1985 Vauxhall Cavalier L (Updated 28/11)

[blacksaff]

Ok,

I bought this car from a guy in Bletchley. It had been owned by an old man who barely used it, when he died his wife left it in the garage for years and did nothing with it apart from garage it. The guy bought it and put some black later alloys on it which thankfully he kept the steels and hub caps! He put about 10k miles on it so it now sits at 39k. I bought it from him and so far I haven't got round to putting it on the road again. It's totally mint everywhere. It has a strange dent in the bonnet that needs rectifying but nothing major.

Plans are to tidy it up, lower it down and banded steels.

Hope you like

[breadvan]

very different and cool

[Vintage75]

Very nice.
I had a D reg 1.6L about 19 years ago and loved it.

[THE_Liam]

Looks very tidy! More pics

[grifterkid]

Amazing...!!!

Wax-inject the heck out of it and take many, MANY more pictures please...!

[sal]

More photos please and also get yourself over to www.mk2cav.com

[blacksaff]

Ok so since posting this original thread I've not had chance to add any more pictures. Since I've now got a unit for all my cars together. I thought I'd take some more pictures of the car.

Here is how it's looking now.

Under the bonnet.

Back seats.

Finally the mileage and yes that is original from new.


I hope to get it out to take some more pictures soon. But for now I hope you like and all comments welcome.

[darrenh]

what a cracking looking motor. i've a couple of "L" under my belt over the years. first one had metallic paint like yours which must have been an expensive tick back then

points deducted for mk3 wheel trims though

[120y]

Not many left of these, nice that's its a base spec one for a change.

[envoycdx]

Love it!
Staying totally original or getting fettled amd tweaked?

[blacksaff]

Darrenh - Thanks, to my understanding the colour is Fjord blue which as I understand it is an early Vauxhall metallic. The wheel trims are indeed incorrect but much better than the late spec alloys the previous owner had put on it. I'll keep my eyes peeled for some correct ones though.

120y - Thank you buddy. I have a soft spot for base models. Like you say they're rarer.

Envoycdx - I'm really not sure at all if I'm honest. I am tempted by coilovers and banded steels. But absolutely nothing that can't be reversed easily.

Thanks for the comments.

[envoycdx]

Feb 20, 2015 21:49:09 GMT blacksaff said:

Envoycdx - I'm really not sure at all if I'm honest. I am tempted by coilovers and banded steels. But absolutely nothing that can't be reversed easily.

Interested to see what coil over setups are available. I've never seen anytthing other than the GAZ setups and they are hideiously priced from what I remember. I know a couple of guys on the CAVMK3OC have attempted to make their own setups though :/

Still interested to see what you go for in the end.

[boom666]

I've got a convertible with 70k on it . I've just dropped it 60mm and fitted some 17 bbs rims , bring on the sun. these old cavs are epic

[grifterkid]

That is looking good, very good indeed...

I had a 'fleet' model (1300 engine, boggy-bog standard!) one of these years and years ago that died as a result of me getting a bit too intimate with the jet-washer along the sills... It was slightly crusty to say the least!

[blacksaff]

envoycdx - I did find a set online from Germany not so long ago. If I can't find any again then i'll look in to the options available to me.

boom666 - Thanks for your comments mate. I do like a MK2 Cavalier convertible.

grifterkid - Cheers mate, luckily mine is a bit more solid than that but I have seen some rotten examples.

[sal]

That's a really nice cavalier you have. Looking forward to seeing your progress with it.

I've got an L spec too with auto box that I'm currently reshelling my rotten CD into.

Re the coilovers there's a lad named Brett on mk2.cav.com who has worked with gaz to develop a front set where you send them your struts and they adapt them. I don't know about costs etc but I'm sure he would be happy to point you in right direction.

[blacksaff]

sal - Thanks buddy. It is a great little survivor car.

Been a while but it's now time for an update. It's been sitting in the corner of the workshop for a while gathering dust and dirt. Due to doing things on other projects I've not done anything to the Mk2.

So first thing to do was take the cover off and move it forward to make some room.

So then it was a matter of putting in some fresh petrol. A nice brand new battery. Then it was just a matter of starting her up and moving her outside. The rear brakes are dragging and need stripping down. The engine needs a good service too but here it is.




However as you can see from above it is covered in dirt, dust and general grime. So it was out with the cleaning equipment and the snow foam first.




After a good thorough clean and drying she was looking a lot better for herself.




The eagle anoraks amongst you will notice that the wheels aren't correct. They are 14" wheels and caps from a later Vauxhall. I need to try and source some standard 13" wheels and hub caps.


The engine bay looked pretty good after a thorough jet wash with a bit of degreaser. It needs a bit more of a thorough degrease and clean but it's looking pretty good although in need of some modifications to perished vacuum hoses etc. It's such a great little runner and very quiet too.


Here it is with some of the rest of the fleet. Seeing daylight for the first time in a long time.


Plans are to go through it thoroughly. Needs to be lowered down approx 40mm or so like everything else I have. It will also be machine polished and detailed.

Thanks for looking and updates to follow.

[grifterkid]

Even though I only had mine for 2 days, even though it only cost me 40 Quid and even though it was destroyed by me jet-washing it (rust was prolific!) I loved my Mk2 Cav'...!!!

Yours looks ruddy ace and it's ruddy-bloody rare...!

[sal]

The paint looks great on this after its wash.

40mm is a good drop on these cars. That's what I've got on mine and it sits well. You can also keep the standard shocks at that height. I've got a set of 15" alloys from a mk3 fitted but I'm sure 13" steels won't be too hard to source.

[Matt Hesketh]

That is strangely appealing........and I'm normally not a fan of vauxhalls. I nearly bought a mk2 Astra in very similar condition a couple of weeks ago.