1988 Mk2 Cavalier 1.8GLi

[sleag40]

Nov 13, 2018 23:01:24 GMT darrenh said:

Surprised klokkerholm don't do you a wheel tub 😕 they do for mk2 astra as I bought some.

Wire wheel of truth has been quite honest, eek

Can't find an inner arch panel anywhere chief, I'm probably gonna have to get creative!

Nov 13, 2018 23:11:21 GMT shielsy68 said:

use an outer repair panel to make up an inner one thats what ive done

I'll most likely get away with doing that on the nearside - there's a bit more inner arch left on that side. I want to make as tidy job of it as I can, and I'd like to avoid a patchwork repair if at all possible - if there's no other way round it, bits and pieces it will be.

Nov 13, 2018 23:16:38 GMT Archie01 said:

Maybe a Mk 3 Cav wheel tub could be adapted to fit.
They might be just as hard to find though 😟

A member of mk2cav.com used a MK3 tub to repair his car, but it took a lot of persuasion + patching up. The MK3 inner arch is a different shape, and the fuel filler hole is in a different place. No disrespect to the guy from me, but I'm gonna try to find a more elegant solution if I can.

[sleag40]

A bit more excavation this evening - the dubious repairs to this side were a fair bit easier to remove due to being attached with pop rivets instead of welding.



There's a lot more inner arch left on this side, but the rearward end visible in the next pic is another pop riveted repair yet to be ousted.



Because the wheel arch came away so easily, I had enough time left to have a pop at the rear valance. Should be an easy enough job to repair this - I have an outer panel, just need to replace the bottom inch or two of the inner part.



Bonus shot of some of the junk that has parted company with the car recently.

[ivangt6]

I never cease to be amazed at the lengths some people go to to bodge a car. I wonder what else in life they have such low standards for.
Anyway top work as always. Will be nice to see the end of the rust and some new metal work being let in

[shielsy68]

as i said before use outer repair panels too line up and bridge inbetween

[pabblo]

Hi,

was just reading about your conundrum regarding an drivers side inner rear arch panel.

Spotted one for the mk1 Astra / Opel Kadett, it is from Klokkerholm as well.

Not sure on dimensions or the exact profile, but as they are from a similar era it might work with a Cavalier mk2?

www.carz2.co.uk/vauxhallopel-kadett-d--vauxhall-astra-80-84--mudguard-inner-wing-98134-p.asp

Annoyingly I couldn't find a passenger side, but maybe I wasn't looking in the right place.

One out of two isn't bad though, good luck with the welding. I need to do the passenger wheel arch on my Fiat Uno, I've got the panels but can't weld.

Wouldn't even know where to start, so fair do's for getting stuck in!!

Liking your Cavalier, my dads builder friend had a white GLi hatch for years.

Was a brilliant car, I remember a school friend convinced his dad to buy an mk2 LXi saloon as well back in the late 90's.

My bother liked it so much, that's why he owns a Mk3 Cavalier now!

Anyway bookmarked the thread

[Archie01]

There’s a few panels on eBay.de

E.g. full n/s outer wing (No postage to Uk though, it’s in Holland)
www.ebay.de/itm/Seitenwand-links-5-Turer-Opel-Ascona-C-Schragheck-183048-90124807-NEU-ORIGINAL/332300525199?hash=item4d5ea79e8f:g:w6cAAOSwOjBZZNLs

N/s lower wing repair panel.
www.ebay.de/itm/Ascona-C-CC-Endspitze-Anschlusblech-Seitenwand-Ecke-5-turig-links/223148655171?hash=item33f4b24243:g:1UMAAOSwnntbnrFv

O/s lower wing repair panel
www.ebay.de/itm/Ascona-C-CC-Endspitze-Anschlusblech-Seitenwand-Ecke-5-turig-rechts/223167080258?hash=item33f5cb6742:g:4nAAAOSwcW9bnrF1

[sleag40]

Many thanks for the links sir! I already have repair panels for the lower rear corners - I'm hoping I won't need to replace the whole quarter panels, but it's good to know that there are several options for sourcing them.

Collected a decent pair of genuine wings this morning.



They were a long way away, but the pair were less than half the price of one new GM wing.





