Project: Bessie

[Remeris]

I\'ve just started some real work on the Combo in the last few weeks (fed up of not driving it) firstly I bought a K&N 57i induction kit, made it sound nice & throaty, just there was no power there....so I got it booked in for a new exhaust (2\" system with headers) it\'s made it even throatier & now has the kick-down to back it up.
Now i\'m facing another problem, the swaybar won\'t fit back on the front with the new exhaust >:(
Anyone know if the Corsa/Barina swaybar is in anyway different to the swaybar on the Combo? it only needs the sides bent in more slightly, if I cant find another or get it bent i suppose i\'ll have to get a new swaybar made. more money! >:(

Pics of the van so far.
[img width=600 height=453]http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1993/1001631ym4.jpg[/img]
[img width=600 height=453]http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9774/1001632qo3.jpg[/img]
[img width=600 height=453]http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9369/1001629od7.jpg[/img]

[markymicro]

Looking good is that an oil leak i see??

[Remeris]

yeah, its had heaps of oil leaks I really need to take the engine out & replace the sump gasket/give the engine a good cleanup...damn these level 3 water restrictions! I could use the water pressure cleaner if they weren\'t in place!

To give you an idea of how much i\'ve had to spend on it in the past few weeks (in AU$)

exhaust - $695
K&N 57i - $203
fuel pressure regulator - $200
spark plugs/leads - $130
that\'s a total of $1228! that\'s £492!

[markymicro]

I have spent triple that on my engine but £492 is still alot of money there is a pic of my engine below not yet complete have alook!!
[img width=600 height=450]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/ ... CF0020.jpg[/img]

[Remeris]

[img width=600 height=453]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/6673/100161510pq.jpg[/img]
Thats the most upto date pic of the outside, i\'ve got plans to make it look alot better down the track.
Post \'97 bumper, badgeless grille, black tinted Angeleyes, smoothed fuel flap, delocking the passenger-side & bakc doors & then getting it all resprayed in a nice deep maroon. First thing is getting new guards & bonnet though.[br]Update: had a powerout at 100km/h on the motorway on my way to work the other morning, everything went , lights, power, everything ::), it seems the battery jumped out of its fitting & shorted out on the bonnet, fried the battery & the ground lead, so it\'s getting an unscheduled trip to an auto electrician atleast i can get the alarm, immobiliser & handsfree kit removed properly i suppose.

[Remeris]

had a little bit of a setback this week, I loaned the van to my dad for work while his van\'s getting fixed (he\'s a courier)....then I get a phonecall on Friday \"the van\'s had an underbonnet fire\" >:( To make matters worse it was stuck at the top of a MASSIVE hill (which meant wearing the brakes right down to get it to the bottom). When I finally got to it & checked it out, it looked like an oil container exploded inside the enginebay. So I got it home, parked it up for the day & starting cleaning it the next morning & find the culprit.....a powersteering hose, 1 measly hose! 2 things have come from this i\'m now on the lookout for a 1.6 engine, wiring loom, ECU & fuel pump & whatever else I need for the conversion & i\'m never letting my dad drive my van ever again!

Pic of the van after it happened:

[rob16]

gutted

[markymicro]

Sorry to hear that....

[Remeris]

Bit of an update before I can get some proper pics, I bought some Calibra (4 cyl) discs & calipers for $175, 2 complete front doors (cards, mirrors, windows) for $100, front & back GSi seats for $20! & a complete Astra 1.8 engine/gearbox for $500. So the next step is getting more GSi parts off the guy I\'m getting the doors & seats from (apparently he\'s getting more stuff) & start buying parts for the engine rebuild (cams, inlet manifold). I\'m thinking of turning Bessie into a GSi van, so anyone have any pics of a Combo with a GSi bumper on it? just to get an idea of what it might look like.
Here\'s a pic of the engine from the auction...

[rob16]

sounds ace!

[markymicro]

looks good! But no pics sorry

[Remeris]

Update: Just picked up some eBay aquisitions, the doors, the seats & some extras while I was there.
GSi side skirts (minus the jacking point covers) & a dash for $20! So the few things i\'ve gotta do now is wire up the electric mirrors, change the lock barrels, somehow fit the skirts & get the seats retrimmed & padded a bit better....oh & dye the grey carpet I bought from a scrappies for $20 the other week.
Some pics:

[markymicro]

Looking good!

[Remeris]

Doors are too long.... ??? Combos must have 5 door-doors, so now I\'ll strip the electric mirrors & trim & store the doors under the house incase I do a 3 door GSi down the track.
The seller of the Z18XE seems to have gone awol, 5 days after winning the auction & 2 messages left yet still no reply, so the guy I bought the doors, etc. off has offered me a Z16XE 8v engine for $120, anyone know the specs of these & maybe how they look in Corsa engine bays (they\'re not Corsa engines are they?)?

[kaz]

some1 got to it first lmao u gotta work faster simon ::)