So here we go,

 

For the first time ever I now own 2 cars, The daily driver which is my little Suzuki Ignis Sport and my new toy which I picked up yesterday.

 

This is I am hoping going to be a long-term project/build, Usual Bonelorry style and although I will be keeping it clean there will be more emphasis on performance with this one. It is going to be a no compromise toy!

 

So what have I bought?

 

My list of possible second cars was very short to be fair, As some of you know I have a bit of a Saab addiction but have already owned probably 2 of the best 9-3 Coupes in the UK. I always liked the idea of buying a 9-3 Coupe Aero or Viggen, Doing a forged engine build, stripping it out and having some weekend fun but having viewed and test driven a few modified examples earlier this year prior to buying the Golf I walked away as both examples where not as described and to be fair the chassis on the 9-3 is a big let down and if a second car was going to be purchased with some fun in mind I needed a car that handled something like to begin with.

 

I have always liked the idea of having a bit of a sleeper, A quick hot hatch with an engine transplant and enough power to put a grin on your face! It had to be affordable, something achievable and a project that I could put some quality parts on and hopefully have something I will actually want to keep at the end of it all!

 

So I decided to buy a MK4 Vauxhall Astra GSI Turbo........Awaits the laughter.

 

Yes I did I actually bought it yesterday, Always liked the look of them and after much discussion with a friend about the idea it was one of the cars that ticked all the right boxes and will make a great donor car.

 

As usual I had a few wanted adverts up on the owners networks and was offered a few cars, Most looked battered but this one was the best one I could get my hands on at current. It has been enthusiast owned for the last 8 years, The amount of receipts it has is scary and its all been done at the main dealers. To be fair once detailed it will make a nice base car and after all I did not buy it with the intention of showing it anyway. It is a toy!

 

So this is the start of the project, The car in its current spec of the car is as follows...

 

Car details:

 

2003 Vauxhall Astra GSI Turbo

Manual Gearbox

82K miles

Arden Blue

FSH, Loads and loads of reciepts all MOT certs etc

HPI Clear

Top spec model with Factory Zenons with headlight washers, Climate control, Cruise control and built in Sat Nav

 

Engine Spec:

 

Z20LET 2.0 16V Turbo

EDS Phase 3 Software 270BHP/300LB/FT of Torque

Astra VXR Turbo

Astra VXR 80mm Air Flow Meter

Astra VXR Injectors

EDS Sidemount Intercooler

Crossover delete with 1.9 CDTI Airbox conversion

Full turbo back Milltek Non-Res exhaust with Pre-cat and De-cat, 3.5" Outward rolled lip tailpipe (Sounds mental)

Forge Recirc

CourtenaySport turbo hoses, Various other Silicone hoses

Uprated 255 Fuel pump

 

Chassis upgrades:

 

Eibach Springs

Poly Engine Stabiliser

Poly Exhaust hangers

Whiteline adjustable Rear Anti Roll Bar

 

Brake upgrades:

 

Astra VXR Front brake conversion, 321MM Front discs

Braided hoses all round

 

Wheels, Tyres:

 

17" Speedline Turini's in Anthracite

215/40R17 Uniroyal Rainsport 3's all round

 

Exterior:

 

Arden blue, Factory GSI bodykit

Irmscher Front Grill

Irmscher Mirrors

Irmscher rear lights

Smoked wing repeaters

 

Interior:

 

Factory GSI Half Leather Recaros

Stack Boost gauge

Scan Gauge

 

Future plans:

 

Many many plans for the car....

 

The main one is going to be an engine swap. I am going to do a Saab engine 2.3 Conversion possibly with a Garret turbo and supporting upgrades. 350-400bhp is the end goal with lots of torque from the 2.3 and a nice light shell it should make for a good fast road car.

 

Bilstein B8's to go with the Eibach Pro springs already fitted or possibly Bilstein B14 Coilover's, Polybushed front wishbones and some uprated engine/gearbox mounts. A Quiafe LSD, Billet Flywheel and uprated clutch will also be on the cards.

 

Wheels will possibly stay but I do like Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's, The Uniroyals will go when worn out for something a bit stickier.

 

Interior wise......I have been busy to day. All that remains is the 2 front seats, Front door cards and Dashboard. I have pretty much stripped the interior. I am planning on some lightweight buckets with harnesses and subframes.

