ud-uk
Part of things
Living the French dream!
Posts: 340
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Sept 19, 2016 17:59:48 GMT
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It's been a couple of years since I've had anything retro and I've had the itch to get something for a few months now I can't really justify getting another car as we have 4 in the household already, so how about an old van I can use for work? perfect! There are a couple of companies local to me that use old/retro vans for everyday use and they really stand out, they're great adverts, and something a little different. I don't travel any great distance, all local work, and don't carry anything heavy, so a small/medium size van is fine, been looking around for a while and have finally found this 86 Astramax which seems to be a good base to work from. Really looking for some ideas/comments/inspiration to getting me started A little lower would be good, not sure how easy/difficult this would be, some nice period alloys, upgrade the seats, and a nice livery, I'm thinking a white base, either painted or wrapped, I'm not a massive fan of the current blue paintwork, or maybe a two tone effect would look cool. I know you guys will have various suggestions, so please bring them on, or tell me I'm stupid for thinking of running around in a 30 year old Bedford!! Should be collecting the van on Wednesday all being well. Here are some pics from the ad.
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1991 Transit Dormobile, The Sweet Bus - SOLD - Now trading in the Bristol area
1991 Mercedes 230 CE - SOLD
1987 Renault Express van - SOLD-
1995 Vauxhall Calibra SE4
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Sept 19, 2016 18:06:15 GMT
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Fastest car in the world haven't seen one of them in years, looks a good project
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steveg
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,586
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Sept 19, 2016 18:17:37 GMT
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Fastest car in the world haven't seen one of them in years, looks a good project They certainly are ! I used to deliver parts when I worked at a Vauxhall dealers and the one they had was well loosened up. It had supposedly been converted to unleaded but went much better on super plus although it's that long ago it might have been 4 star. They had a couple of blue ones at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough while I was there and another garage had one the same colour as well. Is yours from the Hampshire area or did you find it further afield ?
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ud-uk
Part of things
Living the French dream!
Posts: 340
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Sept 19, 2016 18:22:38 GMT
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Fastest car in the world haven't seen one of them in years, looks a good project They certainly are ! I used to deliver parts when I worked at a Vauxhall dealers and the one they had was well loosened up. It had supposedly been converted to unleaded but went much better on super plus although it's that long ago it might have been 4 star. They had a couple of blue ones at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough while I was there and another garage had one the same colour as well. Is yours from the Hampshire area or did you find it further afield ? No it's not from Hampshire, it has spent it's whole life in North London up till now.
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Last Edit: Sept 19, 2016 18:23:20 GMT by ud-uk
1991 Transit Dormobile, The Sweet Bus - SOLD - Now trading in the Bristol area
1991 Mercedes 230 CE - SOLD
1987 Renault Express van - SOLD-
1995 Vauxhall Calibra SE4
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,243
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Sept 19, 2016 18:25:27 GMT
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Working on the assumption this is the same hubs as the Astra then it's 4x100 PCD which gives you LOADS of options. If you want to keep it period, Astra alloys of the same period pop up on eBay all the time for very little and drop straight on. Leaf springs out back and Astra up front should make lowering pretty easy and cheap, plenty of engine mod options too if you want to go down that route.
Really, for an interesting lightly modded van for advertising you can't get much better than this. Rather than changing the colour on the whole van, just get the side panels painted white and signwritten accordingly, or even a custom vinyl graphic just for that section. I bet that paint responds quite well to a machine polish or even just a few hours and a bottle of T-cut.
Look forward to seeing more on this one, I've seen a few of the Astra estate based vans but this shape I haven't seen for a few decades out in the wild so you'll definitely stand out even if you leave it exactly as it is now.
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Sept 19, 2016 18:42:55 GMT
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That colour is spot on for the period, it will polish up well. Is it petrol or diesel?
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ud-uk
Part of things
Living the French dream!
Posts: 340
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Sept 19, 2016 19:00:44 GMT
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Just recently got bought a good polisher, so I will see how the blue paint comes up, the colour may grow on me, it has the mighty 1.3 litre petrol engine.
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1991 Transit Dormobile, The Sweet Bus - SOLD - Now trading in the Bristol area
1991 Mercedes 230 CE - SOLD
1987 Renault Express van - SOLD-
1995 Vauxhall Calibra SE4
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Sept 19, 2016 19:35:30 GMT
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I had one as a works van new back in the day as an 18 year old, as astranaut points out correctly.......they really were the fastest car in the world!😅 Mine was a 1.6 petrol, and when it was empty it was SERIOUSLY fast.......0-60 in half a nanosecond and a top speed to guarantee a driving ban. Utterly brilliant. It got replaced with a diesel, and the fun was over.
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Sept 19, 2016 19:53:09 GMT
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Very nice, where do people keep finding these cool Vauxhall's without me spotting them?! Haha!
As said before they are 4x100 so many wheel choices especially as it's the same as the vw just watch the offset.
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Sept 19, 2016 19:54:31 GMT
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Fastest car in the world haven't seen one of them in years, looks a good project Hi, They were one of the two fastest in the world, the other being a rental Transit. Colin
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Sept 19, 2016 20:15:38 GMT
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As I read the description, before I'd seen the pics, I was picturing it in that blue. So you've got to keep that colour!
Never drove one but have it on good authority from a mate that they were indeed the fastest thing out there. He drove one for a chain of shoe shops where I grew up as a Saturday job.
