1977 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GL

I've just found out something called "Plumbers Mait" is the stuff to use - if they come unstuck, I'll give that a go.


Thank you very kindly!

I gave the rear panel a bit of satin black paint this afternoon. The area to be painted was scotched, then panel wiped, then hit with the black stuff.



I unmasked it while the paint was still soft.



Once the paint has hardened, I can put the lights, trims and letters back on.

I found a new radiator for very little money on eBay - a lot easier than trying to smarten up the old one.



It's identical in every respect other than cosmetically!

It was soon in position, complete with a shiny new cap..





Unfortunately I'm still awaiting the completion of spring compressor version 2, but she'll be run up as soon as all four wheels are on.

After a ridiculously early start, I finally got back on with this. Back on four wheels for the first time this year. 



Boot lid now in paint



Carpets back in



Fuel is next on the list.

Cheers! The carpet will get a decent clean before the seats go in. They'll be coming out again when I get the seats re-covered though. I'm gonna try re-dyeing them, as the sun has bleached parts of them in a similar way to the tops of the seats.


Fitted the front shocks late morning, not so bouncy any more!



Back on the car this afternoon, petrol in hand - it was time to get her started. Oil went in, new battery fitted, and water in the radiator (in case of any leaks!). I turned the key and......lots of clicking and occasional slow turning of the engine. The battery is new, so it could only have been a bad earth or a dead starter motor. The bell housing to chassis leg earth strap wasn't very tight, so I tightened it up, and now the motor cranked over nicely. The fuel pump at the front of the engine is gravity fed from the tank, but the fuel line runs up the chassis leg before it drops down to the pump. I only put 5 litres of fuel in, so I needed to make sure it was reaching the pump - it wasn't. A clear plastic tube was inserted into the end of the fuel line, and I syphoned it through, it didn't need much help - now we were in business! After 5 seconds or so of cranking, she burst into life, and with a couple of tweaks of idle + mixture adjustment screws, settled down to a nice even tickover. Belter!
I left it running with the heater on for half an hour or so to bleed the air out, the thermostat was working nicely, and best of all - no leaks of either water or oil.





Flushed with success, I fitted the anti roll bar next. It was something of a faff, but I got there in the end. Another one of those jobs that would have been a lot easier with an extra hand!





^^^ Here you can clearly see the curve the spring needs which made the spring compressor so difficult to get right.

All in all, a good day!

Brilliant to know that she lives, i can sympathise with you regarding doing the ARB. That is one hell of a pig to do, when i did mine it took me and a mate a fair bit of effort, and swearing to refit.
Also the carpets will look a treat dyed, the same mate redid his Dolomite carpets and they look absolutely mint.

great read and great resto

My engine mounts were black, maybe early ones were black and late ones blue?

Not a lot to report today, time was short. Filled the gearbox with oil, then had a go at the brakes. The fronts filled nicely under gravity, but nothing at all made it to the rears. Gonna try an easy bleed set up next - or a helper!
Being very careful not to get any on the new paint -

If every line and component had been replaced, I'd have used it, but I only replaced the lines that were damaged. The compensator valve and the rear cylinders are the originals too.