Tom's China 1.8 Meridian 2014 - Project Deja Vu

[Toms306]

Most of you have seen the car I bought 11/02/14....needed a cheap stop gap, that was also reliable with a bit of a space and a bit of spec...and ended up with this!





So gave it a service (oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs) and then set about tidying up the little annoying niggles.

Firstly the stereo had no surround and the steering column stalk didn't work, so fitted a spare surround and plugged the stalk in...works! But drivers speaker still doesn't.





The badge has taken a bump at some point and was kinda hanging off, though it doesn't really show in the pic. Had a brand new badge that I won cheap on ebay a while back so swapped those!





Also stuck the ABM projector lights on, which resulted in broken hockey stick clips...£1.25 for a pair of clips and that was sorted.





Then got rid of the tiny floor mat that did nothing except creep under the pedals... Fitted a set of OEM rubber mats, using spare Vauxhall mat securers lol.



Then the mirrors stopped working, as well as the speaker, so knew it was a broken loom...cut it open to find these! Fixed with crimps but no pics as it kept raining and wanted the door back on quick lol.



Also debadged the doors, but kinda like the rear badges so left them for now.



Xsara mist jets and Aerotwins that I had in the garage...



Fitted my cyclones with a new pair of rainsport 3s on the front. Sharkskin tech ftw.





Also fitted a ph3 spoiler which I had, along with good condition steering wheel which I won cheap on ebay.

Oh, and of course a black ice tree!



Had recently been valetted....possibly by Stevie Wonder with an excess of dashboard gel...everything was slimy, including the controls! So gave it a wash yesterday and polished today:

Jetwash
Autoglym shampoo
Super resin polish
Nattys blue wax
Fast glass the windows
Black the spoiler, mirrors and tyres
Vacuumed inside
cleaned glass inside
Used many anti-bac wipes on controls etc
And Mr Sheened the dash

And heres the result so far. Shame my camera doesn't pic up the depth of colour but I'd forgotten how nice china is!










To do list:

-Get ph3 parcel shelf. Currently has a well built but stupidly heavy stealth shelf with 2 6x9s which makes boot access difficult.
-Fit rear badge - got a domed one in the post
-Try and lighten the clutch with a new cable
-Fix front grill which has taken a bump and broken it's clips, though the grill itself isn't broken so will whip the bumper off and drill and cable tie the back of the clips

Long term would like a cone filter and replace the daft downturned exhaust...how anyone can fit a downturned tip with a bumper cutout I don't know lol. Also have a few more plans, but have to be done as cheap as possible, so we'll have to see what gets done.

Cheers
Tom

[Tom]

Wahoo back in the three oh! Like it mate. Is it going to have an air filter for extra bwarrp?

[Frosty]

Looks pretty tidy, and china is a lovely colour.

I have to agree with you in the down tip exhaust with a cut out bumper, it just looks horrendous but get excuse to get a nice cat back system on it

[7057sam]

Nice to see you back in a 306 mate

Swap them gash headlights for some black masks though

[WiNgNuTz]

I want those lights!

And this reminds me how much i miss my old China, what a fantastic colour....and the interior is good too, have got to get me a 4 spoke steering wheel!

Looks sweet mate, a few subtle touches to make it your own, and its all good.

[kentiiboii]

Looks nice tom! Making me want this gti6 even more on Wednesday and I ain't even seen it yet.

Keep it clean and don't moan about how much fuel your using. :-)

[mr_fish]

Good touches to bring the car back the its former glory. Especially the wash and wax - good job done there! Running wise all good?

Is this so you can sell Vec?

[Toms306]

Wahoo back in the three oh! Like it mate. Is it going to have an air filter for extra bwarrp?

Not yet, but eventually yeah.

Looks pretty tidy, and china is a lovely colour.

I have to agree with you in the down tip exhaust with a cut out bumper, it just looks horrendous but get excuse to get a nice cat back system on it

Judging by the state of the cat it'd have to be a full system tbh. Its rusty as hell but not quite blowing yet...

Contemplating buying a cheap 6 to break in a few months time and using the full exhaust system, front struts and rear beam... Depends what happens between now and then though.

Nice to see you back in a 306 mate

Swap them gash headlights for some black masks though

I prefer these to black masks any day lol! Though I admit they don't photo well.

Looks nice tom! Making me want this gti6 even more on Wednesday and I ain't even seen it yet.

Keep it clean and don't moan about how much fuel your using. :-)

Filled it up today, £65 from the red light, so will see what mpg it does in a few weeks time.

Good touches to bring the car back the its former glory. Especially the wash and wax - good job done there! Running wise all good?

Is this so you can sell Vec?

It runs perfectly, starts on the first crank and purr's like a kitten. So quiet at idle I forgot I'd left it running while cleaning it! Maybe I've just got used to clattery diesels though lol. And the ride is nice too, comfortable and not as slow as I was expecting. But the clutch is awful, really heavy, seems to slip a bit and judders when engaging (think its clutch judder anyway) so will sort that this week hopefully, was just gonna change cable but the Valeo clutch kit was 'only' £66 so have bought one of those as well. Apart from that, it seems to be in good nick.

And yep, Vec will be cleaned and up for sale as soon as the 306 is sorted...want the clutch issue sorted while I've still got a spare car to use.

[kentiiboii]

Wahoo back in the three oh! Like it mate. Is it going to have an air filter for extra bwarrp?

Not yet, but eventually yeah.

Looks pretty tidy, and china is a lovely colour.

