Anyone like Mk2 Astras?

[pac1982]

I drove a modded Astra VXR a while back with an engine conversion by a place called Regal or something. It had about 300 bhp and was absolutely stunning. So quick, just effortlessly fast and the chassis was bang on.
The more I think about it, the more I think Vauxhall stuff was/is better than Ford. The chassis issues were easily sorted and the engines were just stonking. The 2.0i 8v was a great engine in the Chavalier.

The RS1600i twin coils were crap. Ford did a conversion kit with a Bosch orange cap distributor and mine got that. Even in 1989 the exhaust was about £600 from Ford and because of the weird rear anti roll bar they had, a '3i system wouldn't fit.

My mate has a corsa VXR, you can just about see it in some of the pics, it's stupidly quick and running about 250 bhp, that was also done by regal auto sport

Quite possibly one of the most unreliable cars ever though its had to have its pistons replaced twice, various problems with the electrics recently the gearbox casing snapped causing the engine to try and jump out of the bay taking both drive shafts withit, and now the turbo is on its way out. Oh and he had to replace the clutch which vauxhall quote as lasting for 10k !!

[Rtaylor2208]

Had a 888 Corsa VXR up till the end of 2009, that was a bonkers little motor. Best of all it was a company car.

The achillies heel on mine was the wheel bearings and tyres. Went through the fronts pretty much every 6000 miles, and wheel bearings about the same. And the bloody optional sat nav at the best part of a grand was shite, as was the stereo.

They are really good fun to drive with in IMO good handling and silly quick perfromance. With the 888 tuning pack the seats were better as was the excellent remus exhaust, used to pop and bang all the time

Only thing that pissed my off was the redline was pretty low at about 6.5K revs, but thats probably more to do with me driving the wifes type R at the time.

[leeparkes]

Maestro turbo!

The Astra may have been a touch quicker with is 150bhp? against the RST's 132bhp but a chip and a -31 actuator would and did sort that.

A phase1 5 GTT would sort all of them out

Wash your mouth out Lee

But it is true...

Bleed valve and rejetted carb would see 180hp in something that weighs around 800kg.


Onto Ashtray GTE's, i remember mine with the digi dash, when i put the ignition on the speedo gave a reading something like 280 odd KPH, why did it do that? local clowns said it was how fast the car had done and the dash registered it.

[capri_rob]

A phase1 5 GTT would sort all of them out right up to the slightest sign of a hot day when it would shat itself and expire at the side of the road in a puddle of oil and clouds of steam

Wash your mouth out Lee

But it is true...

Bleed valve and rejetted carb would see 180hp in something that weighs around 800kg.


Onto Ashtray GTE's, i remember mine with the digi dash, when i put the ignition on the speedo gave a reading something like 280 odd KPH, why did it do that? local clowns said it was how fast the car had done and the dash registered it.

Fixed

My GTE Speedo did the same thing. I changed the dash and sender twice and still couldnt get it to work - everything else was fine apart from the speedo.

Oh andthe previous owner took the engine management bulb out before I bought it which was on permanently when I refitted it.

I removed it again when I pexd it for the chavalier

[bss325i]

Bleed valve and rejetted carb would see 180hp shortly before blowing the head gasket in something that weighs around 800kg.

[Jhonno]

[leeparkes]

Bleed valve and rejetted carb would see 180hp shortly before blowing the head gasket in something that weighs around 800kg.

Head gaskets were the least of your worry's, uprated one from GT tuning solved that. gearboxes, front wheels bearings, clutch cables keep snapping, chassis cracking near the rear beam, perc fan packing up so it wouldnt start when hot the list is endless.

They were great fun though, GTE, RST, GTi, uno turbo's, charade GTti's Maestro turbo's ive shit em.

[bss325i]

I bet my old RST would whip it!

[harry_p]

the mrs was a vauxhall fan for a while, she had an 8v gte, a red top calibra in the past and owned an astra coupe turbot when we met. not a bad car at all actually, minimal lag, loads more traction than you'd expect and a tad quicker than my e30 m3 (a lot more mid range grunt too)

really opened my eyes to modern turbos when the only turbo'd car i'd driven extensively up until then was my lancia which was dead until 2500rpm when boost shot from 0-1.4 bar and dumped 270lbft into the transmission

saying that it (the astra) just didnt really have anything to make it feel special. it was quick and capable, it just had no magic that made you want to take it by the scruff of the neck and throw it down a decent road. her current mk2 golf gti is a lot slower but she reckons it's the most fun car she's ever owned.

he ex also had a 300bhp let powered mk2 gti, but we're not allowed to mention that...

