Rep Car Hero: I Drive A 1988 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi 130

[@hypocrisyrules3768]

Wow. This took me back in time to the summer of 1992. Waiting to start college I bought a 1988 130 Sri saloon in red with my own hard earned cash working various part time jobs. Blacked out the windows added K&N filter and a few visual tweeks. It was a British spec car but made in Belgium. Not many of my class mates had cars or even a driving license and the few that did had mostly old Ford Fiestas, Vauxhall Novas and 1.3 escorts. My cavalier was like a ferrari in such company and all my cash went on keeping it looking good.. Many hours spent polishing and cleaning it. Oh boy did I have many fun times on the back seat of that car. For 2 awesome years I absolutely thrashed that car but it never once broke down. As long as I owned it it remained utterly reliable dispite putting many thousands of miles on it. I still have fond memories of that car and it was one of the best cars I ever owned. Thank you for taking me back in time to a happy period of my life

[@Blackadder75]

I was thinking, why on earth do young people put so much money in a car, it's such a waste, but then you gave a little hint.........

[@richierich9761]

My dad had one the same colour, he was a Field Service engineer so it was typically filled with broken 386 pcs. He drove it like a madman and it often lapped Donnington park as he lived locally and had friends there , at 20k it needed all new brakes, dampers and a clutch, his boss was not happy ! We took it to the IOM TT in 1992 and had it flat out over the mountain think it was 120mph indicated fond memories of that generation. We owned a 2.5 V6 MK3 in 1995 must have been one of the last Cavaliers , wife put 80,000 miles on it in less than 2 years good car better than the Freelander that replaced it

[@leedstown]

Calibra looked futuristic back then

[@dj_paultuk7052]

Thats exactly my day job now, IT field service engineer. And im scooting around in a 2008 Astra SRi 1.8 iVVT. Its brilliant !. I dont want no company car, quite happy hooning it around in a cheap vauxhall.

[@thedrivebygg]

That’s Hilarious, great story.

[@sparkywig]

I took mine to the IOM in 1987 and had the same result, 120 flat out. Changed it for a Manta GTE when I came home.

[@paulrobinson3528]

fun times then 🤣🤣

[@sgreensdlintl]

The rear ashtrays brought back memories of holidays with my parents. Those ashtrays would have been stuffed with sticky sweet wrappers by the time we arrived at our destination. It's great to see one of these in action again. Top content.

[@adams7405]

Mine were stuffed with opal fruits and subsequently melted.No air con on mainstream cars back then

[@johnny2scoobs197]

I’ve followed this channel for a few years, but this video has prompted my first comment. I had the 115 bhp version in exactly the same livery. It was a revelation after the frankly hateful Sierra I’d owned before and was the car that turned me into a petrolhead. It’s still a very handsome car. Thanks for the memories!

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks for commenting! I was hoping this would bring a few memories back

[@dj_paultuk7052]

I remember the Sierras of this time and they were hateful to drive. Sloppy, slow. And the old Ford Pinto engine was from the dark ages. So the Vauxhall 1.8 and 2.0 8v engines seemed light years ahead back then.

[@maximilianboost8498]

@@dj_paultuk7052 yes the GM family 2 engines were so much better than the Ford equivalents, even the 1.6’s went really well.

[@danielbrown2715]

At the time there was a saying, vauxhalls 1300 was equivalent to everyone else's 1600, it was true even mk2 astra merit 1.3 seemed to go like stink

[@paulbaumer8210]

The Sierras were truly awful: stodgy, underpowered and with woeful handling. The only one thing good about them was that they were quiet at high speed and quite stable in cross-winds on motorways. The Cavalier, Montego (that horrid interior, though!), Renault 21 and 405 were all so much better to drive.

[@stevewood4658]

I had an SRi 130 hatchback, in that colour, in 1992. It was one of the first 130 models on a ‘D’ plate, so was around 5 years old when I got it. I was 20 years old at the time, so I thought I was Billy Big Potatoes whenever I drove it. Back then I was a technician at a Vauxhall garage, so I was surrounded by this era and earlier, Vauxhalls (and Opels). My particular favourites at the time were the Monza, the Nova GSi and a Carlton GSi 24v, the latter of which I never did have, but still hanker for now. Anyway, the SRi 130 still stands as one of my favourite cars I’ve had. It was fast enough, the engine was incredibly torquey and would pull hard in any gear. The exhaust note, as standard, was pretty good too! In short, I loved it and the only car that I could find to replace it, was one of my childhood heroes, a 2.8 Injection Capri, which obviously was a very different car!

