Indeed. Ascona Cs have disappeared from Finland as well. Bs on the other hand are still around, possibly because they were always more desirable among the boy racer crowd because reasons, mainly the drivetrain but also the styling.
These Ascona Cs were sold in the UK as the MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier. I've had 4 of these throughout the 1990s. This one has the poverty spec instrument cluster without the tachometer. The OHC engines were known to eat camshafts bit I never had the problem as I changed the engine oil regularly on mine.
Speaking from experience, the cams were somewhat prone to wear over the lobe Even Haynes manuals described a oilway modification to alleviate it. I bought several cheap ones with this problem , and made quite a bit of cash by sorting them! ! It was a really easy fix, and new camshafts were cheaply available at motor factors! I think that the problem eased after the first 3 years of production. Tended to be on > 50000 milers and could affect family 1 1300, and family 2 1600. I think the 1800 and later 2000s were not so affected? So no myth!! This Ascona sounds fine! Gearbox bearings were a bit iffy too!
In Brazil this "Chevrolet Monza" was EXTREMELY Popular in the 80's, outselling the cheaper hatches. It had te 1.8 and 2.0L engines, because the 1.6 was too weak. Very reliable car and engine. Only downside is that it loves to leak in the valve cover and make valvetrain noises at startup after long periods of time, or when it's worn out. No known issues on eating camshaft tho
I don't know where the myths came from but they never had widespread cam or gearbox failures. Most mk2 cavs used the family 2 engine that was available in the UK until the mid/late 90s
Hello !!! I had an 1982 Ascona just like this one (only in the Henna red color) as my first car. I had it for 11 years. Never any problems with it. ! My fam had 3 of these at simultaniously at one point. Great cars !! Best regards from Norway !!
Awesome. In Brazil this "Chevrolet Monza" was EXTREMELY Popular in the 80's, outselling the cheaper hatches. In Brazil it had the 1.6l for a short time, and only in the hatch version, because it was too weak for the vehicle. After the initial 2 or 3 years, the hatch stopped being selled and it had only the sedan. It also only had the 1.8L and 2.0L engines after that. It is very very confortable to ride in it. Nice and reliable car!
Many many years ago I drove a two door GL model (the "shark" facelift version), with the 2.0L throttle body EFI, runing on E100 (ethanol). It had a pretty decent torque.
@@gabrielv.4358 fun fact: in Portugal, they were sold as Opel 1604, as the name Ascona sounded like slang for vagina. Ah, the joys of name branding products for global markets....
I have a 90 SL/E with the 2.0L, 2 door in "Cinza Berilio" (Beryllium Silver), one of the last ones to come off the assembly line, bought it with just 39k km from new (still have the original receipt from the dealer). Love it, never selling it, and use it regularly (just did a 2500 km trip with it).
This brings back childhood and youth memories! Especially the 90hp version of the 1.6S engine. My parents bought an Opel Kadett Caravan in 1986 with that engine. It was plain red in the rather basic LS trim with the grey wheel covers and yet it was surprisingly peppy, which (to my dad's amusement) caught out people now and then, when accelerating from a red light 😀 7 years later when I got my own driver's license they still had the car, so my very first "driving on my own" experiences is in that car as well. Oh and my grandad got an Ascona a few years later, but that was when they had changed the engine a bit so it put out a little less power (82hp I think) but with better torque lower down ;-)
This story is exactly like mine. My mom had a silver Kadett 1.6S 1986. First car I ever drove alone and first (and only) car i ever crashed 😳 Luckily it vas rebuilt. The Ascona in the video is mine and I have never yet driven it. I also have an Ascona 1.8E cabriolet 1985.
@ I was already almost sure it was you, when he mentioned the name Jakob in the video 😃 I am often lurking in the Youngtimer group on Facebook and also remember you lurking on the Citronik site back when that was existing 😉👍
That's a beauty. Had the equivalent Vauxhall Cavalier from the same year and, buying it at 13 years old, only had to change the usual consumables; shocks, springs, tyres of course and exhaust back box over 5 trouble-free years. Good engines when looked after that keep up with modern traffic. Very fond memories 😊
Same hear, bought ours in 97 it had Gold paintwork with a champagne coloured interior with sunroof and alloy wheels she was a beautiful car we took to France on our honeymoon, got damaged in a car wash 😮 they didn't take responsibility for .
