My dad had an 84 GL Hatchback from new- green car with green interior. Dashboard looked like Blackpool illuminations compared to the two Mark 1 Cavaliers previously. It then got swapped for a 88 CD with an even plusher velour interior. Many memories with those cars
I had a Mk2 hatch. It was our second, 2nd car is that makes sense. Free, wouldn't start, police aware sticker, a relation said I could have i if I could move it. I managed to bump start it, drove it 100 miles back home. Scrap starter motor and engine mount (£15) she was good to go. I think I changed the oil once? Ran her for 3 years and sold her for £300. No rust but had been hand painted in brown gloss. Ugly and beautiful at the same time. Drove across fields in her to go fishing. We used to go train spotting with the kids when they were small, we used to sit on the roof. She was all covered in dents ... really abused, but what fun we had. A £15 solid reliable car.
The mk2 Cav was one of many GM “J-Type” models, which all shared the same chassis. The Ascona and Chevrolet Monza built in Brazil, are identical more or less to the Cav, but models from Holden, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile and even Isuzu existed with the same platform (plus more!) I own a 1977 mk1 Cav, an “Early-spec” mk2 Cav Hatch, a “Mid-spec” mk2 Convertible and a “Late-spec” mk2 Saloon. Those are the three variants, with two face-lifts.
Had to wait another year or two for the 1.8 litre injection engined versions and the CD spec. 1.8 SRi was also available. My dad was never keen on these, preferring the bigger Carlton instead.
I don't think that the Mk2 Cavalier achieved its potential until they introduced their 1.8i engine for the SRi and CDi. They were a strong competitor to Ford's 2.3 V6 and later Ford's 2.0i.
These were an improvement over the MK1 Cavalier, in that they were more practical, more spacious, with better fuel economy (especially the later Isuzu sourced diesels GM would use in these cars), and especially in comfort terms ie the heating and ventilation system was better as all the vents were fan-boostable for once (the MK1 Cavalier had ram-air effect only from the centre facia vents with no fan assistance at all, while outer vents delivered fan-boosted warm air for demisting purposes). I would personally have liked to have seen a facility to shut off the cool air in winter on the MK2 Cavalier and supplement the heater linked outer vents with warm air through the centre vents additionally for even better cold weather comfort,
Forgot to mention, I did a video on the mk2 Cav “press pack” a couple of years ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f1O46P14yz8.html&feature=sharea
Brazil did. They had the Chevrolet Monza, which was virtually identical. In the USA, there were many models which shared the mk2 Cav floor pan, including Cadillac, Pontiac etc
@@thewiseguy3529 oh lol, have to be honest, never experienced one close up, other than the Monza as a mate owned one her in the U.K., but that was the Brazilian mk2 anyway, which I presume was better than the US versions lol 😂
@@R1CH130 I only rode in my friends sister's cavalier a handful of times and my dad's friends wife's car. They're not bad at all, but I was used to premium automobiles as a kid so I picked it apart lol but there's nothing wrong with them. They're just basic comfortable economical transportation for the time. Today they're like a horse and buggy hahahahha
