Well it’s almost a year since I’ve owned this majestic beast now and I’ve been steadily making improvements during that time so I thought it’d be a good idea to finally get a proper project thread together! Do you enjoy reading the ramblings of a madman? Excellent! - join me on my retro journey as I bring you the finest in automotive exoticrap!
A quick disclaimer – before you read any further you should be aware that my level of mechanical knowledge and ability lies somewhere between zero and none, but it’s been great to get stuck in and have a ‘hands on’ approach with this project – I genuinely feel like I’ve learned a fair bit in the time I’ve owned it and it’s been great to tackle problems myself when they arise.
The car in question is a 1999 Corsa B (a 1.2 16v Club to be precise) and it has just rolled over to 51k last week – not bad for what is now a 19 year old car! It’s my first car and I always fancied an Arden Blue one (everyone knows they have an extra 20bhp more than other colours!) Overall, the wee beast is in pretty good nick, sure there is the odd bit of rust and a scuff or 2 here and there but that’s to be expected really on a car of this age. The interior is in superb condition to be fair and is completely standard bar a JVC headunit. This particular model happens to be loaded with factory fitted goodies however, it actually came with a glove box lid, a rev counter and central locking – such luxury!
Check out that sexy peashooter though - rear of the year candidate surely?!
Now I know a lot of people view these little cars as chavvy or uncool. To be fair there have been many shocking examples over the years but I remember when people said the same thing about the Nova, and they’re now starting to become quite sought after in their own right – will the same fate await the Corsa B? I guess only time will tell but the GSi models are already starting to fetch a healthy premium…
I’m well aware that my car is nowhere near as swoon worthy as some of the awesome machines on here, but then that isn’t the point. I always liked the idea of having a super cheap, super easy to mod daily project that was a bit curse word but also a bit not at the same time. I genuinely like this car a lot, yes it has its issues – the comedy suspension, the wafer-thin tyres that don’t grip as soon as 2 droplets of rain hit the tarmac, the hilarious lack of power (I’m not sure what the exact 0-60 time is – all I know is I need to have another shave by the time it eventually gets there!) but you know what….. something about this humble Corsa always manages to put a smile on my face whenever I drive it. There’s a cheekiness to it that I really like, and I’ve already had some great comments on the car so far which was most unexpected – I half expected people to just tell me to either ‘burn it’ or ‘weigh it in’ when I bought it!
Ok so let’s run through some of the mods so far. First up was a set of red/clear rear lights. I fitted these to give a more contemporary look to the back end and I actually really like the look of them – far nicer than some of the other aftermarket units on the market IMO. What I can tell you is they were a complete perlava to fit!
For some unknown reason Vauxhall decided to use four very hard to access bolts for each unit, and my word did I have some fun and games with them! For starters you have to fit your hand through these small holes on either side, which are guaranteed to cut your hand to ribbons in the process, then you have to faff about with the bulb assembly, and once that’s out the way you then have to find a spanner or socket small enough to attach onto the bolts (one in particular is soul-destroyingly difficult to get purchase on – anyone who’s owned one of these will know what I mean!) Long story short, I ended up dropping a spanner and a socket attachment down into the depths of the car (another design fault in this area!)
After much cursing and getting frustrated with it all I suddenly had a brainwave. Once I’d managed to get the light cluster free from the car I reached down into the gaping chasm where the spanner had fallen and realised I could actually feel it moving about. Operation Save The Spanner was about to commence! I grabbed a small mirror and angled it so I could see said spanner then using a trusty screwdriver as a makeshift lever I somehow managed to free the spanner and while I was there managed to rescue the lost socket attachment at the same time – huzzah! You do have to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all….this whole process took me about 20 minutes!
With the new rear lights in I was feeling bold so acquired a set of clear side repeaters from a Corsa C to match – luckily, I had zero issues fitting them, and the same can be said of the wind deflectors I fitted shortly after. I had a slight faff fitting a K&N panel filter but after a bit of ‘gentle persuasion’ any issues were soon resolved.
I also fitted a new debadged grill as I never liked the chrome V ones on these – this proved to be a bit of a pain to fit as it just wouldn’t align properly for some reason – one end would sit flush but the other lopsided, then you’d fix the lopsided end and the other would pop out of place etc etc. This went on for about half an hour before it finally snapped into the correct position all round – I’m still nursing the cuts and bruises from this battle haha!
After pootling around for a while I quickly began to realise something was badly wrong with the gearbox – changing gear was like stirring porridge and the car would fight to go into any of the gears. After finally getting sick of it I booked it into a local garage and was informed I may need a new clutch. Now at this point my heart initially sank as it would’ve been pretty much the same price I paid for the car just to have a new clutch fitted – luckily, while I was contemplating the future of the project I was informed that actually it only needed a new clutch cable in reality, so after breathing a sigh of relief the work was carried out and my word what a difference it has made!!
Another issue quickly reared its head. I noticed the car was starting to overheat when stood in traffic for a while so I popped the bonnet and to my great delight noticed there was next to no coolant left in the tank and what was left appeared to be a mixture of murky water and rust. Ideal! So, me and a friend flushed the coolant and replaced it with a mixture that actually contained some sort of antifreeze – only for the car to wet itself while it was in the garage overnight! Luckily it turns out there was a leak and this was an easy fix but driving home with the temp gauge creeping up by the second wasn’t fun let me tell you!
Since I’ve owned the B, there have been a few little things that have irritated me from a cosmetic standpoint. Firstly, the front wiper arms were really scabby and the paint was flaking off. One of the nut covers was also cracked and the whole thing just looked a bit unsightly so I decided to address the situation. Armed with some sandpaper, degreaser, primer and satin black paint I set about restoring the wiper arms and I must say I am chuffed with the results! I also managed to source some replacement nut covers at the scrappers so fitted one of these too which has really freshened things up!
A quick disclaimer – before you read any further you should be aware that my level of mechanical knowledge and ability lies somewhere between zero and none, but it’s been great to get stuck in and have a ‘hands on’ approach with this project – I genuinely feel like I’ve learned a fair bit in the time I’ve owned it and it’s been great to tackle problems myself when they arise.
The car in question is a 1999 Corsa B (a 1.2 16v Club to be precise) and it has just rolled over to 51k last week – not bad for what is now a 19 year old car! It’s my first car and I always fancied an Arden Blue one (everyone knows they have an extra 20bhp more than other colours!) Overall, the wee beast is in pretty good nick, sure there is the odd bit of rust and a scuff or 2 here and there but that’s to be expected really on a car of this age. The interior is in superb condition to be fair and is completely standard bar a JVC headunit. This particular model happens to be loaded with factory fitted goodies however, it actually came with a glove box lid, a rev counter and central locking – such luxury!
Check out that sexy peashooter though - rear of the year candidate surely?!
Now I know a lot of people view these little cars as chavvy or uncool. To be fair there have been many shocking examples over the years but I remember when people said the same thing about the Nova, and they’re now starting to become quite sought after in their own right – will the same fate await the Corsa B? I guess only time will tell but the GSi models are already starting to fetch a healthy premium…
I’m well aware that my car is nowhere near as swoon worthy as some of the awesome machines on here, but then that isn’t the point. I always liked the idea of having a super cheap, super easy to mod daily project that was a bit curse word but also a bit not at the same time. I genuinely like this car a lot, yes it has its issues – the comedy suspension, the wafer-thin tyres that don’t grip as soon as 2 droplets of rain hit the tarmac, the hilarious lack of power (I’m not sure what the exact 0-60 time is – all I know is I need to have another shave by the time it eventually gets there!) but you know what….. something about this humble Corsa always manages to put a smile on my face whenever I drive it. There’s a cheekiness to it that I really like, and I’ve already had some great comments on the car so far which was most unexpected – I half expected people to just tell me to either ‘burn it’ or ‘weigh it in’ when I bought it!