[@vickigray3301]

I owned a few of these... then the GSI 2000 back in the day loved loved loved the 90s x

[@tonyhilliarduk]

Hey JayEmm … I rarely comment on KZbin but you’ve just given me the most massive trip down memory lane, which as a guy turning 50 next week was well appreciated! My first car on turning 17 in 1989 was a 1981 Honda Civic S which I miss to this day. Six months later my second car was a 1982 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi. The 115bhp original. In fact I think I did some research that showed mine was one of the first in the U.K. Anyhow 7 and a bit years after new I still felt like the mutts nuts in it. White over black 4 door saloon with checkered Recaro seats so that even in 1989 it looked and felt modern. I just checked on DVLA and it’s long since demised it seems. Not surprised as the day I came to sell it in 1991 it insisted on only using 3 cylinders for the test drive despite only 60000 miles. Ahhhh good times.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Happy I could bring back some memories :)

[@Assimilator1]

Which DVLA site did you go to? (btw see my recent comment here, my dad had a similar car to yours).

[@petevan8942]

It did have heated mirrors via a green light switch in the centre console... 😎 absolutely loved my sri.... brilliant motor

[@davidwilson4468]

I had 3 Cavaliers in 5 years as company cars and clocked up 200,000 miles in them. Not one breakdown, drove them everywhere at 90+ mph and loved them. Great cars for anyone doing lots of miles. Very comfortable for 500 mile journeys. Mine were all hatchbacks for the extra boot space and the rear wiper

[@andrewnorris5415]

Yeah they were comfy and felt solid. Could enjoy driving them too.

[@thedrivebygg]

Impressive mileage, I remember the days when you could drive at 90mph all day long without hitting a traffic jam, well in my dads Volvo 365 GLE and I was a passenger.

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

They were bloody reliable. So was my mk1 astra gte. Same 1.8 engine. Seemed fast back then. Quite long gears , meaning I could get over 120 out of it , tearing up the A9 up here in scotland. No cameras then. The roads were quieter as well!

[@davidwilson4468]

@@thedrivebygg Our service engineers used to hit 60,000 miles within 12 months. Our company car policy was to change them every 3 years or 60,000 miles. I have no idea how the leasing company made any money out of our company, we probably changed 60 or 70 cars a year

[@davidwilson4468]

@@allosaurusfragilis7782 I had forgotten about the long gearing, it meant that you could get "reasonable" fuel consumption even at my normal motorway speed.

[@danentwisle8885]

Brings back happy teenage memories. My neighbour was a serial Cavalier buyer. New one every year on August 1st. I earned a fortune washing his car every week. He had some great Csvaliers. Commander, Antibes, SRi an SRi 130 and his last J Platform Cavalier, a CDi. I know every inch of the bodywork of these, and recall cleaning those alloys on the 130 with a tooth brush. I can smell the Turtle Wax from here! My neighbour went on with the next gen Cavaliers ending up with a 4x4 GSI. I’d left home by then. He retired and got a Carlton Diplomat before a string of Omega Elites.

[@andrewpercival1427]

I was always impressed how lively the 115bhp and 130 felt and a really nice sounding engine when pushed, loved driving mine in the late 90's

[@-DC-]

Superb Mechanicals simple tough easy to maintain, It was all downhill from here !

[@cheltenhamman]

You hit the nail on the head! I got one as a company car in 1990 when I moved to the Isle of Man to start my new job. Mine was white and although I didn't have a choice in what car I could have I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. Latterly it suffered from a lumpy idle eventually diagnosed as having a cracked distributor cap. Apart from that it was reliable, spacious and had just enough power to make it a 'warm' hatch. Nice video. Thanks for the memories

[@niged]

Had one new back in the day. Loved it!