No more actual work done yet, but less bran flakes to contend with can only be a good thing!

[sleag40]

Armed with a couple of hours spare today, I prepared myself for the deep joy of dashboard removal. I don't have a steering wheel puller, so hit it with the violent wiggling trick. After a few minutes of that, coupled with a bit of professional grade language, it popped off.



As is normal, the Haynes book gave me a few clues, but I had to work out how to remove some of the parts which ate up a fair bit of the time available.





Once I'd discovered how to remove the passenger side air vent, radio and central vents, the operation sped up somewhat.



And its out!



Took out the comedy air vent ducting (similar to the MK1)



I'd run out of time now, so had to leave the heater box and wiring spaghetti for another day. My target for the day was to get the dashboard out though, so jobs a good 'un!

[darrenh]

Good work chap, but you left the bit of the story out, where you realised you could leave the wheel on 😋

[sleag40]

All interior pieces (and lights too) have been stashed away in my dining room today. This should ensure they stay clean, and don't get any moisture damage. As I have no idea how long it'll be before it all goes back together, all upholstery has been stored without anything resting on it to avoid distortion.



As you can imagine, living alone is advantageous in situations like this!
I'll be cracking back on with the scooter for a bit next, so may not have much to update on this until I get back on it in the Spring.

[shielsy68]

if you take the ps front wing it should match profile of of ds rear inner arch cut to size sameon the other side

[darrenh]

Looks like my spare bedroom, 5 years, five! So far!

[tofufi]

Looking forward to seeing this get some love. The quality of the past repairs is shocking!

[sleag40]

Nov 26, 2018 3:12:27 GMT tofufi said:

Looking forward to seeing this get some love. The quality of the past repairs is shocking!

They certainly were!

Grabbed an unexpected bit of stripping time on this earlier - the bumper brackets, side repeaters, mirrors, wiper arms, windscreen trim, door membranes + removable parts of the grill all came off.



Window bottom trims were next - great care was taken to avoid distorting these as they're made from a soft alloy - I seem to have gotten away with keeping them nice and straight.



More progress to follow sporadically!

[Mercdan68]

Nice to see this being restored
These just seemed to disappear overnight
Great work fella

[sleag40]

Dec 4, 2018 21:28:05 GMT Mercdan68 said:

Nice to see this being restored
These just seemed to disappear overnight
Great work fella

Many thanks Dan!

Another bit of unexpected time spent on this today. I decided to do a bit of bran flakes banishment - and thought I'd ease myself in to it by tackling something non structural + hidden from view when completed. (Just so I could experiment a little!)

First pox patch pruned



Making a replacement piece



Welded in (a bit of hole chasing occurred, no doubt due to the poor condition of the metal I was welding to in some areas)



The other side was done in a similar style



Once the replacement piece was shaped, I decided to postpone the welding until I've grabbed my 0.6mm wire from home. I'm thinking the lower power required to melt it may make it less likely to blow holes in the poorer patches of metal.



I'll find out how well that goes next time!

[sleag40]

Day off today - so pencilled in a couple of hours on this heap. First up, the bonnet came off in preparation for removing the engine/gearbox at the weekend. (time on two post ramp permitting)

[

Next I decided to remove the outer part of the front valance. I was going to replace it in its entirety, but it would be difficult to weld it on without unsightly beads on the end of the chassis rails. This way I had the joy of unpicking all the spot welds holding the front part to the beam behind it. (And look forward to separating the two parts of the GM replacement!)



Before leaving, I ran it up until the fan had kicked in a couple of times. I was totally impressed that it started immediately after a couple of months festering!

[sleag40]

Whilst waiting for my mate's ramp, I removed the windscreen. It has a few chips in it from the time a truck flicked a load of gravel up at it on a motorway slip road last February, so I'm on the hunt for a replacement. The screen frame has no rusty bits at all which was a bit of a bonus.





Then the engine and box came out with the gratefully received assistance of our kid. (He did his apprenticeship at a Vauxhall dealership when these were new)



Its now sat piddling it's oil out onto the floor.

[Mercdan68]

Nice update, good to see the scuttle
And screen surround is rock solid

[cavboy80]

Thanks for the updates, i wondered where this had got to. Keep up the good progress.