N o v a B u g . c o m

My Calibra

I'd wanted a Calibra since 1991 when I first saw one! It's taken a few years but summer 2005 saw me buy this, my first Calibra!

Unfortunately, after wanting one for so many years, things didn't work out as I had planned!
I was in the process of selling my GSi and I was running my Audi. The Audi and Nova had both given me grief so wanted rid of both really, but at that point, the Audi was taxed so I was using that whereas the Nova wasn't.
Anyway, quite by chance, I spotted this Calibra in a local car dealers so went to have a close look.
On first inspection, it didn't seam to be for sale so I asked the owner and he said I could buy it but only as a trade sale as they were going to send it to the auctions (it had been traded in)
I thought fare enough and took it for a test drive.
The only thing immediately wrong with it was the rear brakes binding but I figured that would be easy enough to fix.
I also noticed that the driver's door window didn't shut properly as it was obvious that the top few teeth on the regulator has worn! Again though, I thought an easy fix so didn't worry about it!
Anyway, I bought it and after spending a little extra cash and a little time, I sorted the rear brakes and the elecy window problem.
The brakes needed replacing but I found an SE on a local scrap yard with almost new rear disks and pads, so got those from there, plus the same car had elecy windows intact, so that pore crashed SE also gave up it's driver's door mechanism. I also sourced a few other bits and bobs from the same SE too, like new tailgate struts (I found mine to be a little weak due to the heavy spoiler)

Anyway, all was goin well - I'd got the little probs fixed and I was ready to get her on the road (I'd kept her in the garage while I was sorting out the probs and continued to use the Audi).

Insurance Fun!

Now came the Insurance fiasco!
You'd think it would be simple to swap over insurance wouldn't you? Well, normally it would, but in order to drive the Calibra, I also needed to TAX it and to do that, I needed my insurance documents. I specifically asked that they be posted to me for a certain day so I could get it taxed that morning. Did they come? NO! Was I annoyed? YES!
I had to wait another 4 days for them to come through! 4 days! In that time, I was left without a car so getting too and from work was a nightmare and I had to rely on lifts from my Dad and my Sis!

OOPS!

Anyway, I finally got my insurance documents though and I was all excited - yeh, I was finally gonna get to drive my Calibra! I went and got it taxed and I was on my way to pick my Girl Friend (now my Fiancé ;-)) up from work.
It was driving like a dream, lovely and smooth and just generally really nice. It was a gorgeous sunny day so I'd got the roof open and the windows down and was cruising along loving it.
THEN, oh dear, there was this horrid bang and screech and the car cut out! ARGGGGHHHH! That's never a good thing!
The oil warning light came on just before it went bang too!
To cut a VERY long story short, I'd lost oil pressure and the engine had suffered some serious damage!
There was no way I was gonna be able to fix it anytime soon and I needed a car (I'd been so lost without one while waiting for insurance documents to get here), so I was left with the decision of Audi or Nova! Well, the Audi was never gonna win against the Nova really and I was only using that 'cos the Nova was without tax. By this time, the Audi had no tax either so the Nova it was, given the choice.
Again though, I was left with waiting for insurance docs. to get through but I made sure I got them in time - the insurance company had already had an ear-bashing, so they pulled their finger out this time!
I got the docs, got it taxed and the Nova was back on the road.

Cally back on the road!

A month or two passed (lost track now of how long it was) but I sourced an engine from a Cav SRi inc, the gear box and all ancillaries (starter, alternator, all inlet and injection complete) for £100! Within a few hours work, with the help of my best mate John, this was fitted, along with new bottom ball joint whilst the suspension was in bits to get the drive shaft out. A couple of hours of extra work another day had the fuel pipes and electrics all set up then came the moment of truth!
The engine kicked into life but oh no! it sounded as bad as the old one had! Talk about tappet noise!!! I was worried, very worried! BUT I turned it off, left it a few seconds and tried again and this time, it was smooth and gorgeous! Thank fcuk for that!

First year on the road

It's been a good reliable daily driver since then.
I've had to do a few jobs to keep up with general wear and tear. With 118k on the clock as I type this, it's doing well.
Parts I've replaced since been on the road (just over a year now) are as follows:

New front brake discs and pads (old ones warped causing shudder under braking from high speed!>
Pair of front lower suspension arms/wishbones as rear bushes were worn
Fuel damper and fuel filter
Door handles as the spring broke in the drivers handle, but worked out nice as got the colour-codes Vectra ones instead, which where already in the right Glacier white! Quite handy (no pun intended!)
New timing belt fitted at same time as general service done (Oil, filter, sparks etc)
New front to rear brake pipes (now in copper) for the MOT
New near-side-front ABS sensor bracket needed for MOT. I has to remove sensor as was handing down, so warning light was always on!
Alternator swapped from old engine
New Battery due to probs as noted further down
New Fuel Pipe at the rear of the car. There's a small metal section that runs behind the suspension that corroded, so I had a lovely leak! Now fixed although I'm planning on renewing the rest of the metal fuel pipe ASAP as MOT in looming and it's looking like it's ready for doing.
Recently fitted new suspension due to worn shocks. I fitted a full GMax Lowering kit, springs and shocks, so it looks and handles a million times better now!
Pipercross cone-filter from the GSi is fitted at the mo, because the bracket for the K&N broke!
New exhaust from cat-back. I've not gone got a stainless for now due to not knowing if I'll be keeping this car long-term, so standard steel. I have gone for the twin-pipe early 16v type though, for better performace and looks