[@paulallwood6033]

Loved that bit about tyre width....me and my mate Steven Jackson was absolutely obsessed about cars with tyres wider than 175. My dad had a Peugeot 309 GR Profile that had 185s !!! We couldn't believe how wide they were

[@whyyoulidl]

+1 😃

[@photosmithy]

yup same here. My mates brother had one of these in 1989. I remember he had Goodyear NCT's on them , we thought he was a God.

[@greenmoose_]

I actually owned a few Mk2 cavaliers in the 90s - I took the engine from a tired (rusty) 130, the brakes from a newer mk3 cavalier and most of the luxury parts from the CDi you mention (electric windows, etc)... it was a labour of love for sure but it was an epic car... sadly it succumbed to rust... I loved that car though, the performance and handling often surprised people in more modern cars... this video made my day! oh the memories!

[@supercarpaul_cs8147]

It's mad when you think of it, my uncle had the last generation cavalier Sri in white with the sporty red accents and also and I'm not joking, remember the Sri was like a gti but I remember the day he brought it home with only a couple of miles on the clock and it was fitted with hub caps 🤔🤔🤔 please if anyone knows if the Sri come with hub caps pls pls let me know

[@black8art]

I used to RACE my boss the 18 miles back to our home town after work, in his mk2 Golf GTI, and my Cav would eat his car for breakfast! 25 years and I still miss the old heap!

[@greenmoose_]

@@supercarpaul_cs8147 on the SRi (not sure about the 130, its been a few years) the Alloy wheels were optional in earlier years.. I think they were standard in the final runs of the car.

[@greenmoose_]

@@black8art oh for sure stuff like the Golf GTi never caused me any trouble... my friends Astra GTE 16v however was another story, those cars were mental. I always wanted to put that engine in a Mk2 cavalier but never had the chance!

[@alanvallis4183]

Thats exactly what i did to mine as well

[@paullomas4620]

30 years ago, my then 17yo girlfriend just passed her test and got insured on her parents one of them! I remember she rode well! The car was ok too.

[@richardsheil5289]

Old jokes are the best.

[@im2noob4bronze]

😂😂

[@davidarter9670]

It’s nice to know that the most sweet and humble of cars can give pleasure. Great review.

[@mattmccain2899]

Thanks JayEmm, really enjoy the variety in your videos. I was brought up with these cars and I also currently own an immaculate one. I will share the video with the mk2 Cavalier community. The SRi 130 was a genuinely desirable car at the time as BMW’s Merc’s and Audi’s weren’t as accessible to your average rep as they are now. The nostalgia these humble cars stir up is unreal.

[@whyyoulidl]

Wow! As soon as this popped up, I knew I just had to watch. The Cavalier 130 was always my sought after, but hey at 18 and on YTS 'pay' I somehow managed to save up and get my first wheels - a C-reg ex-company car 1.6GL of my 'employer'. Lovely car, with a twin-tone horn (oh, the street cred that involved lol) which some months later, I rolled/totalled on the way home from night school. Only insured for TPF&T I sold what was left for £200; Remarkably, still on YTS 'wages', managed to save up and purchased again from my 'employer' a 1988 E reg 1.8GL. Lovely dark blue, sunroof as you described, cloth/velour trim and the cassette holders (IIRC, the little display flipped to red if there was a tape in it). Oh, them were the days of the weekend shammy leather wash and wax with MER polish and the obligatory 'tyre wall black' to finish off my pride and joy. Now I have a handful of 80's and 90's hot hatches, a stash of mags and original brochures but no time to tinker or enjoy them. Might hook you up for a spin sometime...👍

[@EngineerLewis]

As a young engineering sales rep I had two of these as brand new company cars - a Red 1988 GL model as I wanted comfort and then it was followed by a Mk3 1991 light blue 2.0 GL auto as I had a knee issue. These were great cars to drive and my personal car was a Astra. Yes in those days I was a Vauxhall fan. 😄 Happy memories and thanks for the video Jay.