 

The list goes on, Probably missed lots of the to-dos but I will be keeping you all informed!

 

For now:

 

In the meantime I am going to give the current engine a full service using genuine parts, The rocker cover gasket has a slight leak so I will replace that also. I need to rely on this engine for the next 3-6 months while the Saab engine is being built and other parts are being collected so want to make sure I have gone through everything and I am happy with it.

 

Just a few pictures for now of the car which the seller sent me, I will post some proper pictures one I have detailed the exterior of the car...

 

 

 

Today the car went on a bit of a diet, Probably removed circa 100KG of trim, Carpet, Rear seats etc

 

Edited 22 October, 201510 yr by bonelorry

Blimey!... You don't mess around Simon!

 

Looking forward to seeing how this project develops.

 

Hope your well

 

Damo

Blimey!... You don't mess around Simon!

 

Looking forward to seeing how this project develops.

 

Hope your well

 

Damo

 

Cheers Damo, likewise hope you and family are all good too!

 

Well when I bought the Suzuki a few weeks ago I set up a separate insurance policy and kept the Golf policy going, Luckily the Suzuki runs until October 2016 and the other until Feb 2016. As they are staggered it made the decision to have 2 cars easier.

 

The Combined purchase cost of both cars is half what I paid for the Golf, I know I will easily spend a few £1000 on the Astra but it will be invested over time and I will get enjoyment out of doing it all. The Suzuki will get me to work and back and is enough fun for a daily, If I want to go a bit daft I will get the Astra out

 

Looking forward to it all.

 

Cheers Simon

I have a friend with an arden blue Astra GSi, there actually not a bad place to be,

 

He liked it that much that he sold it and bought the same car back 2 years later after regretting selling it,

 

His now has a forged engine with a VXR turbo,

 

It spends more time sat in garage under cover than on road now,

Nice - I like that shape Astra - and the blue is a lovely colour.

I have a friend with an arden blue Astra GSi, there actually not a bad place to be,

 

He liked it that much that he sold it and bought the same car back 2 years later after regretting selling it,

 

His now has a forged engine with a VXR turbo,

 

It spends more time sat in garage under cover than on road now,

 

I started out with a string of Vauxhalls when I started driving although I am not a massive Vauxhall fan and certainly do not like any of their modern stuff and prefer. I think the MK4 Astra GSI is one of the last good looking cars they have built.

 

The Z20LET engines are garbage though IMO as are the standard turbochargers fitted, The VXR item is considered to be stronger and quicker spooling.

 

The chap I bought it off has already told me he regrets selling it, He was driving his other halfs Astra VXR and says its nowhere near as fun to drive as the Mk4 GSI.

23/10/15...

 

Nice early start this morning, Very busy but productive day today, Made some real progress and have done the following...

 

Firstly as mentioned I was going to replace the Rocker cover gasket but upon a proper inspection the gasket was in fact OK, It was a failed/Overtightened Jubilee clip on the rocker cover breather hose that was allowing oil to pass and covering the corner of the rocker cover. This is the area where the gasket usually fails so I amateurishly presumed it needed doing. Oh well saved me a job! So I cracked on with other jobs.

 

Jacked the car up, Put it on 4 axle stands and all wheels off then onto the full service...

 

Genuine GM 5W30 Dexos 2 Fully Synthetic Oil

Genuine Oil Filter

Genuine Fuel Filter

Genuine Cabin Filter

Genuine/NGK Astra VXR Plugs, These are a grade colder than the standard Z20LET OE Plugs and more suited to tuned cars.

Genuine Astra H/MK5 1.9 CDTI Air Filter (I removed the K&N panel filter as I am not a fan of Oil Fed filters on cars which run Air Flow Meters)

New Oil Filler Cap

Cleaned the Air Flow Meter using some CRC Air Sensor Cleaner

Replaced a few jubilee clips in the engine bay

 

Since the car was on axle stands and all the wheels where off...

 

Deep cleaned the wheel arches, APC to high concentrate, Left to dwell then scrubbed and rinsed thoroughly 

Deep cleaned the Alloys using Bilberry

Dressed all the plastic wheel arch liners

Degreased the calipers and brake disc bells

Painted the brake calipers with Arden Blue Caliper Paint

Painted the brake disc bells Hammerite Smooth Black

 

A few mobile phone snaps from todays efforts, Hoping to give the exterior a bit of a detail tomorrow so will hopefully get some proper pics of the car then...

