Vauxhall Cavalier Turbo - Who Remembers?
Discussion
Rare cars in the day and even rarer now I guess.V8RX7 said:
Unfortunately (for Vauxhall)the Sierra Cosworth was clearly the better car.
The Cavalier wasn't as much fun and as with all 4WD Vauxhalls the transfer box was a weakness
Very true. The chassis was poorThe Cavalier wasn't as much fun and as with all 4WD Vauxhalls the transfer box was a weakness
The Calibra and Tigra when first released were very nicely shaped. The Calibra in that dark green and the Tigra in that dark metallic blue both looked very good and aged well. Sadly later owners stuck things on them.
Wayne Cherry at GM at that point in time was a very good designer, not designing things for the sake of it
A Tigra still looking pretty good now
http://www.chivenor.net/VAUXHALL_TIGRA_1.4I_16V_CO...
The smoked back light lenses looked a lot better than 2000 bling ones. Nice simple wheels also.
The rear seats are very light weight also, I'd forgotten about those.
JordanTurbo said:
I had the engine from a cav turbo in my Mk3 astra years ago (with the gearbox converted to FWD)
Very fast once I fitted it and then bonkers towards the end of its life with 370bhp through the front wheels. One of the few cars I miss since selling it in bits.
I had a friend who done this. Was in his MK3 GSi then he put it in a Mk2 GTE... both were bonkers, more so the GTE, that thing was the epitome of a 'tin can'... rattly and loud and flimsy, with 360odd horse it was pretty terrifying sitting in the passenger seat!Very fast once I fitted it and then bonkers towards the end of its life with 370bhp through the front wheels. One of the few cars I miss since selling it in bits.
We did this recently : http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
In defence of the cavalier the chassis wasn't that bad, you could hardly expect a FWD converted to 4x4 to equal a rwd biased 4x4. It was improved greatly with some proper shocks & springs.
The problem with the transfer boxes was just communication, when the cars were new there wasn't much information around about how to look after the tx box. When second/third owners got their hands on the cars they were already half knackered and even though the information/relevant care was known it was too late to save them. Looked after they'd easily do 120k. My car had over 100k on its box when sold, fluid was clean and there was no slop in it.
Loved my turbo and to be honest its the car (or a modern equivalent of) that I want nowadays, rather than a podgy hot hatch laden with every electronic gizmo under the sun thats only still making the same(ish) sort of power that the turbo was 10 years ago
The engine, like the XE was hugely capable, just real shame that it didn't get the attention like the ford cosworth engine did from the tuning market back then.
In defence of the cavalier the chassis wasn't that bad, you could hardly expect a FWD converted to 4x4 to equal a rwd biased 4x4. It was improved greatly with some proper shocks & springs.
The problem with the transfer boxes was just communication, when the cars were new there wasn't much information around about how to look after the tx box. When second/third owners got their hands on the cars they were already half knackered and even though the information/relevant care was known it was too late to save them. Looked after they'd easily do 120k. My car had over 100k on its box when sold, fluid was clean and there was no slop in it.
Loved my turbo and to be honest its the car (or a modern equivalent of) that I want nowadays, rather than a podgy hot hatch laden with every electronic gizmo under the sun thats only still making the same(ish) sort of power that the turbo was 10 years ago
The engine, like the XE was hugely capable, just real shame that it didn't get the attention like the ford cosworth engine did from the tuning market back then.
Thats an interesting article. Most of the complaint about the cavalier is about it being "too subtle" compared to the ford, but as the article says the sierra became the most nicked car in Britain.
Besides, I don't think the cavalier was subtle ? it was and is instantly recognisable from lesser models and has a rather striking image. I wonder what the writer thinks of cars nowadays:
1.4 golf
R
Besides, I don't think the cavalier was subtle ? it was and is instantly recognisable from lesser models and has a rather striking image. I wonder what the writer thinks of cars nowadays:
1.4 golf
R
Who remembers...?
I'm still there!
Though it hasn't seen the road in almost 5yrs now and currently looks like this...