[@gman4360]

Been a Vauxhall man for the last 31 years. Had a 115 E955BMX aged 18 paid a fortune for insurance. 25 minutes to change clutch. Still employed at the VAUXHALL plant for the last 33 years. Great video bringing back memories. Thanks James

[@chrisfox7460]

These were great. A Cavalier Commander 1.6 in Silver was my family's first brand new car and started my affection for the marque. Growing up at the time, you were either a Ford lover or a Vauxhall lover. Our family definitely fell into the latter. You could also get a Cavalier Convertible at the time James. Very rare to see one though. Great vid! 👍🦊

[@Gary_Bocking]

I had a Commander

[@davejohnson3474]

I remember taking a vari jet 2 carb off a commander that was dumped in oxshott woods 20yrs ago lol

[@whyyoulidl]

@@davejohnson3474 Hehe - that reminded me back in the day when me and mate stripped 'all the good bits' from a vx chevette dumped in a country lay-by. It started with me needing the prop shaft...how the hell we done it I'll never know 😄

[@greenbunnyinabongo7299]

I seem to remember that the commander ONLY ever came on a “C” plate 1985

[@robertarmstrong118]

Have a MK2 1.6L hatch in the family … owned since 1987. Currently underway with a full white metal nut and bolt restoration. Taken a number of years to locate genuine GM body panels but car now in paint and refit underway. Great memories.

[@whyyoulidl]

Cool! Love to see it a Retro show if they're still going 👍

[@robsmith1a]

I was lent an SRi for a week as a company pool car in 1989. It was quite good to drive for it's time. Thanks for the excellent range of of vehicles you showcase.

[@DavidEverson77]

A friend's parents had a 1983 SRi 1.8, followed by a brand new 1988 E reg SRi130. What a machine that was in 1988! Can even remember the registration: E780OJV (it was bought new in Grimsby). Don't forget, this was the time when even a BMW M3 only had 200bhp, and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was making headlines for getting 204bhp from just 2 litres. 100bhp/litre wasn't commonplace back then, but also most cars weighed a lot less than equivalent models now.

[@themancuniancandidate2744]

I had a couple of SRis in the 90s, great workhorses with decent-for the time-performance. A friend was a mechanic for a local Vauxhall dealership, and he told me that in all the years he was there he never had to do a bottom end rebuild on any Cavalier Family 1 or Family 2 engine (that was the designation inside Vauxhall for the 1.3 & 1.6/1.8)

[@limpet7r63]

And you could change a clutch in about 20 minutes without moving the gearbox or engine an inch.

[@glennob7663]

Thanks for the memory jogger! I had one of these back in the day. It was quick for it's time but not very reliable. It took months to work out how to switch the interior lights on. You had to pull out the rotary light switch which wasnt labelled. On this generation of cav and Astra you could change the clutch without separating the engine from the gearbox which was handy as I had to do it twice!

[@rhudson8846]

This takes me back, more retro Vauxhall’s please 🙂

[@richardhowlett9424]

A rep where I worked had one that I drove often . Seeing as my car at the time was a Viva , it was a dream car for this 22 year old .

[@KarlAdamsAudio]

9:32 I believe the Cavalier Estate was built using imported body panels from the Holden Camira Station Wagon - a notable feature was the way the central section of the rear bumper was attached to the tailgate - rather like a Citroën GS.

[@MarcD404]

Yes, Vauxhall needed arse ends from the Holden Camira as Opel weren’t interested in sharing development on an estate and it was cheaper to just import parts from Holden as they’d already made an estate version of a car based on the same platform 🙂

[@Thomas-b3j6d]

@@KarlAdamsAudio there was also a convertible

[@alanvallis4183]

I had a blue one like in your video and then modified it ( as we all did back in the day) with a colour change to green, fitted rear discs from a MK3 Cav and also the power steering, 4 x electric windows and also the electric sunroof from a MK3 cav

[@gravyboat2370]

Loved th8s. I used to have an Sri booted version and loved it. It was solidly built and I remember doing 125 in it and there was still some left in it. My 3 passengers were silent haha. 🖒

[@paulmarc7116]

Had a D reg saloon in dark red smoked rear lights full bodykit etc lovely car did 80k miles as my private car, ss exhaust air filter etc, switched to 98 octain on the switch under the bonnet instead of 95 octain, topped out off the clock on the pin of the Speedo and much quicker than the replacement 150 16v in many tests, saw track use in Brands hatch and Le Man. Naught boy traveled 245 miles in 2hrs and 40 mins what a car sad to see it go. Dunlop SP Sport tires 195 sorted the handling along with sports pads to slow it and spax shocks kept the handling great as well. Btw 2nd gear took you to 65mpg which changes on newer version 3 with only 55mph so 0 to 60 about 7seconds on my car. My dad liked it so he bought a lighter blue hatchback one year younger and also drove it hard. Keep up the good work.👍

[@zeropaloobatheuber1572]

In Australia we called these Camiras. The estates were called wagons and were designed in Australia. They’re notable for the rear bumper which was part of the tailgate. Perhaps the reason estates are so rare is that they had to be imported from Australia.