 

Service Kit...

 

 

Old Plugs which where infact already Astra VXR/NGK Items, Cabin filter and K&N panel filter...

 

 

Ready for the wheel arches cleaning...

 

 

Before OSF Wheel arch...

 

 

After, Wheel arch fully deep cleaned, Brake caliper painted, Brake Disc Bell painted...

 

 

Before NSR Wheel arch, Not the best picture but you get the idea...

 

 

After, Wheel arch fully deep cleaned, Brake caliper paint, Brake Disc Bell painted, Rear Exhaust silencer cleaned...

 

 

OSR finished...

 

 

Speedline Turini getting the Billberry treatment...

 

 

All 4 wheels cleaned, All centre caps lined up with the valves, Also touched up some of the kerb marks on the wheels. Not perfect but they look much better...

 

Big fan of your golf thread and this seems just as good so far! Love seeing cars maintained and well looked after with decent photos to match Reminds me that I need to update my thread haha

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

24/10/15

 

Another early start today, For the 3rd day in a row now LOL!

 

Very happy with the progress I have made on this one, Since buying the car on Wednesday it is now at a totally different level condition wise and I still have some way to go yet! I sent some pictures to the previous owner who actually wanted to buy it back.

 

Even though this car was one of the better examples I was offered by far it was evident even when I viewed the car that it was in need of a good detail and since driving it back on Wednesday it has been annoying me while I have been doing other jobs on the car and kept looking at it getting dirtier sat on the drive LOL. My OCD coming out there.

 

So onto today's efforts, I wanted to give the car a bit of a detail but knew that the Weather, Time and in fact Daylight where against me. Today was all about getting the car prepared and ready for the machine polishing stage. I did however focus on some light scratch removal on the corner of the front bumper with success!

 

Usual Bonelorry style cleaning wise, I left out the wheel arches and wheels as they where fully detailed yesterday which gave me more time to focus on preparing the paint today. I will at some point soon probably give the car a Single stage machine polish using a White Hex pad or possibly an Orange Hex pad and Megs 205 finishing compound, This will hopefully give a reasonable level of correction without spending too much time on the polishing stage, As with the Golf I will mask off a test area on the car and experiment with different combos and see which one will give the best level of correction in the quickest time. Should get a layer of wax on the car then also.

 

: Rinsed the car

: Cleaned the fuel filler flap. All door, Bonnet and boot-lid shuts, Front Scuttle and Rubber door drains using detailing brush and APC to high concentrate.

: Rinsed car again.

: Washed the car using 2 bucket method one panel at a time with a Lambswool mitt and Meguires ultimate shampoo.

: Rinsed the car again.

: Clayed the whole car using Megs mild clay and Megs Detailer spray as lubricant. (Never seen so many contaminants come off one of my cars before, Desperately needed doing)  

: Rinsed the car again.

: Dried the whole car with Elite XL drying towel, Dried the wheels, Door shuts and engine bay with Microfibre towel.

: Cleaned the glass inside and out using Autoglym Fast Glass.

: Tar removal using Autoglym Intensive Tar remover.

: Touched up some of the stone chips, Mainly on the lower front splitter and leading edge of the bonnet.

: Dressed any plastic trim, Honeycomb grilles, Front scuttle and Wiper arms with Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber car buffing of any excess with a Microfibre cloth.

: Dressed the tyres using Megs endurance tyre gel.

: Polished the tailpipe's with Autosol.

: Finished the car off with a spritz of Sonax Turbi Quick detailer spray and a Chemical boys ultra plush finishing/buffing towel.

 

A few snaps of the finished article so far, I think it looked pretty awesome myself. For a weekend toy it scrubs up well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cracking cars these, mate had a silver one with a similar spec and it didn't mess about.

Edited 25 October, 201510 yr by SNH

Want to buy my Fabia make it as clean as all your cars then il buy it back ? You always seem to make the car better than showroom condition fair play.

Love the noise of these Astras always can tell when there's a Vauxhall turbo booting it near by.

Want to buy my Fabia make it as clean as all your cars then il buy it back ? You always seem to make the car better than showroom condition fair play.

