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1993 Cavalier Turbo 4x4 Rebuild thread

23K views 50 replies 32 participants last post by  Chino 
#1 ·
Had previously put a thread up on my cav for detailing but dont think i listed a full thread of the build it went through over a long 3 years...

Bought the car back in Oct 2004 in excellent condition with 77k on it... came pretty much standard bar the sound system and a back box which suited me at 21 years old to keep insurance reasonable. It was feated in Total Vaux feb 2005...

Basically drove it for 9-10 months racking up 12k trouble free and then had the dreaded porous head problem :(

Options were to fire a new head on and drive away but made the decision it was time to freshen it up, started gathering funds to buy the bits I need/wanted and went through some cheap runabouts in the meantime... took me three years to gather the cash working two jobs and what started as just a phase 2 spec engine enhancement went to full rebuild...

pics should do a lot more talking

Before rebuild pics









token retro nokia in phone holder...







Engine was the first thing to sort as i didnt want fresh paint getting destroyed wi mechanics leanign over wings etc













Head was replaced with COSCAST item to prevent future porous head nightmares. Was also ported and polished and I now cannt even remember the amount of stuff went into it but whatever it needed it got, gaskets etc etc, steel head gasket, iridium plugs, front mount intercooler fitted, uprated fuel pressure regulator, uprated fuel pump, new oil pump, new wiring loom etc etc etc

Engine in and running was time to sort the bodywork

Never had anything painted in my life and seen some CRAP paint jobs so took time to source a painter that would be upto the task













original arches

















new fog lights... very hard to source but glad i did, also new headlights fitted







all new wipers, wiper arms, windscreen, bump strips, weather strips, badges etc etc, brand new front and rear bumpers and bumper rears (the black unpainted parts)







wheels had been refurbed and had new centre caps, cant put my hand on refurb pics but this is them 4 years later after a wash and seal...













found wheels refurb pics









underside sealed







interior cleaned after bodyshop dust EVERYWHERE











new mats





back to audio advice to have PS2 fitted above glove box and DVD Head unit aswell as the sound sys refitted after rebuild...









total vaux then attended and took some pics of my cav and cali together which was nice, mainly focussing on the cali as the cav had already been feature pre rebuild













always faniced a priv plate for the cav... doesnt mean anything with regards initials or anything but was reasonable priced and i liked it...





Last thing that annoyed me after rebuild was... engine bay!!

It had silicon hoses bought at time of build but it was a mix and match of black and red hosing and looked crap imo. Also some old tatty bits like coolant and washer resevoirs, rocker cover was tired looking aswell. Was still on original turbo so once again what started as a clean up ended up wi mass of new parts





new header tank



new resevoir which a kind soul on the owners club who lives in germany bought for me from a local dealer with stock as uk stock is nigh impossible!!



enlarged inlet





service goodies



had originally started buyin chris astely kit but then he went bust :(





so full roose silicon kit purchased







old turbo off



hybrid replacement







old radiator out









spark plug cover polished and all new polished bolts and the likes where i could get them







rocker repainted



Anyone who knows the cav/calibra turbo problems knows of the dreaded transfer box... this had been troublesome for me aswell

First box died at 91k, was replaced with a second hand 'locked box' which should have solved problems, it lasted 200 miles...

Another working standard box was sourced and had a mike hayward locking kit fitted. But garage that fitted made a mess and didnt fill the box with the transmission fluid i left with them... cooked box

So... if you want a job done right do it yourself?

Got another working box, fitted another locking kit and me and 2 friends (gentlemen I should call them) set about fitting the box... nightmare job but rewarding aswell

keith hard at work









anyhows... now pretty much finished, has ran reliably now that 4x4 is sorted... phase 2 software fitted aswell and a new exhaust system put on





Looking at this thread now and thinking what i've spent i think i've lost the plot, but its the car i always loved when i was in my teens and had to have

What now... tbh i don't know, next stage would be a complete underside overhaul? Concours style but don;t know if i have the ability or the patience for it...

Hate to say it but this could be the last year/show season for me with it, might be forced to sell cav or cali :(

Thanks for looking, probably missed some pics/details but can answer queries where there is any!!
 
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#31 ·
This has been tucked away from oct 2012 so about time for a revival, it's covered about ten miles in that time but was very dusty from sitting in the garage and trying to sort the garage out st same time!













Quick snow foam and a wash and pleasantly Surprised at what lay beneath, will need a machine and sealed again. It overall it was still Glossy and presentable

Few wee lift marks here and there but sure no one about the house knows how they happened or will own up to them!!
 
#39 ·
Tbh I was suprised going from a mk3 gsi Astra to cav t my insurance went down significantly, seen them more a sensible family car :)

Just touching on 96k miles now too I think so not colossal I suppose, calibra touching about 26k too

Really missed driving and enjoying them the past few years but glad I was able to at least hold onto them while everything else worked itself out
 
#42 ·
Excellent work, really enjoyed reading your thread and looking at the cracking photographs.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
#46 ·
Thanks guys... got a good check over today and pleased to say after some minor tinkering the windscreen washers and speedo work again and everything else seems good for mot bar a broken coil on one rear spring so need to sort that and be good for test end of May :)
 
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