Want to remove ads? Become a MK3OC Club Member today!

Graces Atlantis Blue project

Dave here,

Kev, and Hinton, thanks about the wheels :D Took a lot of time, and effort to get them to that stage, you know yourselves. I got them sandblasted, then had to wait about a month for the sprayer to get etch primer which took longer than expected. I also made sure that the colour was a Vaux/Opel colour instead of Rover etc like a lot of other people choose. In there was a bit of blue, gold, green etc, only very little but looked class on a really sunny day. Only bad point about them was the road dust and stonechips scuffed them very easily. Miss them now though, was really proud of them :)
 
Last edited:
Stunning wheels grace! :thumb:
Did you resolve the problems with the glue? If not use a toffee wheel to get that off works a treat. :)
 
Dave tried looking for one of those toffee wheel things, the body shops were useless didnt have a clue about what he was on about!! He tried bug and tar remover and got so much off, but its a bit weak, we found that thinners are a lot better, also perfect for taking tar off too :D
 
So, its finally update time!!

Grace's Astra is poverty spec, meaning, there are about as many attractive features as a decomposing body....

Time to start making a change, and that change starts with the clocks. Ever since driving the Astra, the lack of rev counter, and low petrol light have irritated me! Thankfully, a friend has managed to sort me out with a set of clocks with the desirable bits on that i want :-D so without further a do, here are the pics from the swap:

take one poverty spec dash:

04102010318.jpg


remove the screws from behind the steering wheel, underneath the shrouds, and the ignition barrell key surround:

04102010319.jpg


Next, remove the upper and lower shrouds, and drop the indicator, and wiper stalks down, out of the way:

04102010321.jpg


Undo the 2 upper screws for the clock surround, and also the 2 lower screws, and remove the surround, you now have access to the 3 screws securing the clocks in place:

04102010322.jpg


open the bonnet, and push as much of the accelerator cable through to the cabin as you can (i got about half an inch), this will allow you enough slack to pull the clocks out just enough to disconnect the speedo cable from the back of the clocks

After the cable is disconnected unplug the 2 plugs, and remove the clocks from the dash completely.Working from the rear of the clocks, undo the 4 screws that hold the speedo to the casing, release the printed circuit board from the lugs, and undo the screw from the smaller black plastic piece:

04102010322.jpg


now remove the front fascia by unclipping the 4 clips (2 above, 2 below) and gently pull the speedo out. Do the same on the set of clocks with the rev counter, and swap them over. This ensures you keep the correct mileage whilst improving on the poverty spec :-)reffitting is the reverse of the removal, make sure to pull back the speedo cable into the engine bay to avoid any problems that might arise, and your done, go for a test drive, and check everything works!

04102010324.jpg


04102010326.jpg

04102010325.jpg
 
Thanks mate :) Incredibly slow work on this, but we will get there one day lol!!
Hows your Astra? Not seen it for a while now
 
Lol! It has alright!!

Very nearly a year to the day, from the last post :D

We have plans afoot for the car, mainly including:

phase 1 GSi boot spoiler
Sport front bumper (sprayed black to match the rear bumper)
possible GSi rear bumper (again, sprayed black)
phase 1 GSi rear lights
40mm drop

That should transform the car quite a bit I think, without going OTT.... We will see how things work out though!! Hopefully there won't be as much of a delay between updates on this :)
 
this is a nice car :) nice little mod's you keep doing and the opel slabs are mint
and do you shout "pog moi thoin" when ppl cut you up on the road?? :lol:
 
djwilde69 said:
this is a nice car :) nice little mod's you keep doing and the opel slabs are mint
and do you shout "pog moi thoin" when ppl cut you up on the road?? :lol:
Click to expand...

The slabs are long gone unfortuantely, they were wheels I had done for my old Corsa, but Grace wants the same on her Astra :) So who knows what might happen in the future :)

Lol, nah I don't shout that at all :P I'm actually a brit mate, got dragged over here 4years ago, and not been able to escape since!!
 
MRE said:
Sorry to butt in off topic but I have just seen this photo you once posted :lol: I used to have a four door version in Sapphire Blue, an SL model. Ended up stripping the vinyl off the roof and having it re-sprayed. Oh! happy days :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Jeez that pic is a fair few years old now! I very much doubt its still there! I did come across a MINT mk1 Astra SR at a garage/scrappers a few weeks back though.......

Never was keen on the old old school stuff like this.... Chevette HSR, and droop snoot firenza's are about as old as I would go ;) Yours sounded nice though!!!
 
Right then, heading for 2years since the last post made here, you would like to think that lots of progress has been made wouldn't you?

Well your wrong!
Unfortunately due to the recession, money has been tighter than a nats ass, so we have had no money to put into the old girl unless really needed, although I have managed to get a few little bits and pieces done, which are as follows:

Compounded the whole car:

IMAG0074.jpg


IMAG0072.jpg




Upgraded from the standard boot spoiler:

IMAG0126.jpg


IMAG0127.jpg


GSi rear lights, and GSi rear bumper:

IMAG0104.jpg


IMAG0165.jpg


IMAG0166.jpg


Also replaced the tired old headgasket 2weeks ago, and upgraded the cam from the standard C14NZ to one from a 1.6 8v engine, SZR perhaps? I'm not sure, but can find out, andway, pulls a little harder for longer, and fuel economy has also improved :D

Also fitted new handbrake/brake shoes inside the rear hubs, fitted new discs up front, replaced the fuel filter, and with thanks to a few guys on here, figured out why the reverse lights decided to give up.... I also used a blow torch to make the front bumper black again!

Coming up next week, will be to replace a corroded brake line, buy a new wishbone, and also buy new cylinder piston thingies for the rear hubs.

Needless to say, Gracie is very happy indeed, keeps the car on the road for that bit longer, and best of all, no signs of rust anywhere on the car, which is always a bonus point!!
 
Last edited:
Well today (yesterday) saw the corroded brake line replaced, and 2 new cylinder hub thingmajigs fitted.

Also tighted up the handbrake, so now locks on just 1click. Happy days!

On Saturday, I am collecting a GSi mfd, stalk, and assosciated wiring to go with it. If anybody has any hints and tips, please share them with me!
 
Some progress is better than no progress :)
 
Yeah, keeping her running is first anc formost!

As for the paintwork, it's much better than it was 6 months ago, hut it still has a long way to go!

Only work done today, was to de-tango the rear lights. Very subtle differance, but improves the back ejd further I think
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top