RE: Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L: Spotted
Discussion
We grew up as a Vauxhall family, my dad, uncle and grandad all had Vauxhalls or opels.
Cavaliers, Grandad had an Opel Ascona SR, uncle had Cavalier coupes and then a Manta GTE before switching to the competition with an MG Montego.
Many a Vauxhall story from them in my youth.
First car I remember was an old Viva, then a Mk1 cav (EVH979S) then dad got a job as a works manager and got a MK2 1.6L in red before getting a new MK3 when they came out on an F plate and it was miles ahead in terms of finish and features. I remember the ‘car of tomorrow is here or something about the future is now’ adverts they ran at the time but things like flush fitting door handles and anti trap electric windows were amazing to me at the time.
I did learn the limit of the windows as I tried it with my whole hand and it worked but then one day I wondered if it would work with just one finger - It crushed it - cue wobbly bottom lip
Dad changed jobs and went back to a Mk2 but as it was an SRi 130 I didn’t mind, it was about 11 or so by then I think and was taking an interest in the ABC of accelerator, brake, clutch and hatched a plan...
I used to do a lot of swimming galas and he’d sometime let me go sit in the car for a bit while waiting for my race.
I’d asked him if I could sit in the car and went out to the car park of Leeds International Pool (something else that’s no longer around) knowing I was going to start it up. I knew to keep the clutch down when starting but didn’t really understand the concept of being in gear so I started it up and revved it and then curiosity satisfied, I turned it off again.
Sadly, my grasp of mechanics was limited so as I turned off the ignition I took my foot off the clutch before the engine stopped turning and bunnyhopped it half a foot forward into a sloping wall and bent the front valance a bit. Terrified, I put the clutch back in and it rolled back a bit I just went back in and hoped he wouldn’t notice.
Dad never mentioned it but I’m sure he knew...
Cavaliers, Grandad had an Opel Ascona SR, uncle had Cavalier coupes and then a Manta GTE before switching to the competition with an MG Montego.
Many a Vauxhall story from them in my youth.
First car I remember was an old Viva, then a Mk1 cav (EVH979S) then dad got a job as a works manager and got a MK2 1.6L in red before getting a new MK3 when they came out on an F plate and it was miles ahead in terms of finish and features. I remember the ‘car of tomorrow is here or something about the future is now’ adverts they ran at the time but things like flush fitting door handles and anti trap electric windows were amazing to me at the time.
I did learn the limit of the windows as I tried it with my whole hand and it worked but then one day I wondered if it would work with just one finger - It crushed it - cue wobbly bottom lip
Dad changed jobs and went back to a Mk2 but as it was an SRi 130 I didn’t mind, it was about 11 or so by then I think and was taking an interest in the ABC of accelerator, brake, clutch and hatched a plan...
I used to do a lot of swimming galas and he’d sometime let me go sit in the car for a bit while waiting for my race.
I’d asked him if I could sit in the car and went out to the car park of Leeds International Pool (something else that’s no longer around) knowing I was going to start it up. I knew to keep the clutch down when starting but didn’t really understand the concept of being in gear so I started it up and revved it and then curiosity satisfied, I turned it off again.
Sadly, my grasp of mechanics was limited so as I turned off the ignition I took my foot off the clutch before the engine stopped turning and bunnyhopped it half a foot forward into a sloping wall and bent the front valance a bit. Terrified, I put the clutch back in and it rolled back a bit I just went back in and hoped he wouldn’t notice.
Dad never mentioned it but I’m sure he knew...
MalcolmSmith said:
I understand the stand out feature of this model is that you could change the clutch in under an hour.
The 2 litre GLS/ CD/SRi models looked OK back in the day, not sure anyone actually bought one though, they were all fleet cars.
They punched hard for their power, lighter than a GT86 or not much more than an Integra Type R, some models were nearly genuine 130mph cars with the slippy aeroThe 2 litre GLS/ CD/SRi models looked OK back in the day, not sure anyone actually bought one though, they were all fleet cars.
Hateful, lumpen things. The 2.0 GLS I had as a pool car for a few months had one redeeming feature; the pre-cat engine had a good bit of grunt, but in all other respects they were dreadful and none more so than the lifeless 1.6 L, of which my dad had two as company cars.
Shame on PH for this.
Shame on PH for this.
loudlashadjuster said:
Hateful, lumpen things. The 2.0 GLS I had as a pool car for a few months had one redeeming feature; the pre-cat engine had a good bit of grunt, but in all other respects they were dreadful and none more so than the lifeless 1.6 L, of which my dad had two as company cars.
Shame on PH for this.
