Estonian Ascona C Irmscher 88'

[otipoiss]

Hello everyone. I've found this board while looking for information on Ascona's in general and more specifically Irmschers. I'm actually a total Mercedes guy but this car kind of found me itself.

[img width=800 height=800]http://www.upload.ee/image/5169843/11922942_10207185926828158_205735626_n.jpg

[img width=720 height=960]http://www.upload.ee/image/5169844/11949708_10207185927788182_1378075160_n.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5169845/11950792_10207185932988312_1839945779_n.jpg

I've had it for a few days and I bought it for only one reason, quick search told me that they only made 1399 of these. Seems I've gotten myself a bit of rare Opel history here. How many of these are estimatedly survived?

What i know about this car... It's an original Irmscher, it has the correct seats and upholstery (with cigarette holes and tears), the original steering wheel. I imagine that electric mirrors and board computer might be more common extras on other Asconas/Cavaliers aswell. Sits on original wheels and i think the lowering springs are there from factory aswell. Oh yea, it has glass sunroof and very cool Sony speakers at the back. The car also has had a respray once, thats probably why it doesn't have black stripes.

Downsides. Having been  parked outside for years has made a mess, some rust on rear arches and spots here and there. Underside is worse, needs welding repairs. Exhaust also rattles, i hope it only needs proper fixing.  There are also some "modifications" made by previous owner which i now need to deal with. Engine vent for example is forced to work from the moment when key is turned, plus some wiring mess.

Front brakes (Delco) is my current worry, at least one caliper is stuck on sliders, I'm working on these first as they are the main obstacle for getting our local "MOT". I've already replaced rear brake pads and brake drums with all the springs inside but i think one of the pistons was also stuck there.

It does not start well when cold. It stutters and dies a couple of times but eventually starts. Idle is jumpy when cold, better when warm. Haven't had the time to get onto it yet. All i know is that the rubber hose from intake to air filter and AFM? is cracked, i tried cleaning the idle valve but this didn't help much. If anyone has an idea what to replace next (Coolant temp. sensor?) then I'm all open for help.

This is a quick overview of my new car. I start to like it the more I get to drive it but I cant enjoy something that doesn't work properly.

I hope it's ok to ask newbie questions when I stumble upon some problems. Also any useful info on these is very welcome. Anything at all, my knowledge about Opels/Vauxhalls is basically unexistant

Cheers

[Matt O-SRi]

What a great find. Look forward to your progress.

[paulash]

Hi and welcome look forward to more pics

[otipoiss]

Let's take a closer look to this thing then.

It seems that this board is pretty much UK "based". Well I've had the chance to experience your climate for a few months. 1/2 of the year it's similar to ours, i mean the spring and summer part. Not sure about your winters but i take a wild guess that snow, ice and -25 Celsius at winters does not necessarily happen too often. It does here, and the worst thing is that salt is being used to melt ice. Add it to temperature changes with quite an amplitude (-30C is no wonder, and neither is +30C at summers), some gravel roads and this happens. The same problem haunts both of my Merc's, this Opel could be considered quite ok... for Estonian Opel standards

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175914/11655255_10207206669346708_391615433_n.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175916/11994462_10207206669546713_457641668_n.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175918/11930547_10207206669506712_93440741_n.jpg

Onto the interior, I had this Mercedes headunit laying around, it has different connectors to my Daily W124 so i popped it into Irmscher. I know that purists might puke but at least the display illumination suits. You can also see the original Irmscher steering wheel , ideally the leather would need replacing as it's cracked from sun but let's see what te future brings.

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175932/11995536_10207206669386709_1306438364_n.jpg

The speakers I was telling about in my first post. No idea if they have been fitted from factory but again, to my eye they are spot on! Both work and considering it's a 20+ years old stereo system, they sounded amazing.

[img width=720 height=960]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175939/11940189_10207206669586714_117046745_n.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175940/11994410_10207206669426710_439003838_n.jpg

Do Asconas/Cavaliers have dash speakers?

