1995 Vauxhall Corsa GSi 16v

[ianw]

So with the polishing done, I did my first mod, replaced the airbag steering wheel with a GSi non airbag wheel which is much nicer and makes it feel a bit more special.



Went for my first proper drive it and got some pictures, it was this point when I realised the front was far to low and back was far too high





Interior got its first clean, wasn't too bad but plenty of room for improvement.



The guy had given me two front wings with the car, in need of deep clean and polish but they replaced one that was rusty and other than had a huge dent so was starting to look better now.







Fitted some original mud flaps.





Took it to my first retro show which was Retro Mania iirc.

The Volvo was also co-owned by me, four of us did a European banger rally in it.

[ianw]

I was missing the front jacking covers for the skirts which are rare as hens teeth these days, when they come up they reguarly go for £100 each. As I am not mental, I bought some reproductions, while waiting for them I actually found a front one in my garage from my old one so I only ended up using one repro one as the quality and fit leave a lot to be desired..



Fitted





Raised the front and lowered the back at this point



Went to do my first proper long drive in it, filled the tank and to see fuel trickling away under the car which resulted in a dash back home and this...



Turns out the rubber fuel filler pipe had perished on both ends, not noticable when putting £20 here and there in but once full it was flowing out, quick fix was just to drain out some fuel (it took a year for me to get around to fixing this).

Went to my first VBOA show @ Billing in years and was surprised how much it had grown, was one of only 3 GSi's there







Came home with probably one of the last genuine GM quarter panels for a GSi.



Tweaked the suspension and daily'd it for a bit during the last months of the summer, also MOT'd it which wasn't too bad luckily.



Went to a local Cars and Coffee meet in September and that was it's last outing in 2015.





2016 later..

[Jez]

I do enjoy a nice Corsa B, especially a GSI! A drop and 16" Speedlines is really all they need visually. I've always thought the Speedline wheel suits both Corsa A (Nova) and Corsa B so well, which is strange given how boxy one is and how curvy the other. Anyway, nice to see one being preserved. They're a rare sight these days.

[taurus]

That's nice - very nice.

[ianw]

Bringing it around to 2016 now...

I spent a few weeks at the start of the year cleaning up the the floor at the rear around the spare wheel well, lucky (and unusually) all nice and solid, cleaned up with the drill using a wire brush attachment and then used some 'Stonechip' in a can, the stuff isn't great but I don't currently have a compressor so will do for now. No pictures of this though really as it was cold, awkward and I was constantly covered in dirt, grime and paint so didn't fancy getting my phone out

Actually, found a pic



I would love to do the whole floor at some point but without access to a lift I don't think it will happen.

So, took it out of the garage for it's first drive around mid February this year, was nice to see it out again..



As I fitted the non airbag wheel on an airbag column, trying to get a cowling to fit was a bit of a job, eventually just had to modify one, it's not perfect but certainly better than non.



One of the rear L pieces looked terrible, very stone chipped and faded and the plastic arch wasn't much better, had a spare so had it painted up which really cleaned up the drivers side.

Old vs New



Something I was wanting to do since I bought the car was buy four matching tyres and do down a profile so I could get it sitting just how I wanted it - low

Bought a set of Toyo Proxies 195/40/16



Fitted and sitting much better



After the final coilover tweaks.



Move to come...

[village]

I do like a Corsa B (and a Nova), I passed my driving test in an N reg Corsa, a 1.5 diesel though, not a GSI.

[Marc]

Dec 15, 2016 10:47:57 GMT village said:

I do like a Corsa B (and a Nova), I passed my driving test in an N reg Corsa, a 1.5 diesel though, not a GSI.

Ditto. I hated the bloody thing when I was learning to drive, but looking at this one it's surprising how well they've aged.

Lovely example, nice to see the progress you've made.

[ianw]

Left this with the bodyshop guy a couple of weeks ago for the rot on the arch to be cut out and a new arch piece welded in, repair the cracked b pillar (common Corsa B promblem) and paint the whole drivers side as it was quite mismatched due to previous poor repairs.

Picking it up tomorrow then i'll crack on with a few minor mechanical bits ready to start using it again around March time I guess

[peteh1969]

A nice looking Corsa you were lucky to get it.

I had a White Saxo VTR in 99 brand new found it a right pain in the bum to keep clean and a good paint quality.



I had it until 05 fun car.

[lightyearman]

Aww man I loved my Corsa B I had as my second car. 1.2 base model, ex driving school I believe. Poor thing was thoroughly ruined with unpainted side skirts glued on and a cat back straight through bit of scaffolding with a cherry bomb on the end Drilled airbox and some little alloys off an Astra and I felt like the king of Cleethorpes sea front haha!

[ianw]

Got it back yesterday and its looking fresh! Needs a good clean now after sitting in the body shop for a few weeks though as i´d told the guy I wasn´t desperate for it.

Back in my garage now, went for a spin yesterday after picking it up, stopped in a car park and had a guy asking if I minded if he took a few pictures of it

[lincolndanny]

Cracking read. Love the car.

I passed my test in 2001 and had a mk2 Escort 2 door and loathed the 'modern" cars of the time. Corsa's, Saxo's, Fiesta's etc.

I'm now restoring 2 very early Saxo VTS's. Nostalgia always gets you in the end:)

[penski]

Lovely thing.

My middle school RE teacher had one in black; she redlined it everywhere.

*n

[ianw]

Feb 5, 2017 20:55:26 GMT lincolndanny said:

Cracking read. Love the car.

I passed my test in 2001 and had a mk2 Escort 2 door and loathed the 'modern" cars of the time. Corsa's, Saxo's, Fiesta's etc.

I'm now restoring 2 very early Saxo VTS's. Nostalgia always gets you in the end:)

Yep, its all about the nostalgia, this is the car that I wanted when I was growing up as a teenager and I have great memories of that easy style life during late teens / early 20's when I had my first GSi. 

Every time I open the garage door I still think it looks amazing 

[ianw]

Need to supply some pictures of the car to my insurance company for the agreed valuation so thought I better wash off the dust

Car needs a decent going over now, paint it very rough after sitting in a body shop for a few weeks so a clay and polish is on the cards shortly.

Random mix of pictures but this is how the car is standing now.

[benw456]

Loops amazing mate. Is it for sale? 😀

[ianw]

Mar 5, 2017 9:25:10 GMT benw456 said:

Loops amazing mate. Is it for sale? 😀

Cheers mate  

Nope, not for sale 

[benw456]

Stupid phone. Was supposed to say looks!

[ianw]

Mar 5, 2017 19:38:18 GMT benw456 said:

Stupid phone. Was supposed to say looks!

Didn't even notice haha

[southside]

Lovely. Will be digging mine out really for the summer soon.