[leeparkes]

I bet my old RST would whip it!

I bet it wouldnt.

[bss325i]

I bet my old RST would whip it!

I bet it wouldnt.

Forged low comp pistons
Stage 3 burton head
Kent cam
-31 actuator
T34 hybird turbo
Group A head gasket
wide front mount intercooler

It used to peak 24 psi and all in something weighing 935kg.

It was 230bhp and 240 odd lbft.

I was 22 and used to drive it like my arse was on fire, i dont ever remember anything giving me hassle this side of a 300bhp Cossie.

[leeparkes]

I bet my old RST would whip it!

I bet it wouldnt.

Forged low comp pistons
Stage 3 burton head
Kent cam
-31 actuator
T34 hybird turbo
Group A head gasket
wide front mount intercooler

It used to peak 24 psi and all in something weighing 935kg.

It was 230bhp and 240 odd lbft.

I was 22 and used to drive it like my arse was on fire, i dont ever remember anything giving me hassle this side of a 300bhp Cossie.

Very similar i too was 22 and the only thing that gave me a problem was an RS 500, never seen a thing move so fast and for love nor money i couldnt catch it.

Spec was:

Uprated head gasket to lower compression,
Gaslowed & ported head with a piper cam,
bottom end was balanced with a lightened flywheel & clutch.
Turbo systems stage 2 hybrid turbo
Large core strapped intercooler
Samco hoses with alloy lobster
Rejetted carb
Recirculating dump valve
Full Devil exhaust
In car adjustable boost from 23-32psi

Boost didnt come in till about 3.5k but when it did you needed to be awake.

Here is the said chariot. 89 phase-2 in pearlesent white.



Car owed me about 6 bags in the end, without the purchase price.

[Alex]

where is Jesus when you need him

[leeparkes]

I saw Rovers mentioned earlier.

This was my 220Gti, originally NA but brought an arse ended Tomcat turbo for the lump, It made 228hp on Aldons rollers and was one of my favorite cars to drive, very underestimated



Anyway, back on topic.

[pacerpete]

where is Jesus when you need him

Weeping, profusely !

[Green]

Back on topic, my mate had one of these rotboxes



was battered to f'ck needless to say it made its way to the weigh bridge

[ross_jsy]

My first car was an R5GTT. Ended up with 220hp with a side exit exhaust etc. Loved it, but being 17 it ended up in a wall. Was also a pearl white with a blue flip, but unfortunately looked like spunk.

Oh and when I stacked it, I discovered an 8 inch section of the drivers A pillar was made of nothing more than fibergash and filler





Rotten turd!

[Fal_325i]

Sorry for going off topic, but:

I'm going to be controversial here, my weapon of choice was a fwd Corolla GT with the legendary 1600 4AGE twin cam 16v engine, this was based on the ford BDA engine but with EFi and went like the clappers. A standard RS Turbo couldn't overtake it, unless you were going up hill, done 200,000 miles in the end and was still going strong.

This was followed by a Civic VTi again a 1600 engine, but of the B16 variety, bomb proof, mates 2.8 vr6 couldn't stick with it lol.

[MattTheHat325]

I had a 106 xsi 1400 with a Supersprint 4 branch, stainless omp groupA system and simota enclosed induction kit, cobra suzuka's and a 106 cup cage which used to evoke many 'what the f**k is in that?' conversations. Said corolla was one of my victims, along with a mates astra gsi, corsa gsi's, nova gte's, mitsi FTO, a proven 136 horse fiesta RS1800, 309 gti, mates 205 1.9 dimma, vectra v6, lexus is200, mk3 golf gti 16v aswell as countless spaxo's of both 8 and 16v variants. It was by far the fastest standard naturally aspirated car this side of 2000cc I've ever had, and I just don't know why? It had a fearsome reputation round these parts back in the day it wouldn't keep up with the aforementioned boosted beauties but I kept regular hoodlums in check for a couple of years with that little screamer!