When you get the firing order sorted out, I personally always add plastic tie wraps denoting which is which, trim them off really close to the little buckle (one tie wrap for cylinder 1, 2 for cylinder 2 etc etc.. I add these at both ends.. It just takes the thinking out of the process.. Engine sounds good!
My first car was the Vauxhall version of this - A green 1984 Cavalier 1.3 base model saloon. We only got the S engines in the UK, so it had 75PS. I've had another 3 of them over the years. They made them locally to me, so they were everywhere when I was growing up. Great cars, and this one looks quite solid.
My late dad had 2 Asconas as company cars when I was a kid. First a 1984 1,6 D and then the faceliftet 1987 1,6 LS 82 HP having the same engine as the first Vectra. I still remember the smell as you mention but also the night and day difference between the two cars. My dad really loved the petrol version.
We had this model in Brazil in the 80’s and 90’s but they came with either 1.8 or 2.0L engines. They were the bomb back then. Really successful cars at the time
My dad had one of these in some weird metallic green-ish color when I was still a kid. Some time in the early 00s (2001 or 2002?) when I was 14 or so he got rid of it. Soooo many memories seeing one again. I think for some reason i still have the screw-in antenna for it. I remember my dad having to stop before he went into a carwash, unscrew the antenna and take it inside because it would get snapped off if he didn't lol
Absolutely beautiful car I had a good few of those back in the day and the engine would go for 100 of thousands of miles I had a green MK2 cavalier which that is and it has done 300000 miles was burning oil at last few months but carried on running the engine was swapped for a astra gte 1.8 and it was very fast after brilliant always love your vids and in UK they are going up in value
cool car. i owned the SR 1.6 version from 82 . had to remove the tank once as the fuel breather developed a hole and the tank fillled up with water on a long rainy trip from Alicante to Caceres Spain .. great memories
This one had two of these saloons back in the day - a Cavalier 1.6GL, and when the opportunity arose, the 1.8CDi. Both did exactly what they said on the tin (Y)
Tough as old boots these cars, also known as the Vauxhall Cavalier here in the United kingdom. Fond memories coming back when my Father had one of these brand new, Blue on the outside and grey on the inside, was replaced by a white Mk2 Vauxhall Astra with a chocolate brown interior, ah the good old 80's ❤
There was two variants of these 8v OHC engines, ''small block'' (between 1.0-1.6) and ''big block'' (between 1.6-2.0). If it's the big block 1.6 variant, then its non-interference type. Iirc, it had to be SH or SV type designation, can't remember which one though. Edit: this seems to be the big block variant, since it has the GM Varajet II carburettor, which is terrible carb, hobbyists usually throw it into lake when possible haha.
I used to revive old dirty spark plugs by putting a gas burner on the tips, 1 by 1, then re gapping them and re-installing them. In most of the time this worked fine. The times it didn't work was when the ceramic insulator had cracked. The engine in the Ascona has hydraulic tappets so there is no need to set valve lash. Just use the correct oil and let the engine warm up so the tappets can properly fill with oil. Back when these were new you could get a 5dr hatchback in SR trim. That looked pretty smart. There was also an Ascona C cabriolet made by Hammond & Thiede that looked nice as well.
Did about 200000km in a very early production 82 Camira before rebuilding the engine. Main problem was oil from the fuel pump weephole destroying all the rubber hosepieces on the plastic rear water gallery. Porous thermostat housing also. Really agile handling on decent 65 or 70 profile tyres.
I absolutely love these cars! I'm actually looking for a good, clean example if I can find (and afford to restore) one - preferably a saloon (sedan) in a SRi 130. We had a red 1982 Vauxhall Cavalier and later a White 1987 Cavalier. The '82 Cavalier didn't have a 'choke' lever/switch, and you had to press the gas pedal twice before starting to activate the choke IIRC...
Looks in decent condition. I looked at a 10 year old example 30 years ago but the chassis legs had rusted through above the rear springs so I didn’t buy it!
HI yes the engine is interface but in most cases the valves do not bend as they are straight inline with the pistons it generally snaps the rocker arms witch you can change just by removing the the rocker cover and you can not adjust the tap it clearance as it is hydraulic but easy to replace or in sum circumstances can bee cleaned with a soak in cleaning fluid and a squeeze in the vice it will sound very tapity at first un till pressure builds. good video well worth sum T.L.C 👍👍👌👌
Many laugh at Opel/Vauxhall but I've had many throughout my life and they never let me down. Viva, Ascona 1, Ascona 2, Vectra 1 and my present car is an Astra H which is 19 years old. I reaklly should replace it but to be honest it has no problems and all newer cars seen to be plagued by really complicated technology and over-revving engines that seem to die very quickly. By the way I was never exclusively Opel. I've had MB,VW, Honda, Triumph, Datsun and Fiat.
