Vauxhall Cavalier GSI RestoMod Track Car
Discussion
RumbleOfThunder said:
It does look immaculate in white. Also most of us are big fans of mwstewart's Fiesta and the Lexspace builds, so don't worry about it dragging on. 
Ha ha, thanks! I suppose you're lucky that I didn't start the thread when I bought the car 7 years ago. Mr Tidy said:
It looks better in each update!
I have fond memories of watching Cavaliers race in the BTCC and bought a 1992 SRi in 1995 which was a great car.
Now I'm already looking forward to seeing the next stage.
Thank you mate, appreciate that. I love those BTCC Cavaliers and have been an avid follower of the BTCC ever since. It's still great racing, but I do miss the supertouring days. I have fond memories of watching Cavaliers race in the BTCC and bought a 1992 SRi in 1995 which was a great car.
Now I'm already looking forward to seeing the next stage.
Visually, there won't be much to change now. It's just ECU wiring, fuel lines and a bit of faff. Doesn't sound a lot does it....
LankyMcTally said:
Itching to see this complete and in the metal!
Me too buddy, me too! Pflanzgarten said:
Are you 100% on the final livery yet?
foto-Opel-Vectra-STW-twc-tourenwagen-classics-fhr-spring-hockenheim2021 by Chris Cav, on FlickrLike this
EoA3LrjXYAId7pY by Chris Cav, on FlickrB'stard Child said:
I have actually sent you a message on another subject related to you car - just in case it ends up in your spam folder 
Received and replied mate, thank you. Given my work schedule it may be a tight deadline, but that's oh so tempting. phil_cardiff said:
It looks so good in plain white though...
But livery won't spoil an absolutely brilliant build.
It does, it looks fantastically clean which is how I've designed it. But a livery, might make it looks special. I need to find someone good with photoshop to do me some mock-ups. But livery won't spoil an absolutely brilliant build.
Speed Badger said:
I love this build! What about the lesser spotted Anthony Reid JTCC livery, still keeps a lot of white then goes mental at the rear.
That's not a bad shout at all. It was the later facelifted Cavalier that he raced, but I do like the style of livery. One of the other ones that was in the running was an Omega Evo style, like this;
phpEHHMVY by Chris Cav, on FlickrCouncilFerrari said:
B'stard Child said:
I have actually sent you a message on another subject related to you car - just in case it ends up in your spam folder
Received and replied mate, thank you. Given my work schedule it may be a tight deadline, but that's oh so tempting. 
CouncilFerrari said:
B'stard Child said:
You have a reply back - no need to reply quickly - Fortune favours the brave
Or as the beardy bunch say, 'Who Dares Wins' Let's see what I can do! It's a static display at the end of the dayBut if you want to take advantage of my offer it does need to be running and driving
Time for an update;
After bleeding the brakes and leaving them to sit for a couple of weeks, I noticed that the rear calipers were both seeping brake fluid from the bleed nipple thread. I tried new bleed nipples but got the same problem, so had to stump up for a new pair of calipers. Before fitting I gave them a bit of etch primer;
And a couple of coats of satin-ish black, to match the Wilwoods on the front;
Here they are compared to the black finish on the old ones, they look much cleaner and are a closer match to the finish on the fronts;
I also had to address the problem of not having sun visors (due to the roll cage), so I installed a sunstrip. I didn't want to go too deep because it's an easy ticket for the Police, so went with a fairly conservative depth. I also found some stickers that ape the style of the original badges;
Fitted;
Opinions welcome, I quite like it but can't decide if it's chavvy or not? It is a Cavalier, so some chavviness is definitely allowed.
After bleeding the brakes and leaving them to sit for a couple of weeks, I noticed that the rear calipers were both seeping brake fluid from the bleed nipple thread. I tried new bleed nipples but got the same problem, so had to stump up for a new pair of calipers. Before fitting I gave them a bit of etch primer;
And a couple of coats of satin-ish black, to match the Wilwoods on the front;
Here they are compared to the black finish on the old ones, they look much cleaner and are a closer match to the finish on the fronts;
I also had to address the problem of not having sun visors (due to the roll cage), so I installed a sunstrip. I didn't want to go too deep because it's an easy ticket for the Police, so went with a fairly conservative depth. I also found some stickers that ape the style of the original badges;
Fitted;
Opinions welcome, I quite like it but can't decide if it's chavvy or not? It is a Cavalier, so some chavviness is definitely allowed.
Next up, I had to address the top mount/ride height issue. I've mentioned before that I couldn't get the car very low at the front, and this had been on my to do list for sometime. Anyhow, a friend was using the same top mount setup in his car and it was basically unbearable. It rode like it had no front suspension.
I decided to revert back to the original top mounts, which had the added bonus of bringing the car back down to a sensible ride height. After pissing around with it, it looks like this;
I expect it'll settle a touch more once the springs have some road miles on them.
And now time to have the rest of the exhaust fabricated. With my helper, ready for delivery;
And after a couple of weeks; I got these pictures from Luke at LAFabrication;
I went with a single 3'' round tailpipe, as that's very similar to what the BTCC Cavaliers ran. The later ones, anyway.
More helpers, helping!
Unfortunately, that's where the update ends for now. While driving home, the van burst it's intercooler so had that to sort out before I could do anything else. While on the ramp at Luke's, we also found that the manifold was touching the subframe and so will require a bit of rework before I can get the thing MOT'd.
I decided to revert back to the original top mounts, which had the added bonus of bringing the car back down to a sensible ride height. After pissing around with it, it looks like this;
I expect it'll settle a touch more once the springs have some road miles on them.
And now time to have the rest of the exhaust fabricated. With my helper, ready for delivery;
And after a couple of weeks; I got these pictures from Luke at LAFabrication;
I went with a single 3'' round tailpipe, as that's very similar to what the BTCC Cavaliers ran. The later ones, anyway.
More helpers, helping!
Unfortunately, that's where the update ends for now. While driving home, the van burst it's intercooler so had that to sort out before I could do anything else. While on the ramp at Luke's, we also found that the manifold was touching the subframe and so will require a bit of rework before I can get the thing MOT'd.
Scoobydrew95 said:
I think the GSI badge on the sun strip is a really important little touch and definitely finishes the look. Without it, it would probably look a little awkward.
Exhaust and everything just looking absolutely amazing.
Thanks mate, I like the GSi badge there, it's a tiny detail really but sets it off. Exhaust and everything just looking absolutely amazing.
B'stard Child said:
^ WHS - looks great
Thanks bud, appreciated. LeighW said:
Looks fantastic, love it.
Wish I'd kept mine!
Thanks dude, there's so many cars I wish I'd kept hold of. The test will be whether I keep this one, once it's done... Wish I'd kept mine!
Kev_Mk3 said:
You mention livery
What about this (Currently on Sabines brothers race car)
That's a great shout, I love Bitburger and the DTM style liveries. What about this (Currently on Sabines brothers race car)
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff