Sat for 22 Years! Can I get this very rusty MK1 1980 Vauxhall Cavalier 2000 GL running & driving? 

I would love to go back to the days when dad's Cavalier was on the pavement outside.

Anyone notice, the first Britney pic wasn’t britney, it was Christina?

Loved my Mk1 Cavaliers from the 70s and 80s. The rotor arm removal was our anti-theft device!

I like those Cavaliers. I had a lovely neighbour who worked at Ford Dagenham back in the 80s. He drove to Fords in his lovely blue Cavalier! It was very pretty and delicate next to a Cortina. Eddie if you are seeing this from heaven, you were much appreciated by me.

Overall that is not bad at all for 22 yrs stood outside ! I've seen far worse that has been rescued.... I would be stripping that to a bare shell , then doing all the metalwork , painting it as new , then methodically re-build everything to as new condition. That car is well worth saving.....they are getting quite rare these days .

Being from the US I love this channel. I get to see all these different obscure cars we never had here.

I had a MK1 Cavalier 2000 GLS and it’s one of my favourite cars that i have ever owned.

I had the 2 door version of this cavalier,made it into a manta lookalike,I was 17.loved it.

My father bought a blue 1979 1600gl in 1982 and it was a big step up in luxury compared to the previous cars we had. The reg was BHL 638T. Then in 1986 he got a china blue 1983 mk2 cavalier 1.6GL which was even better. Owned it myself and sold it in 2000 due to the ban on leaded fuel. Engine was still perfect @150,000 miles and saw it again a few years later with 200,000 miles on it with still the same owner who bought it off me. Had great velour seats, a rev counter, oil and battery guages as standard. HUB 660Y.

Love this channel, the UKs version of Vice Grip Garage 😊 Love a mk1 Cav, remember being a kid in the 80s when my dad had one with Ultravox and Dire Straits on tape! This one would have been great all welded up and a red top engine chucked in,lowered on banded steels. Would look great with the patina too, just a shame it looks too far gone.

The pokey pokey bit at the end was painful. On another note this channel is quickly becoming one of my favourites. If you keep this up this channel is going to get very big very fast, I hope you're mentally prepared for that possibility mate.

My Dad and I both had Cavaliers. They were a good car. He got an electronic ignition upgrade which improved his no end as pre ignition was an issue. His was a lovely metallic green whilst mine was white with a vinyl roof. His was a company car and far better than a string of Morris Minors and a couple of Vivas although they were more comfy than the Minors for tge 25000 miles he did a year!

Only just started watching this one and it looks great. My problem is I want to put all these cars back to pristine - just as well I can’t afford to! The Cavalier was one of the first Vauxhalls not to rust away before your eyes. That one is a great survivor- it deserves a new life!!!

Seeing that old cam-in-head Opel engine is like a visit from an old friend. I had both a Manta and an Ascona as a young man in North America. Liked and subscribed, cheers from Costa Rica.

Ah the good old days of walking home from school breathing in all the fully leaded exhaust fumes. 😂

I really enjoyed this. My dad had a canary yellow Mk1 GL, with a black vinyl roof, and I spent the entire summer restoring the scabby body work on it when I was 14. By the time I was done, it was looking much better and so he sold it. 30 odd years later and I still think about that car. I would love to have one!

This takes me back to some good old days. Had several 1.6L versions of this back in my youth. Loved them, as they ran forever, would take a good thrashing, and started first turn of the key. All my mates had Mini's or Metro's (we lived nr longbridge rover plant) but my Cavalier's made their cars look dull and slow. One of them, a '79 1.6L GL in Bronze even whipped the butt off a mate in a Dolly Sprint. lol.

Such a shame the Cavalier was so rotten at the front end, it was looking so promising especially as it fired up comparatively easy after such a long time sat. I know you have to be practical, hopefully it will go on to break to save another Cavalier. My mate had a couple of 1600's, I always preferred the Cavalier to the Vectra, the front engine rear wheel drive does it for me. Another friend my local pub landlord's son had a brand new Opel Manta back in the day, what a car!!! Anyway, keep them coming Ben, I'm always on the look out for your new videos.

This is my new favorite car channel I love British cars even though I live in the US

Good old Cam in Head 2.0 excellent engine. Used in the Manta too.

Brilliant love the MK1 Cavalier my grandad had a red 1600L and my dad had the GL in two tone metallic brown and gold great memories thank you 😍

Good old vauxhall never fail

If that Ford stereo works there’s at least £250 to £300 there. Sold one myself a few years ago for that . They’re special to mk3 capri owners :)

Crazy, these used to be everywhere once!

I love old General Motors cars .my late best friend Paul r.i.p 🙏🏻 inherited one like that but with a manual transmission from his mum as his first car. CRN372S. I had an s reg viva at the time as my first car. Over the time he had that cavalier it had been a 2.0 , then a 1.6 , the zenith carb went for a crap so we took the twin choke Weber off his stepdads abandoned volvo 340 and it ran fantastic. We bodged rust repairs and alsorts with aluminium and fibreglass, we even found a damaged manta front bumper in the scrap yard and fibreglassed it back together and put that on. God that car brings back so many golden memories , I’m literally watching this through tears of joy. Good on you mate 🙏🏻

Nice work ! Hearing the engine brought back some memories of when these cars were on the road, you could tell what car was coming just by the engine and exhaust note… fords, vauxhalls, bmws and so on… Be a shame to let this one die… Someone’s got the time and energy I hope !!!

Love the crusty cav. Another great video Ben, love watching you getting cars that should have been scrapped decades ago to work.

My dad had a '78 1600GL and it was the first car I ever drove. I remember it being 'modern'! It was a very comfortable car and as I recall, was pretty reliable too. Dad loved it and looked after it better than any car he ever owned. I wouldn't mind having one today just for the nostalgia value. By the way, the wheels are Rostyle, and I also loved those wheel trims; they made the car look 50% better when they were on.

Another tasty, classic great to see the old Vauxhall Cavalier start of my driving career in these still driving Vauxhalls to this day I really love the sarcasm and banter on this channel just my style I really love my Fridays of tasty classics

I had a copper bronze mk1 2000GL in 1985, great car, although the camshaft went and I managed to change it but full head off etc, re-ground the valves in - learned a ton about cars from it, enjoyed this vid 👍

They were lovely cars in their day! A shame to see this one so rotten underneath - but 40+ years takes it's toll on anything 😐

Love these detailed car restoration vids 😊❤

My first car was a P reg 4 door 1.9GL. It was an absolute rocketship. Got it up to 130mph on a run up the A1, speedo needle bouncing off the stop. It drove like it was on rails, even in the wet. Even got it airborne once or twice.

Ive got a 79 opel senator 3liter 25 years sitting it played on my patients big time but i got it shes running sweet like your vids proper down to earth stuff

That takes me back a proper sounding car with a massive exhaust blow. My dad had one of these 😆. My mk2 astra sounded like when the exhaust to manifold broke . Drove it round for 2 weeks loved it.

Yes its Friday night!!! Just finished weekly shop, have some treats, just checked RU-vid and a new tasty classics video to inspire me for a weekend of car work.

Another great video. Oldie with loads of rust. Glad that this Oldie has been given new life.

I am so happy seeing you

Never watched your videos before. Thoroughly enjoyed this, and your reaction when you first get it to turn over was great! Subscribed.

Another absolutely brilliant vid ben, love the old mk 1 cavalier...! I had two Opel mantas in the 90s, same engine and body at front....!

As i huge car guy, lover of anything car 🚗....collector and follow lot channels, found your channel last week. Great channel 🎉 and love the humor 😀 keep making these really top classics being revived 😊 Sterling job 👏 🙌

This was brilliant! Not only runs, but runs like a Swiss clock!

new plugs, Battery, Coil and fresh oil, put a fuel line to the carb from the can and hey presto lol

Another great will it start video would love to see the mk3 cavalier or a mk2 astra or even an old mk3 escort but what ever you have on your channel il always be watching keep up the great work

Hi, good video buddy, thanks. I had one of these back in the day (also a 1980 I think), but had a smaller engine and gold coloured, 60,000 on the odometer, (half of that downhill), anyhoo a great runner. A curious thing about Vauxhall cars before this model, they came with a fluted bonnet, sometimes chrome that ran from the screen to the front of the clip; more noticeable on earlier models (50s); not sure if their cousins Opel had this design. All in all though pretty reliable mechanically but prone to rust. I had a Victor after this also a hand me down from my father in law. Other models were the Cresta, Velox, Viva. I also owned a Viva GT; now that was a beast with plenty of torque. Greetings from the Isle of Wight.

I once owned the Cavalier 1600GLS hatchback, in orange, one of my 1st ever cars after the mini. 1st thing i noticed when you opened the boot lid was the Chrome ring on the spare! job done! all 4 rings👍

Ben....you are a maniac.....but we have all been there....pile of rust and operatic confidence.....old cars are a potent and highly addictive 0:13 drug...keep the vids coming.. Great !!!! 0:13

The good old 2,0 cih Opel engine runs forever

Awesome video thanks, more videos of this era cars pleeaaassssseeeee. Superb channel, thanks from us all for your hard work 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Another cracking find! Love these Cavaliers, old man had one in Yellow. Keep them coming fella 👍🏼

Beautiful car. The colour on the underside of the boot is just wonderful!!

My Dad had a 2000GL 1978 when I was very little. Still have fond memories of it, and can still remember the reg - TER 243S! ❤

The manual transmission 2000GL Version was a lovely car to drive. Very smooth with tall gears. Would comfortably do 90mph in 3rd gear.

I love working on old cars like this they are such a pleasur to work with,so thanks for sharing i enjoyed thos and see you in the next video.

Knew it'd run, those good old Opel CIH engines are solid

brilliant channel would love to see that car brought back to its former glory best wishes from Shropshire 👍

Stumbled across this. Pressed like half way through the intro 😂 then stayed for the show! Excellent work 👌

Love the introductions to your projects / videos. They are absolutely priceless 😂

I like your Cavalier attitude to this Ben😁

I love that cavalier. I might even look for one myself. I had a sports hatch back in the day.

This brings back memories, my first car was a white 4 door 1.9GL. Mine didn't get the passenger door mirror, that was an optional extra. I drove it all through the winter with no heating, finally figured out the lead stop on the heater cable had come off the heater slider, 5 minutes and it was fixed. Sold it to a friend who ran it out of oil and seized the engine.

my first car was an X reg MkII (same colour as this one) - very nostalgic video for me this one.

The fence is beautiful!

Great video, lovely car,I had 1 of these a 1.6 L in pale blue AMJ 701S saloon,which I reversed into a lamp post,pushed out the back and sold it Also had a white 2 door coupe JLB 822V lovely cars,

I have just discovered your channel, and I love the content so I have subscribed. This is much more entertaining than watching TV.

What a cool channel Ben absolutely loving it 😀

Sheer joy 😊 I’m at 1:06 and loving every minute. She wants to live, and deserves to too. And yes, I subscribed 😉 They did a 1300 too! Still looks great, so much prettier with its Opel Manta front end than the european Opel Ascona version. À mate of mine at uni in the early 80’s had one in two tone green. Dark green lower panels and metallic green for the rest. Gorgeous. I’m in love 🥰

Lovely video, first decent car I had. They came in 1300, 1600, 1900 (replaced later by 2000).

love the videos. love the cars you work on .keep up the good work all the best 👍

nice job getting it going . some of the older generation used to remove the rotor arm and stick it in the ash tray to stop them nicking the car . might be in there .

I subscribed because the first video I saw was this today. My mate had an Opel Berlina, in the rest of Europe they call them Opels in UK Vauxhall. It was older a bit I think, but was running great. We even once took the engine out, just with our hands because it is so tiny in comparison to modern engines. These cars had a really great design that looks even good today. Back then people would look a lot at the car as there are not many like that alive anymore and on the streets. All original they go for a lot on mobile and here you can get the number plates for historical vehicles provided the vehicle is in mostly original setup. You get a lower tax I think, I know there were some benefits of having a plate like that. I was also thinking that maybe the glass inside the boot is from a broken window at some point, person maybe thought they will sell the car better with windows intact, replaced it with some spare, but did not bother cleaning the car. Or maybe they just did it to save the car from moisture inside. All sorts of possibilities.

Hi, I had the Australian version being the Holden Gemini SLX Automatic transmission, in Tulip Yellow.Purchased brand new in 1981. I owned this car for twenty years. The main problem I ever had was the head went about four times being the design of the water flow . Absolutely gorgeous little car. This little lady deserves a full restoration. I have nothing but praise for these cars as it served me well. Unfortunately I made a poor decision and replaced it in 2001. Never should have got rid of it. It was the world car for General Motors in that period. Was sold under many brands including Vauxhall, Opel,Buick,Pontiac and would you believe that in 1982 under the Cadillac badge a small number of about twenty with all the luxury features. I would love to get my hands on one of those Cadillacs. This is a gorgeous little car. Love this and your video Austin Greenough Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

I'm nearly 50 years old and the Opel Manta B (the European version of this excellent car) was always my favourite. Good luck with that gem! I'm painfully jealous... I used to drive a Kadett B from '68, should never have sold it. So... really enjoying your video!! Best regards from The Netherlands!

As a german person, it was super weird when to see a Voxhall for the first time as a kid. In my mind, they still are rebranded Opels with the steering wheel on the wrong side XD. This one right there would have been an Opel Ascona.

A rare car worth saving and getting back on the road. My late uncle worked for Vauxhall for over a40 years and he used to have one of these. It was immaculate. It’s nice to see they are still out there. Considering how long this has been parked up it’s in good condition really, the rot isn’t as bad as it should be really, and it’s rotten in the usual places. Someone save it.

My dad had one of these, my first drive after passing my test, put it into a tree for him and saved him a fortune 😂 that was nearly 30 years ago, it was good nick but the paint lacquer went dull. Love your videos 👍

I come for the cars, I stay for the laughs. "Would you say you're hoovering the underside of your bonnet enough" brilliant!

