ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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In 2007 I had been running my original Corsa GSi for 5 or 6 years and at 25 I was feeling the need to 'grow up' so I got myself an Audi S3 and planned on continuing the trajectory to better cars and forgetting about rusty Vauxhalls. 10 years later I drive a 2002 TT which I have zero plans to part with and another Corsa GSi lives in the garage so I can relive my youth whenever I feel like
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Dakars probably the best bet Daker Yellow would be
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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When I changed from a 1600cc to a 2000cc in my Corsa I just sent the logbook off with the new capacity and the new engine number and got a new logbook back. Tax bracket was the same so that never changed.
The engine pre-dated CAT's so wasn't required on the MOT after that (this was back in 2006 though so might have changed now).
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Cracking read. Love the car. I passed my test in 2001 and had a mk2 Escort 2 door and loathed the 'modern" cars of the time. Corsa's, Saxo's, Fiesta's etc. I'm now restoring 2 very early Saxo VTS's. Nostalgia always gets you in the end:) Yep, its all about the nostalgia, this is the car that I wanted when I was growing up as a teenager and I have great memories of that easy style life during late teens / early 20's when I had my first GSi. Every time I open the garage door I still think it looks amazing
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Got it back yesterday and its looking fresh! Needs a good clean now after sitting in the body shop for a few weeks though as i´d told the guy I wasn´t desperate for it. Back in my garage now, went for a spin yesterday after picking it up, stopped in a car park and had a guy asking if I minded if he took a few pictures of it
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Left this with the bodyshop guy a couple of weeks ago for the rot on the arch to be cut out and a new arch piece welded in, repair the cracked b pillar (common Corsa B promblem) and paint the whole drivers side as it was quite mismatched due to previous poor repairs. Picking it up tomorrow then i'll crack on with a few minor mechanical bits ready to start using it again around March time I guess
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Used it myself to collect a car, think I had to pay a £50 deposit and as mentioned, that came off the total bill.
Would definitely use again.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Jan 26, 2017 12:40:26 GMT
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The guy with the jaw issue, from American hot rod left to go and work for Chip Foose who most would know had also worked for the late Boyd Coddinton. Hadn't he been in a bad car crash as a teenager that had left him with nerve damage? I'm sure he wrapped up a Hot Rod in the desert with Boyd's son, nasty!
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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I guess it is a fair one, but I like this particular car, and that particular engine. Not been a fan of the hype of C20XE's and the price they command for a rattly old smoker, nor can I afford a boosted car ATM. Plus my mechanical expertise is limited somewhat. I like a revvy little valver, and that's what it will be. I have a c20xe (coil pack) jobbie that you are welcome to if you collect it from manchester. Its been sat in my garage for many many moons, Will require a rebuild but its just a paper weight for me. + may make your astra something interesting. Speaking from experience the 1600 16v is IMO more difficult to work with than the 20XE. I am speaking as someone who has fitted both to Corsa B's. If you really want a cheap conversion go for a 2L 8v 130bhp from an old Cav SRi. Virutally bullet proof and must be cheap as chips now. Wouldn't mess about with a 1600 16v in a MK3 Astra.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Jan 16, 2017 12:52:07 GMT
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From what I read it was down to the builds being short on time and on budget but IMO you can't blame Richard Rawlings for trying to keep a lid on the spending, it seems to be that AK always wants to build the best car possible no matter the cost which is great as a customer but not great as the man holding the purse I guess. Every single reality build show always seem to have crazy deadlines, back in the days of American Hotrod it was the same and they lost the majority of their staff during the first two seasons. wow, American Hotrod. I had forgotten about that. The old guy kind of got on my nerves towards the end. I do remember the guy with the jaw problem getting fired for poaching alloy wheel designs though. I loved that show back in the day but it was full of annoying people. The guy with the jaw issue turned up on Wheeler Dealers US a while back.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Jan 16, 2017 11:41:47 GMT
