tiff_lee
24-02-2012, 23:03
Finally the calibra thread I mentioned several times in my GTE thread for those who have read it, again it is copied over from various vaux forums so may seem a little disjointed.
Hi all just a wee thread on my calibra LE I picked up late last year, I was hoping to have a quick turnaround from purchase to getting it on the road but have since had a couple of setbacks.
Anyhow onwards.... first up a couple of pics of the car
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00114-20101007-1744.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00139-20110204-1443.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00138-20110204-1428.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00138-20110204-1420.jpg
When I picked the car up the work it required mot wise was fuel lines replacing (I have since done with nylon tubing) and the calipers/brakes sorting.
After removing the old seized calipers it was quite obvious the brake lines would also need doing when this happened
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00142-20110204-1421.jpg
after further investigation it looked like the steel lines corroded around clips and corners so I removed all the lines and plan to replace them with cunifer pipe, I also ordered some goodridge braided hoses to replace the worn rubber flexible s.
The car did come with a replacement set of calipers removed from a cally in the scrappy however I am tempted to just replace everything now and just get some reconditioned ones. If I had aspirations for 300bhp in the future would standard stoppers do the job or would I be better off putting the money away for an upgrade?
One of the seized calipers
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00141-20110204-1421.jpg
the spare ones
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00140-20110204-1421.jpg
I'm also considering replacing the bottom wishbones, track rods etc just as a matter of course as at least one ball joint is split and it all looks somewhat scabby anyhow, any advice on what I should be looking to renew?
I have missed quite alot of photo opportunity's as it was only suggested today I make this thread but I will be under the car again soon.
UPDATE
Took a few pics today with the wheels off, its kind of scary how scabby it really is, check out that crank pulley!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01343.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01346.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01344.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01347.jpg
and the other side
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01348.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01351.jpg
Like I said before I was just planning on replacing the lot, wishbones, track rod ends and ARB links
UPDATE
As far as i'm aware it has been stored in a garage in Newcastle for years so whether the floor has been constantly damp or something I don't know.
I just got under the car for a few pics sorry about the bad angles
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01354.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01355.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01356.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01357.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01358.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01359.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01360.jpg
from what I can see the floor is solid with the odd surface rust here and there where the paint/underseal has been scraped off, it just seems everything else that has been bolted to the car has rusted away?
UPDATE
Ok so very little progress on this car, well in fact pretty much zero progress! With me living/working away from home alot of the time (and having a separate R5 project) i'll be cracking on with the majority of work on the cally mid/late march when I finally get a good chunk of leave.
Meanwhile I have had a few goodies turn up at home...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/IMAG0012.jpg
Not sure what everyone else thinks to these lights but I thought personally they would look quite smart but I guess we'll see once fitted.
Also got some replacement brake calipers and LMF carriers, all I need now is the discs and pads which i'll be ordering come payday
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/IMAG0013.jpg
I have considered painting the calipers possibly yellow to contrast with the black and go with the yellow DTM flashes and was going to do a similar thing under the bonnet with a black/yellow rocker cover combination and yellow silicone hoses, any thoughts?
UPDATE
Finally some progress although not much...
The majority of my spare time has been taken up by my GTE which was only meant to be a runabout while I did this Calibra up however it has taken over!
Anyhow after alot of umming arring about whether to go for Bilstein B8's and eibachs or coilovers I finally decided to go for the Gaz coilover conversion so off with the front struts...
After alot of messing about managed to get the struts off
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0377.jpg
Started stripping them down to find that on both struts the bottom coil of the Irmscher spring had snapped, nice...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0378.jpg
Look at the state of that
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0379.jpg
Everything was corroded to hell and nothing was going to come off easy, had to tap a torx bit into the cap head allen bolts
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0380.jpg
Mole grips to remove disc guard screws
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0383.jpg
Chisel out the circlip!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0384.jpg
Stuck solid
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0385.jpg
Pulling out the hub
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0382.jpg
Pressing old bearing out
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0381.jpg
don't actually have a finished article picture but basically the struts are completely stripped ready to be sent away to Gaz.
While I was at it decided to remove the wishbones and anti roll bar drop links, the subframe/wishbone bolts were in excellent condition but the drop links either sheared or needed to be cut off.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0388.jpg
Replacements with powerflex bushes
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0387.jpg
Pain in the backside
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0395.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0396.jpg
Replacements again with poly bushes
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0397.jpg
Subframe is a bit manky
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0390.jpg
A quick smidge of hammerite
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0393.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0394.jpg
Ideally I would like to drop the subframe and give it a good clean etc but at the moment I don't have the time or the space so a quick coat will have to do.
Even the ABS ring has rusted away!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0392.jpg
It's almost as if someone took the whole barge/boat thing a step too far and parked the car in the sea.
