A rare beauty

[leestudd30]

My uncles 16V was gorgeous! Was a shade of metallic silver with the anthracite alloys on it and he'd had a high end end alpine stereo put in. As a child I remember it being stupidly quick, weren't they 0-60 in something like 7.3 secs? He sold when it got to be too much hassle to fix and the guy wrote it off in a ditch!

[steve_earwig]

I got it from a lease hire place in Liverpool, this was in 1996 (I think) and it was a 1991 with about 18,000 miles. It had some marks on the paint on the roof from bird poo (I presume it had been standing a while) but other than that it was indeed immaculate. I sold it so I could get my then girlfriend driving, in it's place I had a 1987 1.3 Ashtray estate - depressing wasn't the word

[STALLED]

Saw a Calibra Turbo 4x4 when walking back to the car the other night - twas immaculate!

Even they must be rare over in the UK as well?

[waue1978]

They weren't that common when they were new as everybody went for the Escort Cosworth instead. Now they are like rocking horse poo - the same goes for the Cavalier version.

[Welly]

Wasn't it the Vauxhall 4 x 4 system that would 'wind itself up' if just one of the tyres had less tread than the others? in other words you had to keep all 4 tyres the same so they all rotated at the same speed and didn't frighten the transfer box

[waue1978]

Wasn't it the Vauxhall 4 x 4 system that would 'wind itself up' if just one of the tyres had less tread than the others? in other words you had to keep all 4 tyres the same so they all rotated at the same speed and didn't frighten the transfer box

That's the one Welly. The end result was that loads of cheapskate owners converted them to front wheel drive. I always fancied getting a 4x4 Cav converted to rear wheel drive instead, but only ever heard of people disconnecting the drive to the rear wheels & never the front. My old GSi was a bit of an animal pulling away & in the wet, would be still spinning the wheels in 3rd. Never got to drive a 4x4 Cav or Calibra to know how they handled.

[Welly]

Mmm, Vauxhall didn't really do 4x4 after that did they

My mate bought a brand-new Frontera in 1993 and was told under no circumstances to engage the 4wd on normal roads as it would wind the gearbox up in no time flat the 4wd was ONLY to be used where at least one of the wheels was free to spin (presumably so the power had somewhere to 'go' rather than smash the box up).

[waue1978]

Mmm, Vauxhall didn't really do 4x4 after that did they

My mate bought a brand-new Frontera in 1993 and was told under no circumstances to engage the 4wd on normal roads as it would wind the gearbox up in no time flat the 4wd was ONLY to be used where at least one of the wheels was free to spin (presumably so the power had somewhere to 'go' rather than smash the box up).

The first time I drove a Frontera we couldn't even get it into 4wd. It was only 5 years old at the time. Seriously, with both of us trying to move the stick it just wasn't having any of it - maybe Vauxhall welded it in place as a failsafe?

[Welly]

My mate's car was one of the very first Frontera's and was kinda cool because is was different like a fun/adventure car and no-one else had one..............but neither was it fun or adventurous the wheezy 2.0 8-valver had trouble hauling the thing around with any kind of urgency and it would wallow about like a boat when shown a corner. And it was sh*t off-road

[FarmerPug]

the frontera never got a good reputation here a few farmers bought them but they gave up as soon as a trailer or any work had to be done. They were just a collection of GM and iszuzu bits badly mixed up

[ToddM]

Talking 'bout Vauxhalls I saw a K reg Cavalier yesterday which looked pretty good but I also keep noticing a Mk1 Opel Vectra (same as the Cavalier but Mainland Europe) 1.6, LHD in absolute MINT condition as I come back from school. In all it's glorious beigeness with lovely 14" alloys (if I'm not mistaken), driven by an old lady.

[Archangel]

I had a saab 96 ( V4 Taunus engine with auto choke which was quickly converted to manual)which needed a refurb carburetter (main jet was heavily worn ) which when changed was a great ride ( first time on 15" wheeels ), followed by a white 99 which i had to change the gearbox on but a beautiful car to drive ,working heated drivers seat , bloody lovely in the winter. both "L" reg 1972

[STALLED]

The first time I drove a Frontera we couldn't even get it into 4wd. It was only 5 years old at the time. Seriously, with both of us trying to move the stick it just wasn't having any of it - maybe Vauxhall welded it in place as a failsafe?

Only the Pajeros and Shoguns you can select 4x4 on the go whilst the car is moving - Aptly titled..."super select"

[waue1978]

The first time I drove a Frontera we couldn't even get it into 4wd. It was only 5 years old at the time. Seriously, with both of us trying to move the stick it just wasn't having any of it - maybe Vauxhall welded it in place as a failsafe?

Only the Pajeros and Shoguns you can select 4x4 on the go whilst the car is moving - Aptly titled..."super select"

It wasn't moving at the time - we were sat outside his house. Isuzu Troopers could be changed to 4x4 "on the fly" though - only up to 60km/h though if memory serves.

[FarmerPug]

my suzuki shifts into and out of 4x4 when moving there is a bit of reluctance if its on full lock but it will shift which is good you can gain speed over mucky ground with it on and knock it off to
take corners sideways
most jeeps these days do it though although they have electronic control over the transfer box so probably change when it suits them, the hilux still has a manual changer and it will change on the move.