Table of contents for April - May 2019 in Performance Vauxhall

THEN& NOW Swirl and tumble down the wormhole, eyes fixed on our very first issue. Swim back, back past almost two decades of the brightest paintwork and the tightest builds in Vauxhall history. Back past the name change, back to the days when the eye-popping VX220 was the fresh young thing of the minute. against a culture of optimism and government-funded big-tops, the nascent millennium boasts one more Griffin-focused development: the launch of an all-new magazine dedicated to Vauxhall and opel car culture. After months of planning and positive reaction to a pre-production teaser, our first issue (back then we were known as Total Vauxhall) was packed with great Griffins and equally brilliant Blitz-badged beasts. It reached its first readers in autumn 2001, and on page seventy-four, over six sheets…

*OPEL FRUITS The brand with the Blitz is pressing forward with its export offensive by reviving the marque in russia. Initially, only the grandland X, Zafira Life and Vivaro will be available through select russian dealerships. Zafira people carriers and transporters will roll off the production line at groupe psA’s manufacturing plant in Kaluga. The decision to re-enter the russian market is part of opel-Vauxhall’s plan to increase popularity of product lines in both Europe and global markets. The goal is to generate ten percent sales volume outside of Europe by the mid-2020s. To achieve this, the brand will further strengthen its presence in Asia, Africa and south America, as well as entering more than twenty new export territories by 2022. *CRASHING OUT According to research carried out in association…

Hot on the heels of the National Exhibition Centre’s Classic Motor Show in November and Autosport International in January, the Birmingham site played host to the 2019 Classic Car & Restoration Show at the back end of March. Showcasing a wide variety of builds, from raw barn finds to fully recommissioned rides, the threeday event offered punters the opportunity to see a huge number of projects being worked on by members of the various dedicated clubs in attendance. A strong turnout of Griffins was a pleasing sight, with the Cavalier & Chevette Club celebrating its twentyfifth anniversary by presenting ‘Winnie’, the 1978 Mk1 Cavalier 1900 formerly owned by the club’s late Chairman, Vince Poole. In storage for many years, the blue four-door is in a sorry state, leading Vince’s successor,…

It’s been an exciting time at power maxed racing (pmr) since the last issue of Performance Vauxhall appeared on newsstands. You’ll recall team manager, martin Broadhurst, was keeping tight-lipped about this season’s BTCCastra pilots. We’re delighted to report the news was worth the wait thanks to the signing of two of the most accomplished drivers in the series’ sixty-year history. Jason plato is a name most of you will be familiar with. He’s won no fewer than ninety-six BTCC races, more than any other driver in the competition’s history, earning himself the enviable title of most Successful British racing Driver. ever. That’s some accolade! For plato, the move to a Vauxhall was more than just a strategic decision. The oxfordbased petrolhead has a history with the brand, with his first…

THEN & NOW In case you’ve made it this far into the magazine and haven’t yet spotted this is our two-hundredth issue, perhaps the presentation of the most aspirational, inspirational and, frankly, mind-bending performance motors marketed by our favourite manufacturer will make you sit up and take notice. They’re the duo of Griffins almost always referenced by feature car owners when asked to name their dream drives, and each of these staggeringly powerful machines is responsible for encouraging successive generations of Vauxhall fans to stick with the brand. Best of all, we’re not talking about Targatopped two-seaters or hardcore hot hatches. no, these Luton-labelled louts are fire-breathing four-doors. Vauxhall’s immense success at filling the UK’s roads with entry-level compact hatchbacks – considered by many to be little more than glorified…

OFFER 2 UK PRINT EDITION 7 ISSUES FOR £21 SAVE 39% 3 EASY WAYS TO ORDER 1 ONLINE shop.kelsey.co.uk/pvx 2 POST Fill in the form and send to: FREEPOST RTKZ-HYRL-CCZX, Performance Vauxhall Magazine Subscriptions, Kelsey Publishing Ltd., Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent, TN16 3AG 3 CALL OUR SUBSCRIPTION TEAM 01959 543 747 & quote offer code PVXP0418 Hotline open: Mon - Fri 8am - 6pm. *UK Direct Debit print offer only. PERFORMANCE VAUXHALL WHY SUBSCRIBE? NEVER MISS AN ISSUE FREE DELIVERY OFFER 1 DIGITAL EDITION PAY JUST £16.99 FOR 6 ISSUES SAVING 51% * SINGLE ISSUE ONLY £3.99 *Discount calculated from print issue price of £4.99 AVAILABLE ON THE APP STORE AND POCKETMAGS.COM pktmags.com/performancevauxhall…