Love the noise of these Astras always can tell when there's a Vauxhall turbo booting it near by.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

 

My other half often tells me to set up a Detailing business but I just do it as a hobby and reckon I would loose the enjoyment I get doing it if I was doing it day in day out and for a living. Problem is with me I am never truly happy with my own work and sometimes struggle to see the improvements I make on a car, Might sound a bit daft.

 

I detailed a friends car last year and he was over the moon with it, He has asked me to do his latest car too.

 

Yes these do have quite a distinctive exhaust note! I will probably loose that though when the engine is replaced for a Saab unit.

 

Cheers

A really good result from your detailing session, It has come up really well, and nice photos as well, they really show the car to look good. 

 

Thanks for putting the process up for how you cleaned the car I think I am going to treat myself to some detailing stuff and give it a go on my car, see what the result comes out like. 

you have proved a Vauxhall can look good. 

Sorry guys, Looks like for some reason the Bandwidth limit has been exceeded and will be reset mid November and the images will re-appear then.

 

Never had this problem before with Photobucket and have uploaded and linked a similar amount if not more pictures over a short space of time to Photobucket in the past so why now I am having a problem? Who knows?

 

I am not paying the fee for additional Bandwidth so might look into setting up an account with FlickR.

So it turns out I already had a flickr account so the show can go on with the pictures LOL, The Photobucket images earlier in the thread will re-appear soon but for now I will use my flickr account to upload any pictures.

 

Well as I mentioned a few posts ago I intended to give the car a Single Stage machine polish to get rid of some of the swirls and lighter marks on the paintwork, Last weekend the car was detailed but basically to the point where it was ready for the paint correction. I.E It was washed, Clayed and Tar removed etc.

 

Well to cut a long story short I ended up doing a Two Stage machine polish, A few very small areas on the car where a little more severe than what I first thought and the lightest Polish/Pad combo just didn't touch it so I opted to do the whole car with the Megs 105 compound & Orange Hex Pad combo first and then moved onto the Megs 205 refining polishing and White Hex pad combo which is the same as what I did on the Golf Edition 30.

 

The Two Stage was the best option in the end and worked well on the Vauxhall paint, I saw good levels of correction using the Megs105/Orange pad combo very quickly so managed to get the whole car done today and finished just before the sun went down.

 

Big improvement on the cars overall appearance, Still a few areas I am not happy with. Mainly the front bumper which has been painted and the finish and match is not up to my standards, I do have to remind myself that the car is 12 years old and is a stripped out weekend toy but even so my OCD kicks in and it annoys me. Its not major but I feel it is the area that lets the car down the most, It is still in very very good condition for its age and since I bought it a few weeks ago is a totally different level condition wise.

 

Process used for anyone interested, Apologies as it is a long one...

 

: Rinsed the car, Wheel arches and Wheels thoroughly.

: Cleaned the fuel filler flap. All door, Bonnet and boot-lid shuts, Front Scuttle and Rubber door window seals using Valetpro detailing brush and APC to high concentrate.

: Rinsed car again.

: Washed the car using 2 bucket method one panel at a time with a Eurow Lambswool mitt and Meguires ultimate shampoo.

: Rinsed car again.

: Wheels where removed last week and deep cleaned using Billberry and as the car has not been used much where still spotless so today they where given a quick wash only.

: Wheel arches where deep cleaned last week while the wheels where removed so where just rinsed today.

: Car was Clayed and De-tarred last week.

: Dried the whole car with Elite XL drying towel, Dried the wheels, Door shuts and engine bay with Microfibre towel.

 

Then onto the polishing, I used a DAS-6 Pro Dual Action machine polisher with Orange & White Hex-Logic 5.5" Pads for 95% of the car and for the smaller areas smaller 4" Hex pads for spotting. Usual polish combo the 2 stage Meguiars 105 Ultra cut compound & 205 finishing polish combo.

 

: Masked off all black bits, Rubber seals, Roof aerial and boot badges with 3M Blue masking tape. Also masked any overlapping panels or edges. 

: I also masked off a test area on the rear 3 quarter and started with the lightest pad and lightest polish/compound to assess the correction and worked my way up through the combinations. As mentioned earlier in the post there where a few small areas on the car which required a more aggressive polish/pad combo so I just went for the 205/Orange pad first. 

