Vauxhall Astra mk1: ownership REVIEW! Do I like it? Where have I been? What's next? Opel Kadett D 

Loving the retro Sealink British Ferries sticker. I gave Ian (Hubnut) a mid-80s Brittany Ferries GB sticker which now sits proudly on Elly's rump. I used to rock one on my 300zx I have an even older Townsend Thoresen one in my collection. I have a super rare 80s Brittany Ferries 'F' sticker too which will go on a MK1 Twingo when I eventually get one!

"Er, it's not a saloon mate. It's a hatchback" 🤣. Great video, Siôn!

I really love this car! The colour, the pointless-ness of the saloon boot, the interior! Fantastic!

So glad to have found this series of videos, brings back so many happy memories, Thanks! Between 1986 and 1986 I owned exactly the same car, a W reg booted Jamaica Yellow with the same colour velour trim. WGF620W, registered in May 1981. Still have the original Jack Brabham Group rear number plate in the garage. I tried to upspec it, I fitted illuminated heater, clock and dash lights, front dash speakers (all cheap at the time from a main dealer) cigar lighter, glove box and central console from a scrapyard. I loved the car it went really well compared to my mates W reg Mk3 Escort L Mk3 CVH and I never found it wanting. It too lasted well and was still on the road until 2000, the old chap who had it after me kept it until then and I still have the hope it's gathering dust in a garage in Bristol somewhere. These early Astra's were German built and far better than the British built ones that seemed to rust far quicker. My then girlfriend's British built X reg 1.2 hatch (WWL183X) needed both wings replaced before it's 8th birthday as well as the hatch gas strut mount corroding through. Also early in 1980 my Dad took delivery of a very early Kadett D 1.3 LS, FKU195V, also a booted version with the same interior trim, but with headrests and a rear windscreen wiper that was mounted through the rear screen above the boot line. During the 80s and 90s I managed a fleet of M1, 2 and 3 Astras at that time they really were fantastic cars, reliable, performing better than the equivalent Fords, easy and quick to repair, clutches and cambelts changed in an hour or so, All capable of reaching 100k + with no problems. I do recall the carburettors being problematic on the 1.2, mine often refused to idle. Thanks again, keep the vids coming, I'm most envious!

Your Astra saloon reminds me of the exact same car that my neighbours had though theirs was blue in colour, certainly a rarity today. Personally I think you should do a comparison with other trim levels just to see what we've been missing on posher Astras😀.

I am looking forward to you do some tinkering, cleaning and fixing it!

It's a wonderful car. I've been in one as a passenger and drove the next model quite often and they were very comparable. Very capable and comfortable cars which were the best selling car in the Netherlands for years (as Opel ofc)

My 2nd car was a 1.3s A reg 3 door hatch. Brilliant car!

A comparison between your astra and a daihatsu applause would be funny and on the also driven channel a road trip to Mexico to see if you dare to break the allowed speed limit.

Astra/Chevette and/or early mk3 Escort base model comparison could be fun :D Pity that early Orions were all posh, unlike the Astra saloon!

I've had my Astra fix and now I feel contented. Thank you.

Thank you very much. What a great car in a fun update video. Amazing colour too! How about organizing a Morsels & Motors Meetup, 'The Summer Finale' at for instance, Gilk's Garage Café or alternatively, at an appropiate locality near you. You could even make the event a morning, cars & coffee style gathering. Just turn up, have a coffee, a decent to-and- fro about classic 'starter' cars and after two hours, everbody happy and back on the move again. Here my thoughts, since you asked 😊 Many thanks for all tinkering and testing of your own and others' (Proton video comes to mind) 'base'' survivor cars, good stuff, cheers 👍

Glad to see this back on channel

Great to see the astra again what a lovely car great video as usual Shaun 👍

Great review & brilliant this incredible survivor is in your care, look forward to you welding the rear arches

I believe the saloon was available across the range on the Opel Kadett versions. Given Ireland's insatiable love for hatchloons, they were very popular over here. 🙂

Hello. I'm from Ukraine. I am also a 1980 Кadet 1.3 user. Deluxe package. I have been using it for 22 years.

Hi Sion, yeah some comparisons would be great!

Definitely need to see some welding please, that would be great. Perhaps you could team up with Matt @ FD for a team weldathon on your respective fleets!

I love this car! It's such a nice colour. You definitely should do more videos on it. I think a POV-style gentle drive along different roads would be a good one. All the best with the rear arch restoration.

3:03 Get a copy made and cable tie it somewhere discreet in the engine bay. That's what I do in my lorry - i have a dog with me and she has been known to stand on the lock button whilst looking out the window. It's saved me a couple of times!

I had the 1300 L estate called Michael in the late 80s loved it. As a student it was great as you could go places and fold the rear seats down making a good sleep space. Unfortunately it got stolen twice, first time I bought it back off the insurance company for £50 and fixed the locks and window. 2nd time they wrapped it round a bollard. 😢 Current I have my mums old mk4 and it is similar to drive but I can’t believe the modern Corsa is as big as the old Astra. Cars need to shrink back to reasonable sizes.

So glad to see this car getting the love it deserves

Always good to see this fantastic car , not quite the base model though , too many doors !

