The story starts back in the mid 80's when my dad purchased a brand new Mark 2 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi in black. Since then, I fell in love with the car and I'd always be trolling CarandClassic and eBay in the hope of finding a tidy Cavalier I could make my own.
Low and behold, in November, I saw this gem.
Just ticked over 20000 miles on the clock.
One previous owner.
Full service history.
Radio was working
Lovely green velour interior.
Never welded.
From the pictures, it looked very clean so I paid a deposit and embarked on a 500 mile round trip from Oxford to just shy of Newcastle. On arrival, I saw the car in the back of the yard and saw that the paintwork wasn't as described in the pictures in the advert.
I had expected the bonnet, roof and bootlid to need some work but not the whole car
Disgruntled, I left it and made the arduous journey back.
Couple of days went by and I realised I really wanted it despite the paintwork flaws.
So I arranged for it to be brought down on a transporter to me.
Now the story begins.
Plans:
Get bodywork back to near on concourse condition.
Replace any broken/missing parts such as front door pockets and a tear in the rear seat.
I'm toying with ridiculously slamming it on some retro wheels and dropping a C20LET in it but part of me really loves the idea of leaving it original.
Pictures:
The bad bits:
So I have my work cut out but it will be a long term project so I'm in no rush to get things done.
Low and behold, in November, I saw this gem.
Just ticked over 20000 miles on the clock.
One previous owner.
Full service history.
Radio was working
Lovely green velour interior.
Never welded.
From the pictures, it looked very clean so I paid a deposit and embarked on a 500 mile round trip from Oxford to just shy of Newcastle. On arrival, I saw the car in the back of the yard and saw that the paintwork wasn't as described in the pictures in the advert.
I had expected the bonnet, roof and bootlid to need some work but not the whole car
Disgruntled, I left it and made the arduous journey back.
Couple of days went by and I realised I really wanted it despite the paintwork flaws.
So I arranged for it to be brought down on a transporter to me.
Now the story begins.
Plans:
Get bodywork back to near on concourse condition.
Replace any broken/missing parts such as front door pockets and a tear in the rear seat.
I'm toying with ridiculously slamming it on some retro wheels and dropping a C20LET in it but part of me really loves the idea of leaving it original.
Pictures:
The bad bits:
So I have my work cut out but it will be a long term project so I'm in no rush to get things done.