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A pretender from Scotland!

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  • A pretender from Scotland!

    Something different for those from accross the pond...

    I love this forum, some nice clean motors, some just lots of diy and hard work, and some by people with too much spare cash!

    So I have a little break from the norm for you guys, a Vauxhall Vectra B Estate, 1.8.

    I had the car for a few years, and did a few bits and bobs to it, which i'll copy and paste from another forum. Then I sold the car about 18 months ago, for next to nothing because I was getting fucked off having to keep repairing it. I thought it would get stripped and scrapped, but to my delight, it got repaired and seems to be running good Bought it back for the princely sum of £400! and swiftly spent double that on tools, parts and supplies to get her in order.

    So here's a wee catch up....

    Well guys, here's the start of my project thread for my the family wagon!

    So far, all i've managed to do is swap the standard lights for smoked ones, debadged front grille, and debadged the rear.

    here's sum pics:-







    oh yea, and i changed the side repeaters for clear ones, but i'm going to smoke them as well - going for a black and silver theme, with blue highlights inside.

    Plans for the future:

    Black Angel eye headlights with DRL's
    window tints
    lowering springs (coilovers if i can afford them!)
    s/s induction kit
    strut brace
    refurbish wheels > new wheels (when funds allow!)
    paint calipers etc.
    tidy, clean and paint etc. engine bay
    part silver/part carbon console etc.
    new headunit
    upgrade speakers (sadly no space for big boot install, as i need the boot!)
    mad ass bodykit!
    new exhaust!! much needed!
    half-leather interior
    silver/black steering wheel

    ------------------------------------

    Not had time to get much done on the veccy for a bit now, so with a Sunday off and the wife to watch the kids today was the day to get going...

    So i was gonna make a start trying to refurbish the wheels but the weather and the wife didnt permit! so i had to make do with a few simple mods:-

    New windscreen washers



    Shiney new gear knob!



    and thouroughly cleaned the wheels in prep for my diy refurb!!




    This last picture also shows just how desperately this car needs dropped! Once i've got the wheels sorted, thats definately my next big spend - a set of springs for now, til I can save up for some coilovers!!

    --------------------------------------------

    time for an update....

    well, the weather's been pretty much on my side the past couple of weeks, so when i've had time i've done some bits and bobs the the veccy.

    i've finally finished refurbing the wheels, spent about a week driving around with 2 black and 2 silver ones!! looked a bit random!

    also started to clean up the engine bay and tried tinting windows, but made a complete erse o it!!

    here's some progress pics for those that are interested....

    stripped doors to free up electric windows which were jamming, then decided to leave off some stuff for painting...



    got the degreaser in about the engine bay...



    car looking ill whilst in the process of refurbing final wheel...



    back together again with all wheels now in shiney black!!!





    painted wing mirrors shiney black too...





    rear window before i decided to tint it...



    rear window after i decided to tint it...



    what i thought of my attempt at window tinting...



    nice arty shot for the end of the day......



    -------------------------------------------------

    since I took the door cards off to get the electric windows working smoothly again, I decided I would leave some of the trim pieces off and spray them up to match the outside of the car.

    Wasn't sure how it would turn out, but figured it wouldnt hurt to try, so check out the results below.

    Also, I've realised that the didgy noise i've been hearing is probably the exhuast manifold! so saving up to get the car through a full service and fix! and try and get the fuel consumption back down a wee bit!!








    --------------------------------------------------------------------

    Quick Update

    Not much happening to the 'state just now cos all my time an effort is going into getting paula's corsa looking respectable, and i'm saving up my money for service/repairs that i have avoided on the vec for too long!

    But, 'victa' was selling an astra gear lever, so i indulged myself :-

    Before



    After



    Nice simple, effective wee mod! Loves it!

    -------------------------------------------------

    *Project Update*

    Another wee mod!







    ---------------------------------------------------

    What with ****e weather, no garage, no money, christmas, kids etc. the projects have had to take a bit of a back seat, so nothing much has happened since the back end of last year

    So update on the vec, well, went in for MOT in december and was an epic fail a lot of which was down to the tester being a bit pernickity, but alas, a fail all the same :cry:

    So, went cap in hand to the old man, but in the end we decided to put vec on back burner and get a cheap workhorse for the time being whilst i got the vec up and running again. ended up with a P plate laguna, which came with a free N reg laguna estate! forr 700 notes; currently selling on the bay as spares or repair if anyones interested! lol

    Been picking up odds and sods off the bay to get the vec working again, and the wifes old mans gonna help me do the work, which is good, so it should be going again in a few months if i get a decent wage from work anytime soon!!

    One of the fail points was a cracked spring, so im using this as an excuse to get some coily's, budget dictates raceland ones, but i hear they arent all that bad considering the price.

    Anyway, the modding bug has been itching away the whole time, so I did a bit of under bonnet cosmetics..........

    Took this:



    Added this:



    And ended up with this:







    Not to everyone's taste i know! but i like it, and the kids like it, the wife - not so much!! hahaha

    Think i'm gunna find some different comics now and do the fuse boxes and airbox and a battery cover if i can find a cheap one 2 destroy!!

    Fingers crossed there'll be more progress to come, but moneys so tight it not funny, and no jobs :@ ****kin bankers destroying the economy.........but thats for another thread!! lol

    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Today i received the last piece of the MOT fix jigsaw, i think!!

    and here it is.......





    Cant wait to get it all fitted now. I was of course delighted to see that there was no intruction in the box! lol!

    So yeah, i think i pretty much have everything i need to make it legal again, just need the time and patience to get it done! Now i know coilovers werent required, but i weighed up the cost of new oem with these racelands, and figured it worth my while going for the coilys!

    Might have to get hold of of some spring clamps tho, which i didnt realise :S

    Progress pics will of course be up once i get moving with it!!

    ----------------------------------------------------------

    Finally some proper progress!!

    So here’s how she stood, after being abandoned for a few months L



    And here’s the gappage above the wheels with the standard suspension




    So I cranked up the rear end in the air



    Off with the old………….




    Combine old and new….




    And on with the new….




    While I had her up and the wheels off, I fired on my new mudflaps as well



    And then same again on the front.

    Old…



    New…



    Had some issues with the tie bar bolts, grrrrr!! The threads were so rusted they’d all merged into 1, so I had to hacksaw the tie-bars just so could get the old struts off. Ah well, another excuse to but more new stuff!!!



    And here’s how she looks now, all the coily’s are set to the lowest possible, to give them a chance to settle, but there’s no way it can stay this low as its my daily drive, transports kids, and theres severe speedbumps round where I stay, so once I’m finished all the repairs, I’ll wind it up to a more suitable level!






    So, that’s where I’m at so far, working through the MOT issues, although not entirely impressed with MOT garageP! Apparently one of the coil springs was cracked and was *dangerous*, however ive stripped them all and no signs of cracks at all…hmmmmm……

    -------------------------------------------

    So if you're still here, well done!

    This weekend i swapped exhaust pipes...







    Not happy with the way the backbox is sitting, needs to adjust it once ive done my back bumper. need some really long exhaust hangers or something?

    Here's a wee vid of the nice purr she's making now...



    obviously feedback of any kind is greatly received, thanks...as long as its polite! doesnt have to be nice, just polite!

  • #2
    no pics of nessie?

    haha
    Floccinaucinihilipilification

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by P78 View Post
      no pics of nessie?

      haha
      nessie lives only 15 minutes from me, but alas, no pics! sorry

      Comment


      • #4
        Another wee update, small progress, but progress all the same...

        Getting the rear skirt fitted...







        a wee side project..





        A quiet day at work resulted in another mediocre amount of progress!





        sooo, on sunday, i starting hacking bits off the inside of the dash, to allow for the new head unit to fit, no pics of this, but there was cutting and snapping and some plastic sawdust...

        anyways, had a pretty peaceful week at work, so started with filling the rear bumper.

        Bane turned up to help me sand it...



        And its looking like this for now....





        Its a long way off, but i'm happy with the progress so far.

        Also, started fibreglassing the head unit surround...





        Lots of sanding and lots of filling and lots of sanding still to go, but its plodding along nicely.

        I know this isnt what you're used to seeing but comments, good and bad welcome

        Comment


        • #5
          Good to see another Scot on the forum! I'm only a couple hours from you over by Fraserburgh mate! Car looks to be coming on nicely though! Keep it up man!
          I am a party pooper. I poop at parties.

          Comment


          • #6
            cheers man! yeah, pass through there quite a bit with work jus now.

            i'm trying to take my time with it and do it 'properly' haha! often think it would be easier to rat it, but i have an image in my head of how i want her to turn out, so working towards that

            Comment


            • #7
              Boy, lighted washer nozzles, painted interior trim, and a windscreen banner - it's my teenage years all over again!

              j/k

              Very interested to see how the fiberglass work turns out. Always like to see wagons getting some love!



              Comment


              • #8
                Busy week at work, but managed to sneak in some work on the car...

                Rust repairs...






                Filler applied to rear bumper...







                ..and filler on the head unit surround...




                slowly slowly catchy monkey!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Arms and hands sore, but ready for primer..







                  Comment


                  • #10
                    all the feedback is amazing guys...

                    right, so i managed to get a filler coat on the bumper, but had to fit it so i could go get new tyres. im 80% happy with my diy filler results. but now there's paint on it, its easier to see the areas that need attention.

                    So tyres, phoned up and had four set aside, just a straight replacement for the ones that were on, really wanted new wheels, but didnt have the budget, or see anything i fancied.

                    when i turned up at the tyre place, the guy sold me his wheels, with what look like pretty new tyres on, for same as i would have paid for 4 tyres for mine! happy days! upgraded from 16's to 18's and they fit nice.

                    Hellaflush at the front...





                    And a wee bit of tuck in the rears...







                    If i can get the rears flush without rubbing, think i might try some spacers on them...what do you think?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      so, got the filler primer flattened down, and first coat of grey primer on.









                      got a bit of work to do yet, but for a novice, i'm happy with how its coming on.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Rear bumper looks pretty sweet, to get more flush youre going to need to drop tyre size down and get a little stretch on the go.
                        Current Car: 04 Ford Focus SVT

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                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Whiskerz View Post
                          Rear bumper looks pretty sweet, to get more flush youre going to need to drop tyre size down and get a little stretch on the go.
                          Yea, did think about stretch, but the cops round here would pull for that. I'm content just now: there's no rubbing

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Whiskerz View Post
                            Rear bumper looks pretty sweet, to get more flush youre going to need to drop tyre size down and get a little stretch on the go.
                            Yea, did think about stretch, but the cops round here would pull for that. I'm content just now: there's no rubbing

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I've been pulled for stretch on my Audi before in Aberdeen man, if they try to say anything just ask them where in the legislation it mentions it being illegal. I've gotten away with it before from that, and when they tried again I filed harrassment and haven't been troubled since

                              EDIT: Also, Veccy's looking sweet man! Thinking of buying a Vectra C SRI to keep the miles off the family Insignia haha!
                              I am a party pooper. I poop at parties.

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