Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8v SRI

I first saw my car nearly 4 years ago when I had to recover the previous owners home, the car was in beautifull condition and had been well looked after inside and out by the elderly couple,was only the alternator at fault nothing major.When we arrived they made me a drink and I said to her if she didnt mind I would like first offer if she would ever sell it. 3 and half years later she called me and asked if I still wanted it.What a surprise.No hesitation I went and collected my new pride and joy for the amazingly cheap price of £100,It had failed mot on minor things but garage had made out it was rotten underneath.Being a mechanic the failures were soon dealt with and new coat of underseal was back on the road good as new. I love the look of it,the way it drives, 148k on the clock and still pulls like a train to 140 !! totally fell in love with it and wished I had one sooner.Best priced bargain I have ever had.Everything works on it and where they looked after the car the interior is spotless and outside is highly polished

I really don't think a rusty old 214,000 mile '89 Cavalier Mk3 2.0 Sri 8v would be anybodys 1st choice for a track day car, but i discovered these cars by accident. Having tracked dayed with some pretty sporty & posher fast stuff then ending up being a short track day of busted stuff & going home on a trailer, suddenly slow, 130 hp, but going round, & round flat out, all day, followed by driving your track day car home, is bloody good fun. Ok, so they do a couple of sets of front brake pads, & untold second hand tyres (out of the scrap tyres pile) but because they are so strong & reliable, they are very cheap to run as a track day car. My name is James Mead, and my white Cavalier's been to Cadwell, Brands, Snetterton, Oulton, Lydden, not to mention, Spa, Nurburg ring, Zandvoort, Croix de Tornoix, all driven there, thrashed all day, then driven home, & got a fair bit of other peoples footage on youtube. So, they're not going to win any races, but will go round Brands indy @ 58 secs lap & leave under own steam! Far more often than of more expensive stuff, and if you pass anything (other than wind) in an old shitter, how great is that!!!

The Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8v SRI is by far the best car i have owned, wish i had bought one earlier. drives smooth accelerates quick. just what you need. plus very spacious boot, great for the kids buggys.

The Vauxhall Cavalier SRI throws your head into the seat when you red line it through the gears was doing 110 before I put it in 5th no problems with bodywork apart from rear nearside door! Bought it for £200 and it sailed through MOT with only 3 advisements or whatever they're called. All in all a smashing car for the money, has no modifications on it so it would be interesting to see what the performance can be improved to once some have been done, if you have a few quid spare I would advise to get one!

Where do I start - the Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8v SRI is a legend. I bought my SRI when I was very young as it was insurance friendly, but I got more than I thought I would. This thing will go to 140mph without you even knowing it! Below 60 odd it's fast but the "danger zone" is 60/70+ it just keeps pulling. Handling is surprising for a large car, brakes hold their own, simply put one of the best cars I've ever owned....better than CRX 16v (faster by a hairs width but just felt like you were driving a shopping trolley).

This Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8v SRI car is a hard to burst strong nut. I have only had to change the waterpump in 600,000 miles! I change the oil once a month, filter twice a year and gearbox oil once a year. I buy the cheapest oil that comforms to the api specifications, and change it once a month. I have a soakaway drain in my drive and I pour the used oil down there - Saving me the disposal cost.

The Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8v SRI is in my opinion a force to be reckoned with firstly if the cam belt snaps your engine will be ok due to the clearance between the valves and the piston and secondly its one of the few cars that can have the clutch replaced with the gear box still in place. Ok were not talking about the same league as mitsi evos or scoobys but for a strong torquey all round contender the cav is brilliant I am on my third sri cavalier pre cat model of course 130 bhp as standard although the engine is very simplistic by todays standards it shows up many cars on the road from hot hatches to turbo diesels. so far i have lowered my cav 40mm fitted 195 50 15s alloys smoked rear light clusters and thats it cosmeticaly because I dont think styling should be cooked - Subtle styling looks nicer. I am focusing most of my efforts on the engines performance starting from the beginning I have fitted a k&n indution kit, fse boost valve running at 3 bar and a full magnex stainless exhaust system including magnex 4 into 2 into 1 long branch manifold to free up the top end. With just these mods i have had the car off the clock and estimate a top speed of 150mph!! Which did not impress the 40 grand M5 next to me but thats not bad going for a car that cost £500, I currently have a fast road high lift cam on order due back this week and Ii have also had my cylinder head sent away which I should also receive back in the next couple of weeks. This has been ported, polished, gas flowed and the valves triple cut. Along with the cam and other bits I can only expect more grinning when my foot hits the pedal - I cant wait. Along with the plenty of upgrading to be done to these engines, these are one of the few cars that still go as strong after 200,000 miles as some cars half their milage, the secret is to change the oil and filter every 3 thousand miles and catch the rust the moment it starts to show, other than drivers seats fraying on the edge there is very little to worry about with the trusty sri cavalier, I could talk about vauxhalls all day long but I must go, but before I do just remember the old saying once driven for ever smitten if any one has any tips or bhp spec for sri cavs then e mail me at [email protected]

I had my Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8v SRI 1990 G plate from nov 1999 till april 2004 and in this time it became the most awesome car I have ever owned! first for the power 130bhp as standard (the best 8v engine is the 1989 - 1992 early 20seh lump) ok so 130bhp doesn't sound a lot for a car of its size but i can tell you if you are the bloke with the calibra 16v (with engine mods!) that race me down the M5 one night then you will agree I got just under 140mph before an old lady pulled out infront of me! After pulling into a service station and seeing the calibra there i said hello only to find out he had snapped his brand new scorpion exhaust racing us and couldnt get no more than 130mph out of it! So thats power (ok by 2004 mine was sitting at 200bhp mark and did 1/4 mile in 14.79 secs with fueling problem) next handling only mods i did to that was a set of 15" vauxh fan blade alloys with 205/55/15 v bfgoodridge rubber and jamex rear gas shocks! going around bends was like being in a ferrari no effort needed didnt skip on the road and a pain to get the back end to step out it stuck to the road like notthing I have driven before! next is reliablity...urm....neva broke down once, only problem i had with it was the reason why it went the crank snapped smashing the conrods and my very expensive forged pistons :'( other than that most reliable car ever! i changed the oil and filter every month cleaned the induction kit every month and the spark plugs every month and anything else i could do i changed and it showed in the running of the engine! next maxability engine mods seem never ending and some awesome power can be had out of the 20seh engine if treated right, the body is open to many changes and as I have seen a picture of a cav sallon made into a 3 door...hmmm drool! also if you got a 1.6 cav and not much money slot on a gsi kit! sorted looks nice already! interior is nice as standard with bucket seats and nice solid build quality! but for that bit better get a cavalier turbo cream leather interior! sorted! so basicly i loved this car only fault was the rear arches thats it! The cavalier sri is a true vauxhall and I havent found a car that can match it as yet! so now im looking for my second sri! :D