Hi all just a wee thread on my calibra LE I picked up late last year, I was hoping to have a quick turnaround from purchase to getting it on the road but have since had a couple of setbacks.
Anyhow onwards.... first up a couple of pics of the car
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00114-20101007-1744.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00139-20110204-1443.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00138-20110204-1428.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00138-20110204-1420.jpg
When I picked the car up the work it required mot wise was fuel lines replacing (I have since done with nylon tubing) and the calipers/brakes sorting.
After removing the old seized calipers it was quite obvious the brake lines would also need doing when this happened
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00142-20110204-1421.jpg
after further investigation it looked like the steel lines corroded around clips and corners so I removed all the lines and plan to replace them with cunifer pipe, I also ordered some goodridge braided hoses to replace the worn rubber flexible s.
The car did come with a replacement set of calipers removed from a cally in the scrappy however I am tempted to just replace everything now and just get some reconditioned ones. If I had aspirations for 300bhp in the future would standard stoppers do the job or would I be better off putting the money away for an upgrade?
One of the seized calipers
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00141-20110204-1421.jpg
the spare ones
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMG00140-20110204-1421.jpg
I'm also considering replacing the bottom wishbones, track rods etc just as a matter of course as at least one ball joint is split and it all looks somewhat scabby anyhow, any advice on what I should be looking to renew?
I have missed quite alot of photo opportunity's as it was only suggested today I make this thread but I will be under the car again soon.
UPDATE
Took a few pics today with the wheels off, its kind of scary how scabby it really is, check out that crank pulley!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01343.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01346.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01344.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01347.jpg
and the other side
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01348.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01351.jpg
Like I said before I was just planning on replacing the lot, wishbones, track rod ends and ARB links
UPDATE
As far as i'm aware it has been stored in a garage in Newcastle for years so whether the floor has been constantly damp or something I don't know.
I just got under the car for a few pics sorry about the bad angles
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01354.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01355.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01356.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01357.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01358.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01359.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/DSC01360.jpg
from what I can see the floor is solid with the odd surface rust here and there where the paint/underseal has been scraped off, it just seems everything else that has been bolted to the car has rusted away?
UPDATE
Ok so very little progress on this car, well in fact pretty much zero progress! With me living/working away from home alot of the time (and having a separate R5 project) i'll be cracking on with the majority of work on the cally mid/late march when I finally get a good chunk of leave.
Meanwhile I have had a few goodies turn up at home...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/IMAG0012.jpg
Not sure what everyone else thinks to these lights but I thought personally they would look quite smart but I guess we'll see once fitted.
Also got some replacement brake calipers and LMF carriers, all I need now is the discs and pads which i'll be ordering come payday
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/IMAG0013.jpg
I have considered painting the calipers possibly yellow to contrast with the black and go with the yellow DTM flashes and was going to do a similar thing under the bonnet with a black/yellow rocker cover combination and yellow silicone hoses, any thoughts?
UPDATE
Finally some progress although not much...
The majority of my spare time has been taken up by my GTE which was only meant to be a runabout while I did this Calibra up however it has taken over!
Anyhow after alot of umming arring about whether to go for Bilstein B8's and eibachs or coilovers I finally decided to go for the Gaz coilover conversion so off with the front struts...
After alot of messing about managed to get the struts off
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0377.jpg
Started stripping them down to find that on both struts the bottom coil of the Irmscher spring had snapped, nice...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0378.jpg
Look at the state of that
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0379.jpg
Everything was corroded to hell and nothing was going to come off easy, had to tap a torx bit into the cap head allen bolts
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0380.jpg
Mole grips to remove disc guard screws
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0383.jpg
Chisel out the circlip!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0384.jpg
Stuck solid
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0385.jpg
Pulling out the hub
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0382.jpg
Pressing old bearing out
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0381.jpg
don't actually have a finished article picture but basically the struts are completely stripped ready to be sent away to Gaz.
While I was at it decided to remove the wishbones and anti roll bar drop links, the subframe/wishbone bolts were in excellent condition but the drop links either sheared or needed to be cut off.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0388.jpg
Replacements with powerflex bushes
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0387.jpg
Pain in the backside
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0395.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0396.jpg
Replacements again with poly bushes
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0397.jpg
Subframe is a bit manky
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0390.jpg
A quick smidge of hammerite
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0393.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0394.jpg
Ideally I would like to drop the subframe and give it a good clean etc but at the moment I don't have the time or the space so a quick coat will have to do.
Even the ABS ring has rusted away!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/tiff_lee_photos/Calibra%20LE/IMAG0392.jpg
It's almost as if someone took the whole barge/boat thing a step too far and parked the car in the sea.