Bilbo's mk1 Cavalier

[Bilbo]

The big jobs are waiting until into the new year, but I have done a few bits lately.

After the leak fiasco in the passenger side, I was having some temperamental issues with my headunit. Possibly unrelated, the headunit I have owned for about 12 years now as my parents bought it for my first car way back in the day! Maybe it was finally just giving up, but I think the adapter harness was dodgy personally. Either way I was pretty sick of just having 2 front speakers, it's alright but not great, I love having music when I'm driving. So I wired in 2 rear speakers to try. Not good at all, headunit just doesn't really have the balls to power 4 speakers very effectively.

So I went on Marketplace, and a guy was selling a JVC Bluetooth headunit, an old Alpine VPower amp, and a Hertz super slim space saver sub, all together really cheap. Ideal. Went and picked it up, pulled up the carpet, sorted some appropriate gauge wiring, and got it all connected.

The sub fits perfectly between the fuel tank and the rear seats, with not even a cm to spare, it couldn't be more perfect, and as a bonus it's completely hidden and takes up no usable boot space.

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Under the front passenger seat I placed the amp, tucked away underneath, all the wiring run under the carpet and poked through right by the amp, so no wiring laying about everywhere, very neat.

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Finally I can actually hear the bass in songs. I'm not really into absolutely banging dance music, but I do love music and play a bit of guitar and bass myself, and not being able to hear the powerful kick drum or bass lines of my favourite songs is not to my liking, so this has been a great upgrade, and all completely hidden away so the car looks no different for it. Money well spent. And no I am not planning on hacking the parcel shelf up for some grim looking 6x9s, don't worry.

 

Next on the agenda, my mate gave me a brand new unused fire extinguisher. He had it lying around, a mate of his had recently fitted it in his BMW to meet the new safety regs at Driftland, but fortunately had no need for it, and now it is mine. Mounted securely by the front of the passenger seat, in driver's reach, with a single quick release metal strap holding it in. Ideal, and a bit of peace of mind. Hopefully never need it, but I'll be glad it's there if I ever do.

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Leak issues are now solved on the passenger side, though I still have one persistent leak on the driver's side, starting to think it's the aerial mounting bracket underneath the front wing. Will whip the driver's wing off tomorrow and take a look, and hopefully get to the bottom of it, because it's been raining a bloody lot lately and my floorpan will dissolve in no time if I don't sort it I'm sure 😂

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[Paul Barrett]

Weld it up lol

[cam.in.head]

when you take the wing off you will no doubt find somework !

but also carefully check the inner wing under and around the washer bottle area.

also windscreen corners can rust out and leak. not always immediately obvious from the outside but further under the seal and into the recess. 

[Bilbo]

2 hours ago, Paul Barrett said:

Weld it up lol

Don't, I am tempted to be fair 😂 very predictable, do like a welded diff even for road driving. Push on a bit on roundabouts sometimes but perfectly manageable.

1 hour ago, cam.in.head said:

when you take the wing off you will no doubt find somework !

but also carefully check the inner wing under and around the washer bottle area.

also windscreen corners can rust out and leak. not always immediately obvious from the outside but further under the seal and into the recess. 

Luckily had that wing off when I was getting it roadworthy and welded up some holes and the front sill edge last year, and protected it.

Had a look just now and it was the door seal, it's gone very flat with age, and water was getting over it and running discreetly down the inside and flooding the driver's footwell. So I have fed some soft vac line inside the hollow section of the seal to pad it back out, should do the job, worked well when I did the same on my MX-5 soft top seals.

[cam.in.head]

excellent. thats a bit easier ! 

water leaks can sometimes be a pain to trace .

[Jessopia74]

Good idea on packing the old seal out, guess it gives it back some size and a little strength too 👍

[cam.in.head]

works well on the joins too same as oe.

[Bilbo]

On 11/12/2023 at 09:45, cam.in.head said:

excellent. thats a bit easier ! 

water leaks can sometimes be a pain to trace .

Absolute pain, it still doesn't seem perfect, but a lot better than it was for sure!