My step dad had a 1982 Ascona he both from Belgium used. The car had also high miles and was a daily beater to the end of its life. Very typical like on this car was the valve cover leak, the engine was a real grease ball. Things that did wear out was CV joints, one starter, 2 carb repair kits, one gearbox and ball joints. Other than that what did kill it was the road salt and later the lack of parts.
@@SeasideGarage I remember also horrible gas vapor near the back seat. The fuel tanks on these as on the Vectra and Kadett are notorious for rusting out from the top or falling completely out.
Nice car. It's family 2 engine, and I'm quite sure it's non interference. I believe the family 2 only became interference after transitioning to a 16 valve dual camshaft for the Kadett Gsi, at this stage as a 2.0, probably with lengthened stroke. These are sturdy long lived engines also available in diesel versions (not to be confused with the diesel engine that was on this channel earlier).
I had one of those, a Brazilian 1985 1.8 litter two door fastback, perhaps the most harmonious body shape of the Ascona (or Monza, in Brazil). Despite being a 1.8 litter, it was less powerful than this European 1.6 (just 83 hp), and not that economic either. But very robust and comfortable. They're rare, now, in that fastback body.
I had 3 Cavalier Estates (Camira) one after another over 12 years. Obviously loved them. Could have done with the 1.8 or 2.0 engine but only available with this 1.6l. 5 speed essential as they were very high geared. Hit a huge puddle in my last one which stopped the engine. Dried out the dizzy with WD40 and off she went again. Did find the cap had no carbon brush but was running fine on the spring!. All mine suffered from rusty sills, especially towards the back. Sold the last one because I thought it wouldn't pass the MOT due to that rust but it went on to pass at least 2 more with the new owner. A great workhorse. They drive very nicely. This one well worth fixing up properly please including the paint. I personally would have changed the plugs first especially as there were new ones with the car. I bet the old cap and rotor still work OK! Mine all had leads with the metal shields on the plug caps. I don't know how essential these are. Strangely it's normal for there to be metal covers on only 3 of the 4 leads. Your comment about 1 lead being different probably means they are normal and original.
Very familiar sound there to the engine, my dad's Vauxhall Cavalier estate had that GM Family II engine, I quite liked that car, but then I do have a thing for boxy 80s estates, back when they still built them to be utilitarian rather than for the curviness of later estate cars... :P
I used to have a 1985 Vauxhall Cavalier here in England, which was identical to the Opel Ascona. It was stolen three times in my ownership. They could be taken without any tools just bare hands which was annoying. Mine was right hand drive of course
Had a ‘85 Opel Ascona 1.6S four door saloon in the mid 1990’s in Holland and early 2000’s the same car but as Holden Camira 2.0 SL/E Automatic with pullman interior and all the bell and whistles you good order in the mid 80’s New Zealand. Still think they where good value for the money and reliable as daily driver. Ascona C is underrated in my opinion and never made it as a loved classic car today, at least in Holland, don’t know about Denmark.
One of GM's attempts at a global platform car. It was sold here in Australia with a quite different looking body front and rear as a Holden JB Camira. Widely considered as an appalling car with lots of problems. It wasn't until the last model as a 2.0l that it was considered to be even close to a worthwhile car. The easy clutch change was the only redeeming feature... they are LONG gone from our roads here... you could barely give them away...
ii know these cars inside out. if you want to know a fun fact about these if you disconect the wiper motor earth the car wont start . it was used as an anti theft prevention in the uk amongst the ones who realy did not want their cars stolen.
When you primed the carb was sound like all 4 cylinders fired or is just me. Maybe extra fuel got in manifold when you took carburator apart and wet the plugs.