No, good for PH to do this - any shame surely comes from those who post. Shame on PH for this.
What seems faintly absurd to me I the fact you could buy a brand new (leaving aside PH animosity) reasonably decent family-sized car for less than £9k from (again, minus PH-ism) an mid market brand. I dare say like-for-like versus average salaries and so on the price of an equivalently specced Insignia may be the same today, but this Cav seems absurdly cheap in retrospect.
My second car was a Mk3 Cavalier, a 1.7D (n/a) which had all of 57bhp. Bought for £300 in 2003, sold in 2004 for £325...
Certainly not fast, but got me around uni and took me and 4 mates down to Newquay for a holiday, 5 up, all our luggage, a roofbox and my mates surfboard on the roof, 250 miles on half a tank of fuel. Remember that I could go about 90mph on the downhill stretches of the A303 but then only about 45-50 on the uphill bits...
I then bought a 1.8 facelift version, which lasted me very well for 18 months before it was rear ended and written off, but I did go rather "Chavalier" on that one, as I was 19 at the time, so it had Wolfrace Voodoo alloy wheels, put a big subwoofer in the bag and new speakers all over..
I still have a bit too much fondness for Vauxhalls.. I might co-run a forum for them in fact, but, there isn't loads of their range which really excites me that much
Certainly not fast, but got me around uni and took me and 4 mates down to Newquay for a holiday, 5 up, all our luggage, a roofbox and my mates surfboard on the roof, 250 miles on half a tank of fuel. Remember that I could go about 90mph on the downhill stretches of the A303 but then only about 45-50 on the uphill bits...
I then bought a 1.8 facelift version, which lasted me very well for 18 months before it was rear ended and written off, but I did go rather "Chavalier" on that one, as I was 19 at the time, so it had Wolfrace Voodoo alloy wheels, put a big subwoofer in the bag and new speakers all over..
I still have a bit too much fondness for Vauxhalls.. I might co-run a forum for them in fact, but, there isn't loads of their range which really excites me that much
As a callow youth I had a succession of ex-fleet Cavaliers of various shapes. They were very basic cars, but then most things were then. Handling was generally sloppy but they were roomy and would go on for ever with minimal maintenance as has been said.
The last one I had was a white 2.0GLi, I still maintain this is the fastest car I ever owned in terms of being able to make progress, as it was white and consequently looked like a cop car in the rear view mirror. The outside lane of a motorway would just be vacated in front of me as I drove along, and in those pre-camera days a healthy average speed could be maintained. Was fastest in fourth as fifth was an overdrive.
The last one I had was a white 2.0GLi, I still maintain this is the fastest car I ever owned in terms of being able to make progress, as it was white and consequently looked like a cop car in the rear view mirror. The outside lane of a motorway would just be vacated in front of me as I drove along, and in those pre-camera days a healthy average speed could be maintained. Was fastest in fourth as fifth was an overdrive.
I fondly remember my dad's company Cavaliers of this vintage. He was a lucky (ish) guy to have had two, after his company Volvo 940 estates the Cavs felt a bit like a step down. Though the first one was just a basic white 1.8 GL, the one that sticks in my mind is the 2.0 GL in red that was it's replacement.
Ended up keeping that car past it's fleet requirement as he bought it from the company after it was liquidated. The car stayed with the family for a fair while after that. With tonnes of family holidays and a particularly fun trip on Pendine sands when they used to let people on more regularly. I was already into cars at this point, age 6/7, knowing almost all cars on the motorway/in any car park down to spec/model/engine etc. That trip on the sand though, going as fast as possible and some other spirited driving, made me into the petrolhead I am today, including the link to the BTCC (seeing Cleland throw one about on Grandstand was magical), that Cavalier made me love cars. It kept going beyond 120k miles with us until it was replaced by a Rover Tomcat coupe (another company car). It was sold on for not much as they generally weren't worth much back then, but dad stayed in touch with the guy who bought it locally and it sailed past 250k miles before giving up with rust issues.
This one's crap and overpriced, the rest were pretty worthy bread and butter cars.
Ended up keeping that car past it's fleet requirement as he bought it from the company after it was liquidated. The car stayed with the family for a fair while after that. With tonnes of family holidays and a particularly fun trip on Pendine sands when they used to let people on more regularly. I was already into cars at this point, age 6/7, knowing almost all cars on the motorway/in any car park down to spec/model/engine etc. That trip on the sand though, going as fast as possible and some other spirited driving, made me into the petrolhead I am today, including the link to the BTCC (seeing Cleland throw one about on Grandstand was magical), that Cavalier made me love cars. It kept going beyond 120k miles with us until it was replaced by a Rover Tomcat coupe (another company car). It was sold on for not much as they generally weren't worth much back then, but dad stayed in touch with the guy who bought it locally and it sailed past 250k miles before giving up with rust issues.