On 11/12/2023 at 20:04, Jessopia74 said:

Good idea on packing the old seal out, guess it gives it back some size and a little strength too 👍

Yeah hopefully it'll prove helpful, we'll see next time we get a proper downpour I guess haha

[Bilbo]

Ok so on the subject of the door seal, here's what I did. Found the issue area, one very flattened door seal, still seems to be ok elsewhere despite being a bit flat with age, but the problem was here.

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So I popped it off the door seam a bit, and found some not too rigid vac hose I had lying around. Made a small incision with a blade, and gently fed the pipe in, the length basically went to about half way into the bend that goes up the A pillar, so not much. But it wasn't leaking up there so didn't see the point, plus feeding it through the bend part was a total pain so I'm glad I didn't need to go much further.

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I then sealed the hole up with some flexible waterproof sealant, and it was done. To be honest part of me is thinking this may have something to do with the not perfect door bottom, it's not gone, but it is corroded on the bottom worse than any of the other doors. When I paint the car I'll probably look at the lower seam of the door skin and maybe do some minor repair work on it.

With that out the way I let the floor mat and carpet dry out and left it at that.

 

Mate at the workshop recently got an absolutely smashed up MX-5 as a breaker, someone had a fight with a tree and lost 😂 I'll try and find a photo, it was properly mangled. Anyway he had various parts off of it for sale, but the engine was no good, front end hit had bent the bottom pulley, nasty. So I got the cam cover off of it nice and cheap, as wanted one to paint up.

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Didn't want anything fancy, just a nice clean look, no bright colours needed for this. I did a fairly thorough job of cleaning it up, and then a half arsed job of masking everything, and a mate got annoyed with how imperfect it was, ripped it all off, and did one of the most precise beautiful masking jobs I've ever seen on a minor painting job before 😂

I went with a "black" metallic engine paint. I say "black" because it looks black, and says black on the can, but then it dries and it's more of a graphite than anything. Here it is still wet, but you get the idea:

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Like I say nothing special, I may in-fill the letters on it at some point as well with a syringe or something, not decided on a colour for that yet, I think red would look tacky so may just go with white, or even cream to match the car when I paint it perhaps.

 

We had previously had the OE steering wheel off, but the wheel I replaced it with (right when I first got the car moving) was bendy and too shallow (stalk hit wheel on full beam press). So I've run the OE wheel for the best part of a year. I had my resin wheel lying around that I took off the MX-5 when I broke it, and an MX-5 hub fits the Vauxhall column as I was informed some time ago, so I decided to give it a go in the Vauxhall. 

The OE wheel was proper on there, and I didn't want to bang and pull against the column, luckily another mate has just joined the unit who is a mechanic by trade, so he's got a load of heavy duty decent tools. Big old 2 prong puller and it was off within 2 minutes, with no damage to anything.

New wheel on, to be honest I think a classic wooden OBA/Nardi etc. would suit the car better, but I had this already, and I just wanted to try out the car with a smaller steering wheel. Pretty pleased, overall not much heavier steering feel at all. I do have a couple of mates that have a couple of old school OBA wooden wheels, so I might try and buy one off them some time next year.

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Note the phone mount on the right. It's an old one and I stuck it to the windscreen and it just kept falling off. Stared at it, then at the vent, and thought surely not. Pulled the original vent out and just applied a little contact adhesive to the back of the phone mount, and it literally squeezed into the vent hole like it was OEM, it is perfect. In all honesty don't like it there that much due to the increased chance of a grab and run thief through the window, but it'll do the job for now.

 

Starting to plan respray for early next year, going to try and get some test/practice time in on the gun soon to get my eye in with compressor spraying (not done it before). My mate just drained the compressor which was long overdue, and I'm getting an in-line moisture trap for the gun on a painter mate's advice too. I still have a couple of litres of the paint colour I will be using for this car (same as my old MX-5), so will give it a go on a scrap panel and see how it comes out.