[@baheh1801]

A belting video that. There's nostalgia with it and also variety too where else would you see a review of a cavalier. It also makes you realize how much cars have changed over the years.

[@d4vef81]

I remember my dad having one of these while his car was in for service. My mum drove it and reported it as being ‘too fast’ 🙈🙈🙈

[@CeltSfodster]

That perforated headlining and the fan blower knob tickled my inner 8 year old. My mum had a mk2 saloon in flame red. Absolutely loved that car. They also did a convertible and later in life the cavalier calibre. Always lusted after one of them.

[@BM_PAZ]

When you put a cassette (tape) in the cassette storage trays, it would show a red indicator in that little round bit on the left. just so you knew which ones were or weren't empty. Good times.

[@davekennedy6315]

So cool! I always wanted a SRI 130 hatch in white. This one looks incredible, as you mention its such a rare sight on UK roads today. Thank you Jay for showing us this lovely car and a huge thank you to the owner for letting Jay show this great car off.

[@PPenassa1977]

What a great video of one of my all-time favourites... My first car was an Opel Ascona SR in red/gray with the 1.6 L caburetor engine. Also a hatchback. I now own a convertible. There were two companies converting the hatchbacks to convertibles. One was "Hammond & Thiede" and the second one was "Keinath". The first company made 2873 comvertibles, the second one made only like 436. But they also made a convertible version of the Monza, which you also reviewed on the channel. They only made 12 of those and the are fairly expensive these days with more them 50.000 € for a moderate one...

[@garethsaunders1260]

Thanks for that! I remember my Dad taking me around car showrooms, I was 4/5 at the time. He was about my age now (mid 30's). He wanted something 'sporty' and practical. I vividly remember sitting in the back of a Caviler MK3 Sri saloon. It had beige cloth seats, was red, and I'm sure had wheel trims. He ended up with a slightly older 1989 525i, silver, black leather, BBS style alloys, what a machine, but weirdly he always pointed out Caviler SRI's.

[@johnparker8270]

I'd love to see a review of the car every man and his dog had, late 80's early 90's. The nova Sr. That would be nostalgia ❤️

[@neilturner6749]

100% agree Nova SR brilliant idea for review, but my recall is quite the opposite of them being the car Everyman and his Dog had (which was the Cavalier SRi 115) and that Nova SRs only sold in small numbers by comparison, and mainly to middle class Mums. Hence second-hand demand by “yoof” drivers who couldn’t get insured on anything with a GTE or GTi badge always exceeded demand.

[@deanothemanc5281]

Ah the nova Sri with its plastic red interior lol!!!!my mate had one in the mud 90s. We all thought it was mint, until it collided with a streetlight!!!the streetlight won lol!!!!

[@yo32ride]

I had a red nova sr with spax suspension lvd it

[@stefansworld3351]

My stepfather had many Cavaliers including the SRi variants brand new. He really enjoyed them along with an F reg MK3 SRi 130 MK3. My neighbour had an F plate MK2 130 in white which seemed very torquey at the time back in the mid 90's. I remember being a passenger flat out at 125mph in a 1.8 SRi mk2 on an A plate in red. Affordable performance and practicality back in the late 80's/early 90's 😁

[@garywalton6794]

My then-girlfriend's dad had a white Y-reg SRi hatch from new as a company car which he then bought from them at the end of the lease. Great memories of bombing around with my g/f driving, such a cool car for us 17/18 year olds to be in! Unassisted steering coupled with the fat 195-section tyres was challenging at parking speeds, but I do remember the car being pretty quick and the Recaros up front were lovely!

[@GoldenCroc]

It was pretty heavy to steer at low speed, but my 19 year old self that owned one of these would have told you: "Not a big deal, pretend you are driving a Testarossa, the price to pay for perfect road feel mate". That way I could convince myself I wouldnt want power steering even if I had it. Funnily enough, I still to this day prefer cars with what most people would class as ludicrously heavy steering..

