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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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#6 ·
awesome thread,i used to have a cali 16v then went for the cav turbo too(mine was blue and very very low:) ),tip with gearboxes: use j.r.dain in norwich,norfolk for any rebuilds,i had mine done with uprated stuff as the synchros went,lots if vauxhall people use them and they have a good rep :)
tim
 
#7 ·
Will keep that in mind although tbh it gets driven very easily, doesnt see a hard time and has covered bout 1800 miles in past 18 months and that includes the trip from N Ireland to Billing...

actually lifted my calibra turbo in Norwich aswell, dread to think carriage costs from N Ireland to Norwich for a gearbox... eeek
 
#10 ·
Yeah hard to come by now... in fact even back in 2004 when i was looking for one they were hard to come by... think total vaux listed about 200 ish as surviving from the original production line of just over 1000 :(

The way calibra's are disappearing too they'll be next...
 
#15 ·
WOW, A big fan of late 80's early 90's vaux and had a few myself, absolutly love the way you kept the out side looking standard with just the stainless as a period mod mate. So glad you left the renault fron splitter off as well lol looks the bomb.
love it
 
#16 ·
yeah wanted everything as oem as i could just 30mm drop and exhaust to 'enhance' i suppose

even sound sys, anyone looking in wouldnt be drawn to the sound sys automatically, the neons are controlled from the alarm remote and the alcantara trim is nice and subtle where the wood effect panel was on the door cards, also lots of small detailing on the interior in alcantara, and alcantara trimmed boost gauge built into the heater vent drivers side...

in rebuilding it i knew i wanted to pay attention to the small details which overall make a big impact to the 'fresh' appearance of everything...
 
#17 ·
Lovely job there, you just don't see many tidy Mk3s of any model/trim about these days so it's nice to see such a rare model preserved. It looks a credit to all your hard work and money spent. :thumb:

I once rebuilt a salvage '93 Mk3 that had gone under the back of a lorry, but it was only a lowly 1.7Tdi. It was only 3 years old at the time. No after pictures, but I'll dig out the befores if you're interested.:doublesho
 
#19 ·
Glad this thread was bumped, I somehow missed it.

I've just finished restoring a Carlton Gsi3000. Your photos brought back memories of the work I have done over the last 10 years.

You have a fantastic looking car :thumb:, and an obvious amount of hard work gone into it. Will we see you at Billing this year?

My thread (if you'd like a look):

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=240668
 
#21 ·
Yeah i was admiring your carlton its splendid and another rarity on the roads now!!!!

Cav has been at Billing the past two years running on the Just Opel Vaux stand just over the bridge from Vinnies indian!!

This year i'm gonna take the calibra... if boats and petrol weren't so bloody pricey i'd take the two of them... overnight from belfast to liverpool is roughly £450 quid return for car plus 2... if i took the two it would be equivalent for a trip to thailand for the 2 of us ffs!!

Calibra has never been over before either and has been stored for 18months so be nice to stretch its legs!!
 
#22 ·
I'll be sure to keep my eye out for you and the Calibra in July then.

That's a whole lotta money for the trip from Belfast, makes me feel guilty for moaning about the relatively short 150 mile round trip I'll be making there from
Derby....though this year I'll be doing it in the big 3.0ltr guzzling Carly, so I may moan a little!! :rolleyes:

I worked in Belfast for a couple of weeks, then went back the following year for a weekend, great city!! :thumb:
 
#23 ·
Thats pretty impressive having the original wheel arches on! ;)
Brings back memories of my cavalier (tho not a turbo unfortunately!) Your calibra looks pretty damn nice too. Will be on the look out for it at billing.
And your carlton catho. I'll be there in me wonky manta! :lol:
 
#25 ·
Yeah say hello if ya's are there :D

Yeah nice to have original arches and thanfully never needed any welding... it has lived a pampered existence but i was still scared when the bodykit was coming off for the respray as to what lay underneath!!!
 
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