Seats... dirty and have holes in them, but at least they are OEM.

[img width=720 height=960]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175942/11944657_10207206669306707_961040295_n.jpg

Engine compartment, those who have eagle's vision or like carrots, might spot that some plastic parts have been used as a dessert. I blame rats.

[img width=800 height=600]http://www.upload.ee/image/5175947/11938892_10207206669466711_1922701568_n.jpg

One of the things that have bite holes in it is the cover for ignition. Possible cause for bad cold start? I bet some humidity finds a way in from there.

[otipoiss]

Alright, I've had some success with this thing. It's got our local MOT/TUV, also insured, so it's now fully street legal.

To get it legal I had to rebuild the brake system almost completely, some copper piping and front discs  with hoses are only things left from past. Brakes are now ok. While at all this I had to replace a wishbone joint thingy at the front, the one that requires drilling out old rivets.

Also changed the spark plugs, made a big difference, starts ok now. But something else is now wrong. It does not want to rev properly when accelerating. Kind of hesitating when WOT. I need to fix this first, has anyone got an idea what to check first?

The problem with engine fan is still here, I've changed all 3 thermo sensors/switches in cooling system. Connected fan to the switch on the radiator but it didn't work, went boiling. OK then replaced the thermostate, still nothing. So the fan remains in  "always on" setting. Maybe the brand new switch is faulty, maybe theres something else, anyways I've got an appointment with an electrician to work it out. Aswell as getting rid of old aftermarket alarm system.

Next problem is catalytic converter (cat). I did some welding underneath and removed the exhaust. Cat has a big lump in it that is one certain source of bad noises. Something else rattles in the handbrake area, stops when grabbing the lever.

Fuel gauge wasn't supposed to work, earth wire has rotted away from tank, still need to fix that somehow. Any ideas? Does the earth need to come from tank or is it ok to weld the dam wire to the underside? Anyways, I need to get my dash working first.

Thats all I can remember for now. Would like to enjoy it more, it's fun to drive but I cant do it with a car that doesn't work properly.

[chris m]

have you changed the flexi pipe between the air box and inlet manifold? seems to have silver tape on it in your picture of engine. That could cause all sorts of problems as you will have un metered air entering the manifold. Usually, if the pipe is split, when you rev hard, the engine moves slightly and the split opens causing the engine to misfire..

How long has the car been stood idle? You may have rust / dirt in the fuel tank clogging the inline filter. The fuel pick up in the tank also has a filter attached which could be blocked.

Fuel gauge earth wire has to connect to the sender on the tank, if you connect it to any other metal point on the car, the gauge will read full all the time.

[otipoiss]

Flexi pipe is definately F'd. Will look into it asap. (EDIT: Chris, your diagnose was probably correct. I added some more tape and it did improve things back as they were before. Starting to look for another pipe)

Good info on the fuel gauge, very much appreciated!

Another thing i remembered just now. I could really use a diagram or something to understand whats what in my fuse box.

[sal]

If I remember to do so later on I'll take a photo of the diagram on the fuse box cover from my car.

[otipoiss]

Electrician had an infrared thermometer, this allowed us to follow warm coolant as thermostate opened at about 95C. The radiator went hot almost entirely, except the fan switch. It was around 70C but the coolant already boiled. Now we either didn't get the correct reading or there is something wrong with the radiator. I also need to try and test the new replacement switch, cheap aftermarket part, could be defected. I see the logic and these are my next steps. Autumn has arrived and its getting cold, takes a bit planning now to work on cars. I don't have a heated garage unfortunately

I mentioned the alarmsystem, he had a look and it took him only a few minutes to have it thrown out. Im going to start cutting out wiring sometime aswell, chance to take a minute and follow wires while trying to understand some logic. Im very unskilled what comes to electricity, but I would very much like to have some confidence with it.

