I've already put that pic through photoshop and made it into a vector image ready for a signwriter but was pleased to find a genuine decal.
Printable View
I've already put that pic through photoshop and made it into a vector image ready for a signwriter but was pleased to find a genuine decal.
UPDATE
Grabbed another bargain off eBay. I decided to get these bits as I'm pretty much getting what I can lay my hands on as these particalr bits are thin on the ground.
These aren't genuine but a good copy. The 'SRI' decal won't be used as it's not the correct one but I'm going to get that particular one made up.
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6154/1002142e.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7651/1002143y.jpg
There's been a bit of a delay in the car being picked up due to 2 customers that haven't picked up their cars :mad: . And as the lads have only a small garage they have been unable to come get it as there's no where safe to park it.
Shouldn't be too long now lol At least it's given me time to get a hold of some rare bits and the weather has imroved drying any moisture.
UPDATE
A small but important pivotal update... the lads come and picked up the Cav today :d The game has begun lol
Will be popping over to the garage to have a detailed chat with the lads as to what we needs done.
Should get some snaps too :)
UPDATE
I got in from work and decided to do some odd bits for my Nova but saw a couple bits that I could do for the Cav at the same time.
As the first thing you'll see when you look at the Cav is the face of it, I decided the headlamp wipers needed attention. I actually love these wipers on the early Cavs. They give the front end that extra bit of detail which just makes it that bit more aggresive.
This is how they came off, reasonable condition considering thy're 22 years old (excuse the bad pic):
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/5629/25042011535.jpg
Gave them a good rub down with 240grit and 600grit wet and dry and got them to this stage
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7849/25042011537.jpg
Gave them a wipe, and a couple coats of primer, let thet dry, rubbed it down, gave a nother wipe with some spirits and applied a good three coats of satin black.
This is how they came out, yumm:
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9043/25042011538.jpg
After popping to Vauxhall to ask about a few bits I made my way to the lads at the garage. They've just started working on the Cav so should see some progression soon, can't wait.
UPDATE
Now that the bank holidays are finally over everyone can get back to work finishing things lol
Made a quick trip to the lads at the bodyshop to see what was what. Good news is that they've started doing some work on the Cav.
Here's a few snaps (phone camera so not the best quality):
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/2649/imag01450.jpg
Body mouldings on the bumper on the way to be taken off, a lot of the front end removed.
Shot of the rear. The Cav has been hit in the rear at lease three times so naturally it's not exactly dead straight. Got a bit of a kink on the left corner under the left hand lights. Some corrosion around the lip of the boot mought, where the rubber sits on.
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/8123/imag0146r.jpg
But more of the impact from all the previous hits have made a bit more of a dent on the driver side
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/1021/imag0147g.jpg
All the door mouldings (bump strips) will be coming off as a couple of them have started anyway but I'll have to look for some new door mouldings as they may not fit back dead straight. Wonder if Vauxhall stil do 'em?
I'm looking forward to some more progress soon :)
That actually looks pretty straight & strong for having had 3 rear end whacks! Some chain & a pr of mole grips should pull that seam 90% back out.
Nice project, keep at it.
Yeah it's done well, the lads will be pulling it back out :)
Just hope I can find new door strips.
UPDATE
Made use of a bit of time to get a couple things sorted for the Cav. Good thing about this project is that pretty much everything is ready, here and waiting to go in, unlike my Nova project which is pretty much like doing it from scratch.
One of the things that needed a bit of attention was the speaker grilles for the rear shelf. Sitting in view of sunlight hadn't done much good so it was in need bringing back to life.
Here's how it looked, the foam under the grille totally shot
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9092/1002263b.jpg
Taking them apart was a breeze. This was the state of the plastic, all dry, stained and discoloured
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/1688/1002253r.jpg
Gave the plastic a good going over with PVC polishing cream (slightly abrasive) and then a wash with detergent which left it like this
http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/2184/1002256w.jpg
Next was the foam. I had some thin yellow foam in the garage but it was obviously the wrong colour, so I whipped out the black spray, cut it roughly into shape and down to size, then gave it a few coats on both sides. Great thing was that it dries instantly.
Before
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/7610/1002257e.jpg
After.
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7721/1002258l.jpg
I then masked up the grille surround so I could coat the middle with spray glue to stick the foam on.
