa.
That picture is also of that exact car you're talking about.
Alas, nothing came of it
Me! That picture is also of that exact car you're talking about.
Alas, nothing came of it
Was just headed here to wax lyrical about the 2wd Cavalier GSi2000 I had when I was a lad of 18 and how it was, to me, the finest thing since sliced bread. Being brought up on a diet of Knockhill, early 90's BTCC and the legend that is John Cleland and then three years of saving everything I earned to buy one was just awesome. Fan boy mode but they were great - well built, looked superb and were actually really well engineered and with the old C20XE 'Redtop' and it's 150bhp, they went bloody well too!
Mine died sadly, taken roughly from the rear so the natural progression was the Turbo which actually had / has the power to utilise the 4x4 system. Yes it's overcomplex and actually a bit crap and with the 150bhp Redtop, was never a great package but throw the standard stuff away, fit a locked 50/50 box and up the power to nearer 300bhp and they are properly quick. I think mine was doing sort of high 5's to 60mph and a 13.5secs quarter mile at the last count.
But yes, it's currently still mid restoration / rebuild but threads like this and the fact a mate owns one of, if not theeee finest GSi2000 left (with many a feature and trophy to back that claim up) really inspires me to get my finger out and get a bit retro 90's performance Vauxhall goodness back in my life.
Now... Youtube and 1990's BTCC clips for the next 6hrs!
Baryonyx said:
Has anyone with a pair of testicles ever actually given a s
t about a rattling interior?
Epic! t about a rattling interior? To be fair, 90's Vauxhalls - the Mk3 Cavalier, Mk3 Astra and so on... they were actually really well screwed together. The 80's stuff - Mk2 Cavaliers and Astras... they were a different story!
Mine is nigh on 190k and it doesn't rattle, squeak or vibrate.
Had a '91 2wd GSI and a '93 turbo.
Great cars, I still miss my turbo, will see if I have some pics of it.
Vauxhall did go to town on these, lesser models (inc. the V6) had a rear beam, GSI/Turbo and all Calibras had IRS. If you lowered them the camber on the back was awful.
the V6 cars were rubbish compared to a sorted turbo.
Worth noting the engines (like all 2lite petrol Vxs) are 86x86mm, that spans from the first 2.0 8v Mk2 cavaliers/astras right up to the new astra VXR. Works nicely imho.
If you binned the management system the ecotec hardware wise was pretty good. A friend used aftermarket management, T34 turbo with LET pistons, all put in a bit of a shed 2.0 8v 4x4. Fun times
Great cars, I still miss my turbo, will see if I have some pics of it.
Vauxhall did go to town on these, lesser models (inc. the V6) had a rear beam, GSI/Turbo and all Calibras had IRS. If you lowered them the camber on the back was awful.
the V6 cars were rubbish compared to a sorted turbo.
Worth noting the engines (like all 2lite petrol Vxs) are 86x86mm, that spans from the first 2.0 8v Mk2 cavaliers/astras right up to the new astra VXR. Works nicely imho.
exgtt said:
Yep didnt Vauxhall copy the red top (well the cosworth head) and start penny pinching to create the Ecotek? Nylon cambelt pullies!!!
No the ecotec was a completely different engine up top - different head, cams (higher lift), advent of EGR, different ECU system (the frankly rubbish Siemens stuff). Plagued by crap sensors for cam and crank, the old Bosch system on the XE/LET was much better, even if it was crude in comparison.If you binned the management system the ecotec hardware wise was pretty good. A friend used aftermarket management, T34 turbo with LET pistons, all put in a bit of a shed 2.0 8v 4x4. Fun times
BILL PAYER said:
Does anyone remember how badly Vauxhall interiors rattled back then ?
Nah, they were fine. Clearly remember squeaky clutch pedals though!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff