Sir_sideways
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« on: May 13, 2005, 09:32:28 PM » |
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On Wednesday 13/05/05 i spotted a Red Carlton GSI 12v on ebay.. had just been put on there the night before and it really caught my attention.. 98,000 miles on an F plate, basically one owner from new (the guy that owned it's son was the next registered keeper!) and it looked rather good from the pictures.. it actually looked red instead of pink for a start, and the interior looked mint! Bad bits consisted of the usual rusty arches and a scuff on the sideskirt. Anyhow, i got on the phone to the bloke that was selling it and he gave me a 'ballpark figure' of £500 to end the auction early... I got straight on the train and went up to bedfordshire that afternoon! When i got there it looked great. Had a nosey round it and you could tell someone had looked after this car! It has been garaged all its life, and just average tinworm had mullered the rear arches! Another amazing thing is pretty much everything works! even cruise control! LOL Upon inspection and a test drive it was looking good, and drove well too! This one most definitly has an LSD! Offered the guy £350 to drive it away and job's a goodun! I've got myself a gsi  Bad points: Sunroof sticks on the sliding action Electric mirrors dont work Engine smokes blue under hard acceleration and is low on oil (probably valve stem oil seals) Rear bumper cut to fit tow bar Bodykit plastic parts faded slightly Chip on windscreen Passenger side window seal is buggered Arches rotten Passenger side sill dented and rotten Bumpers 'black' rubstrips and kind of very light grey with yellow primer showing through! Digidash missing a bar or two on display at about 5-6k Spoiler starting to sag slightly Gearknob worn Boot carpet stained rear axle bushes are on their way out (common!) rear brakes binding Good points: Totally standard - even the standard cassette player is still there! Engine pulls like a train Interior has very little wear Wheels have never even been close to being kerbed by the look of them, they are in top notch condition! The added bonus aswell is the guy that owned it worked for michelin, so it has very good michelin tyres.. funny that! general mechanics seem in good order especially for its age the car is actually red! and not pink! Cruise control works! OMG!! Dont worry i did put those down as a personal list to myself, nobody else will be interested! LOL Anyway, enough yapping.. here's the beast in the pics i had on ebay.. Will upload pics of it after its 10 hour cleaning session tomorrow!      Sorry about the boring essay.. this is more of a record for me of progress than anything else! Gaz |
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2005, 10:42:09 AM » |
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15/05/2005 - Purchased Ex police Vauxhall Senator 24v.. to rob the engine and running gear, brakes, and other random things from!
Looking to make a start on stripping down the senator on 18/05/05.. get the engine out and ready for rebuilding..
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2005, 04:01:31 PM » |
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16/05/05 - Initial inspection I decided to start really inspecting the car to see what needs replacing, i knew the condition of the sills, but wanted to take a closer look at them, and also the general condition of the rest of the car. Here's a rather nice looking carlton gsi.. quite amazing what the sideskirts can hide!   The 'ol 12 valver. Fuel lines perished, and seeps a bit of fuel out, but otherwise runs pretty well, apart from suspected valve stem oil seals on their way out, smoking at high revs.  Drivers side sill   Passenger side sill has been twatted from the side, and is holed in the same way as the drivers side, although on this side the inner sill is also rotten. The damage to the sill looks like its not touched the floorpan or chassis rails.     Verdict: 2 outer sills, 1 inner sill, 2 arches in need of replacing, 2 or 3 small 2p sized holes need plating. car ideally needs full respray to make mint. underneath of car in good condition generally. Fuel tank rusty. Fuel lines perished. More updates to follow |
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« Last Edit: May 16, 2005, 06:49:46 PM by Sir_sideways »
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2005, 11:17:46 AM » |
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15/05/05 - Purchased ex police L reg Vauxhall Senator 3.0 24v
This car was bought as spares or repairs, i paid £100 for it as all i wanted was the engine, and a few spares.
The car (being driven by my mate steve) only made it 15 mins up the road - i bought it knowing that the head gasket was gone, we tried driving it back, but in view of not wanting to damage the engine, we stopped when the temp gauge started to go north of 90 degrees, at a rapid pace! 4 hours later and the RAC picked us up and towed us back to my mates workshop.
18/05/05
Early start, and me and steve started working on the senator, first job was to remove the engine.
After removing ancilliaries and wiring loom, plumbing etc, we got at it and ground the slam panel and front crossmember off! much easier way to remove an engine when nothings in the way! lol
dragged the engine out, and put it on a now rather small looking engine stand! i suspect that it wasnt designed for putting a straight six on it but its holding the weight (as far as i know anyway! lol)
We got a few other bits off the car and then sent it on the way to the scrapyard by saturday 21/05/05
Engine now sitting on stand awaiting dismantling.
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2005, 11:25:16 AM » |
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23/05/05
Discovered water in drivers side front and rear footwells. Upon buying the car i noticed this, and soaked up the water with a sponge, and dried the rest with a hairdryer! Only a week or so later its filled up with water again! The engine has been started, but not been driven. I guessed at heater matrix. Will take a look at coolant level and other parts, to see what is going on.
Car is also going to be heading north to a bodyshop in Milton Keynes shortly for new sills, arches, lower rear quarters, and a full respray in original Red.
The 24 valve C30SE is still on engine stand, untouched since removal from car. I've got prices from a local company H.T Howards for:
Pressure test
Head skim
Crank regrind
Fully balanced bottom end
Re-hone bores
Re-bore (just incase i find wear upon dismantling)
Block decked
Gas flowed cylinder head
Awaiting parts prices from autovaux and A.A clarkes Vauxhall garage.
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2005, 08:56:30 PM » |
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30/05/05
Stripped the 24v engine down today.
Long process considering i had little categorized bags with labels on LOL
The headgasket had gone big style on pot no. 5, leaving plenty of mayo all over the internals of the engine, there is a slight lip on the bore's, but i'll see what the machine shop have to say. The head is in good nick, no corrosion, doesnt appear to be warped, and looked like it was fueling spot on (apart from on pot 5 which was wet!) Haven't checked big ends and main bearings just yet, as i couldnt remove the viscous fan from the water pump/pulley! another day to attack it with correct tools i think. otherwise i just need to strip the head down, valves out etc and get a bare block. Almost every bolt on this engine so far has been loose, apart from the water/oil pump/stat housing on the front of the block, where ive managed to round off a few 11 mm bolts :| fun fun fun!
Still waiting on rebuild parts prices, will probably just get the engine down the machinists asap though! pics to follow when i can be bothered..
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2005, 10:20:36 PM » |
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No update for a while but things have changed! Have moved the car to my works unit, along with the engine and all the bits and bob's! The spraying is now getting done locally as is the welding. Gives me more of a chance to work on the car myself and get everything sorted a lot easier, the engine i've inspected a bit more, the big ends are worn but only to what is reasonable to 167k on the engine! The bores should be fine with a re-hone. The cylinder head has a crack in the water way, around pot 4/5. This needs cleaning up etc for further inspection. The head will be acid dipped and block stripped down in the near future - now the car is able to be stored off road i can start playing with it properly. Will get pics up of progress in next few days i hope! Expect to see some major progress made now i have all my parts at the workshop |
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2005, 04:25:39 PM » |
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Well, i'd love to report major progress on the car - but unfortunatley i've not had much of a chance to get work done! I've bought a private plate (yes i know its sad!) and fitted it, so F876PCF has now been re-registred as GAZ 2006...
Other than that the car has had very little done to it!
The new plates were made up and fitted, the tow bar was removed, and i've got on with stripping the new engine.
Problems started to occur when i noticed a rather large crack in the water way of the cylinder head. I then removed the camshafts and found a nasty score in one of the bearings (on the cylinder head not the cap) - So this head has been de-moted to porting and polishing practice!
The bottom end has uneven wear on the bores, but very little wear when you think of the 167k it has covered. Generally it is in good condition. I've now tackled removing the visoucs fan and water/oil pump housing. Will remove the pistons and rod's, and finally the crankshaft next week.
Upon inspection i will have to decide whether the bottom end is servicable or not. Either way i need a carlton gsi 24v to break now failing that an engine i can hear running and a few random bits would be fine!!
