Keeping the Mrs Happy (project no 3)

[joff-turbo-nova]

Well, its been time in the making, and now seems about right to launch a new thread for the next project in the JTN household - another Meriva to replace the 53 plate Merv that my wife is currently running around in and has now done +120k miles, so getting a little long in the tooth .

So last year this nice little petrol blue Meriva popped up on Ebay as a Cat C accident damaged vehicle - only 35 miles up the road from home. I popped up to Scarborough, did a deal and it was delivered onto the drive accordingly......








It's a '07 plate Meriva 1.8 Design with aircon, all electric windows and has only done about 42,000 miles.

Needs a little attention at the front....







I stripped the broken parts off just to make it a bit more tidy .....



The aircon condenser was still gassed, even though it was banana shaped !!

Seems that the car has hit a post which has taken out the crash bar, bumper, rad pack and bonnet - both lights are cracked and the n/s wing has a dent too. Its slightly dinted the engine bed, but everything looks straight and the panel gaps are OK ...






Plans for the vehicle are :-

- Replace dash as both airbags deployed - already sourced
- Replace interior with a half leather VXR one (with retro heated rear seats) - already sourced
- Replace panels on the front end - already sourced wing and bumper bar - had rad pack, bumper (with Irmscher lower spoiler) and bonnet in from previous Meriva VXP project
- Major engine service (water pump, belts & idlers, filters, oil , brake fluid) - already sourced
- Replace discs & pads all round - already in stock
- Replace front arms and roll bar link bars - already sourced
- Replace steel brake pipe for cunifer pipe all round - already sourced
- Change flexi brake hoses for braided versions - already sourced
- Change rear bumper to Irmscher item - already in stock from VXP project
- Attached rear Irmscher spoiler & side skirts

Cont/....

[joff-turbo-nova]

Already started the modifying , as I have sourced a set of Omega Elite alloy wheels which were pretty shoddy...
















First job was get them to the media blasters for a strip....











Then onto the sprayshop for some love and paint....













So I thought it would be rude not to try them on my VXP project first ..















They are wider (7.5") than the Astra alloys (7") and with an ET35 which makes life interesting in the clearance department on the spring cup - nothing that some 5mm spacers and longer bolts won't fix !





Cont/...

[joff-turbo-nova]

I then put them onto where they are meant to be, the wife was very happy with the results...












Joff

[nova.mike]

Looks good so far, will keep an eye on this

[totalnova]

If the last one was anything to go by I'm sure this will be epic. Are you going to break the other one?

[joff-turbo-nova]

If the last one was anything to go by I'm sure this will be epic. Are you going to break the other one?

No just tart up and sell on - just don't have time to break one, and the parts are quite difficult to shift !

Joff

[mowgli]

you should start PMG.......

the before pics look like my wife has just been to a supermarket in it......

[joff-turbo-nova]

Some of you may recall I had a little incident in a car park with a steel beam jumping out at me which resulted in this...



So I got busy with the repair and sorted it out like so - thought it would be a good idea to fit the other reversing sensor kit I have - these are the traditional sensor type....



Masking tape, a tape measure and a bit of luck we got 4 holes marked out then drilled ready for the sensors...



As luck would have it, I have a contact who let me know they were breaking a Meriva VXR and the interior was available. A deal was done and a pallet arrived a few days later....


So it went into temporary storage in the garage...





The bolsters on the front seats are quite worn and the usual issue with the foam bolster had started....









Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

So had to do the usual repair job on the bolster - seat in lounge getting stripped....



Cover off, bolster hole now apparent...





Calico strengthener to the inside, repair foam patches sorted and being glued in...



Another two layers of calico and then a layer of thin wadding to help pull the leather taught...





And then the heated seat element was fitted .....



The seats front seats were then put back together and sent off to the leather refurbishers in Hull.

Joff

[joff-turbo-nova]

A couple of weeks later and the seats were ready for collection , looking almost like new, the pics don't quite do them justice as they look like new...













Started work at the weekend stripping the front end off ....



Removed the damaged wing and arch liner to reveal a nice clean chassis leg....



In an effort to keep the rust away I thought it prudent to treat it to a couple of coats of hammerite, here's the first coat...



Also tried some 5mm spacers to avoid any tyre/spring cup action which seems to have solved the issue...



Next job is stripping the front brakes and suspension ready for new parts.

Joff