I've already been planning where the car will sit in the unit for it. The back corner of our unit is perfect, isolate it with some decent thick greenhouse type sheeting, the fire door will be right behind it for fume extraction fans, the big unit heater is right above and behind it, so can kind of "bake" the car in the makeshift booth too. Should be ideal, I just need to get to grips with painting and give it a go, just like with everything else. Currently pencilled in for February time, gives me time to get the bits I need to prep the car etc.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Bilbo

[Bilbo]

Keeping up with the small jobs at the moment. The top of the passenger chassis rail had pretty crappy paint on it even from the beginning. After doing the engine swap, all kinds of work in the bay it got worse and more chipped off as tools were left on it, fluids dropped on it etc. So I decided to clean it up and spray it as it was a mix of primer and bare slightly surface rusted metal. Got it all cleaned up and prepped.

I used some decent anti-rust primer and the same red as I used at the back of the bay when I made my clutch master extension to the firewall. Looks a little off at first (it is Vauxhall Flame Red from Halfords, not the same red as the car), but when it dries/cures it looks almost bang on. Plenty good enough for an engine bay for sure. And it's just good to not have exposed metal anyway, so I'm glad to have it sorted.

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I was routing about in my storage area looking for some bits and came across a few pieces of interior heater ducting I had to remove when I fitted the loom (wouldn't fit with all the wiring as well). A few bits of the original eyeball vent piping were just laying there, so I thought I might as well try making a basic rudimentary cold air feed. Inlet temps on the laptop aren't bad, particularly when moving, but it certainly can't hurt. So I routed the long pipe into the bay, and have used the oblong/oval end piece as an air inlet.

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As with everything I do, this is v1.0. I don't like where I've put it, I am planning to move it into the small opening you can see just to the left of the number plate, I think that would work well. Wouldn't mind finding a slightly larger bellmouth for it, but it's definitely feeding some nice cold air to the trumpets when moving, so it's a start.

 

Had a chat with my mate, he's just got a brand new galvanised chassis and bulkhead delivered for his old Defender, he's planning to full respray it when it's all rebuilt, also getting a 3.0 BMW diesel engine so should be pretty decent when done. Anyway we've agreed to do all respray stuff around the same time, using the same makeshift booth plan I mentioned before. We're hoping to do it all in February, so I'll need to get a shift on getting the paint and consumables bought. I've got a brand new paint gun, and I'm getting a moisture trap for the airline, and then I'll need to try and source a red interior, or perhaps recover what I have (unlikely). Did consider lifting the black out somehow and just re-dyeing what I have but my mum does a ton of fabric/crafting/clothes making stuff and she wasn't too sure it wouldn't be effective/damage the fabric etc. so we will see. Either way the car will have a completely fresh new look by next spring which I'm so excited for!

[®evo03]

Put up a couple of wanted ads for red interior. 

Regards paint gun spraying, I've been painting wheels and small items for years, if you can paint wheels you can paint anything. 

Fair play for giving everything a go, and sorting the car yourself.

As for painting, you are aiming for low humidity, weather app shows this. Keep an eye. 

[Bilbo]

On 21/12/2023 at 20:30, ®evo03 said:

Put up a couple of wanted ads for red interior. 

Regards paint gun spraying, I've been painting wheels and small items for years, if you can paint wheels you can paint anything. 

Fair play for giving everything a go, and sorting the car yourself.

As for painting, you are aiming for low humidity, weather app shows this. Keep an eye. 

Yeah probably a good idea, when I've got some money for it I will do that.

Yeah I just want to get some practice in, rather make mistakes and work out what not to do before doing the actual car. Still got some of the old tin left from when my mate painted my MX5, same colour/brand paint as I'll be using this time, so will be good to get some practice in with it, see how it sprays etc.

It has been good, working on the Vauxhall has expanded the work I've done on cars massively, it's been great.

Good tip on the humidity, cheers.

[Bilbo]

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! I got a few car related presents which was nice, including a GPS speedo.

I kind of want to make a new instrument cluster, change the look a bit and address the inaccurate fuel gauge etc. But for now I have just fitted the GPS speedo in front of the existing speedo.

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Got it from my mum and dad for Christmas. There was an 80, 120, and 160mph option for these. 120 seemed the most sensible so went with that. Now this is only a cheap GPS speedo, and I really wanted an analogue style gauge rather than a digital readout, like the one I have been using on my phone. I've got to say for a cheap option it is incredibly accurate. Obviously there is a very minor delay when first setting off, but when driving along, it is bang on with my phone GPS, and I checked in 5th as I know 3,000rpm is exactly 70mph, and it is bang on accurate. Very pleased.