[@simonspear2985]

Bought one in 1989 as my first car, it was white and I loved it. I remember that 3rd gear seemed to go on forever. For the time period it was pretty rapid. I bought it with 57,000 miles on the clock and it was my first introduction to unscrupulous car dealers as this one added my deposit onto the price rather than deduct it! Thanks for the nostalgic trip down memory lane and the freedom that owning your first car brings

[@rsjamie9423]

This car could have changed the direction of my biggest passion forever. My parents very nearly bought an F reg demonstrator from Thurlow Nunn, Stowmarket. At the last minute changed their mind and bought a brand new G reg Ford Orion, the rest as they say is history. I could have been Sri Jamie 😂

[@ChrisFEJackson]

Haha our parents are to blame for a lot of our choices in life eh.

[@DavidEverson77]

Did they buy the Orion from Gammer's? I remember when Thurlow Nunn was still there, it's now houses, in an estate named Thurlow Court. The other major retailer on Bury Street, Tydeman's Furniture, is now Tydeman's Court.

[@rsjamie9423]

@@DavidEverson77 brockford motor company on the A140.

[@DavidEverson77]

@@rsjamie9423 ah yes, I remember them too. My dad bought his last Ford (a 1972 TC Cortina MkIII 1600XL estate, WDX662K) from Potter's of Framlingham. He still had it until I was about 10 in 1987.

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

I had an orion for a bit, till it got stolen. They wanted it's plush velour interior. They dumped the empty car at a farm. Can't say I was that sorry to see it go....

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Fun video. Thanks for showcasing these older cars. I don't think I've ever seen one of these. Keep up the good work.

[@dwarfyh32]

They were a reasonably quick car back in the day with a decent rev happy engine but were definitely a rep car designed for the motorways rather than back road blasts. 130bhp and a 0-60 of approx 8s was pretty good back in the 80s

[@markbrennan4693]

Your quite right, it was 1988. Would have been more than happy with one.

[@TheMaverick671]

James you're making me feel old now! I must have worked on hundreds of these back in the late 80's, early 90's. Easiest clutch replacement of any car i can remember..

[@The-Sea-Dragon-1977]

Oh wow! I had forgotten that you could withdraw the input shaft to change the clutch without removing the gearbox. Genius design.

[@steveegginton535]

I had an 87 1.6L "cooking" version that I brought from my Dad when at a couple of years old. Good memories of the car it was reliable, fairly comfortable and quite a good motorway car. Mine was the carbed version which was tetchy on acceleraton. I did nearly 100k before I sold it which was good going at the time. The SRI was the sporty version and things like a manual sun roof, alloy wheels and even a rev counter were desirable extras that you didn't get in the lower trim levels! Had to make do with a speedo and fuel and temp gauges. It was quite some time late - 90's early 00's before cars in this class got A/C if I recall - if you were hot you opened the window😄

[@PaulDoldenDetails]

I had a D reg white saloon version it never let me down I ended up selling it to get an Astra GTE 2litre which felt like a rocket I don’t know what happened to Vauxhall after that because my Vectra SRI was bloody awful

[@robsmall6466]

Lovely job done here. Well done to all those concerned. There was a red Cavalier SRI cabriolet at a local car show this year. To all those who are custodians of these every day classics - keep it up 🙂👍

[@OriginalgEd]

I had the SRi from the gen after this model and did 140K in it in 4 years, pounding up and down the UK motorways. Engine was decent and the car was overall very solid. It was fun to drive (when I was in my youth) although things got a bit sketchy on fast corners (like when joining the M25 from the M3...)

[@karlmjay]

My first car was a 1984 A reg Cavalier SRi Hatchback in Silver, I loved the checkered part-leather Recaro seats and loved driving it hard as a first car. I drove it that hard and blew the gearbox on a return trip from Scarborough. I was able to get a replacement gearbox from a CDi and replaced it one lunchtime, (I was a mechanic for Vauxhall at the time) I put over 70,000 miles on her during my ownership. Great memories of a first car! Thanks for the video, and the trip down memory lane. I'm off to look for some pics of the old girl!😀

[@DjDolHaus86]

My dad had one of those for years. One day it broke down on a dual carriageway flyover and so he left it on the hard shoulder and walked to the nearest payphone to call a tow truck, when he came back there were police everywhere and it turned out an articulated lorry had lost control and pancaked the Cavalier against the wall and they weren't sure if anyone was still in the wreckage.