: Starting with the roof and working my way down, One panel at a time with the D/A. Firstly using the 5.5" Orange Hex pad and Megs 105 to remove the worst swirls/defects. Started with a low speed to spread the polish and reduce splatter, Once spread increased speed to number 5 on the D/A and made 4-5 passes on the first 1st hit and wiped off, I was happy with the correction at this stage so moved onto the next panel.

: Again following the same process as above but onto the refining stage, This was done using the Megs 205 and 5.5" White Hex pad.

: I then fitted the smaller spotting pad and with the Megs 105 and 4" Orange Hex pad made a few passes over the headlights, The NSF headlight lens had some UV damage to and had gone a little cloudy. After a few passes on a medium speed 95% of it was removed. Look much better!

 

Once happy with everything and the finish, All the masking tape was removed, The car was then rinsed, Re-Washed, Dried and ready for waxing.

 

: Waxed the car using Collinites No:845 liquid insulator wax, The bottle was placed in warm water to help separate the wax and turn it into liquid, Then given a good shake before application. Using a soft applicator to apply, Left 30 mins to cure and Elite buffing towel to remove.

: Dressed any plastic trim, Honeycomb grilles, Front scuttle and Wiper arms with Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber car buffing of any excess with a Microfibre cloth.

: Dressed the tyres using Megs endurance tyre gel.

: Dressed the wheel arch liners with Autoglym Vinyl and rubber care

: Polished the tailpipe's with Autosol.

: Finished the car off with a spritz of Sonax Turbo detailer spray and a Chemical boys ultra plush finishing/buffing towel.

 

A few mobile phone snaps from today...

 

105 & 205 Combo, DAS-6 Pro...

 

 

Polishing stage, 105 with Orange Hex pad...

 

 

One of the areas I was not happy with, NSR bumper corner. Tried the lightest Polish/pad combo and this was the best result...

 

 

This was when I decided to do a 2 stage correction on the whole car, Tried again with the 105 & Orange pad combo, Marks virtually removed...

 

 

The second worst area again on the rear bumper was some etching light scratches is the paint, Needed some attention...

 

 

Starting to really enjoy and see the benefits of using a D/A now, Virtually fully corrected...

 

 

Quick reflection shot after the refining stage...

 

 

All waxed up and ready for Winter using my old favourite, New number plates too as the private plate has gone back to the previous owner...

 

Edited 1 November, 201510 yr by bonelorry

Small update...

 

Had a bit of a discussion regarding the build with my best mate who is going to be involved with all aspects off the build and who's Saab knowledge is second too none and exchanged a few ideas, It was decided that the best option to go for engine wise would be the Saab 2.3 B234 which is found in the Saab 9000 Turbo and 9000 Aero models and uses Trionic 5 Management. This shorter block variant of engine which was used between 1994 and 1997 is very strong internally and is easily capable of 500bhp on standard internals.

 

Its smaller brother the B204 which is the 2.0 which is equally as strong and more commonly available as it was fitted to the Saab 9000's, GM Saab 900 & Saab 9-3 up to 1999. This is the engine many people are fitting into Vauxhall MK3 Astras & Cavaliers as all the Saab B204 engines that where fitted in the 900 and 9-3 will bolt straight into these Vauxhall's with no problems...Mainly due to the fact they share the same/similar chassis and engine mounts are in the same place etc.

 

I want to go for a 2.3 B234 as it is a better fast road engine IMO, I have previously owned a Saab 9-3 Aero which originally had the 2.0 engine fitted and was circa Stage 3 which is 270bhp/370NM. We carried out a 2.3 conversion and during the running in period ran a Stage 1 file which was 270bhp/400NM, Even though peak power was the same, The 2.3 made it at around 5200rpm with the standard 15T turbo opposed to 6000rpm with the 2.0 and again not only did the 2.3 make a little more torque but it made it much lower down the rev range and was 400NM from 2000rpm to 4500rpm. It was much quicker on the road with the 2.3 even at Stage 1 and more importantly it did it with ease, 4th gear was a usable from 30mph-125mph.

 

Eventually we went to Stage 3+ and maxed out the stock turbo, 300bhp/450NM was the end result and after about 6 hours on and off of live road mapping I had one of the quickest Saab 9-3's in the UK that still retained its stock turbo. 5.7 Seconds 60-100mph was timed in 4th gear.

