Time to find my spanners (and some motivation)

[Steve]

Well, had a mad moment tonight and spent a few quid for the Vectra repairs:

Gates genuine cambelt kit with new tensioners (not trusting a GM belt again, my Astra has a Gates kit and the belt which caused all the trouble on the Vectra was a GM one which was supposed to be within the service interval)

New GM water pump

Set of new NGK BKR6EIX-11 plugs (these make the LET and XEV run smoother with the larger gap)

Just need a gasket set and a head off a scrapper to get the job underway (and head bolt set, and probably new exhaust studs . . .)

Tomorrow I start re-organising the garage and putting up shelves to clear a bit more workspace so I can get on with the job (need to try and find my cam locking tools too, and the torx bits I bought . . . and the torque wrench I haven't seen since I did Brians CV joint . . and the garage kettle)

Got a set of 16" alloys off ebay for £40, so the Vectra is gonna get winterised too

[Deeky]

Well, had a mad moment tonight and spent a few quid for the Vectra repairs:

Gates genuine cambelt kit with new tensioners (not trusting a GM belt again, my Astra has a Gates kit and the belt which caused all the trouble on the Vectra was a GM one which was supposed to be within the service interval)

New GM water pump

Set of new NGK BKR6EIX-11 plugs (these make the LET and XEV run smoother with the larger gap)

Just need a gasket set and a head off a scrapper to get the job underway (and head bolt set, and probably new exhaust studs . . .)

Tomorrow I start re-organising the garage and putting up shelves to clear a bit more workspace so I can get on with the job (need to try and find my cam locking tools too, and the torx bits I bought . . . and the torque wrench I haven't seen since I did Brians CV joint . . and the garage kettle)

Got a set of 16" alloys off ebay for £40, so the Vectra is gonna get winterised too

tidy work place is a happy workplace mate! looks like youl be busy have fun lol

[Steve]

I'm looking forward to it, not done any major engine work since the Astra rebuild and the Veccy is new territory. Just weighing up whether it will be a quick rebuild, or end up with the head on the bench getting port matched and polished like my Novas did

[sean_dhc1]

Join the dark side again & just throw a Zlet in it, you know you want to lol

[Scott]

get your priorities right....get a heater!! Cold weather is here now, thats the van going in the garage at night. What wheels did you get?

[Steve]

Join the dark side again & just throw a Zlet in it, you know you want to lol

One LET is enough, the roads around here are at best potholed stretches of **** and even on low boost the Astra is spinning up when you breath on the go pedal, so some progressive NA power is the order of the day

Wait till it snows in The Port and take the Astra out for a run, that'll give you a good balance of accelerating and cornering like a Milk Float, but stopping like a deer on a frozen lake

[Steve]

get your priorities right....get a heater!! Cold weather is here now, thats the van going in the garage at night. What wheels did you get?

1800w oil filled rad already installed, with timer, from last winter. Takes the chill off the garage OK, but this year it will be a lot warmer

Once the Veccy is out the door and back on the road, I'm carpetting the garage Got the carpet from the living room in my old house (100% wool fully Scotchgarded) ready to cut and fit

Gonna enjoy the winter living in the garage

[Scott]

1800w??? **** me, I need nearly 100kw!!

[Steve]

1800w??? **** me, I need nearly 100kw!!

Scott, I have a GARAGE

You have a SMALL INDUSTRIAL WORKSHOP

Please tell me you're not using 100KW of electrical heating up on the hill? Buy a diesel set genny, it will work out cheaper

[sean_dhc1]

Scotts garage was aquired from the RAF as its an ex Hanger

[Steve]

Scotts garage was aquired from the RAF as its an ex Hanger

I think the US had a hand, it's officially classified as AREA 52. Old Vauxhalls go in there, and then they are using some sort of deeply classified technology to reverse time and the old cars come out looking like new

[Scott]

Hell no, the leccy meter would be spinning faster that Seans turbo!

I need 100kw (or 96ish) for the volume of the shed......but no way would it be getting fully heated. The cunning master plan is to lay some underfloor heating to the rear so that I can partition off the back and have heated work/spray booth. Will get this done when I put the ground source heating pump in.



Eventually!

In the meantime, a diesel or propane space heater is the answer!

[Deeky]

Scott, I have a GARAGE

You have a SMALL INDUSTRIAL WORKSHOP

Please tell me you're not using 100KW of electrical heating up on the hill? Buy a diesel set genny, it will work out cheaper

pmsl thats so true that thing is perfect no excuse scott!

[Steve]

Well, the sun came out for the day, so I got stuck on the Veccy and pulled the head off (snigger snigger).

Any joking around soon stopped when the valves were inspected, all I can say is Lynn don't do things by half when she breaks her motors

6 bent exhaust valves and 2 bent inlet valves

I cleaned up the piston faces to check them and aside from a little witness mark on three pistons, they're a good un, so it will be getting rebuilt. Looking at the pistons in there, they've got measurements etched on the pistons' faces, which you don't usually see on factory parts. It looks like the engine must have had a rebuild during it's life with the Old Bill, hence why it is so solid for a 100K miler. Bores are nice and smooth, no steps at the top either.

Last thing, I found the cause of the belt failure before service interval One of the cambelt rollers had seized, it freed up again when I eased it around with a water pump pliers, but it must have dragged on the belt and cooked it, hence all the rubber inside the cambelt cover. Now I need to buy a new head cover, cambelt cover (the old one was cracked so I removed it with a bit of BFI today) and fancy a new torque mount too, as the old one is as slack as Katie Price's knicker elastic and won't have much life left it in.

[opel_bitch]

Lynn don't do things by half when she breaks her motors

We know how to do a "proper job"
ANDDDDDD gave you summat to do on a braw sunny day