THEN& NOW Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t, right? If you subscribe to this train of thought, the chances are you’ll also agree with us when we say changing your car can be as refreshing as changing your car. In other words, if you feel like you’ve reached the end of the line as far as your four-wheeled friend is concerned, consider the benefits of pulling it apart and putting the pieces back together in a different configuration. Doing so will ensure you don’t kiss goodbye to all the time, effort and money you’ve poured into your pride and joy, only to have to do the same all over again, but with a motor you have no guarantee will be any better than the one you’re…

So many GSi2000s have been lost over the years, but the surviving parts of scrapped cars continue to prove popular with enthusiasts keen to dress their lesser mk3 cavaliers in GSi body kits, wheels and interiors, meaning you might encounter a replica being passed off as the real deal. a quick way to verify what you’re looking at is to have a butcher’s under the rear end; all GSis have independent rear suspension. In other words, if you’re looking at a rear beam, you’re in the company of a fake. Check to make sure the car’s V5 lists GSi orr GSi 16V as model type, and while you’re there, ensure you’re satisfied the chassis and engine numbers match what’s on the logbook. Look at the VIn plate on the slam…

Gone are the days of hard plastic dashboards, thin door cards and deckchair-spec seating. The mk3 cavalier features a soft-touch dash, reassuringly chunky door cards and, in GSi2000 specification, a set of superb, recaro-designed fully-adjustable sports seats. firm and loaded with big bolsters, they’ll hold you in place as you tackle corners at speed. Originally offered in dark grey or beige, GSi interiors are known for being hardwearing, although outer bolsters often suffer from wear due to drivers and passengers unavoidably catching them as they hop in and out of seats. repairs or retrims can be sorted through automotive upholstery specialist, awesome (visit awesome.eu.com), while tired gearstick and handbrake gaiters are available through a variety of retailers. Failures in the cabin are usually down to electrical components, so check all…

SUBSCRIBE TO PERFORMANCE VAUXHALL SEE PAGE 58 FOR DETAILS It barely seems possible I’m writing an introduction to our two-hundredth issue, but here I am doing exactly that! Eighteen years ago, the preproduction edition of the magazine (then named Total Vauxhall) was put together. Response to the title was overwhelmingly positive, leading to the first full issue hitting newsstands in September 2001. The Vauxhall scene and the publishing industry has changed massively since that time, but the world’s only magazine dedicated to modified Vauxhall and Opel cars is still here. It’s an amazing achievement, and I’m proud to have played my part in ensuring Performance Vauxhall remains popular in the present. To celebrate this significant milestone, the magazine in your hands (or on your tablet!) focuses on what was popular…

Vauxhall has released a teaser image of the allnew Corsa, one of the most hotly anticipated new cars to go on sale in 2019. The new supermini will take Electric Vehicle (EV) motoring into the mainstream with a battery-powered model, an exciting development intended to sit alongside traditional combustion engine variants in the Corsa line-up. The new model’s IntelliLux LED headlights are a segment first, providing drivers with adaptive, glare-free illumination. This pioneering technology is ordinarily only fitted to premium-spec Astras and Insignias. It’s a clever system, where oncoming traffic and the car in front are simply ‘cut out’ of the illuminated area, thereby promoting optimum visibility. “As a British brand since 1903, Vauxhall is the UK’s oldest car maker, and one recognised for its work presenting cuttingedge automotive technology…

FAST FACTS 626bhp Vectra VXR 2.8 V6 Garrett GTX3582 turbocharger Rear-wheel drive conversion GAZ Gold coilover kit AEM water/methanol injection Glancing over the wreckage, Dan Robson’s friend offered a wager. “I bet you can’t put the engine in the back.” The RnD Motorsport man’s Astra G might have been down due to an engine bay fire, but it certainly wasn’t out. “I was unsure what to do with the car up until that point in time,” he explains. “All I knew was I didn’t want to send it to the scrapyard.” Everyone loves a challenge, and Dan had been presented with one. A midmounted seed had been planted. Decked out with OZ Racing anthracite seventeens, Eibach springs, sports dampers, a trackready body kit and a bright blue interior, the cool…

Job title Fabricator Previous motorsport experience Triple Eight Race Engineering, Bamboo Racing Length of time with PMR Four years Key responsibilities Build and repair PMR’s BTCC shells Your favourite Vauxhall Chevette What’s the best thing about being part of the PMR team? Camaraderie Favourite racing driver Jim Clark Favourite racing circuit Goodwood Favourite band Def Leppard What’s on your iPod? ‘80s hair metal Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars What’s the biggest challenge PMR faces for the 2019 BTCC? It’s fair to say the standard of cars and drivers on the grid is higher than ever…