Ok so let’s run through some of the mods so far. First up was a set of red/clear rear lights. I fitted these to give a more contemporary look to the back end and I actually really like the look of them – far nicer than some of the other aftermarket units on the market IMO. What I can tell you is they were a complete perlava to fit!
For some unknown reason Vauxhall decided to use four very hard to access bolts for each unit, and my word did I have some fun and games with them! For starters you have to fit your hand through these small holes on either side, which are guaranteed to cut your hand to ribbons in the process, then you have to faff about with the bulb assembly, and once that’s out the way you then have to find a spanner or socket small enough to attach onto the bolts (one in particular is soul-destroyingly difficult to get purchase on – anyone who’s owned one of these will know what I mean!) Long story short, I ended up dropping a spanner and a socket attachment down into the depths of the car (another design fault in this area!)
After much cursing and getting frustrated with it all I suddenly had a brainwave. Once I’d managed to get the light cluster free from the car I reached down into the gaping chasm where the spanner had fallen and realised I could actually feel it moving about. Operation Save The Spanner was about to commence! I grabbed a small mirror and angled it so I could see said spanner then using a trusty screwdriver as a makeshift lever I somehow managed to free the spanner and while I was there managed to rescue the lost socket attachment at the same time – huzzah! You do have to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all….this whole process took me about 20 minutes!
With the new rear lights in I was feeling bold so acquired a set of clear side repeaters from a Corsa C to match – luckily, I had zero issues fitting them, and the same can be said of the wind deflectors I fitted shortly after. I had a slight faff fitting a K&N panel filter but after a bit of ‘gentle persuasion’ any issues were soon resolved.
I also fitted a new debadged grill as I never liked the chrome V ones on these – this proved to be a bit of a pain to fit as it just wouldn’t align properly for some reason – one end would sit flush but the other lopsided, then you’d fix the lopsided end and the other would pop out of place etc etc. This went on for about half an hour before it finally snapped into the correct position all round – I’m still nursing the cuts and bruises from this battle haha!
After pootling around for a while I quickly began to realise something was badly wrong with the gearbox – changing gear was like stirring porridge and the car would fight to go into any of the gears. After finally getting sick of it I booked it into a local garage and was informed I may need a new clutch. Now at this point my heart initially sank as it would’ve been pretty much the same price I paid for the car just to have a new clutch fitted – luckily, while I was contemplating the future of the project I was informed that actually it only needed a new clutch cable in reality, so after breathing a sigh of relief the work was carried out and my word what a difference it has made!!
Another issue quickly reared its head. I noticed the car was starting to overheat when stood in traffic for a while so I popped the bonnet and to my great delight noticed there was next to no coolant left in the tank and what was left appeared to be a mixture of murky water and rust. Ideal! So, me and a friend flushed the coolant and replaced it with a mixture that actually contained some sort of antifreeze – only for the car to wet itself while it was in the garage overnight! Luckily it turns out there was a leak and this was an easy fix but driving home with the temp gauge creeping up by the second wasn’t fun let me tell you!
Since I’ve owned the B, there have been a few little things that have irritated me from a cosmetic standpoint. Firstly, the front wiper arms were really scabby and the paint was flaking off. One of the nut covers was also cracked and the whole thing just looked a bit unsightly so I decided to address the situation. Armed with some sandpaper, degreaser, primer and satin black paint I set about restoring the wiper arms and I must say I am chuffed with the results! I also managed to source some replacement nut covers at the scrappers so fitted one of these too which has really freshened things up!
Always good to see a Corsa b getting some love. I love these things, I have two myself, a GSi and a nice late model Sport that the wife uses as a daily which is the ultimate in cheap motoring! 
must admit i was taken by surprise by it all but i think the skinny tyres helped cut through the slush quite well. First time driving in proper snow so at least that's under my belt now. Hopefully have some more progress for you soon! 
Know what you mean about them thinning out too, as I mentioned in the initial post i'm yet to actually see another B at a car show, which is madness to me! 
will hopefully have some more updates for you soon...... meanwhile the dreaded MOT looms ever closer.... 
Will probably have some bits for sale soon so keep an eye out. 