Will look at fitting the 24v brakes next week, and also getting on with preparing the car for its new sills and arches, buying panels etc.
Will get some pics up when i can get the net connection down at the workshop to work!
Gaz
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2005, 09:30:40 PM » |
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Right, some seriously GAYBAR news....
The C30SE 24v head was already written off to headwork practice.
Then earlier on i decided to have a look at the bottom end of the engine quick.
On closer inspection, there is piston meeting valve damage on one of the pistons, one of the pistons sat a bit too high in its bore, indicating wear on the big end, and where the headgasket went on pot 5 there is damage on the edge of the bore and piston! Plus general heat damage on the bore's. When the big ends were removed it showed a severe amount of wear to the crankshaft itself, but not quite matching the big end shells. Indicating the big ends have been replaced, but the crankshaft has been left alone.
The oil way's on the crankshaft feeding the big ends.. they are deformed (looking at it by a severe lack of lubrication/cooling!) Seriously mullered unfortunatley!
Upon inspection of just one of the main bearings, they are also in the same condition as the big ends, oil ways are damaged in the same way!
Right, time to think about what i want to do with this now!!
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2005, 07:09:50 PM » |
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Having toyed in my mind with tuning the 24v six cylinder engine, and even the 12v six cylinder, i've decided to go ahead with a 24v conversion, but avoid rebuilding the engine, as parts and tuning bits are rather expensive, when i really need the car to be practical to drive daily, and putting daily mileage on a tuned engine is something i'd rather avoid doing.
I'm going to get the welding done to the car asap, along with the 24v front brake conversion!
Next on will be the spraying, i will spray the bumpers, spoiler, mirrors, and other bits and pieces, as the rest of the car is in good condition to be honest!
The car is to be retained as a daily driver, and needs to stay practical. So standard wheels, suspension, etc will remain.
I will aim to make this car top notch condition wise. Just getting a few priorities right here..
Will hopefully have pics up tomorrow!
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2005, 06:42:34 PM » |
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #11 on: July 21, 2005, 09:07:13 AM » |
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Very slow progress with this car lately! too busy working on other peoples... Although me and Ian managed to find the time to buy yet ANOTHER ex police white L reg senator 24v... Identical to the one i broke previously... only this time the engine runs nicely!!! £100.. bargain! Here's a pic of the engine that will make its way into my carlton gsi..  I'm also welding new sills and arches (both sides) onto the car in the near future.. so once that is done i'm ready to shove the C30SE engine into my car (or the other way around!) I'm planning on lowering the car on springs and shocks approx 30-40mm 24v alloy wheels are on the list also (the early type, same style as my current 12v wheels), aswell as fitting the 24v front brakes. Will have more updates soon as the car comes together. Gaz |
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2005, 06:34:47 AM » |
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23/07/05
Went down the yard to have a butchers at the white 24v auto gsi i bought to break for my car.
I was sold the car as a headgasket blown non runner, but didnt try turning it over when i bought it, just had it towed back!
But i thought its gotta be worth a go trying to start it. It turned over, very freely for ages, 1 and a half to 2 minutes, but it kept sounding like it wanted to fire!
It coughed once, tried again, it started! but died quickly, next turn of the key, and this engine which had not even been started for over a month, burst into life, and idled like it had been a daily runner immediatley! had the engine running for a long time too checking it over, no signs of a BHG, and the 65k old engine (brand new from vauxhall in 97!) sounds sweet as a nut! Hmmm, which engine do i put in my car now! Senator 24v or carlton 24v!
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #13 on: July 25, 2005, 06:39:01 AM » |
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Week beginning 25/07/05 Early hours of monday morning.. Gaz thinks... hmmmm how about we remove that senator engine? Sod it why not!!!         Stage 1.. 3/4 complete... remove all parts from senator and scrap car... Stage 2... strip white carlton gsi of, well, pretty much everything and fit...   (by the way, yes it is being towed by a 1.7td astra!!! LOL) 65,000 miles engine - brand new from vauxhall in '97.. air conditioning, LSD, Manual gearbox to 65k engine, rear bumper, exhaust, fuel lines, complete front and rear suspension/subframe + brakes, 24v wheels, rear spoiler, senator door handles, clifford cat 1 alarm, alpine cd changer, new fuel tank + full tank of fuel with it..etc etc... to my red gsi! Should be done by wednesday... i hope  |
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« Last Edit: July 25, 2005, 06:46:27 AM by Sir_sideways »
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2PAC
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« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2005, 09:24:36 AM » |
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 Whats that thing hanging offa the two pipes toward the front of the engine?  ? |
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colonelk
Skiddy skidz FTW
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« Reply #15 on: July 25, 2005, 06:46:02 PM » |
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Im gonna guess at Oil Cooler
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Zee goggles, zhey do nothing!