This one's crap and overpriced, the rest were pretty worthy bread and butter cars.
I had a dark metalic grey Cavalier L, it was a bit of an oddball to be honest. When new someone purchased a boggo model but it was a 2ltr with metalic paint and central locking. No other options, but it was dependable, went really well and didn't have the usual rust issues. It was oddly very long geared too so it did ok on fuel on long journeys.
I was lucky enough (?) to have two 1.6l as company cars. I was required to drive all over the place and they NEVER let me down. Amazing reliability and huge interior and boot space - Once i easily got a folded double bed in the back of the hatch when the rear seats were down, amazing! I regularly carted multiple cases of lucozade/ Ribena or such in the boot, resulting in an extreme front up back down ride. Ultra comfy and I will say sorely missed as they were brilliant motorway munchers and I flogged them everywhere.
I will never forget that loud remote locking noise they made as it confirmed the doors had locked/ unlocked.
My boss had the 2.0 GL and I lusted after a go but he wouldn’t let me near it!
I will never forget that loud remote locking noise they made as it confirmed the doors had locked/ unlocked.
My boss had the 2.0 GL and I lusted after a go but he wouldn’t let me near it!
mrnvh said:
My time to shine!
1.6 L in depression beige. I got it to learn spannering and bodywork as it was rusted in quite a few places. Proved dependable throughout and the only bad thing to happen was the carb gummed up a bit. Drove it from Wolverhampton to Wigan the day I picked it up.
My Mum had a 1.6 L hatch in that colour; an early one - ‘Y’ reg! I think it was called parchment. With a beige / brown tweed interior. I learned to drive in that, well, that and the driving instructors Metro. A Vanden Plas no less 1.6 L in depression beige. I got it to learn spannering and bodywork as it was rusted in quite a few places. Proved dependable throughout and the only bad thing to happen was the carb gummed up a bit. Drove it from Wolverhampton to Wigan the day I picked it up.
She must have liked the cavalier as it’s replacement, shortly after I passed my test, was a bright red ‘new shape’ cavalier - an ‘F’ reg 1.6 L hatch. With optional green tinted glass!
My Dad had a white 1.6 hatch as his first company car when we moved to Swindon in 1988. He must have been my age. It the first of a run of four Vauxhall’s and it was replaced by a mk3 Astra estate (either 1.4 or 1.6L). Thankfully he was then promoted again and so the third company car in 1994 was a green 2.0L GLS spec Cavalier. As if things couldn’t get any better 1997 then saw that replaced by a Vectra 2.0 SRi.
I used to work in this utter s
thole of a place for min wage about a decade ago, and there was always 2 cavs in the car park. They belonged to 2 guys i worked with, and one of them had another cavalier which was his wifes, which he sometimes drove in, so 3 different ones altogether.
The guy with 2 both models were pretty much pov spev, one white one purple, think the purple one was his maybe on an M plate, can't say for sure what model it was might have been a GLS and it was a 1.8. It stunk of big dog, every concealable piece of fabric was smothered in dog hairs, you couldn't last long in there without having the window down.
The other guy had an even earlier model, pretty sure it was 1 up from L so probably a LS 1.6. Terrible condition, was the typical pinky red older vauxhalls are after being neglected, and i remember the drivers side interior door handle being made entirely of gaffa tape! i'd say about 4 rolls were used to make it, looked utterly dreadful!
But he used it in the scrappage scheme and got more money for it than i had part ex for my mk4 astra SRI!
thole of a place for min wage about a decade ago, and there was always 2 cavs in the car park. They belonged to 2 guys i worked with, and one of them had another cavalier which was his wifes, which he sometimes drove in, so 3 different ones altogether.The guy with 2 both models were pretty much pov spev, one white one purple, think the purple one was his maybe on an M plate, can't say for sure what model it was might have been a GLS and it was a 1.8. It stunk of big dog, every concealable piece of fabric was smothered in dog hairs, you couldn't last long in there without having the window down.
The other guy had an even earlier model, pretty sure it was 1 up from L so probably a LS 1.6. Terrible condition, was the typical pinky red older vauxhalls are after being neglected, and i remember the drivers side interior door handle being made entirely of gaffa tape! i'd say about 4 rolls were used to make it, looked utterly dreadful!
But he used it in the scrappage scheme and got more money for it than i had part ex for my mk4 astra SRI!
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