 

So going to a 2.3 on the Astra was always my number one choice. I prefer the Torque of the 2.3 and the fact you don't have to rev it to make progress but finding a B234 2.3 engine these days is becoming very hard indeed and for the engine to fit my Astra which is a MK4 I will need both a B234 for the Bottom end and the B204 for parts such as timing covers, Sump, Inlet and exhaust manifolds etc.

 

Luckily my friend knows a good Saab breakers in Sheffield and has done many favours for him over the years so we have managed to source a complete 2.0 B204 engine and a set of 2.3 Pistons & Conrods and a 2.3 Crankshaft which as the 2.0 & 2.3 shares the same Cylinder block, Bore size, Cylinder head and Camshafts I can build my own 2.3 out of the pair.

 

Planned Basic Engine spec will be as follows...

 

: B234 Saab 2.3 16V turbo engine

: Standard B204/B234 cylinder head with T5 Camshafts, Will be more than adequate enough for the power I will be requiring

: Block will be Re-honed

: Crankshaft has been inspected as is fine but will be treated to New Genuine Main bearing Shells & New Genuine Con-rod Shells

: New Piston rings

: New timing chain kit, Will be having Balancer shaft delete

: New Oil pump, Water pump

: New Head gasket and head bolts

: Any other parts/gasket which need replacing along the way will be replaced

 

End power target/goal...

 

I am wanting circa 350-370bhp with similar Torque in LB/FT.

 

This will be easily achievable as I know of a few 450-500bhp Saabs in the community one of which my friend looks after and it is daily driven!

 

My idea is that it will hopefully a bombproof engine that is circa Stage 5/5+ tuned in a lightweight 1100KG car such as my Astra, It will make for a very capable fast road car and most of all it will very drivable. Turbo wise possibly a T25 flange Garrett GT28RS with the smaller 0.63 housing which is good for 350bhp on the 2.3 but offers very good bottom end response also OR something a bit different which is a Mitsubishi Evo TD05 turbo.

 

We shall see on the Turbo choice as there are a few options that will achieve the level of power I am looking for but have pro's and con's with regard to how responsive they are and how well they work on a 2.3 engine.

 

My friend who is overseeing the build has a 370bhp/510NM MK3 Cavalier SRI hatchback which he built back in 2008, Well before many people got on the bandwagon doing Saab conversions on Vauxhall's. His is a little bit unique in the fact his uses the later and far more advanced Trionic 7 management which is fly-by-wire and required the whole car to be rewired including the pedal box changed for a Saab 9-3 item. His used a Hybrid engine that uses a B234 bottom end with the later B235 top end and a twin-scroll TD05HR-16G6-9.0T turbo from Mitsubishi Evo 4. All aspects of the build including the wiring, fabrication and mapping all done by himself and to my knowledge his is the only Trionic 7 powered and TD05 powered Cavalier in the UK. Of-course it has many chassis upgrades also and addition bracing as-well as major strengthening in the bulkhead area which is a weakness on those chassis.

 

So thats where I am at currently with the engine.

 

Oh also replaced the roof aerial too LOL....

 

Old one the gasket was split...

 

 

New gasket, New Aerial base and new Whip/Bee sting antenna...

 

 

 

 

 

Small update...

 

Popped down to my friends workshop yesterday for the afternoon and got the Saab B204 engine and head fully stripped down, The actual donor engine was originally fitted to a Saab 9000 Turbo Automatic which had covered just 80000 miles when it was removed from the car.

 

Happily I can report that everything looked spot on internally. All the main bearings and looked fine with no wear, Again this was the same with the Conrod bearings. Even the Cylinder bores still had the factory honing marks! The head, Cams and hydraulic tappets all looked fine. I am however only going to be using the Block and complete head from this engine as I have a 2.3 Crank, Rods and Pistons to go in.

 

The Block and head will be getting collected by Sheffield Engine Services in a few days and will be getting the following...

 

Block and Cylinder Head will be Chemically cleaned

Block with timing covers will be getting a very light skim to ensure they are perfectly flat

Cylinder Head will also get a very light skim

Cylinder bores will be Re-Honed

 

And once returned I can begin rebuilding the engine.

 

A few snaps from yesterday.