Back then I would've put a GTE front and alloys on it, sat back, and congratulated myself on my coolness. ;-p
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@pistonbroker on Twitter
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Sept 20, 2016 11:11:56 GMT
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like it !! from the drivers seat back the structure is unique to the max/combo, so normal "mk2 astra" does not apply, not even similarities to the astra van (which were based on the estate). doors are unique, body pressing unique, round arches unique! lights unique, fuel tank unique, has solid axle and leaf springs which are unique. on the plus side, as they are commercial vehicle and expected to be hauling weight, they got all the "gte" goodies with regards spring rates, dampers, bushings, top mounts etc. so those things, plus its lighter (when empty) than a hatchback, plus the fact its heavier at the back than the normal hatch and therefore better weight distribution, they actually handle quite well. LOL ! generic lowering blocks would sort the rear leaf springs, astra interior wheels engine parts bin choices for the rest.
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Last Edit: Sept 20, 2016 11:21:11 GMT by darrenh
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mexicansteve
South West
Posts: 683
Club RR Member Number: 31
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Sept 20, 2016 13:58:39 GMT
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Nowt wrong with a 30 year old Bedford. My first car was a Bedford Asravan, and there's a company in Exeter that has a signwritten Bedford H van, I'll see if I can drum up some piccies. Should be fun chap. Not an astramax I know, but I love a Bedford, nothing quite like an obsolete marque is there?
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BeQuietandDrive
1989 Bedford Astra Van
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Sept 20, 2016 19:05:25 GMT
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As I read the description, before I'd seen the pics, I was picturing it in that blue. So you've got to keep that colour! Never drove one but have it on good authority from a mate that they were indeed the fastest thing out there. He drove one for a chain of shoe shops where I grew up as a Saturday job. Back then I would've put a GTE front and alloys on it, sat back, and congratulated myself on my coolness. ;-p I'm having a bit of a nostalgia trip now. Back when I was at college (early 90s) an Astramax with the GTE conversion (including massive "GTE" logo on the side) was the a major object of automotive lust among all the people I knew who were into cars. Only an Escort van with RS Turbo bodykit could match it in the coolness stakes. I had a friend who always said he was building one with some sort of epic sound system but it never seemed to materialize so he could have been talking poo. Funnily enough when this thread popped up I did a quick image search for modded versions and can hardly find any which suggests they were mostly wrecked and scrapped pre- digital cameras.
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edessex
Part of things
Posts: 514
Club RR Member Number: 42
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Sept 20, 2016 19:35:00 GMT
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I love the old Astra vans!
If you want to make it stick out as a Retro van, I'd keep the colour too. It's very 'period'.
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ud-uk
Part of things
Living the French dream!
Posts: 340
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Sept 20, 2016 20:51:50 GMT
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Getting the feeling I should stick with the blue, I'll see what the paintwork polishes up like, and take it from there.
Any ideas where to source front lowering springs?
Found lots of alloys to choose from, a set in white is looking favourite at the moment.
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1991 Transit Dormobile, The Sweet Bus - SOLD - Now trading in the Bristol area
1991 Mercedes 230 CE - SOLD
1987 Renault Express van - SOLD-
1995 Vauxhall Calibra SE4
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edessex
Part of things
Posts: 514
Club RR Member Number: 42
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Sept 20, 2016 22:38:50 GMT
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I've only had Mk3 Astra'a, are any of the suspension parts interchangeable? If so there are loads of lowering spring kits available. But not many people have had luck with DIY coilovers, and premade are a fortune. Again, this is Mk3 not Mk2...
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Last Edit: Sept 20, 2016 22:39:27 GMT by edessex
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Sept 21, 2016 8:40:04 GMT
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This is superb, I remember hating how they looked back in the day, but now looking at it with my rose tinted nostalgia goggles on its cooler than a penguins chuff! I think you need to keep the colour if possible, but paint the panels on the back white before getting them sign written. Then if possible find a GTE front bumper, and some of those mk3 Cavalier fan blade type wheels, a mild lowering, and you'll be good to go!
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Sept 21, 2016 11:09:49 GMT
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eibach pro kit for mk3 astra gsi is a well trodden path for folk in the mk2 club (i'm admin on mk2 owners) but of course you pay your money and only get to use half the kit. would probably be able to sell the rear pair of springs though. i cant think of anywhere that would sell only front springs, unless someone has done the opposite to you and is ebaying them.
if your dampers are original they will be oil filled delco versions, which were superseded by gas version. so anything you get will make a huge difference. you can still get bilstein B4, B6 and B8 and koni adjustables for mk2 astra (usually better hits searching for kadett E) same problem as springs though, can only use half the kit !
interchangeability between mk2 and mk3 is difficult, the struts are the same, springs are same dimensions and interchangeable, brakes interchangeable, slight difference in the actual damper rod as the top mounts are different, but mk3 dampers fit mk2 struts, and mk3 top mounts fit a mk2 shell, so basically boils down to having to use all mk3, or all mk2 bits.
engines, well it looks like you have the 8v 1.3 if you are lucky it will be same 75bhp version as nova SR (pretty sure it is but don't have the beddy brochure to hand) quite pokey but almost any engine from the 80s/90s era nova astra cavalier will drop in.
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Last Edit: Sept 21, 2016 11:10:51 GMT by darrenh
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ud-uk
Part of things
Living the French dream!
Posts: 340
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Sept 21, 2016 17:35:36 GMT
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Thanks for all the information guys, its really useful, I will have to get myself over to the mk2 club I had a spare half hour this afternoon so started looking at possible sign writing options, I've come up with this very rough idea, just to get started.
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1991 Transit Dormobile, The Sweet Bus - SOLD - Now trading in the Bristol area
1991 Mercedes 230 CE - SOLD
1987 Renault Express van - SOLD-
1995 Vauxhall Calibra SE4
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