Another job I've done was cleaning up the front brake callipers and the sliders as they were not free enough to allow the ABS to work properly! Every time the ABS kicked, it made all sorts of weird noises, the warning light came on and it felt horrible through the foot peddle!
I was worried something serious was wrong!
The 1st step was the new discs and pads as above. Whilst it was all off, I cleaned and greased the calliper sliders as they were very stiff and dirty!
Once this was done, it was great! No more warning light, the brakes were a lot sharper and no more shudder!
A few days later, the ABS warning light was back on! Oh no! I thought, but all it was was a broken ABS sensor bracket!
I got a new one but fitting wasn't so easy as the stud bolt snapped off and I had to drill this out from the steering knuckle! I don't have tapping tools so only option was to drill all the way through and use a small nut and bolt to hold the new bracket on. All's been well since!

Back in December 2006, I had a little annoying problem. I didn't know if it was the battery it's self, or something draining power, but I had a couple of times where I had to bump start the car due to an almost flat battery!
There was enough power to unlock the car and get the warning lights on, but go to start and it just died!
Luckily, my drive is steep enough and long enough to get it rolling and started! (1st time anyway - 2nd time, it didn't work so my Fiancé got behind and pushed!).
I think it was the alarm that's doing it - I had this problem before I got it on the road - I'd leave it for a few days, then go to start up and find the battery dead! (this was before the engine went bang!). I charged it up and left it without the alarm on as it was in my Dad's garage and it was fine - stayed charged up and started even after being left a week! I think it's been with the weather, using lights all the time, fan on, heated seats on, stereo blasting out, it's all got too much! The alternator is ok but as the car didn't have leather as standard, it can't cope when the heated seats are both on along with heated rear window and lights! I've seen the alternator light on very dimly. I think a higher-rated alternator is required!
I ended up getting a new battery and it's been fine since. BUT, when I recently went on holiday and left the car alarmed on the drive for a week, the battery was flat again when I got home, so the alarm if definately draining the battery - something I will have to look at.

1994 L-plate 8 Valve in "Glacier White"
Engine:	Cav SRi 1998cc 8-Valve K&N Induction Kit (Pipercross from the GSi fitted at the mo though as the plastic braket that holds the K&N to the AFM broke!)
Exhaust:	Standard front and center section. De-cat. 16V spec. back-box with twin rectangle outlets
Brakes:	Standard front and rear
Transmission:	Cav SRi close-ratio 5-speed
Suspension:	G-Max Lowered 40mm Springs and Shocks kit NEW PICS SHOWING THE CAR LOWERED ARE TO FOLLOW
Wheels and Tires:	18" Lenso RS5 Nankang 215/35ZR18 tyres
Bodywork:	Standard Calibra kit plus rear boot spoiler (unidentified) White side-repeaters De-locked using Vectra GLS Colour-coded rear door handles Late-spec. chrome tailgate badges Vauxhall dealer-fit mud-flaps front and rear
Interior:	Cream Leather with heated seats White dials including extra dials in centre console
ICE:	SONY Explode CDX-R3300 MP3 head-unit JBL 6x9's in rear shelf JBL three-ways in doors retaining standard tweeters in door tops 12" 1000W FLI Sub in sealed enclosure 400W Amp
Security:	Like I'm gonna give that away, but I will say it's alarmed and immobilised with remote locking and it's de-locked as mentioned above. Disklock ALWAYS FITTED, even when leaving car for 2 mins! (Paranoid since Cav was nicked!)
Future Plans:	As yet, the future is unclear! This is a great looking Calibra and unique as far as I know, in that it's white with cream leather (always have black normally), but I've got a longing for a V6 or a Turbo! I'm still considering sourcing a 16v Red-Top to do a transplant or I may just buy a 16v Calibra, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with the increase in performance as this one, with the Cav engine, is already quite quick, so I'm not convinced a 16v would be that much of an increase in performance. I may tune the 8v a little for now, then with V6's being so cheep now, it makes sense to sell this and just buy a Calibra V6! Turbo's have come down in price a lot too, but the 4x4 system scares me! I know the scare stories about transfer boxes etc can be avoided, but knowing my luck with cars, I'd get one that's perfect in every way, FSH, all MOT's etc, then 2 months in, it'd cost be a fortune to fix a blown turbo, knackered 4x4 etc and I'm not in a financial position as the mo to take the risk, although saying this, I am on the look out for a new job in car sales, as that's what I really want to do, so with some hard work and effort to get the job I want, I'll soon have the money I need! The V6 is not as scary - sure, it's got an extra 2 cylinders and will cost more to insure and run (fuel!), but it's a good solid and well proven engine (same as in Saab's!) so I'm not as worried! I've seen a couple of nice DTM V6's for sale and seen a few other DTM's around also (16v's and the occasional Turbo). I like the DTM as it's white (which I like!) and would prob keep it looking standard as I like the original 16" white BBS wheels. I'll see though what happens. Certainly for now, my attention is with getting the Audi ready for an MOT so I can get it sold. Then, I'll have more spare cash and the luxury to look for an alternative! Of course, one alternative will be to get the GSi back on the road! ;-)