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I find with GMG you can spot the fake episodes from a mile away (like the one with Burt Reynolds). The ones where they seem to just build a car with minimal storyline are my favourite, especially warts & all - they show problems during the builds. I was suprised on one episode i watched recently they got a crate motor and it was knackered. Allbeit i think it had sat of a year, but it was toast. They publicly named the company in the episode and their disdain for them. Ive not seen anything with AK that would cause him to leave though, maybe I'm not up on my episodes.. From what I read it was down to the builds being short on time and on budget but IMO you can't blame Richard Rawlings for trying to keep a lid on the spending, it seems to be that AK always wants to build the best car possible no matter the cost which is great as a customer but not great as the man holding the purse I guess. Every single reality build show always seem to have crazy deadlines, back in the days of American Hotrod it was the same and they lost the majority of their staff during the first two seasons.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Also found in MkIII Astra Sports and Some Corsa B's available in 1.6 1.8 & 2.0 earlier Engines where pretty sought after later ones Had DiS as above they used to tend suffer Headgasket failure. i think the Coscast heads Didnt suffer the same problem, i would be cautious of Xe's Due to them being a pretty popular choice for conversion's (nova's corsa's Manta's Cavalier's to name just a few) and the amount of abuse they would tend to be given. the 2.0XE have a fair bit of Potential and there is a good supply of Aftermarket Parts with most thing's having been done to them Before people Moved on to The C20LET & Z20LET Another Alternative would be the Later X22XE Ecotek (Blacktop) these had similar weight and power outputs and could be found in Frontera's Omega's Vectra Sri150's etc Regal Autosport would be worth a look From the factory, the only MK3 Astra to come with a Red Top was a GSi16v, the sport was an Ecotec. Also never fitted to a Corsa B from the factory, biggest engine in them was the 1600 (C16XE / X16XE). Great engines, had a few of them in my old Corsa GSi, both dizzy and coilpack.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Was a Flux customer years ago and begrudgingly returned last year as they where the only place I could find to insure my other half as a named driver for a reasonable amount on my car (225 TT so nothing special). She has her own car now so I will be leaving again this year
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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That looks so cool
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Bringing it around to 2016 now... I spent a few weeks at the start of the year cleaning up the the floor at the rear around the spare wheel well, lucky (and unusually) all nice and solid, cleaned up with the drill using a wire brush attachment and then used some 'Stonechip' in a can, the stuff isn't great but I don't currently have a compressor so will do for now. No pictures of this though really as it was cold, awkward and I was constantly covered in dirt, grime and paint so didn't fancy getting my phone out Actually, found a pic I would love to do the whole floor at some point but without access to a lift I don't think it will happen. So, took it out of the garage for it's first drive around mid February this year, was nice to see it out again.. As I fitted the non airbag wheel on an airbag column, trying to get a cowling to fit was a bit of a job, eventually just had to modify one, it's not perfect but certainly better than non. One of the rear L pieces looked terrible, very stone chipped and faded and the plastic arch wasn't much better, had a spare so had it painted up which really cleaned up the drivers side. Old vs New Something I was wanting to do since I bought the car was buy four matching tyres and do down a profile so I could get it sitting just how I wanted it - low Bought a set of Toyo Proxies 195/40/16 Fitted and sitting much better After the final coilover tweaks. Move to come...
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Fantastic looking Astra, should be proud of it.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Built up this from a frame a few years ago, 1993 GT Zaskar. Would love to use it more but not enough hours in the day
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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Nice little run around, I recently inherited a low mileage untouched 1400 Sport that I am fixing for my other half to use for a few months. They make a great little daily.
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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I was missing the front jacking covers for the skirts which are rare as hens teeth these days, when they come up they reguarly go for £100 each. As I am not mental, I bought some reproductions, while waiting for them I actually found a front one in my garage from my old one so I only ended up using one repro one as the quality and fit leave a lot to be desired.. Fitted Raised the front and lowered the back at this point Went to do my first proper long drive in it, filled the tank and to see fuel trickling away under the car which resulted in a dash back home and this... Turns out the rubber fuel filler pipe had perished on both ends, not noticable when putting £20 here and there in but once full it was flowing out, quick fix was just to drain out some fuel (it took a year for me to get around to fixing this). Went to my first VBOA show @ Billing in years and was surprised how much it had grown, was one of only 3 GSi's there Came home with probably one of the last genuine GM quarter panels for a GSi. Tweaked the suspension and daily'd it for a bit during the last months of the summer, also MOT'd it which wasn't too bad luckily. Went to a local Cars and Coffee meet in September and that was it's last outing in 2015. 2016 later..
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Last Edit: Dec 9, 2016 11:31:15 GMT by ianw
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ianw
Part of things
Posts: 190
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