It has a GPS aerial unit that I have place on the dash in the corner to pick up satellite signal, and I got it wired in, with the backlight wired into the car lights so it comes on and off with the lights as you would expect. 7 colours, I'm a fan of the red:

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This location will do for now. It's nice getting in the car and not needing to load up the GPS app on my phone every single time.

 

Decided I wanted to get a switch panel for various things, but not many options on somewhere to put it. So I removed the clock and original radio to utilise that space for something that will actually be used. Grabbed a piece of scrap steel I had lying around that was covered in surface rust and old test welds. Buzzed it back, and slowly cut it down to size. I wanted it to basically be an almost push fit into the remaining hole. Took a bit of back and forth but it here it is almost done:

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It just about pushed into the plastic surrounding it, nothing holding it in at all and it stays put. Obviously when finalised I will use some screws/some form of adhesive to hold it in permanently. The idea is a bank of switches on the right side, and perhaps a small gauge on the left. I would quite like a proper oil pressure gauge, so that could be an option.

For now I have just drilled out 6 holes for switches, painted it with some metallic caliper paint I had lying around, and fitted a couple of switches (only had 2 left so need to get some more). Made use of the new embossed sticker maker I got for Christmas, just to see how it would look. Only in prototype stage right now but it'll be a decent solution for what I need.

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As for switches I will be using:

FAN - I will be wiring in a second fan (using an MX-5 A/C fan in the stock A/C fan position on the rad), and just wiring this to directly operate from the switch. Had this setup on my old MX5 and it's a nice thing to have, just in case it's needed.

AFR - Sometimes I'll have the ignition on and the engine off. Currently not ideal as the AFR gauge immediately comes on, and starts heating the o2 sensor, which isn't ideal in a cold condensation filled exhaust manifold. So having it manually switchable will be perfect.

The big red switch will be for launch control. It already works, I have it set up on the ECU and it's hilarious, but I want to be able to switch it on and off as desired. Fuel will likely just be fuel pump control. The other 2 I've not decided yet, could do interior lights, or any number of other things, we'll see.

 

[®evo03]

Where's the tunes at man 🎧

Not sure on the early standard gauges, but there is a voltage regulator on the back of the clocks if you remove them, one box of tricks controls all three gauges volt, temp and fuel.  It's a modern remanufactured part, and is available. And not expensive. 

Worth sorting fuel sender to, easy test is to remove from tank, and move it manually. 

Nice job on the GPS Speedo, need to learn more about these, building a cafe racer bike, seen a gauge that's fits on top of headlight casing that does speed, mileage, neutral, turn, full beam, and oil p.  Amazing tech. 

You can reminds me of a few mk1 cav, that where on here a few years ago, try searching mk1 cav. 

 

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[Bilbo]

On 30/12/2023 at 10:45, ®evo03 said:

Where's the tunes at man 🎧

Not sure on the early standard gauges, but there is a voltage regulator on the back of the clocks if you remove them, one box of tricks controls all three gauges volt, temp and fuel.  It's a modern remanufactured part, and is available. And not expensive. 

Worth sorting fuel sender to, easy test is to remove from tank, and move it manually. 

Nice job on the GPS Speedo, need to learn more about these, building a cafe racer bike, seen a gauge that's fits on top of headlight casing that does speed, mileage, neutral, turn, full beam, and oil p.  Amazing tech. 

You can reminds me of a few mk1 cav, that where on here a few years ago, try searching mk1 cav. 

 

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Yeah I remember seeing the voltage regulator in the wiring diagrams in the manual. The MX5 fuel tank I have used, I did some digging online and it seems it uses a resistance range that is fairly different to other cars, or at least to what a lot of standalone fuel gauges have in range. I will likely make an entirely new cluster and just put a few standalone gauges in, plan is to make it fit inside the standard cowl so it still looks somewhat in-keeping with the car.

 

Yeah they're cool, I've seen some that do a whole range of different things. There's a small delay in the speedo, but it's incredibly accurate I have found, and it was only a cheap one too. Seems to vary with the cheap stuff, other than my AFR gauge I have only used cheap gauges and they've all been pretty good so far! I just only buy cheap gauges I can find a decent amount of reviews for.