Wow! I've just discovered your excellent channel and have subscribed. I had a MK1 Astra, the exact same model and colour the reg was UVG 12X . It had a flat spot In acceleration that we could never cure. However it was a fantastic little car!! Thanks for the video, it brings back happy memories! 👍🏻

A comparison with the higher-spec model sounds like a great idea! Although please bring back the funky shorts from the Fiesta video! 😉

Love this little old motor and your channel in general Sion 👍

Great to hear you're getting so much joy out of the Astra! A very underrated car as a classic. A perfect example of car that does not look exciting, and was certainly not bought by 'car people' when it was new, yet is surprisingly good to drive. Personally I'd love some comparisons to contemporary competitors.

Love the Astra . Never managed to own one unfortunately. Had two Chevettes , a Viva and Cavalier Sri over the years. All good cars . So I do enjoy stuff on Vauxhalls. What about a road trip to The Motorist at Selby with a stop at NY500 at Pickering finishing with fish and chips in Whitby ?

Such cool old car

Love these videos, I'm now the proud owner r of A854 OTL the China Blue Astra that appears in this video at 6.45.

Very very cool, i also own one just in Opel form and 1.3S. One thing i also noticed is that you dont have a fuel economy gauge, which really just shows you how much throttle you are putting down. Im hoping to get mine back on the road as soon as i get my license, cheers

Hi Sion a brilliant video on the Astra love seeing it and brings back many happy memories of my dads later mk2 (one with the same engine a 1.2 base mk2) and two belmonts I remember all of the E Vauxhalls were downgraded from the standard cars my dads mk2 was a very early mk2 Astra he went on a waiting list for it and it was much the same loads of blanking plates and exposed metal and the old opel engine too! Dad also had novas and chevettes and I always recall he wouldn’t swap his chevette for a Astra mk1! He had a red y reg and swapped it for a newer b reg one of the last but then went to a Astra mk2 go figure lol 😂 he said he preferred the chevette! It would be interesting to see a comparison with the higher range Astra and also from a personal perspective with a chevette which were still being sold alongside the mk1 Always remember the astras we had being so comfortable it’s a shame they are rare now I would love one My friend had a rare celebrity special edition which was extremely rare new and he souped it up and wrote it off and several met their demise in this way much like escorts of the era Well done Sion keep the Jamaica yellow flag flying! 🇯🇲

Cracking car - You lucked out with the OHV engine unfortunately - the 1.3 OHC unit that I had was more than adequate. I really liked the interior and driving dynamics on these cars. Better than the Fiesta due to the engine

This base model was never sold here is Sweden but I remember there were a lot of them in Denmark back in the 80's.

My first car, ever. was a similar one in beige... a 3 door, 1.2 Opel Kaddett (Ireland had Opels instead of Vauxhalls) It was beige on beige with beige accents...lol

What a brilliant car! Any future videos at all featuring the Astra would be great!

Same engine as the kadett c and the 1.0 ohv nova. Got the engine in my kadett with a few tweeks and is running around 80bhp (285 cam,chevette valves and a weber 28/36 dcd which back in its day was quicker than an escort mexico and that's before you got to the bends where it would simply leave it behind due to the more modern suspension setup. I do have a dellorto 40 and a 305 cam setup spare for it. The 1.3ohc would be a better engine for the kadett d/mk1 astra

Great to see how happy you are with the Astra! Question though... I know one of the 340s went to the US (I think)... Where's the other two?

I really want a POV drive 😁

That thing is peachy!

mk 4/5 cortinas worn overhead cam knocking sound was similar to the mk1 astra 1.3 if I recall correctly😊

Brave of you going to weld that car as a first practice. Thin rusty steel is very hard to weld and a little hole tends to be much larger when you cut out all the rot. Decent welder required and fire extinguisher.

Love this car, can we see the planned work in Autumn please?

My folks had the face lifted mk1 with the same 1.2S engine but in hatchback form The interior is slightly nicer most notably with updated seats with poverty spec head rests (the ones with a hole thru them). Gear-lever a bit shorter as cavalier And square head lights

I love tinkering videos on old and even new cars, not sure if you do them but just a suggestion.

I quite enjoy the quirks of this being so basic. Much more interesting than a car that was better equipped ironically.

great looking car, just don't see them anymore. love the round headlights and colour - Jamaica Yellow?

I'd be interested in watching you weld, perhaps starting in the boot where you are a little more at liberty for error.

I had a beige hatch 1300s bored out to 1360 and it would keep up with a cavalier SRi back In the day 😂

Used to be a yellow mk1 Astra estate in my local area in Scotland. Also a W reg, reg started with the letters PGA. Must have been registered in the same area as this car. Sadly haven't seen it for a couple of years now.

Yes indeed the astra mk1 saloon is rare. Now then I always thought the black plastic / rubber things on the top of the boot were hinges . But today because of your vlog I realise they are bump stops to protect the rear glass from the metal boot , is that right ?.

Nice one. Out of interest which has the nicer engine out of your Astra and your Fiesta?

north coast 500 drive?

I simply cannot believe that you have owned the Astra for 10 months already. Time soon passes.

Incorrect service procedure? 😂. Wonder what that means? Not changing the oil?

Isn’t the s for sports

I’d like to see you fit a 2 litre engine, with or without turbo 😂

Ah yes, the 1.3s could be heard from a mile off with their knocking camshafts. Ours went through two in about 50,000 miles.

Next time on the way to N Wales, film with @dans_mk1astra and do a twin test