Vauxhall Cavalier GSI RestoMod Track Car

[CouncilFerrari]

Minor update, nothing too exciting.

I finished off the ABS removal by stripping out the rest of the wiring plugs from the engine bay and through the bulkhead to the passenger footwell and right back through the car to the rear sensor connections. Good chunk of wiring fked off;



I also painted the single wiper arm and the starter motor;




And while the paint was going off, I finished off the brake lines and got the engine back in the car;


And this is how it sits currently;


The coilovers have just been rebuilt by Cornering Force in Harrogate who were wonderfully helpful - thanks Si for the heads up.
The BBS wheels have apparently reached Germany, so should be with me very very soon. This time off, the car should be back on four wheels and hopefully (if my enquiries have paid off) be off to an exhaust builder. I'm hoping to finalise the engine wiring too, so I might even be ready for an engine start!

[CouncilFerrari]

Another chunk of time off, and a little more progress with the Cav.

More NOS bits. This finishes off the lighting which is all now NOS and genuine GM. I had a pair of odd indicators with a poorly fitting 'pattern parts' O/S before.




Soldered (some messing around required with H4 bulb holders that would fit), tested and working. Number plate on, too.

[scottos]

Great progress! Where are you taking it for the exhaust work out of interest?

[CouncilFerrari]

scottos said:

Great progress! Where are you taking it for the exhaust work out of interest?

Thanks mate. I'm not sure, I've hit a bit of a brick wall with it to be honest. Many years ago, I bought a BTB exhaust for it but at the time the engine was out of the car so I couldn't check fitment... you can see where this is going.

So it's back to square one really, I need a manifold and a full system making for it and the quotes are eye-watering. I could throw a cheap manifold on it, but that wouldn't do justice to the rest of the work.

The 02 is looking fantastic by the way, those wheels are

[CouncilFerrari]

While I was at Morrisons doing the weekly shop (timed that well, dhead), some boxes arrived from Germany.



I got home, dumped the bread and milk and carefully opened some boxes...





Billet spigot rings, some tarty centre caps and BBS engraved valves



And a quick mock up on the car

[CouncilFerrari]

In a bid to make cleaning easier and to protect the new wheels, I gave them a thorough coat of GTechniq wheel armour ceramic coating
Barrels;


Faces

[CouncilFerrari]

Tyres fitted, and rears installed on the car properly.

I went with Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres. I obsessed over tyre choice endlessly, and in the end watched some fantastic tests on youtube on a channel called tyrereviews. While most of the big manufacturers have stopped making sporty tyres in 17'' these come out on top - albeit subjectively - as the best dry handling tyres for road use.

I was tempted by some out and out track tyres, R888's or similar but I won't be out on track for a while, at least.

[CouncilFerrari]

Next up, the problematic sunroof hole.

Many, many moons ago the sunroof cassette was ditched in the name of weight saving. It amounted to several kilos from high up in the car.

The right way to 'delete' the hole would be to get a roof skin from a non-sunroof Cav. This has not been possible, it seems that on even the most basic models most people opted for a manual sunroof over none at all.

I guess the next best thing, would be to install the glass and ditch the mechanism. Not favourable because of the weight and issues with sealing around it without the mechanism and the drainage channels.

I settled upon an ally panel, knowing that the roof is going to be wrapped anyway so it won't be seen. Pros are lightweight and cheap, Cons are it looks a bit DIY - but Spitfires are riveted together and they're fking awesome, right?

The hole


Cut myself an ally panel, punched and drilled it (sanded in a cross hatch style pattern, like a cylinder bore)


How it looks from inside once installed


And from the outside, after a quick polish

[CouncilFerrari]

And as it currently sits awaiting my return from work;

[scottos]

Looks cracking on those wheels, it was the only style for it wasn't it haha glad you like the ones on my 2002.

Exhaust wise, have you tried Krolltek? They are based up in Newcastle but I was pleasantly surprised at the workmanship v's price when they did my manifold.

[Jules Sunley]

Excellent work as ever, and those wheels look fantastic. Great thread OP

[Stick Legs]

Amazing progress.
Love the alloy panel, nice bit of fabrication.

As much as I want to see it finished, I’ll be sad to have no more updates!

[CouncilFerrari]

scottos said:

Looks cracking on those wheels, it was the only style for it wasn't it haha glad you like the ones on my 2002.

Exhaust wise, have you tried Krolltek? They are based up in Newcastle but I was pleasantly surprised at the workmanship v's price when they did my manifold.

100%, I think they finish it really nicely. I hadn't realised you were also going for gold split rims, I loved yours on the minilites and didn't think it could get much better, but the Image ones are another level mate.

I've not heard of Krolltek before, but a personal recommendation goes a long way. I think manifold wise I might now be sorted. A fellow GSI owner is having a complete exhaust made for his (BTB specs) and we are able to bring costs down by having one made for mine at the same time.

Jules Sunley said:

Excellent work as ever, and those wheels look fantastic. Great thread OP

Thanks mate, appreciate that. The wheels looks amazing and I'm blown away by the quality.