 

Haha that is a nice looking mk1, definitely be a bit quicker than mine I reckon, turbo is nearly as big as my engine 😂

Edited January 12 by Bilbo

[Bilbo]

So been getting a bit more drivetrain noise lately, I guess it was inevitable. Other than changing the rear axle oil I haven't touched it, or anything prop related beyond the front prop that I had made.

Decided to start things off with the cheapest possible option, the centre bearing for the propshaft. Apart from one slightly stuck internal drive bolt for the torque tube, everything came undone super easily, and we replaced the torque tube bolts with brand new hardware when refitting, so that's taken care of.

The centre support looks a little corroded, but otherwise in perfectly good condition. I haven't done the bushes on the car yet but the end bushes are in remarkably good condition for almost 44 years old.

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We gave the Haynes a read and then a mate helped me get the centre donut rubber out, and remove the bearing from it. The donut rubber is also in amazing condition, I have read how difficult the OE ones can be to come by, and what I have read suggests any aftermarket ones can be a bit naff, so I was glad that it was still nice and flexible and not cracked or split anywhere at all.

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We got the bearing out and it didn't seem to have any play, but when shaken a rattle noise could be heard, and the grease resembled something more like earwax 😂🤢

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One side of the outer bearing casing was a real pain to get off, but with a bit of blowtorch action it popped off fine.

Bought a 6205 2RS bearing, found that info on here by looking through some old threads, so that was handy. Popped it in the casing and smeared a little grease on the front edge as per the book's recommendation

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Got it back into the donut rubber, and reinstalled into the centre support, bent the tabs back to retain it, and it was done. Refitted it all, not a bad job all in all. Took a little while but peace of mind that that bit is sorted now.

 

Still have the drivetrain noise, I haven't done the rear wheel bearings yet, but I have found some in the Netherlands, @mantasrmeconfirmed in my thread here that the size of the bearings on offer appear to be the correct size, so I will get those ordered soon and do the rear wheel bearings.

There's a few noises, the MX-5 gearbox is a little whiney at speed, but there is a definite rumble from the rear, but also a slight whine. It could be my front prop, I have now measured and ordered a brand new UJ for the front prop and will sort that hopefully this weekend or next, as it has slight radial play in the joint (we repaired it previously with another used front prop coupling from an MX-5, so this is likely the reason it isn't liking being in the Vauxhall again). Hoping that a brand new UJ will solve the issue.

Of course the issue could be the pinion bearing in the diff, and to be honest it may be the most likely cause of the whine, but that is the most expensive option, and it can't hurt to sort all this other stuff out too. Worst case I may just buy another axle, and maybe rebuild my existing one over a few months with no time constraints to have as a back up.

[cam.in.head]

as you have found out, the original rubber items gm used were very good quality and modern replacements should be avoided if the original is ok .same aplies to the suspension arm bushes. they are very good quality. only real exception are the front anti roll bar bobbins which dont last long.

how many modern cars need wishbone bushes replaced regularly. ?

[Bilbo]

1 hour ago, cam.in.head said:

as you have found out, the original rubber items gm used were very good quality and modern replacements should be avoided if the original is ok .same aplies to the suspension arm bushes. they are very good quality. only real exception are the front anti roll bar bobbins which dont last long.

how many modern cars need wishbone bushes replaced regularly. ?

It's mad isn't it? It's amazing how good some of the bushes look on here, some of the breaker MX-5s we've had at the unit from like 2004ish the bushes are way worse than they are on this. And yes those anti-roll bar links are the only ones I have changed, the originals were absolutely destroyed haha.

I haven't noticed play in any suspension bush on the Vauxhall really, and none of them have cracking on the visible edges. I will be leaving them for now I think, I may do them in the future but the only options available seem to be poly, which I'm not against but will be a fair bit firmer and whatnot, plus good poly kits aren't cheap!

