can it be rebuilt

Post by **greasemonkey** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:05 pm

hi all if you go into the general forum (some of you may already have) but there is pics of my moggy. i would like to know how bad honestly you think she is.

cheers

Post by **Handy** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:42 pm

I would say not. Strip it of any useful bits and get a better one.

Post by **Handy** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:44 pm

Actually,
Your MK2 Cavalier looks really nice! They are very rare now and I bet the CD, like yours, is even rarer.
Why not make your Cavalier a minter??

Post by **hamster** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:15 pm

I used to have an 86 Cavalier about 15 years ago - I really loved it and it didn't cost me much either. Very high mileage but I couldn't kill it despite being a teenager - they really were nice.

Anyway - the Traveller...
By the time you've bought new wood and parts, you're going to spend £1500+ and be left with a car that needs a respray.
For not much more money, you can get one on the road and save a years work.

However, the car itself is definately saveable. If you can find some second hand wood for £400is (they come up for sale occassionally) and if you don't mind doing the welding, then you'll have a reasonable motor for a good price at the end of it.
And you'll also get the satisfaction of having 'saved' a car rather than following our 'disposable' culture.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:23 am

Yes, the Traveller can be fairly easily re-built, in fact it looks a lot better than mine before I started stripping down mine. Its far too good to break, all those panels are available and cheap. Wood can be had for £200 a side (seconds), or you can save what you can and make up repair sections or buy second hand. The thing to be careful of is to support the body at several points under neath the rear floor if you have to replace the rear inner wing and rear chassis.

I have to disagree with Handy, Cavaliers are nothing special- I drove some in the 80's and owned a Mark 1 Astra for 3 years- I liked my Astra estate to at the time because it was reliable and cheap, but dull and characterless. Good to use it as a runaround while you do up the traveller, but being a front wheel drive hatch back they are just more primitive versions of modern Vauxhalls.

Post by **paulhumphries** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:37 am

I'd be happy to rebuild the body as standard Minor rot.
Wished my convertible was as solid as I'd have never thought to break it otherwise

Cann't comment on woodwork as I know nothing about that.
I think even if you decide not to rebuild, then unless you want the parts for another vechile, I reckon it'd sell as a project judging by the prices they are selling on eBay.

Paul Humphries.

BTW I'm not a great lover of Vauxhall car - of any era. Putting that aside I think any car that looks like yours after 20 years is worth of keeping in good condition. There were many cars common that I didn't like when younger (Avenger, Hunter, Marina, 1100/1300, Allegro etc) yet, to me, are now correctly regarded as classics !

Post by **nebogipfel** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:47 pm

chickenjohn wrote:Wood can be had for £200 a side (seconds),

Who from John?

Post by **nebogipfel** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:51 pm

Re the Trav'

I echo what Hamster says (above) And ultimately you would almost certainly end up with a car which is much better than one you would pay £1500 for. A car for that sort of money would be getting pretty tired and would probably be heading towards needing serious money spending on it - unless you were lucky

Post by **chickenjohn** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:24 am

I've had a post dissapear from this thread, or was it over enthusiastic moderators because I said where I got my side of wood from??? If thats the case, PM me John.

Post by **bigginger** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 7:42 pm

Not me...

a

Post by **chickenjohn** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:15 pm

Could have been one of them pesky "Invalid session" s I keep getting, then my post dissapears into the aether.

how do I avoid those?

Post by **hamster** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:17 pm

seems to have been deleted - i think i remember it.
If I remember correctly, you mentioned seconds from one of the 2 well known wood suppliers

Post by **bigginger** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:11 pm

I can't see any problem with that. I'll guess one of them was Steve Foreman at 'Woodies', but you'll have to help with the other

Post by **chickenjohn** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:16 am

So the post was there! Bad moderator! (whoever that was)

Well if Big G can mention Steve forman at woddies, I'll mention Travellers Timbers http://www.travellertimbers.co.uk/ who supplied me a nice "2nds" side of wood for £180 a couple of years ago. It was seconds because there were knots and imperfections, but mt traveller is a working car not a show car, and the 2nds wood when stained up actually looks fine.

I got the guttering from them too, and if I remember it all came to £215 inc postage and packing.

BTW, I think the steve foreman kit is good value too because it contains all the fixings and bits and bobs- I had to source new fixings, dum dum, rear door seal and window runners myself (had these in stock anyway).