Ugh, MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier, only ever owned one myself and had immense problems including a foggy dark night the whole lighting system just turning itself clean off and my late father had a Commander MK2 with all the bells and whistles and was going down a very steep windy hill in south London and his brakes turned off literally and they had only just been fully replaced by dealer and he ended up piled up in the side of someone's house as for some reason his PAS also decided to turn off... He swore never to buy Vauxhall again and bought Renault after that, both the brakes and PAS units were brand new and both had failed in the time he drove it from dealer to home, investigator found no problems with installation but the main units were both badly defected from factory :( We did one Scottish holiday hire a MK1 Ascona with a large engine, fire red with vinyl roof, a stereo and front leccy windows, that was very classy, the MK2's however also made it to the US as Cavalier's and other names and they had as much problems as us Europeans did.
I remember the old Opel's had a special sound brings back memories of sitting in the back of my stepdads Orange Kadett d ofc without seatbelts because why. And opel why does it look like there is space for an extra engine behind the engine :P
Are there any clues on which was the first country of registration for this Ascona? I was recently sourcing side repeater indicator lamps from this era of Opels/Vauxhalls and I’m still very unclear on which markets had them fitted when new!
GM's first world car, the J car, it was almost identical in nearly every market but sold under different names. Previous world models had different grills in different countries. The J car was known as the Chevvy Monza, Holden Camira, Vauxhall Cavalier, and Opel Ascona. Back in the day when GM was a world car manufacturer, rather than just a niche North American producer(pick-ups). Sad.
I can´t make out the text on the typeplate. Is this an Antwerp-built one? Fun fact: Asconas and Mantas there were hand built by men in mustard-coloured attire weilding spot welders and hammers back in the days when safety hadn´t been invented yet.
I was just remembering a mate in our neck of south London who had a MK2 saloon, not sure if he put Manta front end on or the front end off a MK1 "droop" snoot, he also fitted a 2 litre Pinto engine and box from a Ford with some spicy camwork and a pair of twinned carbs, he got bored with it and put the engine/box into a Chevette van with lary fandango wheels and arches and man that thing could shift and when it got spanked hard on a track day he dumped the engine into a MK1 Escort van with oversize rear wheels and jacked up the back. Proper job done with the load area fur lined and a set of fold down bunks that made a decent double bed and where he could he RS2000'd up the front interior with proper seats and gauges, man that was a very swift little van...
Good Lord this is a clean example. 30 years ago in the UK the Mk II Vauxhall Cavalier like this would be swept up with a broom it would be so rotten.
Indeed. Ascona Cs have disappeared from Finland as well. Bs on the other hand are still around, possibly because they were always more desirable among the boy racer crowd because reasons, mainly the drivetrain but also the styling.
These Ascona Cs were sold in the UK as the MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier. I've had 4 of these throughout the 1990s. This one has the poverty spec instrument cluster without the tachometer. The OHC engines were known to eat camshafts bit I never had the problem as I changed the engine oil regularly on mine.
Speaking from experience, the cams were somewhat prone to wear over the lobe Even Haynes manuals described a oilway modification to alleviate it. I bought several cheap ones with this problem , and made quite a bit of cash by sorting them! ! It was a really easy fix, and new camshafts were cheaply available at motor factors! I think that the problem eased after the first 3 years of production. Tended to be on > 50000 milers and could affect family 1 1300, and family 2 1600. I think the 1800 and later 2000s were not so affected?
So no myth!!
This Ascona sounds fine!
Gearbox bearings were a bit iffy too!
I never had the problem. I know that the clutch was a doddle to change. No need to remove the gearbox unless the thrust bearing needed to be replaced.
In Brazil this "Chevrolet Monza" was EXTREMELY Popular in the 80's, outselling the cheaper hatches. It had te 1.8 and 2.0L engines, because the 1.6 was too weak. Very reliable car and engine. Only downside is that it loves to leak in the valve cover and make valvetrain noises at startup after long periods of time, or when it's worn out. No known issues on eating camshaft tho
I don't know where the myths came from but they never had widespread cam or gearbox failures. Most mk2 cavs used the family 2 engine that was available in the UK until the mid/late 90s
Maybe you're confusing it with the Ford CVH engine? I don't remember anyone having issues with these Opels, the Fords though really liked eating cams.
Here, in Brazil it is called Chevrolet Monza! I had three like this one in my life. Great car!
"Will it run"? Love this kind of cars ! Thanks Seppo!
Hello !!! I had an 1982 Ascona just like this one (only in the Henna red color) as my first car. I had it for 11 years. Never any problems with it. ! My fam had 3 of these at simultaniously at one point. Great cars !! Best regards from Norway !!