Haven't found replacement for dash clocks yet. Were there digi-dashes on Asconas/Cavaliers from factory?

[C20Brett]

Digidashes come in Astra GTE 16v or Kadett GSi 16v where you are! fairly easy wiring job to put them in. if you buy one make sure you get the plugs with it, and most importantly the transducer which screws into the gearbox in place of the speedo cable.

[andy]

To extend Brett's reply - there was never a factory digidash for teh mk2 - however there was an early "fuel computer option" and some dealers did install and fit dashes to cavalier stock if a sale depended on it. At least one GM management car we knew of had a digidash from dealership.

[otipoiss]

-25 degrees celsius, old halfdead battery, but this thing starts :)

[otipoiss]

Some recent photos.

[Matt O-SRi]

Looks ace! 

[otipoiss]

Hello again, since I didn't find a buyer for the car, I'm going to try and repair it completely. It will be a slow process with the intention of learning, DIY and anger management . If there is any interest I could keep updating this thread. 

[Greg]

Yes.....always interested, keep us updated please

[otipoiss]

I have removed most of the interior, hoped to get further by now but thats how it is.

Any ideas what this might mean?

[otipoiss]

Hello, time has passed but i thought I'd give a little update to this thread here. 

As one might notice, Estonian winters have pretty much destroyed the body shell. I had no practical experience with sheet metal before this project, slowly I'm beginning to learn now. I know the patches don't look too well finished, but this is the limit of mi skills at the moment. The struggle is real, limited set of tools and time makes it sometimes difficult to even find motivation. Maybe next year I have it all patched up.

[Greg]

Looks good, are you gas-less welding (which is harder to get a good bead)?

Have a look my Gregs LX thread at the chore of welding that up if you need some motivation   We also rolled the chassis to weld on new chassis legs on the rear.  Mine is a bit messy in places but its not going to fall apart.

[Paul]

is that a new floor or have you just blasted the paint off?

[Greg]

Eyes Paul.....use them.  Its has holes where they shouldn't be

It looks shot blasted (or painstakingly rust wheeled off)....and its come up well.  A few plates and all its good to go.

[Paul]

20 minutes ago, Greg said:

Eyes Paul.....use them.  Its has holes where they shouldn't be

It looks shot blasted (or painstakingly rust wheeled off)....and its come up well.  A few plates and all its good to go.

my iphone screen isnt big enough to see the details

[otipoiss]

I'm using regular MIG, with CO2 mix. Tall beads speak of my inexperience. Sometimes it's a pain to weld to the old metal that just melts away. 

First step was blasting the thing with glass particles. But that only took off the rust, it just bounced off the rubbery material that was used to cover the underside of the car. That I have removed using wire wheel on an angle grinder, alot of time has gone into this and im not even finished, 3 wheel arches still to go. 

Actually I was wrong, the first step was to finish off someones rotisserie project, this was used for blasting aswell. Saved alot of time and money. 

Some more pictures:

 

Edited August 18, 2017 by otipoiss

[Greg]

Welding is tricky on these cars, the rusty thin material is the problem so I wouldn't worry.  Every mm of wire put into the chassis is new matel.....if its a bit proud grind it back.  I took the worst off underneath then painted, seam sealered amd painted it again (I think).

That chassis leg at the pivot point looks a tad light on material, are you patching it up or replacing it?

[otipoiss]

That needs a replacement part. Other side might be repairable, but the curvatures there are difficult to reproduce from sheet metal, for me atleast. Some curved multi-contour parts at the front of the floor taught that to me. Replacement part is 150 euros i think.  

Also discovered that the sunroof's front edge side of roof is rotten. Weird , im definetly going to inspect the sunroof closely as its already off the car. Any advices?

Also, are there any pictures of inner sills on a factory car? I have a feeling that they should be spotwelded to outer sill, would be happy to be sure. Some kind of repair manual maybe has this kind of information. 

Could anything be read from it's VIN?

Edited August 18, 2017 by otipoiss