49 replies to this topic

[ChrisNo/Swe]

Hey Hello

First post on this forum, Have been lurking a couple days however, learning a lot about vx220/Speedster.

I don't own one but i am going to have a look at one this Monday and seeing how incredibly spontaneous i get when i really want something i will probably pick it up unless it's in bad shape.

 

I'm living in Norway and the car i'm going to look at is a German import N/A 2.2 -02 BRG.

Seeing that i can't think of anything else but that car and i can't go see it until Monday I started to investigate the history of it.

In the Norwegian records it says it have VIN; W0L0EAR972N005080 which if i'm not reading stuff all wrong "wouldn't be the first time", it should be this car "*5080 geraldha (EX-OPEL) D () britischracinggrün Sauger Leder EZ WW DF #3980" [color=rgb(30,32,33);font-family:Roboto, sans-serif;]ey?  <- That is from the VIN-list on this forum.[/color]

 

3980 is the number that should be inside the car then i reckon? I have some bad pics from inside the car but i'm 99.9% sure it does not say 3980 

 

After using closer to 20 VIN decoders i managed to gather enough free info that i know that the car was originally BRG as it is today and i even managed to get the first license plate which put it close to the place where the first couple services was done so "my" car seems to add up with the history all except for that 3980 number that i think is either 3997 or 3979.

 

Is this something i should be wary of or just drop it taking it for granted that it is just a case of wrong info somewhere.

 

Pics of the car -->    Linky thingy

 

Hmm, that wasn't really an introduction was it 

Here goes;

33yrs, Male Swede living in Norway, big car passion, used to have, A Jag XJ6 -69, Impreza STI -00 and a Nova -73.

Hi all 

[Renny]

Welcome - looks like a great car. I've realised how many bits are missing from mine😊

[CorsaGT]

Welcome to the board. Hope the car looks as good in person as it does in pictures. Good luck.

[Ian59]

welcome to the club. Hope the vx is everything you expect    

[hairy]

From your pictures and the VIN, it looks like number 5080

[Tony]

Hi,

Welcome from another BRG owner.

Just make sure that the chassis is stamped with the 5080 number (it can be seen through the front wheel), and through the windscreen on the top of the dash.

The other number is a Speedster thing, Vauxhall did not number the cars in the UK. Don't forget that the VIN list could be wrong. If all else checks out ok you should be good to go.

 

Tony

[ChrisNo/Swe]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

They had no time today.. Well, when waiting for something good i guess.

I'm going to see it tomorrow evening.

 

In the meantime i might just as well make myself a checklist:

 

1.Check the rear wheel spokes for a stamp

2.Check the frame number so that it match "wheel arch, dashboard and B-pillar"

3.Check engine number if affected of the bad timing chain lubrication thingy" - Technical correct term, true story... 

4.Check for a respray on front/rear clam.

5.Check underneath for TIG welding

6.Check alignment on body parts "doors, clams and bonnet"

7.Check under the trunk mat for signs of leakage "rain"

8.Check upper engine mounts

9.Check wear on tire if even

10.Check for rust on suspension parts

11.Check driver's seat if it rocks

12.Check Doors if they rattle "more than usual" when being closed/opened

13.Check if the heater works/blows/changes from warm/cold. A lot of you guys say it sucks so i reckon this isn't an exception, and i think i will try to use it all year round "it's bloody cold here"

14.Listen to the engine when starting it for above normal ticking from the chain and if it gets quiet as soon as it runs a short while.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

 

I reckon you guys have a few pointers for the last 5 blank ones 

As a former car mechanich i can look for the standard things but what more Speedster/VX220 things should i watch out for?

 

Also, interesting that they did not number them on the dash on the UK VX models, is that all VX so that only speedster models got the dash metal plate number? In that case my number seems a bit high being 39XX Seeing that it was produced 13-12-2002

[GiGo]

"*5080 geraldha (EX-OPEL) D () britischracinggrün Sauger Leder EZ WW DF #3980" [color=rgb(30,32,33);font-family:Roboto, sans-serif;]ey?  <- That is from the VIN-list on this forum.[/color]

 

3980 is the number that should be inside the car then i reckon? I have some bad pics from inside the car but i'm 99.9% sure it does not say 3980 

 

After using closer to 20 VIN decoders i managed to gather enough free info that i know that the car was originally BRG as it is today and i even managed to get the first license plate which put it close to the place where the first couple services was done so "my" car seems to add up with the history all except for that 3980 number that i think is either 3997 or 3979.

 

The list was produced by another member many years ago.  I'm not sure what the issue is with the Opel Cars, most seem to be completly out of sync and have 'funny numbers' at the end of the listing.

 

If it's an NA (ie non turbo) then I would of thought it was going to be a build similar to 3980, if it was built around 2002 (like mine, mines #3118), it makes sense to be around that number.

 

There should be a sticker on the inside of the drivers sill,  edit: sorry passenger sill near door pin that tells you the information, but I'm confused with that they believe the VIN to be?!

Edited by GiGo, 15 August 2016 - 06:55 PM.

[ChrisNo/Swe]

 

There should be a sticker on the inside of the drivers sill,  edit: sorry passenger sill near door pin that tells you the information, but I'm confused with that they believe the VIN to be?!

 

I thought it was a UK thing  , Drivers/Passenger. It's on the passenger car on this one

[Andrew aka Stuwy]

welcome, the expansion tank is worth a look, cheap to repair/replace but can stop you dead in your traacks

[AstonVauxhall]

Car was indeed originally British Racing Green with biscuit leather. 

