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eco**** to xe 3 door sport..

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Hi folks ive owned the car a few months now it started life as a 2ltr ecotec sport i bought it for £400 with a snapped timing belt the engine was in bits in the boot.. it had only bent 2 valves so i took a gamble and snapped it up it had the cav wheels on and a set of m3 mirrors and the standard springs had been cut but i was told it had been lowered but it was only 40mm so i was always intending on changing the suspention.. a few pics of the car when i got her

astra2.jpg


astra1.jpg


i have no photos of the work i have done as i wasnt going to start a thread but i have decided to start 1 so i will take pics from today lol....

anyhow i bought a headgasket set and belt and replaced the valves and guides got the head checked over by a rebore specialist and it was cool so i started putting it back together with the engine nearly ready after a few weeks of spending my spare evenings on her i bought a 60mm suspention kit from the internet and banged that on as soon as i got it that was a nightmare within itself lol

so the engine back together and the suspension on i put the car in for an mot and passed 1st time was so pleased the engine wasnt running right tho it was using sh1t loads of water as my pal was following me changing from 3rd to 4th a big puff of black smoke came out the zorst..

then 45 mins after the mot i was going around a roundabout and the timing belt tensioner snapps and rips the new belt off:doh::doh:.
so we drag her home and rip the head off to inspect and it was goosed every valve and bent into the head the same head speasialist said i woud be better off replacing the engine because it would cost too much to fix the head alone then i had gasket sets and belts tensioners ontop.......sorry if im dragging this out heres a few pics of her for the day she were on the road
DSC00054.jpg


DSC00055.jpg



so i was left engineless again i was talking to alex about a bottom end and head he had because i wanted her back on the road but after a few days i decided to find a redtop which i wanted to do in the 1st place and just turn it into a project..im getting a headache so ill continue tomorrow and ill take some pics as she sitts now.........:heh: cheers peeps...........:laugh:

so were i left off i was left with the choice to fix the ecotec or get summit else and my last astra i wanted a xe so i thought flkit ill get 1 so i tryed for a week or so looking on a load of websites :rolleyes: nowt let crossed my mind but too expensive so the quest kept going i found a cav in the scrappy near mine and popped the bonnet there she was my eyes lit up like a kid at crimbo.. the cav was a drive in old man and the mot failed and the rust was mental so he parted with it i payed 200 notes for the engine and loom and ecu with the exhaust manifold bargain if you ask me..

i then went home and pulled out the old bottom end and put my new redtop in the shed and started cleaning up the engine bay and cleaning up the xe new gaskets, oil filter, sump plug, belts cleaned the whole thing i painted the cam and timing belt covers the same colour as the car and the plug cover black(arnt on the car yet) and i also painted the inlet manifold and fuel rail at work gloss black same as the plug cover and bottom end the engine was put back together well so it remotlly looked like an engine..

cleaned up my bay and painted stuff up looks mint lol

then the time came to put in my engine, went in over the top and it was a nightmare lol because the box and shafts were all left in the car..anyway it went in took a couple of hours all in all

list left to do......
1.finish wiring (aux loom starting mota etc)
2.put belt cover back on
3.fill with oil and water
4.charge batt
5.put manifold on and attach exhaust

and hope it will start.......... then start on the outside. haha:beer:

ill try post pics when i get my cam back tomorrow and ill keep you posted..!!
 
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i like ecotecs mines never put a foot wrong
 
tbh i shoulda done the tensioner so its probly my fault it wernt to bad when it ran.... lol no offence dude..
 
cheers yeah i got plans but im nt gan mental with the body etc probs going to put mudflaps on (vauxhall ones) wheel spacers probably set of gsi skirts,move the bump strips smooth the boot just the badge and wiper hole etc leave the black strip nd plate...... i might put a small plate on the front and put a cold air feed were the plate is now i think thats do...... wt ya think??
 
thats with the ecotec in aswell lol it is lower on the front but its 60mm allround....in the pic there is a slight hill at the front??
 
yeah may be that little hill that does it,

thinking a gsi kit, lowered, and the mudflaps and some tints and will look sweet. its good you aint got to do any bodywork. . . unlike me lol.
 
nah dude i do there is a few little things etc couplke hefty dints on the boot ill post pics the moro.......later peeps cheers for the comments.....
 
saw the car for sale and was tempted but didnt have time - looks nice and hope its sorted soon
 
up read end of the thread edited it !!!!!!!!!!!!
 
i cant wait to gey it running but it still has plenty work left to do. gana do as a bove to the outside and i dnt know what to do with the interior its ok (back sports) with no rips or owt but i dnt know wether or not to strip it out and carped the bk?? wt u reckon??
 
cav seats ive always wanted (headrests front and back) ive got calibra seats front and rear in mine. . . nice in the winter as they are heated. . . could do many things, could get cav or cally leather or get some astra gsi recaro seats or even get some out of a newer astra like a MK4.
 

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