[cam.in.head]

problem with poly bushes ( in my opinion , other may disagree) is that they are invariably harder than the original rubber bushes which gm got spot on . shame to spoil this ride quality with firmer bushes . unless thats what you are after then its your car and your choice . same applies re lower profile tyres, lowering springs too to a degree but all your choice . i personally prefer the std factory setup on both my cavs and that means it drives how gm intended it .a compromise between comfort and handling in std form . funny how you can always uprate the handling side if needs be but never the other way round !. you would need longer but thinner/ softer springs vs shorter but thicker ones !

[Paul Barrett]

I like a combo of both. Also lowering done correctly can be quite surprising in ride comfort. But as said is all down to personal preference 

[cam.in.head]

3 minutes ago, Paul Barrett said:

I like a combo of both. Also lowering done correctly can be quite surprising in ride comfort. But as said is all down to personal preference 

forgive my ignorance but icant get my head around how you could lower a car AND make it more comfortable . surely lowering involves shorter springs which theoretically have to be firmer to prevent bottoming the suspension out . ( not sure what would happen if you had std length springs which were softer , hence lower ?)  my idea of a soft comfortable ride means a floatiness and quietness that ive yet to see in any modern car . and a lot of "comfort" is also down to seats and tyres too .

[Jessopia74]

3 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

forgive my ignorance but icant get my head around how you could lower a car AND make it more comfortable . surely lowering involves shorter springs which theoretically have to be firmer to prevent bottoming the suspension out . ( not sure what would happen if you had std length springs which were softer , hence lower ?)  my idea of a soft comfortable ride means a floatiness and quietness that ive yet to see in any modern car . and a lot of "comfort" is also down to seats and tyres too .

Linear rates versus progressive, and then Dampeners ofc have improved quite a lot if the years. Most of the comfort comes from not virtually changing seats when you turn a corner. Can’t stand a car that feels like it’s boat on the sea 🤣

But I know what you mean about the travel these days, with speed bumps etc a little extra help. But that might mean the bump stop position as is should have been moved from factory with the GTE etc, sadly would have increased costs and probably deemed not necessary pre-speed bump era.

the ideal is air ofc , and the kits are definitely out there , but a little costly 

[Paul Barrett]

3 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

forgive my ignorance but icant get my head around how you could lower a car AND make it more comfortable . surely lowering involves shorter springs which theoretically have to be firmer to prevent bottoming the suspension out . ( not sure what would happen if you had std length springs which were softer , hence lower ?)  my idea of a soft comfortable ride means a floatiness and quietness that ive yet to see in any modern car . and a lot of "comfort" is also down to seats and tyres too .

Never mentioned more comfort just not the days of decked cheap springs and crap shocks. 
 

A well matched spring rate and dampers and attention to geometry can yield a ‘surprising’ level of comfort. Of course it will be firmer that is unavoidable 

My VW t6.1 is lowered heavily but on a system that has had extensive R&D to gain the quality of ride it has. Not crashy or spine shaking and holds the road extremely well. Drives like a car. Everyone that’s been in it comments how well it rides for being so low. 

[Jonathan Pounsett]

5 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

forgive my ignorance but icant get my head around how you could lower a car AND make it more comfortable . surely lowering involves shorter springs which theoretically have to be firmer to prevent bottoming the suspension out . ( not sure what would happen if you had std length springs which were softer , hence lower ?)  my idea of a soft comfortable ride means a floatiness and quietness that ive yet to see in any modern car . and a lot of "comfort" is also down to seats and tyres too .

Surely it’s important to match your suspension to your driving style - if you like throwing it into every roundabout at 60mph standard suspension will be very uncomfortable (when you hit the Armco!) For most of us it’s a bit of a trade off, comfortable cruising but enough firmness for “spirited” driving. If I could replicate my MX5 comfort and handling characteristics on my Manta I would be very happy 😃.

[Paul Barrett]

30 minutes ago, Jonathan Pounsett said:

Surely it’s important to match your suspension to your driving style - if you like throwing it into every roundabout at 60mph standard suspension will be very uncomfortable (when you hit the Armco!) For most of us it’s a bit of a trade off, comfortable cruising but enough firmness for “spirited” driving. If I could replicate my MX5 comfort and handling characteristics on my Manta I would be very happy 😃.

Now your talking manta with mx5 handling would be a dream. I’m getting there with the exclusive coupe it just needs some actual grunt now lol