1988 Mk2 Cavalier 1.8GLi

[sleag40]

Didn't think I was gonna get back on this until the weekend, but managed to snaffle a couple of hours on it this evening. Rear valance fettled up, zinc primed on the back, and tacked on. Also plug welded the valance to the lower rear quarters. 



I'll get it fully welded next time, hunger got the better of me this evening.

[shielsy68]

Now your sucking diesel

[sleag40]

May 23, 2019 20:45:54 GMT shielsy68 said:

Now your sucking diesel

Indeed, its getting there now.

Valance now welded, tidied up and zinc primed.



With that done, the driver's side rear door came off so I could sort out the gap between the arch repair panel and the new outer sill.



I'm gonna finish off the welding on the front part of the wheel arch + top of the sill next, then hopefully get the spit assembled on Monday.

I think I may have overestimated the amount of welding gas required - I've used about 15% of it so far!

[teaboy]

Nice work pal, it’s really coming on.

[sleag40]

May 25, 2019 18:22:18 GMT teaboy said:

Nice work pal, it’s really coming on.

Thank you kindly! Most pleased with recent progress.

Offside sill now finished off



The spit is now assembled, hopefully I'll get some bracketry made up and get it all attached this afternoon.

[shielsy68]

Looking good

[sleag40]

May 27, 2019 17:19:06 GMT shielsy68 said:

Looking good

Cheers!

Bracketry now completed - used a bit of box section at the front in the bumper bracket holes.



Doubled up some 2mm plate for the rear - again using the bumper mount holes.



Everything was then aligned and tightened before starting to wind it up. Seen here with the axle stands removed, and a bit of a tilt on.





Next time, I'll wind it up enough to roll it right on its side - hunger ended the session again.

[Mercdan68]

Fantastic update, this car is really coming along great

[darrenh]

Really good solid progress

Keep an eye on the bolts on the rotisserie. The ones clamping round the open box section. I've come unstuck where it squashes it surprisingly easy

[sleag40]

I've only wound it up a few inches so far - I may need to drop it back onto the axle stands so I can go up a notch on the pivot points. Even so, it made plug welding the bottom of the rear valance easier.



Next on the to do list is to make up a jig to ensure that the spring plates go on in the correct place once the chassis rails have been repaired.



After that comes the utter joy of cleaning all the sealant, paint and rust off the underside so it can be repaired/repainted + resealed.

[gtviva]

That makes it easier to work on! nice spring pans but pretty much the same as all Cav mk2s! I used to find neat cellulose thinners sprayed on neat over the underseal used to soften it up a treat

[darrenh]

upper spring perch not looking in its finest flush of youth :/ i have to do mine on the silver gte. nasty area too as theres a Z plate which spans the chassis rail above it to the boot floor.

[sleag40]

Not much time on this recently, but I came up with this from a few bits of scrap.



It bolts in tightly to the rear beam mounting point, and accurately indicates where the centre of the spring plate should be.



As an added bonus, when the bend is redone the other way, it works for the other side too.

[sleag40]

Stole a bit of shed time this afternoon - the nearside spring plate now resides in the pile of jettisoned junk by the door. 



Once all the rotten metal was cut out, a piece was fashioned to repair the inner section of the leg.



And that's as far as I got today. New spring plates should be here by next weekend, so theres plenty of time to ensure there is some decent metal to weld them to.

[sleag40]

Been fishing + done a bit of gardening instead of toiling away in the shed this week. The arrival of these



convinced me that it was time to get back on it. The piece made at the weekend was tacked in



Then fully welded, and zinc primed.



Got half way through making the outer chassis leg piece before I had to vacate. I'm making this out of 2mm sheet, and its obviously a lot more difficult to form into shape 



but should have it ready to mount the new spring plate at the weekend.  

[rickygolf83]

Nice update, looking forward to seeing how you tackle the spring plates and the end result

[darrenh]

must be a dream to roll that sucker 90 deg and avoid upside down welding

i know vauxhall used that textured rubberised underseal in high impact areas, but it makes you wonder how longer the cars would last if they had top coated the underside in body colour

[Brigsy]

Epic progress, looks like its coming together great

[820]

Great work, I have owned a couple of Mk2's over the years, a saloon and hatch both good cars that felt solid on the road. Got a soft spot for these so its nice to see so much dedication going into yours.

[sleag40]

Not really my day today - first up, my big "working under cars" lighting rig has stopped working. Not the worst thing that could have occurred, but still a PITA (It's been on its last legs for a couple of weeks now). The outer chassis leg repair piece was finished, then welded in.



I was just about to reach for one of the new spring plates, when I noticed that further up the chassis leg, near where it is spot welded to the floor, the metal looked a little dodgy. After hitting it with the knotted wire wheel, a couple of tiny holes appeared about an inch below the joint with the floor. I had to cut it out, and it was pretty awkward to do that due to its position being partially obscured by the inboard wheel tub. 

No big light means no decent pictures, (I'll hopefully get it sorted tomorrow) but the rest of the day was spent cutting out the poxy section of chassis leg, then making up this piece to replace that which has been removed.



Hopefully I'll get that welded in tomorrow, then the spring plate can go on - completing this side of the car.