Awesome. In Brazil this "Chevrolet Monza" was EXTREMELY Popular in the 80's, outselling the cheaper hatches. In Brazil it had the 1.6l for a short time, and only in the hatch version, because it was too weak for the vehicle. After the initial 2 or 3 years, the hatch stopped being selled and it had only the sedan. It also only had the 1.8L and 2.0L engines after that. It is very very confortable to ride in it. Nice and reliable car!
Many many years ago I drove a two door GL model (the "shark" facelift version), with the 2.0L throttle body EFI, runing on E100 (ethanol). It had a pretty decent torque.
The 1.6 was too weak…..? Here in the NL we had them with 1.3 (only 60hp)….. luckily we are a flat country 😂
@@sietse9920 Wow! That is interesting! Thanks for sharing, haha.
@@gabrielv.4358 fun fact: in Portugal, they were sold as Opel 1604, as the name Ascona sounded like slang for vagina. Ah, the joys of name branding products for global markets....
I have a 90 SL/E with the 2.0L, 2 door in "Cinza Berilio" (Beryllium Silver), one of the last ones to come off the assembly line, bought it with just 39k km from new (still have the original receipt from the dealer). Love it, never selling it, and use it regularly (just did a 2500 km trip with it).
This brings back childhood and youth memories! Especially the 90hp version of the 1.6S engine.
My parents bought an Opel Kadett Caravan in 1986 with that engine. It was plain red in the rather basic LS trim with the grey wheel covers and yet it was surprisingly peppy, which (to my dad's amusement) caught out people now and then, when accelerating from a red light 😀
7 years later when I got my own driver's license they still had the car, so my very first "driving on my own" experiences is in that car as well.
Oh and my grandad got an Ascona a few years later, but that was when they had changed the engine a bit so it put out a little less power (82hp I think) but with better torque lower down ;-)
This story is exactly like mine. My mom had a silver Kadett 1.6S 1986. First car I ever drove alone and first (and only) car i ever crashed 😳 Luckily it vas rebuilt. The Ascona in the video is mine and I have never yet driven it. I also have an Ascona 1.8E cabriolet 1985.
@ I was already almost sure it was you, when he mentioned the name Jakob in the video 😃
I am often lurking in the Youngtimer group on Facebook and also remember you lurking on the Citronik site back when that was existing 😉👍
Absolutely lovely car, imo the second best car on this channel (next to the Commander ;) )
That's a beauty. Had the equivalent Vauxhall Cavalier from the same year and, buying it at 13 years old, only had to change the usual consumables; shocks, springs, tyres of course and exhaust back box over 5 trouble-free years. Good engines when looked after that keep up with modern traffic. Very fond memories 😊
Same hear, bought ours in 97 it had Gold paintwork with a champagne coloured interior with sunroof and alloy wheels she was a beautiful car we took to France on our honeymoon, got damaged in a car wash 😮 they didn't take responsibility for .
When you get the firing order sorted out, I personally always add plastic tie wraps denoting which is which, trim them off really close to the little buckle (one tie wrap for cylinder 1, 2 for cylinder 2 etc etc.. I add these at both ends.. It just takes the thinking out of the process.. Engine sounds good!
My first car was the Vauxhall version of this - A green 1984 Cavalier 1.3 base model saloon. We only got the S engines in the UK, so it had 75PS. I've had another 3 of them over the years. They made them locally to me, so they were everywhere when I was growing up. Great cars, and this one looks quite solid.
In the 1990s I've had 2 Ascona C GT 2.0i and a Ascona C 1.3N in the J Version.
I have a A reg (1983) mk2 Cavalier (aka the Green Cavvy) - this one is well worth saving and they are great cars
My late dad had 2 Asconas as company cars when I was a kid. First a 1984 1,6 D and then the faceliftet 1987 1,6 LS 82 HP having the same engine as the first Vectra. I still remember the smell as you mention but also the night and day difference between the two cars. My dad really loved the petrol version.