One day Rodders, one day...
As for experiences, I've had it since 2001 and done about 110,000 miles in it... don't think there's enough bandwith to cope with my experiences!
This was good...
This was better...
This was scary...
This was high...
Days like these were expensive...
This was really scary...
This was the start...
This was the end...
This is where it needs to be again...
And that's enough picture whoring for one day!
I'm still there!
Though it hasn't seen the road in almost 5yrs now and currently looks like this...
One day Rodders, one day...
As for experiences, I've had it since 2001 and done about 110,000 miles in it... don't think there's enough bandwith to cope with my experiences!
This was good...
This was better...
This was scary...
This was high...
Days like these were expensive...
This was really scary...
This was the start...
This was the end...
This is where it needs to be again...
And that's enough picture whoring for one day!
Edited by Davie on Thursday 23 January 19:49
Crafty_ said:
Thats an interesting article. Most of the complaint about the cavalier is about it being "too subtle" compared to the ford, but as the article says the sierra became the most nicked car in Britain.
Besides, I don't think the cavalier was subtle ? it was and is instantly recognisable from lesser models and has a rather striking image.
Yep, I think any car enthusiast would instantly recognize either of them to be honest - they've both got the same amount of bodykit on and the Cavalier has bigger wheels as wellBesides, I don't think the cavalier was subtle ? it was and is instantly recognisable from lesser models and has a rather striking image.
turbo4wdgsi by sm, on Flickr
T5GRF said:
I remember going to a Vauxhall fleet day at Milbrook in 1993. I drove one round the bowl at a much higher speed than the 100 mph limit imposed that day. It was a genuinely quck car. Just a shame they wouldn't let us take out the Lotus Carlton that was also there...
When I began at Lotus in '91 I was fortunate enough to be taken around the Hethel test track in a Carlton.The steering pad was taken at 60+ mph! mostly sideways, Windsock in a sideways drift at 120 and we were nudging 170 mph by the end of the main straight. Fun morning out.
Back on topic, I was involved in '92 at looking at the Lotus 3rd model. This was essentially a Lotus Cavalier in the same mould as the Carlton.
Twin turbo, two litre V6 with 300+ horsepower and 4-wheel drive. Estimated to hit 60 in sub 5 seconds and limited to 155 mph.
We got as far as putting a bare block into a buck to start looking at turbo installation before the project was canned.
Drive Blind said:
why was the 4x4 system considered so poor/weak on these?
was it designed by Vauxhall? Is it a poor design?
was it borrowed from another manufacturer?
was it down to the owners not knowing how to look after it?
Steyr-Daimler-Puchwas it designed by Vauxhall? Is it a poor design?
was it borrowed from another manufacturer?
was it down to the owners not knowing how to look after it?
Long version...
http://www.cavalierturbo.com/downloads/richie/4wd_...
Short version...
It was just s
te... The idea of wet clutches that are pressed together is actually the same basic concept as haldex, the only difference is haldex implements it in a different way that means the more torque that goes through the box the harder it presses the clutches together. The cavalier box unfortunately didn't quite work that way, which is where most of the grief comes from.
As I said, provided you did regular oil (and power steering) fluid changes and didn't dick about with tyres they were much more reliable.
As I said, provided you did regular oil (and power steering) fluid changes and didn't dick about with tyres they were much more reliable.
Crafty_ said:
The idea of wet clutches that are pressed together is actually the same basic concept as haldex, the only difference is haldex implements it in a different way that means the more torque that goes through the box the harder it presses the clutches together. The cavalier box unfortunately didn't quite work that way, which is where most of the grief comes from.
As I said, provided you did regular oil (and power steering) fluid changes and didn't dick about with tyres they were much more reliable.
The problem doesn't come from the clutch pack. They are the bits that fail but its caused by heat build up from the viscous coupling due to mismatch in speed of the front and rear wheels.As I said, provided you did regular oil (and power steering) fluid changes and didn't dick about with tyres they were much more reliable.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff