wilsonc001 `n` Icey!

[Herbie_Flowers]

hello and welcome to the forum mate. very nice motor there that for some reason didn't sell the first time round. the missus don't mind half a car in the kitchen then

[Neilyman]

Welcome to the forum!.....You got yerself a bargain there matey.

[jifop]

sweet! worth it just for the parts!

[Doive]

Wow! That is an amazingly clean hatch, and all for only 300 quid. Heck, that's only 50 more than I paid for my car. Absolutely beautiful. The rostyles do suit that colour. Someone appears to have swapped the indicator and sidelight units around - never could figure out why Vauxhall didn't fit them that way in the first place.

On further study of the pictures, are those different wiper arms to standard? They just seem more substantial than mine or something.

[Tortron]

wow thats clean, you could fund the purchase of your car with those parts

whats that thing with the real big vauxhall symbol on it in the 2nd "parts" pic

[Shellysowner]

That really is a stupidly clean car isn't it... and for £300 - insanity. Just shows you that ebay cars don't always make top money!

[Herbie_Flowers]

whats that thing with the real big vauxhall symbol on it in the 2nd "parts" pic

look like sill protectors to me

[Doive]

I think thats just the bonnet griffin resting beside a rear badge all on top of something black and plastic?

[wilsonc001]

The misses is used to a house covered in car parts, we have a Mini thats half way through restoration/repair at the moment, which is hers! (Clicky for more Mini info & pics)

Those Vauxhall and Griffin badge/s are sitting on a set of replacement outter sills, another part which came with the bundle!

I couldn't tell you if the wiper arms had been replaced, I guess they could have been, but I have no real record of work like that.

[shuvit-tim]

welcome to the forum mate, as i'm sure you've realised reading these posts there's a few jealous people at this moment in time, that ones an absolute steal of a bargain.

welcome to the chevetting world, now go and take yourself to a set of roundabouts and find out exactly what the joy of them is (rear end slippy joy )

p.s - just check under the washer bottle and in the battery tray for any signs of rust - treat any that there is, no matter how slight straight away. if there is anything that looks like a hole or deep rusting, peel up the footwell carpets and check water hasnt leaked down and sat in the footwell eating the sills and floorpan. this is the chevettes achilles heel

[wilsonc001]

p.s - just check under the washer bottle and in the battery tray for any signs of rust - treat any that there is, no matter how slight straight away. if there is anything that looks like a hole or deep rusting, peel up the footwell carpets and check water hasnt leaked down and sat in the footwell eating the sills and floorpan. this is the chevettes achilles heel

That was the first thing I checked when I went to see it, I had a good look through here and at the pictures of others restorations to see where the weak spots where....needless to say, its all spotless. The original protective rubber 'stuff'/sound deadning is still there and show no signs of lifting or water damage.

[shuvit-tim]

in that case you're just a [email protected]@rd! that was my last pinnacle of hope for "it cant be perfect for 300 quid can it?"

'want that one'

well spotted mate, hope she's everything you hoped for and more!

[Shellysowner]

Have to say I'm loving all the period features - the windscreen decal, the rostyles, the twin exhaust trim, twin fog lamps, over riders. Sets off the gold a treat it does, I've often thought that both the blue and gold metallic cars look extra good with lots of accessories.

If I could don my beige cardigan here - what are your plans for her? I hope it's nothing more than a spot of engine tuning.

[jifop]

If I could don my beige cardigan here - what are your plans for her? I hope it's nothing more than a spot of engine tuning.

[wilsonc001]

My plans are to clean it lots, take care of any rust I may find and carry out all the standard servicing, I want to keep that service manual up to date!

If I had more money then some wheels which suit the character of the car (something like some black centered Revolutions Clicky ), some firmer suspension and some larger breaks (256mm setup) would be nice. I'm not sure I'd want to tune the engine, just keeping it well serviced and running sweetly is enough for me, I've got the Honda if I want a bit of speed! (The Honda)

[Shellysowner]

To be honst I can't see you needing larger brakes with the standard engine. Greenstuff pads and Black Diamond discs or equivalent maybe at a push but no need to go changing the calipers or anything - just make sure your standard brakes are in good nick. As for the wheels, part of me thinks yes, part of me no. With a standard engine the Chevette is much more entertaining to drive on skinnys which is part of the reason that I run steels on mine (that and money!) but I certainly agree that if you were going to go for any alloys then black centred Revolutions would be the ones to go for... I can see it looking nice sitting down low over some of those. Uprated suspension would be the first thing that I'd do if it was mine.

[ChevetteCharlie]

You lucky, lucky so-and-so.
Why does this never happen to me?!!

Well done though, you've got a proper minter there, please look after it!

[shuvit-tim]

waiting for steve to envourage him to rally it - even i'm not broaching this recommendation - it would be like finding an immaculate SD1 that had the registration plate Doive or Ralph and scrapping it and not retaining the reg!

if you're dead set on improving the brakes, a manta set up should go on with no troubles, i think anything more than that would just be excessive

[wilsonc001]

Rally it? That would be sacrilege!

I like the sound of the Manta brakes, from what I understand you need to make up an adaptor plate/spigot ring for the 256mm setup to fit properly, a little more work and deviation from norm than I'd like. The only plus I guess would be the avaliabilty of parts, and once fitted could easily be upgraded to 288 or 308mm...but its never going to need stopping power like that!

Either way, its staying just how it is for now apart from a good service and clean (Altho if anyone has some decent suspension for sale I might find some money for that... )

[Neilyman]

Stick some Black Diamond drilled/grooved Combi disc on the front with Predator pads or Mintex 1144 pads & your Chevette will stand on it`s nose when you stomp the brakes!........mine does/did, it`s garaged for the time being.

[Doive]

That little beauty could easily compete on the concours circuit, if polishing your radiator cap is the thing for you. Frankly I'd much rather turn up with a bit of dirt on and plonk it next to the other cars.

[Cooltony]

keep the steelies on less rubber on road..

it's not about controlling the car, it's about controlling the traction, or rather lack of it...

isn't that the best ?

[Doive]

Well I now have much wider profile rubber on my car, and it can now be thrown into corners at whatever speed I desire - except today, of course, when it was chucking down with rain. Oversteer anyone? Great fun round the back roads, just goes to show that having wider rubber doesn't automatically take away all the drift action.

[Cooltony]

i thought that rostyles were same profile as standard steelies?

im running same sized tyres on my steelies aswell as my rostyles

[Tortron]

standard steelies 13-70-155
Rostyles 13-70-175

(iv likely put tme in the wrong order but im sure u can figure it out)
so thats what, 2 cms difference in tread width

unless you have 175s on ur steelies they may be a bit small for the rostyles, the tyre place here wouldnt put them on my ones (which are still incendently in my shed rubberless)