1977 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GL

Its suggested in the dealership manual that sealant should be applied to the window aperture before the screen is fitted, then sealant should be applied to the glazing channel after the screen is fitted.
I've found that putting sealant in the window aperture usually ends up with a load of it getting inside the car, making a mess of your headlining. I fitted the glass/rubber first, then put sealant in the glass side, then body side, before fitting the chrome trim. All the sealant that gets splurged out can then easily be cleaned off the glass and bodywork.
Hope this helps.

The wax is on, the masking removed - its all ready for me to get the engine and transmission back in. Apart from not having an engine crane. This will hopefully be sorted tomorrow!





My "working underneath cars" light makes it look very brown under there. It looks just as black as the shot of the passenger compartment floor with less harsh lighting. I'll get some decent pics of the underside when I get it on a ramp at some point.

No probs!

Slowly but surely, the pile of junk in my dining room is getting whittled down. The latest pieces to leave the house were the heating/ventilation stuff that goes under the dashboard.



Hopefully this trend will accelerate in the next couple of weeks.

Am mightily impressed with the amount of care and attention this car is getting.

I had 2.0GL when I was a student and I have to say it was probably the most reliable car I have ever owned. The only 'breakdown' I remember was when the engine developed a terrible noise and started running funny. Taking off the rocker cover I discovered one of the rocker studs had unwound itself so that valve was no longer operating. Not really knowing what I was doing I just tightened the stud back up as the engine was still running. It chuffed a bit as the hydraulic tappet reset it self, then was business as usual, amazing!

If I had to get picky the heater was rubbish and front brake pads only lasted 3k miles. That could have been my driving style though. Ah happy days!

More stuff done today, the flash on my phone has stopped working though, so most of the pics I took are no good.
The front to rear brake line went in first, closely followed by the prop shaft. Next up, the speedo and clutch cables were fitted, then the choke cable that came with the Weber carburettor conversion.



The steering rack and cross member braces were next up, and after struggling for a while trying to fit the universal joint to the end of the steering column, my mate who lent me the engine crane appeared. With me pulling the column upwards + my mate wiggling the joint, it was done immediately. Some jobs just can't be done alone!



Hopefully decent pictures will be taken with a camera from tomorrow.

time sapping small jobs but cumulatively will make the car stand out a mile due to attention to detail !



i triumphantly googled images of facel vega just to confirm i was right, denied !

bristol 3 litre ?

It was definitely an Alvis, no idea what engine was in it though!

Today started off by fitting the gearstick - what a faff! To get the e clip onto the pin would have been easy with three hands, but in the end a bit of contortionism got the job done.
The exhaust was next on the list, I've ditched the standard downpipe bolts and used Allen headed bolts instead. I have some super long Allen bits which make this job a lot easier.



The middle section was awkward to fit with the car being on the deck at the back, but I didn't want to risk jacking it up while the engine laden front end was so high on axle stands.



The back box was incredibly easy though!



A mate from work showed up for a look - and was instantly roped in to give me a hand holding the doors up while I knocked the hinge pins in.





Both passenger side doors, and the drivers side rear one were pretty easy. I'd bought some new hinge pins for the drivers door as the original ones were worn, they're like big roll pins to look at. This caused a bit of a problem as the new ones didn't fit in the holes - they needed their splits closing up before they'd go in. This involved a bit of hammer and vice action as they're made from a very hard steel! By the time I'd driven the new pins in, then removed them again to ensure they would work as they should, my mate had escaped. Fortunately, a short time later, someone else came for a look - the last door would go on today after all.



The lower part of the new door fits really well, but the window frame seems to sit a little too far forward. I'll have a go at fettling it another day though.

Many thanks! I do like a 33 - about 20 years ago a bloke at work had a white one on a J plate. It had a "permanent 4" badge on the back - I presume it was 4 wheel drive? I don't know a great deal about them. It replaced a G plate cloverleaf in black. I'd get one if I had the space!

It's definitely gonna be cosseted, but even so, we use these bolts at work in high heat applications, and I've not managed to round one yet. That's one reason to use them - the other is that they were free.

Dash top panel was fitted next.



The fiddly bit was next, heater control cables were a bit of a faff, but were easier than I thought they were going to be!



The binnacle cover, lower switches, and column shroud on.



And finally, the lower dash panels and steering wheel.



Now the dash was in, I could mount the choke knob.



I routed the cable through an unused grommet in the bulkhead, just above the servo. I think it's where the kickdown cable goes on an automatic.

Absolutely stunning, this is for certain going to be one of the best Mk1's out there once finished. Good progress and looking forward to seeing it completed.