 

Supplied by AUTOHAUS GÜNTHER & SCHMITT GMBH

 

PM if you'd like the vehicle build 

 

 

Edited by AstonVauxhall, 16 August 2016 - 02:22 PM.

[ChrisNo/Swe]

PM sent Aston Vauxhall.

 

I just came back after a good check and drive of the car, The problem with checking sales pictures and reading up on a car is that your expectations are often a tad high.

This was not an exception 

 

The good; Car handled like a dream and it was more responsive than i thought was possible with mere 147hp, The seat fitted my long legs and short upper body as a dream which is nice seeing that there is almost zero adjustments.

The engine started without hesitating, Idle was stable and no noise from the timing chain. Gearbox was precise and smooth, clutch engaged like new. A lot left on brake pads/disks and front wheels. Upper engine mounts were stable. It looked not tinkered with, couldn't find anything that was not standard.

 

The bad; It was a lot more paint chips then i expected on both front/rear clam and passenger door, front clam have clearly been resprayed "can" on the lower front part, where you could see paint drips underneath.

Pretty much everything inside the cockpit rattled and was loose and dash/door plastic panels were scratched "not a big deal, a couple days and 50 pounds later i can probably make it look like new".

The handle for the front bonnet was broken, literally hanging from the wire. Stupid thing to have that handle in plastic btw, looks very model specific, hard to get? Either way, if i buy it i would probably have a new one cncd with a rubber cover. Passenger window you could rock a couple mm back and forth and the seal on both sides between roof/window seemed to have a bad fit, standard? when driver's door was closed with window down i could push the door in and out 0.5-1mm, reckon this is fixed with an anti rattle pin.

Worst thing on the car though, that heater was freaking terrible and it was a working piece.. It did produce some heat and it reacted when changing from hot to cold, it worked on all power levels but by Zeus beard it was bad. It was a good late summer evening, 20 Celsius and dry but it could not keep the windshield from fogging up, even with both windows down it had fog on it.

Car was dry otherwise. Oh yeah, Driver seat rocked, not in a good way.

 

So, what to do...

I'm not gonna go thru the hassle and convert NOK to GBP, let's just say GBP is worth 10 NOK for the ease of it.

Car costed new in Norway; 42k, the car is a German import with "converted from 75000km" 46602miles on it, car firm have it on sale for 20k, it is privately owned but he sells it thru them.

Had a nice 2.2 supercharged -01 appear on the market for 25k a couple days ago, saw an old "sold" advertised for 15k also that a 2.2.

 

Honestly i think a 14 year old import car in that condition is some way from 20k.

 

Thoughts?

Wow, why is always my posts a big wall of text..

Edited by ChrisNo/Swe, 16 August 2016 - 09:35 PM.

[Harry Hornet]

Hi

Welcome to the world of Vx220's

 

Everything you have listed are old known bugs, all very fixable with time and effort

 

..but there are as you sate a few out there that already have had some tlc

 

..its just a matter of time when they appear and we are about to finish the summer and the selling seson starts..

 

happy hunting  or offer a much lower price to cover the cost for each niggle

 

HH

[ChrisNo/Swe]

So, it looks like i might be getting myself a 2.2 SC this weekend.

Question though, The alignment for the headlights are extremely bad,  would you say based on the following pics that it is based on that the lights are poorly fitted or that the clam is in someway fitted wrong?

[ChrisNo/Swe]

It seems lined up in the front otherwise.

[Tony]

Mmmmmm   Lotus Carlton and an Opel GT

 

Headlights are held in by one bolt, and that should be easy to adjust, for a better hit than that, assuming it's an original clam. It should be just slacken the bolt off and adjust to fit better, may take a bit of fiddling, then adjust the beam alignment.

 

Tony

Edited by Tony, 01 September 2016 - 08:21 PM.

[ChrisNo/Swe]

Mmmmmm   Lotus Carlton and an Opel GT

 

Headlights are held in by one bolt, and that should be easy to adjust, for a better hit than that, assuming it's an original clam. It should be just slacken the bolt off and adjust to fit better, may take a bit of fiddling, then adjust the beam alignment.

 

Tony

I have seen the pictures from the rebuild and i'm pretty sure he used the original clam, Seeing i'm living in a country that will receive a huge amount of snow in a couple of months time i reckon i will have loads of time fiddling with the alignment  

[ChrisNo/Swe]

Me and my new car.

2.2 SC

[ChrisNo/Swe]

Ok, question time. 

It might be that it is late and i'm tired, but i just had a look in my engine bay.

Should this pump really don't have a connector to it? 

I reckon it's the waterpump for the SC but i can't find the rad no matter how hard i look.

The more i look in this engine compartment the more i feel like i should re-do a lot of it.

[ChrisNo/Swe]

Ok, Im lost...

I have a CC fitted in the front, looks like the pro alloy one with dual fans.

As can be seen in the pic above i have the bosch pump, disconnected? and the CC expansion tank is hanging in a couple zipties  Sigh...  with only the lower tube connected and the upper is just a open tube on the expansion tank.

I located the wiring/relay and fuse "zip tied to the Intake behind the turbo vent".

I think i really need to talk with the builder of this to find out why it is disconnected, could be a leaky rad. Is there any risks involved plugging it in, except the fact that i could have fluids everywhere?

Is it wise to use it as it is, i think that the guy i bought it of always used it like this "a year". It's rumored at 263 bhp, Im kind on the throttle but yea,,, That's a lot of power if this rad is not functioning.

Where do the CC plumbing enter the M62? Im used with front mounted engines, having a hard time finding anything thru that tiny hood.