Nice back then and still is now Seppo , deserves to live on another year or two at least 👌🏻
We had this model in Brazil in the 80’s and 90’s but they came with either 1.8 or 2.0L engines. They were the bomb back then. Really successful cars at the time
Btw this model’s name here was ‘Monza’
I had 1983 Ascona C with 1.6s (16SH)66kw/90hp engine in GT trim, great car
I love all GM J body cars
My dad had one of these in some weird metallic green-ish color when I was still a kid. Some time in the early 00s (2001 or 2002?) when I was 14 or so he got rid of it. Soooo many memories seeing one again. I think for some reason i still have the screw-in antenna for it. I remember my dad having to stop before he went into a carwash, unscrew the antenna and take it inside because it would get snapped off if he didn't lol
Very very interesting content. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely beautiful car I had a good few of those back in the day and the engine would go for 100 of thousands of miles I had a green MK2 cavalier which that is and it has done 300000 miles was burning oil at last few months but carried on running the engine was swapped for a astra gte 1.8 and it was very fast after brilliant always love your vids and in UK they are going up in value
cool car. i owned the SR 1.6 version from 82 . had to remove the tank once as the fuel breather developed a hole and the tank fillled up with water on a long rainy trip from Alicante to Caceres Spain .. great memories
I had a 1984 SRi. It was brilliant - I remember it devoured plug leads - they deteriorate due to their location.
This one had two of these saloons back in the day - a Cavalier 1.6GL, and when the opportunity arose, the 1.8CDi.
Both did exactly what they said on the tin (Y)
Tough as old boots these cars, also known as the Vauxhall Cavalier here in the United kingdom. Fond memories coming back when my Father had one of these brand new, Blue on the outside and grey on the inside, was replaced by a white Mk2 Vauxhall Astra with a chocolate brown interior, ah the good old 80's ❤
There was two variants of these 8v OHC engines, ''small block'' (between 1.0-1.6) and ''big block'' (between 1.6-2.0). If it's the big block 1.6 variant, then its non-interference type.
Iirc, it had to be SH or SV type designation, can't remember which one though.
Edit: this seems to be the big block variant, since it has the GM Varajet II carburettor, which is terrible carb, hobbyists usually throw it into lake when possible haha.
Rusty opels is what we love!😅
I wonder if that odometer ever even tripped over. Sure looks a whole lot better than the typical car with 160,000 where there's snowy winters.
Seaside Garage sticker = good for 10bhp!
some even say 11!
I used to revive old dirty spark plugs by putting a gas burner on the tips, 1 by 1, then re gapping them and re-installing them. In most of the time this worked fine. The times it didn't work was when the ceramic insulator had cracked.
The engine in the Ascona has hydraulic tappets so there is no need to set valve lash. Just use the correct oil and let the engine warm up so the tappets can properly fill with oil.
Back when these were new you could get a 5dr hatchback in SR trim. That looked pretty smart. There was also an Ascona C cabriolet made by Hammond & Thiede that looked nice as well.
In Britain they were the mark 2 Vauxhall Cavalier and they were a well regarded car, especially among fleet buyers. Cool car.
Great car had quite a few mk2 cavaliers, would like another but my Hc viva is keeping me busy at the moment.
Did about 200000km in a very early production 82 Camira before rebuilding the engine. Main problem was oil from the fuel pump weephole destroying all the rubber hosepieces on the plastic rear water gallery. Porous thermostat housing also. Really agile handling on decent 65 or 70 profile tyres.
@11:56 - sounds like an awesome techno beat....
haha! uchi uchi uchi
Thanks
I absolutely love these cars! I'm actually looking for a good, clean example if I can find (and afford to restore) one - preferably a saloon (sedan) in a SRi 130. We had a red 1982 Vauxhall Cavalier and later a White 1987 Cavalier. The '82 Cavalier didn't have a 'choke' lever/switch, and you had to press the gas pedal twice before starting to activate the choke IIRC...
Looks in decent condition. I looked at a 10 year old example 30 years ago but the chassis legs had rusted through above the rear springs so I didn’t buy it!
HI yes the engine is interface but in most cases the valves do not bend as they are straight inline with the pistons it generally snaps the rocker arms witch you can change just by removing the the rocker cover and you can not adjust the tap it clearance as it is hydraulic but easy to replace or in sum circumstances can bee cleaned with a soak in cleaning fluid and a squeeze in the vice it will sound very tapity at first un till pressure builds. good video well worth sum T.L.C 👍👍👌👌
I Did my driving lessons in an Ascona B, the sporty 1.9! Time flies.
Many laugh at Opel/Vauxhall but I've had many throughout my life and they never let me down. Viva, Ascona 1, Ascona 2, Vectra 1 and my present car is an Astra H which is 19 years old. I reaklly should replace it but to be honest it has no problems and all newer cars seen to be plagued by really complicated technology and over-revving engines that seem to die very quickly. By the way I was never exclusively Opel. I've had MB,VW, Honda, Triumph, Datsun and Fiat.