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1284/1002259a.jpg
Once done, I refitted the metal grille after a good clean and hey presto...
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/4084/1002260k.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/631/1002262w.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8049/1002264o.jpg
Two clean and new looking speaker grilles for when these bad boys get put back in :d
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/2731/1002265v.jpg
17cm Sony components, good power and very good low end frequency compared to the original items. Give a good all-round sound together with the door speakers and uprated tweeters in the dash. No need for a sub to be honest so the car looks even more un-messed with ;)
UPDATE
Continuing where I left off yesterday.
The rear shelf needed a couple more things sorted before it was totally done. The foam around the shelf slots and some of the padding for the shelf itself was worn out so they were on the list.
Here's how it looked
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/5628/1002266t.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/2206/1002267zg.jpg
^ You can see the black foam has crumbled over the years and the padding along the edges isn't all there. The foam pads in the middle were put in by me as the above speakers move more and occasionally touched the speaker grille.
Used the same technique as I did for the grilles, cut two strips of foam roughly into shape and size, lightly dusted them black, spray glued the shelf and stuck them on. I also added some extra strips around the outer edges of the shelf so that it wouldn't rattle.
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5184/1002268dc.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5401/1002269un.jpg
A view from the topside
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/1492/1002270x.jpg
I then put the grilles back in
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2402/1002271jm.jpg
Didn't have time to pop to the bodyshop but hope to do so tomorrow, if I'm lucky there'll be some progress :)
:thumb:
UPDATE
Had a bit of spare time again so I wanted to get done what I started last week. Nothing major but would've looked out of place if not done.
The headlamp wiper rests and the wiper blade holders were all in a crap state.
Here's how they were:
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/6042/1002280m.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/452/1002281b.jpg
The usual rubbing down with 400grit wet and dry, and a clean with hot soapy water got them to this stage:
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4145/1002282vk.jpg
Then a few generous coats of black plastic bumper spray (as it's more resistant to flexing) for the wiper rests, and satin black for the blade holders
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/9239/1002283cm.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6990/1002284k.jpg
then left to dry...
...done... now they match the wiper arms :)
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2196/1002285vf.jpg
All that's really left to do (that I can currently think of) is to clean up all the interior plastic: kick panels, sill panels, centre console, rear quarter glass trim etc. Just wondering what to use as the trim is quite textured and a sponge won't be very useful. I don't wanna use a scouring pad as it'll mess up the plastic.
Anyone recommed anything from experience?
I used to use a nail brush to clean the plastics.
Nail brush? :eek:
Do you know how long that'll take? lol
Will try and use the jet wash with some detergent see if that shifts it :)
UPDATE
Had a short shift at work today so there was some time to do some work. Gave a go at cleaning the inner trim. The dirty ones were the sill panels which were absolutely filthy.
Here's how they looked:
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/6896/1002292.jpg
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6131/1002293k.jpg
Used the pressure water together with spong and detergent. It took a while but the result was pretty good. Here they are while they were drying
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4991/1002294cp.jpg
Need to pop down and hopefully see some progress at the garage
your attention to detail is amazing!
Thank you sir!
UPDATE
So many things to sort out, so little time!
Some good news though... the chap which was selling the door decals (which he had lost and therefore I couldn't get them) contacted me the other day and said... "I found them" :d
A nice chap too, he said that he'd send them to me and when I got them I could pay him.
Well here they are:
http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/9380/1002313d.jpg
Can't be many left in the world now as Vauxhall can't get them from anywhere. Need to get some copies made up for future need.
Haven't had a chance to visit the shop yet either and I'm working all the way through to the end of the weekend as well. Looks like beginning of next week.
UPDATE
Well it's been a while... popped to the bodyshop (hadn't visited for a while) and saw the Cav outside. Won't go into huge detail, I'll just let the pictures explain it all :)
Big dent on front n/s wing being prepared for the slide hammer treatment
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7092/imag0163f.jpg
Couple car park dings ground back and filled in
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1451/imag0162jj.jpg
Few more car park dings filled in lol
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/8058/imag0161to.jpg
Dent on the rear o/s wing which I've never even noticed before
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/3120/imag0165p.jpg
Chuffed for two reasons: 1) that it has now officially started and 2) that the camera on my new phone is actually good (HTC Sensation) lol
Problem with resto's is that they always get put aside when urgent time limited insurance jobs or work vehicles come in. Funny thing is that since the cav has gone in the lads have had increased business... shiuold really ask for commission lol
UPDATE
It has been quite a while since the previous update. I was on holiday for a while lol but so was the bodyshop so things had slowed down quite a bit. I visited 10 days ago but sort of forgot to post up the pics (kinda concentrating on work/Nova project).
Today however I visited again so it'll be a good update... well deserved after the long gap!
How it looked last week, passenger side side skirt removed, more filler in places that needed it and a new wheel arch fitted to passenger rear (stupidly forgot to take a picture of that lol)
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/3120/imag0165p.jpg
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/6645/imag0339x.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/8919/imag0338qv.jpg
Surprised that there was no rust at all on the sill. Was waiting for it to just flake to bits :)
Preoccupied with work and my project. I didn't have time to visit closely after the above visit to get pics of the other side. But today this is what I saw
http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/5895/imag0378d.jpg
New passenger rear arch
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/2570/imag0379m.jpg
B & C Pillar vinyl removed. Will be replaced with black paint.
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9726/imag0366j.jpg
Buckle on door pillar pulled out
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1899/imag0381e.jpg
Golf ball sized dent on wing pulled out
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8733/imag0382h.jpg
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/311/imag03701o.jpg
Hole in roof skin welded (used to be a car phone aerial back in the 90's)
http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/7175/imag0368b.jpg
Back end needed a bit of filler as it was smacked on it's huge ass 3 times in it's life (all by women... ahem!)
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/5093/imag0375x.jpg
...
...
Spoiler removed to uncover a GL bootlid lol
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/4759/imag0374s.jpg
Spoiler getting some filler action
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9223/imag0377bx.jpg
Driver side
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/9603/imag0372t.jpg
New driver side rear arch
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/7754/imag0371ze.jpg
The sill on the driver side wasn't as great as the passenger sill. Bit of rust, well a hole, under the skirt. Will be getting cut out and plated over
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/8996/imag0376u.jpg
The floor is next up, all the rusty places cut out and welded some welding needed in the boot and a couple other places. The B & C pillars will be getting painted in black and so will the door handles. The bodyshop also checked that the colour 71L - Mexico Red is still available, furthermore in water base. Good news is that they can get the colour.
Still need to source a light grey carpet, a new bonnet badge and the 'VAUXHALL' decal for the spoiler.
UPDATE
Popped to the bodyshop again seeing as I had a bit of free time. When I arrived the Cav was in getting a DA for the final bodywork prep before it goes into paint, most likely Wednesday.
http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/1570/imag0385l.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/9238/imag0387v.jpg
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/706/imag0386s.jpg
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/2610/imag0388r.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4974/imag0390j.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4017/imag0389b.jpg
There's still a bit of re-seam welding needed on the rear floor and the footwells to be sealed with a thick sealant to stop any future corrosion happening. The boot will be stone chipped inside and then painted in body colour. The underfloor and arches will be stone chipped and sealed. Door pillars will be gloss finish black in place of vinyl (bit of rust occurred in places as water got under the vinyl). Handles, boot grab, skirts and bumper trim will be satin black (as per usual) with the centre of the bumper trim being body coloured (as it was from factory).
All there is to do now is wait :) ...
nice to see a cav gettin saved a miss mine need to get it back on the road
Thanks fella, there is a genuine lack of early Cav's on the road. Most I see now-a-days are either late Cav's and 98% are the lesser models so they look rather dated and un-special (no disrespect to any Cav owners).
Nice project, originality is deffo the key! Have some + rep back! :thumb:
Thanks Viletje :thumb:
UPDATE
Made a visit to the bodyshop again today as it was my day off. The Cav wasn't in the booth as there were a few more little holes that were found and therefore needed sorting. Just a case of waiting for the paint to turn up from the supplier and it should get it's colours beginning of the week.
Boot floor primered
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/5820/imag0392d.jpg
Re-seamed/welded driver side rear floor
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/8508/imag0394q.jpg
Same for the passenger rear floor
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/1592/imag0395i.jpg
Passenger front footwell sorted and sealed
http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/6236/imag0393os.jpg
While I was there I had a peek into the doors to see what state they were in, a lesson learnt from the Nova. They are spotless! Just need a clean due to dust of course but some waxoyl one the car comes back will keep them clean.
Managed to get some pics too
Passenger front door
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/844/imag0397a.jpg
Passenger rear door
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2127/imag0396ks.jpg
Driver rear door
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3667/imag0398wk.jpg
Didn't get a shot of the driver door as the window was all the way down and obscuring the shot.
Both the door handles on the driver side have snapped springs. Found an old handle in the garage and removed the spring from it. I just need one more so the door handles spring back into position.
Cannot wait to get the Cav back home to be put back together :)
...
Forgot to mention that we also picked these up the other day
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8498/0000168b.jpg
19" flat blade wipers for £6.50 each!
UPDATE
Had a bit of spare time so I popped to you know where. I saw the Cav lurking behind a 530d in the shop with it's shut lines, underside of the boot lid and boot floor painted in brand new Mexico Red. Boy does it look LUSH!
The chap at the bodyshop actually commented 'You know what?... this colour is lovely!' He was asking us if we 'were sure' that we wanted it the same colour. I said "of course mate' and now he knows why :)
I'm not gonna post any pictures up as I didn't have my camera with me and my phone was on low battery but it's gonna look sweet, you'll just have to wait when it's got some paint on it to see what it looks like.
I also popped to Vauxhall the other day and ordered a new bonnet badge and asked about the rubber door strips. Guess what?... NLS. Gonna need a miracle to find a new set. Also need to try source the rubber aerial grommet that fixes to the passenger rear wing for the electrical aerial to sit in.
That is all for now.
UPDATE
Bit of a surprise... my bro took a few pics on his iPhone, which I didn't know about. So here is a glimpse as to what the colour will look like (bearing in mind what you see in the pic's hasn't been flatted or polished)... enjoy!
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4053/...e948a2e090.jpg
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7128/imag0402e.jpg
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6...c6ae6dfdea.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7522/imag0403l.jpg
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/8130/imag0404e.jpg
Now I really cannot wait for it to get it's colour on!
looks great buddy :thumb:
I know, never thought I'd be starring/drooling at the underside of the boot lid or shut line lol
lol cant wait to see the overall look of it buddy
need more pics my mate has got a 5 door nova in the same colour we just painted the engine bay nd that looks mint its a nice colour wen its fresh
More pics will be taken soon as it should be going to paint in a matter of days
Same colour as my nova :) Although mines a tad faded compared lol
This one was more pink than red. Can hardly remember the paint looking that lush. Would only get half that good with 3 hours worth of polishing.
Exactly why im leaving mine pink lol, cba
lol
Gonna make sure this gets polished and more-so waxed as often as poss so it stays like this. In saying that, with it being water based and needing a lacquer clear coat it shouldn't fade like the old finish. And bearing in mind that the chaps are using PPG paints/tints which is Lamborghini's exclusive supplier, it should last well if it's looked after, which it will be of course!
UPDATE
Day off... so made my way down to pick up a few things from Vauxhall which they got in for me. Some were for the Nova and were just your usual service parts but one of the items was this little bad boy
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/5413/1002778g.jpg
Now I know what some of you Cavalier experts are going to say... "that's the wrong badge". I know and I'm sorry! But in my defence the correct part number was ordered but due to there being none in stock this was the next one. So on EPC it mentioned 'NLS - USE Part No 90487452'. For those that don't know, the correct one for this year Cav would be a smaller Griffin with Vauxhall written underneath. Either way it will look nice. If I ever find one brand new then I'll swap it but for now this will stay.
After sorting out a few other unrelated things I made my way down to the bodyshop where I was confronted with this:
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/3375/1002770l.jpg
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/6982/1002771y.jpg
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7532/1002772p.jpg
http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/7577/1002773u.jpg
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8158/1002769z.jpg
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7075/1002774j.jpg
It's got it's paint and one of the chaps had just started flatting it down to get a final mop/polish. I didn't catch him start the polishing stage, which I was gutted coz only then do you start to get a glimpse of how the paint will look when properly finished.
What's left - rear bumper, spoiler and door mirrors in Mexico Red, underside to be sealed and protected together with arches, then the painting of the black bumper trim and door handles. Door pillars in black also (as they were but paint instead of vinyl). We're still contemplating whether to go matt black for the pillar paint or go a gloss. The reasoning behind gloss pillars is the fact it can be looked after easier than matt.
Should be out of there and back home by Friday!
looking great mate. Cant wait to see it finished.
Won't be long now dude :)