The Mk II Astra, the car where I first started my motoring life, my first car, even though it wasn’t the first car I’d driven. Subsequently I probably view it with rose tinted spectacles, but for the purposes of this piece I will try and be as objective as possible. So why with the various pieces of interesting machinery available in the early 90’s did I choose the stodgy Vauxhall?
For several years before my seventeenth birthday my mum and dad took me driving at the weekend in an Astra GTE 16v, around local supermarket car parks (remember those days, when shops weren’t open on a Sunday!). Now, obviously there was not a chance in hell of getting insurance on one of these, so I had to settle for closest thing I could afford. A 1.3 it was then!
A Merit or L model wouldn’t suffice though. I wanted all the sport accoutrements, which at that time included Recaro seats, rev counter, three spoke steering wheel and spoilers, in effect I wanted an SRi with a 1.3 engine. After studiously studying the Vauxhall catalogue, the only car that came close was the 1.3GL. It had the rev counter, the same interior material as the old GTE, so the seats could easily be changed, and as for the spoilers, well I’d just have to fit one. Eventually I found a light metallic blue one and as luck would have it, it was fitted with a boot lid spoiler.
Anyone that owned a 1.3 MkII Astra will probably remember it for one thing, the cracking engine. It revved freely, punched way above its weight and on the whole was quite economical when your foot wasn’t welded to the bulkhead! Sadly though the suspension set up wasn’t to the same standards. Whilst it was safe and hung on gamely, it had no where near the aplomb of the Peugeots of the time. Body roll was monumental and the skinny 155 section tyres promoted understeer rather than entertaining handling.
The interior was trimmed in 80’s velour, and the dash was made from hardest plastic known to man, but on the whole it was durable and far better built than its French opposition of the time. The biggest design flaw from the driver’s seat however, was the thick C pillar which from the outside was trimmed with a black plastic vent. It looked very cool as a design feature, but rear quarter vision was seriously limited. Refinement was also quite good for a car of its type, being a half decent cruiser and acquitting itself well on motorway runs.
As a package, for the average driver, the MkII Astra was brilliant and far better than the equivalent Ford Escort. For me though, it needed improving. First up were the springs, dampers and anti roll bars, which were swapped with those from a written off SRi a friend had acquired. Also off that car came the brakes but sadly missing was the interior, so it was off to the breakers yard to source a set of seats which eventually came from a Cavalier (a time when manufacturers made parts interchangeable from model to model!). Last but not least, wishing to retain the look of the standard car, the tyres were changed to a set of 175’s. The ride quality had been compromised but now the car handled.
It served me well for nearly two years, seeing me pass my driving test, going to university, and enjoying many a great night out until the point where tin worm took hold. It wasn’t terminal, just annoying. Besides, by that point, I had two years no claims bonus, so it was the right time to trade up to something quicker……
I have owned many Vauxhall Astra GTE's and I am currently rebuilding another one just need to get rid of some ford parts to buy some parts.