This. Older vehicles were made to be reliable, today, they just have to pass the 2 years of obrigatory inspection and anything more is luck
Quite incredible that people skimp on spark plugs. Two different types used here tells a lot.
My step dad had a 1982 Ascona he both from Belgium used. The car had also high miles and was a daily beater to the end of its life. Very typical like on this car was the valve cover leak, the engine was a real grease ball. Things that did wear out was CV joints, one starter, 2 carb repair kits, one gearbox and ball joints. Other than that what did kill it was the road salt and later the lack of parts.
haha yea they are always so oily!
@@SeasideGarage I remember also horrible gas vapor near the back seat. The fuel tanks on these as on the Vectra and Kadett are notorious for rusting out from the top or falling completely out.
Nice car. It's family 2 engine, and I'm quite sure it's non interference. I believe the family 2 only became interference after transitioning to a 16 valve dual camshaft for the Kadett Gsi, at this stage as a 2.0, probably with lengthened stroke. These are sturdy long lived engines also available in diesel versions (not to be confused with the diesel engine that was on this channel earlier).
Sold as Holden Camira in Australia, a very unloved car down here. I haven’t seen one for decades.
I had one of those, a Brazilian 1985 1.8 litter two door fastback, perhaps the most harmonious body shape of the Ascona (or Monza, in Brazil). Despite being a 1.8 litter, it was less powerful than this European 1.6 (just 83 hp), and not that economic either. But very robust and comfortable. They're rare, now, in that fastback body.
So true
I had 3 Cavalier Estates (Camira) one after another over 12 years. Obviously loved them. Could have done with the 1.8 or 2.0 engine but only available with this 1.6l. 5 speed essential as they were very high geared. Hit a huge puddle in my last one which stopped the engine. Dried out the dizzy with WD40 and off she went again. Did find the cap had no carbon brush but was running fine on the spring!. All mine suffered from rusty sills, especially towards the back. Sold the last one because I thought it wouldn't pass the MOT due to that rust but it went on to pass at least 2 more with the new owner. A great workhorse. They drive very nicely. This one well worth fixing up properly please including the paint. I personally would have changed the plugs first especially as there were new ones with the car. I bet the old cap and rotor still work OK! Mine all had leads with the metal shields on the plug caps. I don't know how essential these are. Strangely it's normal for there to be metal covers on only 3 of the 4 leads. Your comment about 1 lead being different probably means they are normal and original.
Very familiar sound there to the engine, my dad's Vauxhall Cavalier estate had that GM Family II engine, I quite liked that car, but then I do have a thing for boxy 80s estates, back when they still built them to be utilitarian rather than for the curviness of later estate cars... :P
Boxy estates where the best , today an estate is a foot longer than an saloon and no room in them
GM F2 were the best engines ever made, along with the F1
I used to have a 1985 Vauxhall Cavalier here in England, which was identical to the Opel Ascona. It was stolen three times in my ownership. They could be taken without any tools just bare hands which was annoying. Mine was right hand drive of course
True. I remember a guy telling me that he could open a locked door with a boiled sausage 😅
Had a ‘85 Opel Ascona 1.6S four door saloon in the mid 1990’s in Holland and early 2000’s the same car but as Holden Camira 2.0 SL/E Automatic with pullman interior and all the bell and whistles you good order in the mid 80’s New Zealand.
Still think they where good value for the money and reliable as daily driver. Ascona C is underrated in my opinion and never made it as a loved classic car today, at least in Holland, don’t know about Denmark.
If the clutch squeaks it's very original.
One of GM's attempts at a global platform car. It was sold here in Australia with a quite different looking body front and rear as a Holden JB Camira. Widely considered as an appalling car with lots of problems. It wasn't until the last model as a 2.0l that it was considered to be even close to a worthwhile car. The easy clutch change was the only redeeming feature... they are LONG gone from our roads here... you could barely give them away...
"It smells like something that would combust" LOL :-)
My dad had the vauxhall version in the uk it was even 4 speed like this it was a 1986 in brown sold it on after it got a bit crispy on the sills
My friend scrapped his ascona more than 10 years ago and I think that is probably close to the last one I saw.
This car looks like a shrunken Holden Comadore and this Opal is in good condition and very little rust also this Opal runs good
I am at this moment fighting the carburetor on my opel ascona 1.6s 86. That gm varajet 2 carb is annoying.
