1977 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GL

[steveg]

That's going to be great when it's finished, It will be like building a new one.
Whats the plan, are you going to fit the engine etc now and then get the rest painted ?

[sleag40]

Apr 16, 2016 17:47:37 GMT steveg said:

That's going to be great when it's finished, It will be like building a new one.
Whats the plan, are you going to fit the engine etc now and then get the rest painted ?

Cheers! The plan is to clean the underside, then get the rest painted before re assembly.

[cavboy80]

Looking very good, the attention to detail is to be admired.

[marsh300ce]

Can't wait to see this painted and back together. I saw one of these recently think it was an S reg near Oxford. Amazing how tiny it looked compared to the Insignia following it, which I spose is its modern day counterpart.
Anyway excellent work and as has been said already v good attention to detail.

[sleag40]

Apr 17, 2016 6:14:29 GMT cavboy80 said:

Looking very good, the attention to detail is to be admired.

Many thanks!

Apr 17, 2016 8:23:35 GMT marsh300ce said:

Can't wait to see this painted and back together. I saw one of these recently think it was an S reg near Oxford. Amazing how tiny it looked compared to the Insignia following it, which I spose is its modern day counterpart.
Anyway excellent work and as has been said already v good attention to detail.

Thank you kindly! I'm hoping it'll come together by late June/early July

Collected the car from the paint blokes this morning, and the nosecone + front valance had already been polished up.





Yes - that is indeed my ugly mug reflected in the nosecone - that must be my "intense concentration" face!

The insides of the wings finally got a lick of the grey stuff today -





Once scotched and stone chipped, these will probably be next to receive some blue paint.

I made a start on polishing the engine bay too - its a messy job, but it's getting there!



The new paint looks a lot more vivid a hue next to the old - this shot of the rear screen frame shows how much it has faded compared to where the window seal was.

[cavboy80]

Apr 17, 2016 19:43:41 GMT sleag40 said:

I know it's a way off but you are going to repaint the satin black back in this area? I've seen a few that haven't and it looks wrong.

[Christina]

That's looking bloody lovely! Has to have the black painted in, that's just half a job if you don't Find those who didn't do it and slap them for me!

[sleag40]

Apr 18, 2016 14:34:32 GMT cavboy80 said:

I know it's a way off but you are going to repaint the satin black back in this area? I've seen a few that haven't and it looks wrong.

As soon as the wings are on, it'll be done!

Apr 18, 2016 17:38:21 GMT Christina said:

That's looking bloody lovely! Has to have the black painted in, that's just half a job if you don't Find those who didn't do it and slap them for me!

Better find those who repaired it after a bump many years ago too - its not been black there for 30 odd years!

Back to stripping paint off again today - the majority of it was pretty quick, but the part that bolts to the inner wing in the engine bay was a lot more time consuming.



A lot more stripping to left to do!

[mk2polobloke]

I know I keep saying it Steve, but this really is stunning. That engine bay and front end looks totally mint. An awful lot of extra time and effort where others would of cut corners or bodged.
I assume you'll have all the outside painted in one go and are you gonna finish the underside in body colour too?
Keep going mate,
Cheers, Richard.

[blacksaff]

Wow!

This has come a hell of a long way since I last checked in. Looks absolutely cracking. With that level of work and finish you will easy have to have the best mk1 Cavalier there is!!

Absolutely stunning work.

[sleag40]

Apr 18, 2016 20:59:38 GMT mk2polobloke said:

I know I keep saying it Steve, but this really is stunning. That engine bay and front end looks totally mint. An awful lot of extra time and effort where others would of cut corners or bodged.
I assume you'll have all the outside painted in one go and are you gonna finish the underside in body colour too?
Keep going mate,
Cheers, Richard.

Thank you kindly! The underside is going to be black unfortunately - I want to use it when it's finished!

Apr 18, 2016 21:33:16 GMT blacksaff said:

Wow!

This has come a hell of a long way since I last checked in. Looks absolutely cracking. With that level of work and finish you will easy have to have the best mk1 Cavalier there is!!

Absolutely stunning work.

Cheers! I don't know about the best, but I'd like to think it'll be one of the nicer ones.

Other wing done today - its pretty tedious, I'll probably have a go at the doors, bonnet and boot lid with some paint stripper if I can find some decent stuff.

[mk2polobloke]

What you using to strip the panels with Steve? I found stripping discs in the angry grinder made easy work on my Polo.

[sleag40]

Apr 20, 2016 18:30:58 GMT mk2polobloke said:

What you using to strip the panels with Steve? I found stripping discs in the angry grinder made easy work on my Polo.

I'm using poly abrasive discs mainly, plus wire wheels and an assortment of drill attachments on the fiddly/inaccessible bits.

I tried some body shop paint stripper today to see if it could be done quicker. It liquefied the blue top coat immediately, but only slightly softened the primer beneath. The primer could be scraped off after treatment with some aggression, but it was slow going. It came off easier with the disc after treatment, but the application of the paint stripper, as well as using the disc doesn't save any time over just hitting it with the disc without using the stripper first. Disappointing!
The test piece was the outside of the passenger side front door - still took the best part of an hour and a half, as the paint just smears until a bit of heat builds up and it lets go!



The paint stripper is really good on two pack paint, but the acrylic paint on this car is a bit of a pain!

[darrenh]

thos poly disks do make light work of paint and rust. pretty expensive way to bare metal large areas i found though, expensive and if you arent careful don't last long

[sleag40]

So long as you keep them flat, they last very well.

[sleag40]

The other side took a similar amount of time - it's slow going, but it'll do!

[sleag40]

Not a massive amount to report today - got the insides of the wings stone chipped, and took the tyres off the rims. With a little luck, the rims will get sand blasted next week.

[cavboy80]

Progress is progress and it's looking good, an aim for me this winter is to re-shod my wheels with period correct tyres. My unused spare is a Michelin XZX and still has the VX stencil on it. I'm looking at getting a set.

I'm not sure if you've come across this yet but it's interesting reading.

vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com/vauxhall-u-car---cavalier-mk1

[sleag40]

Apr 23, 2016 8:56:52 GMT cavboy80 said:

Progress is progress and it's looking good, an aim for me this winter is to re-shod my wheels with period correct tyres. My unused spare is a Michelin XZX and still has the VX stencil on it. I'm looking at getting a set.

Like this? Mine is ZX type though.



Another day, another door!



Both nearside doors and both wings now with the paint blokes.

[sleag40]

Got a few things done today, but forgot to take pictures! I cleaned and re taped the engine bay wiring loom, so that's ready to go. The steering column was refitted to the bulkhead, then the horn was put back into place. The greater part of my time on this today was spent polishing the other side of the engine bay - there were a few dry spots that needed sorting, and it took a while.