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2PAC
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« Reply #16 on: July 25, 2005, 08:50:13 PM » |
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Yep I fink ya rite.....
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #17 on: July 25, 2005, 09:42:08 PM » |
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Yeah that is the oil cooler alright, bloody pain in the arse to get out with rusty bolts....
Basically the H plate GSI 24v auto....
The passenger side sill has been constructed very badly from scratch with sheet metal, the usual carlton rust spots are very bad.. and it needs a respray plus all that welding... Mainly it is a great source of parts for my car.. it has a starchip ECU, decat pipe, all the suspension (possibly uprated), diff, etc have been reconned recently, and best of all there was a brand new engine from vauxhall 65k ago, and it is MINT!!! Along with it came a clifford cat 1 alarm and 10 disc alpine cd changer.. Mainly though.. i have my red carlton gsi which is a great base shell, with new sills and arches ready to weld in.. the red gsi i have has the potential to be something special (for me) so i'm going ahead with it... plus, i cant justify 2 of exactly the same car really now can i? especially 3 litres... at just 19 yrs old....
Gaz
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colonelk
Skiddy skidz FTW
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« Reply #18 on: July 25, 2005, 09:57:58 PM » |
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because it was naughty and must be punished! |
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Zee goggles, zhey do nothing!
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #19 on: July 27, 2005, 07:56:04 AM » |
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Stage 2 - Remove White carlton's engine... What a bloody nightmare!!!! All the crap for the autobox and aircon get in the way bigstyle!! - Aswell as whoever fitted this engine decided to use zipties in the worst possible places, and do up all the jubilee clips and bolts in general soo that they cant be removed while the engine is in the car!!! How gay!!!! - Engine is pretty much ready to drag out of there now apart from getting the autobox disconnected etc and then i should be finally making progress!!! Some random pics below    |
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« Last Edit: July 27, 2005, 07:59:53 AM by Sir_sideways »
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2005, 06:32:32 AM » |
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Oooh eagerness thats what i like to see! lol Unfortunatley i had my 'other job' to do which is fri-sat-sun 8am till 8pm so doing much over the weekend was unlikely in the first place  LOL Am working again this morning but will have my red carlton with the front end stripped down in the workshop today, if we make good progress then the engine shall be out aswell today! I'm also eyeing up a black facelift gsi interior... which im hopefully going to get hold of and put in my car for when the dash etc is refitted! The white gsi is still a donor for parts and will remain sitting in the field until my car is finished!! I hope to have the engine in and running this week, and the rear suspension swapped over if possible too! Will take more pics as ever to bore everyone with! Watch this space |
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #21 on: August 03, 2005, 09:09:11 AM » |
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Hmmm......
Well.....
Its wednesday and i still haven't got anything done, haven't even seen the car since last week been so busy! oh well... maybe i might get something done today... maybe?
Gaz
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ian
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« Reply #22 on: August 03, 2005, 04:11:45 PM » |
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50p says he hasnt
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #23 on: August 03, 2005, 04:23:55 PM » |
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Shall paypal £0.50 to you tonight ian...  |
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Sir_sideways
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« Reply #24 on: August 08, 2005, 05:11:38 AM » |
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LOL, well nothing has changed, had a seriously busy week just go by, and now this week is damn busy too! I promised myself i'd finish it by 12th august my birthday... but alas... it's looking unlikely, am making an early start today and hopefully attempt to get my engine out soon!
I'm ready to go, just our workshop is full of cavalier at the moment which means i cant get mine down there!
Gaz
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