SPECIAL DISPLAY Vauxhall owners who aren’t members of a club, or who want to show their pride and joy independent of groups, can be part of the PVS Special Display paddock for just £2 on top of the standard ticket price. This offer can’t be taken advantage of on the day of the show, so book early via the official PVS website to avoid disappointment. Visit pvshow.co.uk TYRE CHALLENGE Free to enter and a massive amount of fun, the show’s Tyre Challenge pits you against fellow PVS attendees to see who can change a wheel fastest. The contest runs across all Kelsey shows in 2019, and the winner will be presented with a trophy. SHOW AND SHINE Twenty specially selected cars will take part in the 2019 PVS Show and…

The C20XE ‘Red Top’ engine and Getrag F20 five-speed close-ratio gearbox combo was the backbone of Vauxhall tuning for decades, meaning there’s plenty of information and expertise available for you to take advantage of from specialists and owners clubs. Even so, we wouldn’t be doing our job properly if we didn’t make you aware of some of the most important considerations when buying a GSi2000. First up, let’s not forget this cool Cavalier’s age. Finding a GSi with an original, untouched engine and gearbox will be difficult, but rest assured, they do exist. Unless ‘matching numbers’ is vital to you as a buyer, monoriginal engines and gearboxes aren’t a major concern, providing they’re in original working order. Both the engine and gearbox are capable of eating high mileage with minimal…

Cavaliers rot for fun. Don’t worry about blistering wheel arches, bubbles along the top of the windscreen or along the base of the boot lid, but climb under the car and have a poke around where it really matters. The front crossmember, around the strut tops, the inner wheel arches, the sills, chassis legs, spring seats, the base of the rear quarters, rear suspension turrets (remove carpets to view). The list is extensive and will take a lot of welding to put right. If there’s much corrosion to deal with, consider whether the cost of correction is worth the hassle. Is there another, tidier GSi out there with your name on it? We’ve lost track of how many GSis are advertised as being “mint” when anyone familiar with the model…

The sky’s the limit when it comes to modifying older Vauxhalls, especially if you fancy a taste of forced induction. of course, a GSi2000’s value will be preserved if you keep the car in stock specification, but where’s the fun in that?! Well, forget the sky. Your bank balance is more likely to be the limiting factor. nevertheless, there’s still much you can do to enhance the original GSi2000 concept without taking away from the character of the car. Besides, do you really want eBay angel eye headlights and fibreglass body parts on a modern classic? no, you absolutely do not. At the business end of a GSi, assuming the engine is strong and sporting new plugs, fresh filters and fluids, new belts and a renewed water pump, you could…

As with the GSi2000’s engine and suspension, a well-maintained standard braking system kitted-out with modern performance discs and pads is all you’ll need to stop swiftly, but improving stopping power is never a bad idea. Just remember that bigger calipers, discs and pads may necessitate the use of bigger wheels to squeeze under. as if you needed any convincing! Fast-road pads from eBc, pagid or mintex are readily available in a variety of compounds to suit your driving style. The same is true of discs, with eBc offering various slotted designs for many Vauxhalls. cavalier or calibra V6/Turbo calipers are a bolt-on replacement, and when matched to a set of performance discs and pads, will improve functionality even further. obviously, GSis running significantly improved power through the appointment of forced…

2019 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Cavalier and Chevette Club. As part of a wider plan of ongoing celebration, the club has launched what it calls Cadet membership, which as the name suggests, is an effort to get young Vauxhall fans involved in the world of classic cars. “We’d like to encourage more youngsters to go out and purchase a Cavalier or Chevette,” explains Club Chairman, Kevin Bricknall. “My hope is that a new generation of owners will help protect and preserve the future of these brilliant Vauxhalls, now fast becoming modern classics.” A Cavalier or Chevette makes an excellent first car for anyone looking for low-cost, reliable fun on four wheels in a package well suited to the budding home mechanic. “They’re simple to work on and parts…