I have to agree with you in the down tip exhaust with a cut out bumper, it just looks horrendous but get excuse to get a nice cat back system on it

Judging by the state of the cat it'd have to be a full system tbh. Its rusty as hell but not quite blowing yet...

Contemplating buying a cheap 6 to break in a few months time and using the full exhaust system, front struts and rear beam... Depends what happens between now and then though.

Nice to see you back in a 306 mate

Swap them gash headlights for some black masks though

I prefer these to black masks any day lol! Though I admit they don't photo well.

Looks nice tom! Making me want this gti6 even more on Wednesday and I ain't even seen it yet.

Keep it clean and don't moan about how much fuel your using. :-)

Filled it up today, £65 from the red light, so will see what mpg it does in a few weeks time.

Good touches to bring the car back the its former glory. Especially the wash and wax - good job done there! Running wise all good?

Is this so you can sell Vec?

It runs perfectly, starts on the first crank and purr's like a kitten. So quiet at idle I forgot I'd left it running while cleaning it! Maybe I've just got used to clattery diesels though lol. And the ride is nice too, comfortable and not as slow as I was expecting. But the clutch is awful, really heavy, seems to slip a bit and judders when engaging (think its clutch judder anyway) so will sort that this week hopefully, was just gonna change cable but the Valeo clutch kit was 'only' £66 so have bought one of those as well. Apart from that, it seems to be in good nick.

And yep, Vec will be cleaned and up for sale as soon as the 306 is sorted...want the clutch issue sorted while I've still got a spare car to use.

Bloody hell Tom going all out treating her to new clutch :-)

[mcglynn]

Looks a different car altogether with a clean and a set of cyclones.

Fair play bud all the small little touches are turning it into a nice looking motor.

Full system & lowered sounds like a plan though!

[C.A.R.]

Looks ace dude. Good to be back in the 306 eh? I'm still here too...

My HDi had a down-turned exhaust within the cutout my guess is that someone just couldn't be asked / wasn't bothered by it! Long gone now though...

China is definitely one of the best colours. Not as easy to clean, mind, I still reckon silver or moonstone are the easiest to maintain in that respect!

....needs rear spoiler!

[Toms306]

Bloody hell Tom going all out treating her to new clutch :-)

Tbh I didn't realise I'd get a clutch kit, cable and 'box oil all for less than £100. So would rather change it now while I've got a spare car and no other commitments than it fail in 3 months time and leave me knackered...

Looks a different car altogether with a clean and a set of cyclones.

Fair play bud all the small little touches are turning it into a nice looking motor.

Full system & lowered sounds like a plan though!

Yeah it's suprising how quick and easy it is to tidy these up tbh. Though it helped having most of the parts still in the garage lol.

Looks ace dude. Good to be back in the 306 eh? I'm still here too...

My HDi had a down-turned exhaust within the cutout my guess is that someone just couldn't be asked / wasn't bothered by it! Long gone now though...

China is definitely one of the best colours. Not as easy to clean, mind, I still reckon silver or moonstone are the easiest to maintain in that respect!

....needs rear spoiler!

Not sure about 'good to back' yet lol...am noticing the lack of glovebox, boot cubby holes, mpg reader/range reader, auto everything, hydro clutch and cable shift etc from the Vectra...but the 306 does have its upsides too lol.

And yeah I think the downturned 'boxes are just cheaper tbh, and that's what a lot of people will go for over aesthetics unfortunately.

Spoilers already fitted lol.

[procta]

looking great there tom! gone back in time again I see, another blue 1.8! this time take this one over 4k will you

[Toms306]

looking great there tom! gone back in time again I see, another blue 1.8! this time take this one over 4k will you

Already have done...forgot how epic revs and a linear power band were!

[procta]

looking great there tom! gone back in time again I see, another blue 1.8! this time take this one over 4k will you

Already have done...forgot how epic revs and a linear power band were!

good shit, at least your enjoying it tom!

[THE_Liam]

Glad to see you back in a 306 Tom, looks sweet too

[Jonny81191]

I forgot how well you look after china 5 doors

It's looking lovely though.

[Toms306]

Cheers guys.

So have done a few things to this, this week.

New clutch kit, cable, linkages etc. Nice smooth, light clutch now! Unfortunately gearbox mount is knackered and I ordered the wrong one so will have to sort that soon. But here are the shinies that have been fitted...









And the beading from the Nattys wax...

[DeeTurbo]

What are the two seals under the clutch lever bush and the nut and bolt for Tom?

[Toms306]

Those are the driveshaft seals. I've put part numbers in the clutch guide thread.

The nuts and bolts (not sure where the other is in the pic!) were for the bottom ball joints, but both bolts came out fine so just replaced the nyloc nuts.

[DeeTurbo]

For some reason I thought they looked too small to be driveshafts seals.

[C2K]

Nice bit of progress there. China ftw.

[RetroPug]

Nice car!

[Strikeforce]

Not bad car you got there tom and nice swift progress

[Toms306]

So, let the suspension settle overnight after being jacked up and parts removed/replaced etc..... But it still doesn't feel as tight and grippy as the Vectra. Will see if the new engine/box mounts make a difference though.

[mcglynn]

306 > vectra. End

[Toms306]

So, this'll most likely be for sale soon...last couple of pics.

[WiNgNuTz]

Sell me the headlights!

[7057sam]

Why up selling up

[Toms306]

Why up selling up

Fuel costs mainly...

Gone back to the noisy rattly vibratory engines....

Gonna miss petrol tbh, but needs must, and its part of a bigger plan.