Calibra Progress *!= 56k* - Page 9

fraggie · 18-06-2008, 07:25 AM

trying to get a lower vacuum hose on, it was extremely tight and ripped the skin away from my nail i was pushing it so hard. Hurts like a beatch this morning!

The battery is currently being charged. There are 4 wires which need hooking up (all to battery terminals), all fluids need putting in (anti freeze, water, pas fluid, gearbox oil and engine oil) and then were away. After that all the brakes need doing, wishbones need putting back on, mirrors need wiring in and thats about it for the mot

[GSV]Trig · 18-06-2008, 09:47 AM

What wishbones you got for it, Dave on CTOR had a terminal failure on a cheap one, luckily he wasnt going fast...

fraggie · 18-06-2008, 10:32 AM

genuine GM wishbones. Ive not skimped for any parts of this car. Dont fancy owt going wrong. Hows your hacksaw?

filbert · 18-06-2008, 11:05 AM

I hate finger nail cuts, hurt like bloody hell.
A tip, when you fill the water don't put any anti-freeze in, run it up to temperature check for leaks, then if ok drain and flush the cooling system out, then fill with anti-freeze.

[GSV]Trig · 18-06-2008, 12:40 PM

Not used my new saw yet, will do weekend after this one...

Cheap wishbone pic..

fraggie · 18-06-2008, 12:52 PM

jebus!

[GSV]Trig · 18-06-2008, 02:48 PM

Indeed, luckily he was just driving round slowly and not on one of his normal jaunts around the countryside, could of easily ended up with a dead dave...

fraggie · 19-06-2008, 10:00 PM

If i have any more problems like tonight there will soon be a cally up for sale

Getting seriously pissed off now. With all the small bits to do its just taking ages and the little bits aren't working like they should!

Tonight my aim was to get the new wishbones on, the brake calipers off and the discs off and maybe the new discs on if possible...

Well that all went out of the window!

First off i tried getting the first wishbone in but it wouldn't budge for love nor money! The verticle bolt end would not go into the passage! It was only after about 30 mins i realised the crushable inserts were stopping it and I should have inserted the lower one whilst it was in position...

Eventually I got the wishbones in...
one side...

the other...

I then took the caliper off... it was extremely tight but i eventually got it off. I then realised i needed the bracket off, only to realise i dont have the bit to get it off!

No discs off tonight

I thought id get the other caliper off instead ready for the weekend...

To say im not amused is an understatement. I hit my head on the arch and now my head hurts like a beyatch!

I had the final design for the decals tonight with the wide arch kit factored in..

And thats about it for tonight, it better start going better soon!

MadduckUK · 19-06-2008, 10:16 PM

front and rear pics aren't showing the wheel arches... probably makes no difference just saying

fraggie · 19-06-2008, 10:38 PM

oh i know that, they dont need to show any

I cant wait to get this done to be honest, getting peed off with the little bits!

Barakka · 20-06-2008, 06:35 AM

I used to know someone with a calibra in white with those yellow decals and 18" white alloys (as it came from the vauxhall dealer) looked very tasty. I'm sure he said it was a 2.5 V6 turbo bored to 2.8? I just remember it was VERY VERY fast !

It's looking very good and the amount of work you're putting in is fantastic, i'm sure there's lots of people on here reading this post wishing they had the time, energy, money and knowledge to do the same, keep the updates coming

fraggie · 22-06-2008, 05:15 PM

well i thought i had a bad day on wednesday but thats a drop in the ocean

started well today, got the other caliper off..

took off the rear discs

and on with the new ones

used the wheel bolts to make it sit right

half done..

after much persuasion off come the front discs..

new arb links on..

and on with the front discs...

this is where it all started going wrong

we filled up all the fluids and put what we thought were the right wires on the right terminals for the battery, it seems that they might have been incorrect. Went to try and start the engine and lots of smoke comes out from behind the clocks

Some wires have shorted and after much looking i cant find where they are

need to find a decent auto electrician in notts

problem is now i need this car on the road asap but i might need to look at a cheap alternative...

im devastated to be honest. I really feel like im stuck between a rock and a hard place.

More when i've decided whether to pack it in and get a working car...

MadduckUK · 22-06-2008, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by fraggie

More when i've decided whether to pack it in

dont you dare pack it in

filbert · 22-06-2008, 05:52 PM

Take a pic of the battery, I'll see if I can see what's wrong, unless you already know.
Shouldn't be hard to find the burnt wires with what you've got out.
From what you say it's only the ignition that shorted out, looks like the switch hanging down, have a smell.
Don't give up now.

fraggie · 22-06-2008, 10:22 PM

ill get an auto electrician in i think.

Im not sure where to even start looking at the loom. The ignition isn't hanging down and everything behind the clocks doesn't seem burnt at all.

Im hoping its a quick cut out / replace single wire job but knowing my luck it will mean a new loom which would mean another 6 months getting it running.

fraggie · 23-06-2008, 09:38 PM

right! well this is interesting...

After a load of electricians decided that its too big a job to come out to (and since i cant move the car) we've had to take a proactive approach to car electrics

first off i tried with the lead off which we thought might have had to go to -ve...

nothing happened, no lights on the dash etc etc.

secondly i tried with it back on positive and only turning the ignition to on...

lights back on...

thirdly i tried with it at negative for a short amount of time...

nothing again.

back to +ve lights back on.

Now the armoured cables must be positive so that means that the wiring we tried must have been correct in the first place.

After a good look around there doesn't seem to be any burnt wires or casing

now we know where the wires were meant to go i tried the starter again.

The lights on the dash dimmed again which means the ignition switch is recognising the switch. However no solenoid click. After removing the altenator fan cowling (an absolute pain in the ass with the engine in...) I thought the earthing wire looked like it had exploded!

However it was just me being dumb

The earthing wire has a white sheathing with black bits on and i found this out when i looked at my spare starter motor

At the weekend me and my dad will test the loom for power and if theres power to the starter then its definitely the starter motor gone. If not there maybe a break in the engine loom.

Both are a nightmare job but personally im hoping for the starter motor gone as its a lot easier

The fact the dash still lights up and that there was no smoke leads me to believe that because there was no starter motor movement on the ignition, i might have held it on for too long and it maybe got a little hot.
This should mean however that the ecu should be ok

Will find out more at the weekend

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