EIBACH PRO-STREET-S COILOVER KIT FOR CORSA D VXR The engineers at Eibach have been busy redeveloping the manufacturer’s Pro-Street-S coilover package for the Corsa D VXR. Offering straightforward height adjustability, the kit features springs made from premium grade silicon chrome vanadium boasting high tensile strength. An electrostatic powdercoating keeps the cool coils free of corrosion, parts designed specifically to work with the stainless-cased shocks, which are made to custom specification for Eibach by KW Automotive. In order to guarantee resistance to corrosion within height adjustment, the spring cups are made from polyamide compounds to ensure hassle-free adjustability even after much time and many miles have passed by. Ride height can be dropped up to 40mm at the front and 35mm at the rear, with damper rates computer matched to the…

Following the publication of our Car of the Year shortlist a few weeks ago, you’ve been voting in your thousands for the great Griffin you want to see crowned champion. All of the contenders up for the title represent the very best of our corner of the modified motor scene, but there could be only one winner, and it was your call. After we counted the votes, it was clear we had a runaway victor in the form of Douglas Booth’s Corsa D VXR Nürburgring Edition. Pumping out 411bhp, the Lime Green stunner first appeared on the cover of our April/May 2018 issue. A comprehensive overhaul at London-based VXR servicing and tuning specialist, GCAP Performance, has seen a colossal amount of hoontastic hardware hit the hot hatch, from forged engine…

FAST FACTS 536bhp Z20LeT/Z20LeH hybrid Garrett G25-660 turbo Bilstein B12 suspension kit Revolution millennium wheels KSport eight-piston brakes Variety is the spice of life, or so the famous Georgian maxim says. Indeed, for every lifetime loyalist, there’s a turncoat who thrives on change and its tangy flavours. Jordan Lonczyk, owner of a Power Red Astra H VXR with engine bay credentials to spare, is one such chap. His early taste in four-wheeled fun leaned towards the far east, manifesting in a pair of Toyota Glanza V imports, but – once he’d hit 260bhp and had nowhere else to go – he found himself in pastures new. A corsa C project car arrived as a willing replacement ride. a previously tuned example packing a two-litre Z20LeT engine producing 300bhp, the diminutive…

Save for catastrophic mechanical failure, one of the single biggest contributing factors to poor automotive performance is excess weight. When all is said and done, it doesn’t matter how much power your Vauxhall is putting out, a lighter car will be faster than the same model carrying extra bulk. Removing weight and retaining strength in a car, however, is no mean feat. This is why composites, including Kevlar, carbon-fibre and fibreglass have proved immensely popular in recent years. These materials are much lighter than steel and aluminium, but offer excellent strength-to-weight properties. There are, of course, variables affecting the characteristics of each composite: the materials used, manufacturing processes, the number of layers and the choice of resin will have a dramatic effect on the final product. Read on to discover…

FINDING AN IMMACULATE, STANDARD GSI IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE THEN& NOW Launched in october 1988, the mk3 cavalier had big boots to fill. not only was its predecessor a popular choice for private buyers, but the ford Sierra was establishing itself as the first choice of fleet managers. Vauxhall’s new model needed to excel in every way possible, and fast. Where the mk2 cavalier was boxy and angular – and by the time of the mk3’s release, regarded as dated and flimsy – the newer Griffin was a completely new proposition. Gone were aerodynamics penned by somebody with a ruler. Gone was the questionable build quality responsible for sending so many mk2s to the great scrapyard in the sky. Thanks to a launch in saloon and hatchback body styles with a…

Like the brakes, the cavalier’s suspension setup was simple and effective, but prone to wear and tear. It’s unlikely many of the original components will remain; ball joints, track rod ends, lower arm bushes, strut top bearings and rear vertical bushes are consumables in need of replacement multiple times throughout a performance car’s lifetime in order to maintain a tight and clunk-free chassis. Evidence of new parts means an enthusiast owner has been in charge. This is a good sign, but if you discover failed suspension components, fret not. parts are cheap and readily available, plus renewal will give you the opportunity to upgrade to modern items made using today’s manufacturing processes and production materials. Consider adding £200 to your buying budget in order to take care of the main…

As we said earlier, excessive lowering destroys the GSi’s geometry settings, so we’d recommend you don’t venture down that path. most owners go for Koni or Bilstein fixedrate sports dampers paired with eibach lowering springs, but working on the assumption the shocks and springs on the car you’re looking at are in excellent working order, the most important, cost-effective and transformative change you can make is to replace worn rubber bushes. either go for new samespec (ideally, oem) parts or invest in polyurethane bushes. The chassis will feel tightened and purposeful without ruining ride comfort. GaZ Shocks will make a set of GHa fast-road coilovers for pretty much any Vauxhall you care to name. These are highquality, superbly engineered dampers from a company with proven motorsport pedigree. The parts won’t…