Would it be best to refurbish it or replace it in the long run? Struggling with the same thing
apperently the secondary butterfly gets stuck... :)
ii know these cars inside out. if you want to know a fun fact about these if you disconect the wiper motor earth the car wont start . it was used as an anti theft prevention in the uk amongst the ones who realy did not want their cars stolen.
haha nice detail!
Mk2 Cavalier. Maybe had an underbody treatment from new? I thought it would be rotten but it looks minted!
When you primed the carb was sound like all 4 cylinders fired or is just me. Maybe extra fuel got in manifold when you took carburator apart and wet the plugs.
8:31
Instant flashback to Austin Powers. 😁
I believe these are non interference engines, belt snaps, no damage will happen.
If I had tried this. The Cam Belt would have snapped
Ugh, MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier, only ever owned one myself and had immense problems including a foggy dark night the whole lighting system just turning itself clean off and my late father had a Commander MK2 with all the bells and whistles and was going down a very steep windy hill in south London and his brakes turned off literally and they had only just been fully replaced by dealer and he ended up piled up in the side of someone's house as for some reason his PAS also decided to turn off... He swore never to buy Vauxhall again and bought Renault after that, both the brakes and PAS units were brand new and both had failed in the time he drove it from dealer to home, investigator found no problems with installation but the main units were both badly defected from factory :( We did one Scottish holiday hire a MK1 Ascona with a large engine, fire red with vinyl roof, a stereo and front leccy windows, that was very classy, the MK2's however also made it to the US as Cavalier's and other names and they had as much problems as us Europeans did.
The Ascona was said to have better build quality than the Cavalier
I remember the old Opel's had a special sound brings back memories of sitting in the back of my stepdads Orange Kadett d ofc without seatbelts because why. And opel why does it look like there is space for an extra engine behind the engine :P
room for activities!
@@SeasideGarage yeah plenty of room for quad carbs
Are there any clues on which was the first country of registration for this Ascona? I was recently sourcing side repeater indicator lamps from this era of Opels/Vauxhalls and I’m still very unclear on which markets had them fitted when new!
Denmark 🇩🇰
@Jakob_Leth Cheers!
GM's first world car, the J car, it was almost identical in nearly every market but sold under different names. Previous world models had different grills in different countries. The J car was known as the Chevvy Monza, Holden Camira, Vauxhall Cavalier, and Opel Ascona. Back in the day when GM was a world car manufacturer, rather than just a niche North American producer(pick-ups). Sad.
I can´t make out the text on the typeplate. Is this an Antwerp-built one? Fun fact: Asconas and Mantas there were hand built by men in mustard-coloured attire weilding spot welders and hammers back in the days when safety hadn´t been invented yet.
According to the WIN number it is build in Rüsselsheim, Germany 🇩🇪
I think only the 2-door ones were built in Antwerp, both Ascona and Cavalier
I was just remembering a mate in our neck of south London who had a MK2 saloon, not sure if he put Manta front end on or the front end off a MK1 "droop" snoot, he also fitted a 2 litre Pinto engine and box from a Ford with some spicy camwork and a pair of twinned carbs, he got bored with it and put the engine/box into a Chevette van with lary fandango wheels and arches and man that thing could shift and when it got spanked hard on a track day he dumped the engine into a MK1 Escort van with oversize rear wheels and jacked up the back. Proper job done with the load area fur lined and a set of fold down bunks that made a decent double bed and where he could he RS2000'd up the front interior with proper seats and gauges, man that was a very swift little van...
Eeej, hvad er det for nogle poter på sædet? Det må være en bandit, der har prøvet at stjæle den!😂
BANDIT!
Brazilian chevette!!!
No, Chevette is the Kadett. The Ascona is the Monza
What the Monza called then? :D
@@SeasideGarage Hello! In Brazil we had the The Chevrolet Monza (Opel Ascona), the Chevette (Kadett C) and the Kadett (Kadett E). It's a mess haha.
Your one lazy mechanic. You didn’t check any of the vitals before turning it over.
Why don’t you make videos and show us how to check vitals then ?
@ watch vice grip garage, if he’s charging this customer by the hour, some friend.
Good for you that it’s not your car then 🥳
Why are you so rude ….Seppo can check an engine in anyway he likes its his channel after all
@ now that we can agree on.