1988 Mk2 Cavalier 1.8GLi

Carltons/Senators (1986 to 1994) were also bonded screens - I guess manufacturers were moving over to it around that time

Whilst getting the front bumper cleaned up ready to go back on, I thought I'd try the grill on.



It fits OK, but the little rubber grommets that support it on the body have disintegrated. May have to get creative here as I've not been able to find any on Ebay.

The bumper to wing brackets cleaned up pretty well, just need to fit the new chrome trim to the bumper and it can go back on.



Borrowed an engine crane from next door in preparation for the lump going back in,



then went over the motor making sure everything was tightened or torqued before it goes back where it came from.



Put it's own wheels on out back, then proceeded to drop the back end down from this height,



to something a little less precarious.



Should hopefully get the front end raised up, and the engine and gearbox back in over the weekend.

Got the whole afternoon on this today, kicking off proceedings by getting the engine off the stand.



The clutch was fitted next, I cleaned up the face of the flywheel with wire wool first as it had a bit of flash rust on it.



Fitted a new release bearing, then the gearbox went back on.





The front of the car was raised up a little to enable the engine and box to slide underneath. I put a sheet of perspex down first, then some polythene bags, then sat the lump on top. I was surprised just how easy it was to manoeuvre the heavy lump on this plastic combination (in the past I've used carpet and struggled) and it was also spot on for protecting the paint on the sump from damage.



Once it was central under the engine bay, the crane was used to lift the assembly up into position so that the engine and gearbox mounts could be fitted. This took a fair amount of time to lift and manoeuvre a little at a time, constantly checking so that nothing was allowed to damage any paint anywhere. After an hour or so of faffing and fussing, it's all in position on its mountings.



Should get all the mountings tightened up, and everything plumbed in and wired up tomorrow.

Looks better than new from the factory

Arthritis got the better of me on Sunday, but I managed a couple of hours on it this evening after work.

The engine mounts were all tightened up first, then a few smal under bonnet items went on before the radiator, fan and coolant hoses all went back where they belong.



I was a bit too crippled to get underneath and continue connecting up pipes and wires, so I chose the far easier job of fitting the secondary horn to the nearside front gearbox mount.



Hopefully I'll get a bit more done in the week - I'm away at the weekend so will try to get the rest of the engine related stuff done before then.

I've left the re-fitting of the engine loom for now, and got on with getting the front suspension back together. It's been sat on the four bolts which hold the centre of the sub frame arms to the chassis, so first I had to move the axle stands from there to the jacking points at the front of the sills. Once that was done, the anti roll bar was bolted on.



With that in position, the sub frame arms could go back on, closely followed by the wishbone.



Once I'd fitted the anti roll bar links, time had run out.



Should get back on it over the weekend.

Bit more done today, the offside driveshaft didn't want to go back in to the gearbox, so suspecting that the circlip thing in the splined end was at fault....



another one was sourced from a random pile of driveshafts next door. The offending item didn't look too distorted....



But the "new" one allowed the driveshaft to flop back in with a couple of gentle taps.

Once the driveshafts were in position, the strut assemblies were put back where they belong.





Should hopefully get the engine loom buttoned up tomorrow.

Time has been scarce this week, but I still managed to get a few odd jobs done. The clutch and speedo cables have gone back on, as has the engine loom.



I finally got round to chucking on the oil filter - it's been sat in a box for two years patiently waiting.



I torqued up the front suspension fasteners, then checked all the wiring was in the right place before running out of time.

Once the exhaust, brakes and wheels are fitted, it should be ready for firing up.

A joy to see...!!