My sister had the Chevette estate. It was a great car and so easy to work on, plenty of space in the engine bay unlike cars of today

in 1992 I had a mk1 1980 cavalier 1600 with white weller wheels on it with the thin blue and red pinstripes around the circumference of the wheels, it was alwaysn a bugger to get started in the mornings turning over slowley and it had a serious water leak to I had to refil it with water about every 50 miles but for a hundred quid it was cheap motoring at the time, love the sound of this one takes me back to the good old days of motoring on the cheap. might need to tweak the timing plus 3 to 5 degrees for unleaded or super unleaded fuel these were built to run on leaded fuel afterall.

I've only just found you and I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I used to work on these cars when they were new and thank goodness they started better than this one. They were great cars and they were far more superior than the models they replaced. So sad to see this one in such a bad way, the 2000GL would have been a great spec car in it's time and particularly pretty in this colour.

Amazing pal keep it up ,loved seeing this one starting I bought a rover p6 project which has been sidelined due unforseen circumstances just wish I could get mine going

Love these videos of cars abandoned and resurrection work to get the engine started. At least the engine is not seized

Really enjoyed that. Great moment when she sprang into life. Such a shame she is too far gone, but as you said. She might make a good banger racer. Just needs a few girders welding onto her chassis. I have subscribed and look forward to your next project. 😊

Love the shape of old cavaliers would look good as a classic sports car

My mate's sister had one in the mid 80s and ran over my bicycle in it. Bent the pedal crank a bit but it was still rideable!

Brilliant and great choice of old car. My very first car (1988) was a blue mk1 cavalier same as yours but manual 1600, what memories!! (2nd car was a yellow auto very rusty version :) )

I used to work on these when I was an apprentice, if I remember correctly, the camshaft was recommended to be changed by Vauxhall at around 60000 miles....and the gear oil was changed for a synthetic type to stop/quieten down the chatter from the idler gears....

LOVELY VIDEO! well done! My brother has an opel ascona B. 1979 that we put a 2.2 injection engine in. really fast car now =) but they rust as hell these cars. there is an old punchline of opel in sweden: "Köp en opel, bli belåten, se naturen genom plåten" it means something like this if i translate it directly: "by an opel and get pleased, watch the earth between your knees. but i came up with a twist on it myself just now "by an opel and get pleased, when its rusted away u can grow flowers in it atleast" 😆

Cavalier sports hatch has to be my favourite.

Only found your Channel.and loving it, I had 3 VC's one was a 1.6l reg Biw 5499, next was 1.9GL Reg Kia 3960, next was the 2litre Burnt orange Gls sports hatch Oia 7887, great old cars, keep doing what your doing and also forgot had a blue fwd opel ascona put me off Vauxhalls/Opel for life it broke my heart 😅😅

Your show is great!!! You are very entertaining... Love how you work like the real shade tree mechanics work. Mostly outside, mostly guess work! Lol. Don't change a thing !

A 1980 1.6L Cavalier was the last read wheel drive car that I owned until last year when I bought a RWD Mercedes. It was streets ahead in build quality compared to the 1977 Capri I had before it. A lovely smooth, comfortable reliable car, I changed the steel wheels that came on it for the same wheels that were on the car above. It is a pity that car is beyond repair but I still fondly remember FTD552W.

Spend many hours in the back of one of these bad boys happy memories

What a brilliant video the first one I've seen I was so excited when it started very well filmed and presented. Brilliant 👍

Awesome mate she defo deserves a full mechanical rebuild and overhaul, I'd probably keep the body looking as is 👍

My dad had one of these. The memories :D

The color on inside the boot lid is fantastic. Love that blue.

The Solex DIDTA carb was a pain on these engines, changing to a twin Weber DMTL was a revelation on my Ascona A, wish I still had it. Great vid 👍

That is quite an interesting car! The front suspension has no McPherson struts! That is a proper front suspension! The rear suspension has a Panhard bar, and it's not even a Panhard! The rear quarter panels are so much like an old Toyota Corolla, with the squared rear end and the vent in the sail panel..... The oil pump is literally hanging out in the wind, so it can say "Hello" to the oil filter - never seen that before! I really like the look of the car with the hood open. Were it mine, I think I'd keep the hood open or remove it. It just has a good look, as if to say "Look at my engine and radiator layout"! And the first time you ran it with the Holley fuel pump, there was a sort of melodic quality - as though it were saying "wick, wick wick, wicka, wick wick wick, wicka". Or maybe "boop boop boop boopa, boop boop boop boopa". Had sort of a backbeat to it. Such an interesting car.....

Enjoyed that video very much so , discovered your channel a couple days back