Stick Legs said:

Amazing progress.
Love the alloy panel, nice bit of fabrication.

As much as I want to see it finished, I’ll be sad to have no more updates!

It's getting there for sure. The roof panel was a necessity driven choice, and will be covered externally by the roof wrap but it's growing on me.

There'll be plenty of development over it's lifetime and it'll be getting hammered over the moors at every opportunity.

[Polly Grigora]

Getting very close now

Roof panel looks the part, top job Mr

[LankyMcTally]

Ooof.

Love how it's coming together.

[Mark Benson]

Been following since the start, it's all coming together very nicely now and I love the BBS wheels, very appropriate.
I have a feeling you're not too far away from me so I'll look out for it once you get it on the road.

[CouncilFerrari]

Polly Grigora said:

Getting very close now

Roof panel looks the part, top job Mr

Thanks mate. I'm quietly pleased that it came out ok, but I can't decide if it's totally gash or not. It'll be covered soon anyway.

Very close now though, it actually looks like a car.

LankyMcTally said:

Ooof.

Love how it's coming together.

Me too bud, it's starting to look like I always hoped it would.

Mark Benson said:

Been following since the start, it's all coming together very nicely now and I love the BBS wheels, very appropriate.
I have a feeling you're not too far away from me so I'll look out for it once you get it on the road.

They feel like the right choice, close to the originals but the road version which is how I see the whole car. I suppose I see it as a sort of Cavalier GSi homologation special rather than a race rep.

Original BTCC Cavalier wheels



Mine


I'm not sure where about in North Yorks you are, but one of my favourite ride/drives is Scarborough>Pickering>Goathland>Whitby>Scarborough with sometimes a brew stop at NY500.

[Matter88]

Excellent build, I am an E36 die hard nerd but do like a Cavalier due to the obvious BTCC association.

I can recommend wholeheartedly AAS exhausts in Newcastle. They are racers themselves, and do beautiful work. Remarkably reasonably priced too and very nice people. I have used them previously for titanium exhausts for E36 M3, and E30 M3 race cars, and they're simply stunning.

Stuart is the man to speak to;

https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zfMS...

[scottos]

CouncilFerrari said:

scottos said:

Looks cracking on those wheels, it was the only style for it wasn't it haha glad you like the ones on my 2002.

Exhaust wise, have you tried Krolltek? They are based up in Newcastle but I was pleasantly surprised at the workmanship v's price when they did my manifold.

100%, I think they finish it really nicely. I hadn't realised you were also going for gold split rims, I loved yours on the minilites and didn't think it could get much better, but the Image ones are another level mate.

I've not heard of Krolltek before, but a personal recommendation goes a long way. I think manifold wise I might now be sorted. A fellow GSI owner is having a complete exhaust made for his (BTB specs) and we are able to bring costs down by having one made for mine at the same time.

I loved the Minilites too so the new wheels were quite a big leap!

Krolltek are great, definitely worth a shout. Also LA Fabrication in Malton (i assume they may be closer to you as well, guessing youre somewhere over that way in N Yorks)

[CouncilFerrari]

Matter88 said:

Excellent build, I am an E36 die hard nerd but do like a Cavalier due to the obvious BTCC association.

I can recommend wholeheartedly AAS exhausts in Newcastle. They are racers themselves, and do beautiful work. Remarkably reasonably priced too and very nice people. I have used them previously for titanium exhausts for E36 M3, and E30 M3 race cars, and they're simply stunning.

Stuart is the man to speak to;

https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zfMS...

Thanks bud, appreciated. I also like an E36, one of my favourite threads on here was bennyc's track E36;

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Thanks for the heads up on AAS exhausts, I'll maybe give them a shout (I'm just waiting to hear back on a manifold query) It's great to have so many options

CouncilFerrari said:

scottos said:

Looks cracking on those wheels, it was the only style for it wasn't it haha glad you like the ones on my 2002.

Exhaust wise, have you tried Krolltek? They are based up in Newcastle but I was pleasantly surprised at the workmanship v's price when they did my manifold.

100%, I think they finish it really nicely. I hadn't realised you were also going for gold split rims, I loved yours on the minilites and didn't think it could get much better, but the Image ones are another level mate.

I've not heard of Krolltek before, but a personal recommendation goes a long way. I think manifold wise I might now be sorted. A fellow GSI owner is having a complete exhaust made for his (BTB specs) and we are able to bring costs down by having one made for mine at the same time.

scottos said:

I loved the Minilites too so the new wheels were quite a big leap!

Krolltek are great, definitely worth a shout. Also LA Fabrication in Malton (i assume they may be closer to you as well, guessing you're somewhere over that way in N Yorks)

Ok mate, that's really good to know. It's good to have options, I came offshore this trip feeling a bit stuck with the exhaust and now I've got several. The power of PH, thanks lads.

Malton isn't far at all, I'm Scarborough based.

Edited by CouncilFerrari on Friday 1st July 17:55