 

And so it begins, The donor Saab B204 engine...

 

 

Head off, Crank and pistons removed...

 

 

Bare Block...

 

 

Factory honing marks...

 

 

Head fully stripped, Cams removed, Valves removed, Hydraulic lifters removed. Also drilled out 5 x Broken manifold studs and cleaned all the threads up which should make things a bit easier come rebuild time. Will be fitting all new Exhaust manifold studs anyway...

 

 

Everything removed from the Cylinder head and placed in order ready for rebuilding...

 

 

 

 

19/11/15...

 

Did another little job on the car this morning, One of the previous owners had carried out a MK5 Astra Wiper Arm conversion on the car which allows fitment of the MK5 style Flat/Aero wiper blades.

 

It is however not a straight forward swap as the MK4 wiper linkage has M8 threads whereas the MK5 wiper linkage has M10, So some small shims are inserted to space out the splined section which then allows the MK5 arms to fit....In a fashion.

 

Also as the MK5 wipers are a specific fitment and in 22" & 18" sizes you have to modify "TRIM" the passenger side blade by an Inch on one side to clear the smaller windscreen on the MK4 LOL.

 

Anyway on my way back from the NEC Classic Car Show on Saturday in the heavy rain and the drivers side worked loose, Luckily I was only a few miles away and managed to get home. It turned out the retaining nut was securing the arm OK but the modified shim inside had worn away around the splined section on the linkage so the motor was turning but the wiper arm was not.

 

I couldn't be bothered to try and make them fit as I thought it was a daft idea in the first place and I do not like the Flat style wipers anyway, Given a choice I would always choose the conventional style wipers.

 

I managed to source a pair of MK4 arms complete from a breakers on Monday for just £5 to put me on but I never even bothered fitting them onto the car in the end as they where pretty battered and hardly had any paint left on them but they did come in handy for the part numbers!

 

So I popped down to Pentagon and ordered a brand new pair, Got 20% off with my trade so although they were a bit more expensive than a used set they look spot on.

 

Picked them up yesterday and stuck them on the morning....

 

: New Genuine pair of MK4 Astra Wiper Arms

: New Genuine pair of retaining nut covers for the arms

: New correct fitment Bosch 20" & 19" wiper blades with spoilers

Could you not have brought a shorter wiper?

Sent from my Galaxy S5

Could you not have brought a shorter wiper?

Sent from my Galaxy S5

 

The thought did cross my mind, However in that style of fitment which is a Side Pin generally Bosch supply them as a pair for O.E fitment as there are only a few Vehicle Manufacturers that use this design so not many places stock them as individuals. The Passenger side blade is trimmed down by one Inch but only on one side, This means I would have had to go from an 18" to a 16" blade to loose an Inch off one side but I would also have had to loose the same off the other which would reduce the sweep on the window quite a lot.

 

My issue was not the fact I had to use a trimmed blade, More so the fact that it was unsafe to fit the later style arms. They simply do not fit properly and the only reason people fit them is because they think the more modern style flat blades look better.

Edited 19 November, 201510 yr by bonelorry

Think I am putting this project on ice for now, Home improvements on our recently acquired house are needed.

 

Not sure whether to sell or keep it is? 

Just spotted this one and read through from the beginning. Impressive as always

 

Thought 'GM content' might mean you'd bought a Monaro

 

If priorities have changed, I'd keep as is for now and come back to the 'Saabification' later!

Well that's all folks for this one, Received a Deposit for the car yesterday and the new owner is sending a Car Transporter to collect it on Thursday morning.

 

He lives about 450 Miles away and is not even coming to view it!

Well that's all folks for this one, Received a Deposit for the car yesterday and the new owner is sending a Car Transporter to collect it on Thursday morning.

He lives about 450 Miles away and is not even coming to view it!

Willing to say if he's seen these pictures he wouldn't want to come see it. Car looks amazing, gutted to see this go as it looked like a good project but like you said home improvements are more important.

Can't wait for next project. Even like your little winter run around!

Willing to say if he's seen these pictures he wouldn't want to come see it. Car looks amazing, gutted to see this go as it looked like a good project but like you said home improvements are more important.

Can't wait for next project. Even like your little winter run around!

 

Thanks Richard,

 

Something else will be on the cards for next year and I will make a thread as and when