[@pistonburner6448]

Wow! You were lucky...that you got rid of the Cavalier.

[@DjDolHaus86]

@@pistonburner6448 You'd think that but if I remember correctly it was replaced by a Daewoo Espero. My dad had some really awful cars

[@carlgreatrix]

Brings me back to my youth! My best mate had one (yes he was a rep but purchased it himself in a light met green) I had a Manta GTE, both of us 18 years old at the time. We would load both cars up with mates, drive down to London from the midlands at 7pm on a Fri night, race around the city with anything we could find ( Lancia Beta's being the usual takers!) then drive home around 6am....every single weekend for a few years!! What memories! :)

[@BlackLines]

Neighbour had one of these. I always remember that his (and most others) seemed to sit on their rear wheels a bit, they were low down at the back. My dad had a Renault Fuego Turbo though which I found much more exciting because it had a big "TURBO" decal down the bottom of the doors lol. Great times :)

[@ZIGZAG12345]

Fuego Turbo, now I bet *that* is one rare car now!

[@dj_paultuk7052]

@@ZIGZAG12345 Sure is. There is only 1, yes 1 Fuego left in the UK, and its a poverty spec 1.6 one.

[@roystonvehicles9129]

Had a x reg turbo one, awesome

[@BlackLines]

nah .. my dad has a GTS parked in his garage. They'll just be SORN so not showing up.

[@dj_paultuk7052]

@@BlackLines GTS is the 1.6 ?. I used to have a GTX in gold with the 2.0 OHC engine.

[@Jodoi1]

My first car, bought and "shared" with my dad in 1996, was a 1983 Cavalier 1.6 in fetching gold and falling apart. I remember that the rear screen was a bit leaky and loose, but get it up to (ahem) 85 mph and the vibrations from it disappeared! 😄 Great video, brought back tons of memories (that clock!), thanks!

[@dj_paultuk7052]

At 130bhp, it was almost the top-dog in the day in the Rep-mobile car ladder. I think the only thing that topped it in the N/A 4cyl ranks would have been the 1988 Peugeot 405 1.9 Mi16. Which had 160bhp. But that engine was way ahead technology wise. Twin plenum, 16v, and fully sequential Bosch Motronic injection. Hence the "Mi".

[@monk3yboy69]

@DJ_PaulTUK I very much doubt any sales rep ran around in a SRI 130. It would have been 1.6 poverty spec or 1.8 if you’re lucky. This was 1988.

[@nicholasfearn8806]

@@monk3yboy69 Yep - the SRis and CDis would have been first-level sales management territory (equivalent to a Sierra Ghia or similar). The reps would have had an L or maybe a GL if you were lucky. My first company car was an E reg 1.6L Cavalier estate, though with 90BHP it actually went reasonably well by the standards of the day. Going up inclines on motorways did mean you slowed down however, something which you don't even think about now.

[@barryedwards7018]

I had two Cav SRi's, first was an 82 hatchback in a browny red but upgraded to an 88 130 saloon in white with white alloys (very 80s!). I remember it having lots of torque meaning in gear it was really lively. So watching this was a proper blast from the past!

[@djs7734]

In the future, as technology takes us further away from driver involvement, even mundane cars like this will seem thrilling to drive.

[@arifazar786]

Spot on..

[@Jasenkob]

I hope there will still be some rebellious car manufacturers that will keep involving us..

[@djs7734]

@@Jasenkob I'd love that to be the case. I'm clinging on to my Impreza but I know I'll have to replace it with an electric car one day. I just hope they make something I can actually enjoy driving by then.

[@whyyoulidl]

@@djs7734 Same here with my 1990 uno turbo (and two garaged XR2's!) Brain says 'sell' heart says 'not over my dead body' 😃

[@rob5944]

As a young bloke SRii's were everywhere. Copped sight of a 130 at the lights once and thought 'WOW, 130bhp! I only had a 1.6 saloon. My wife's mates partner had a SRi hatch, life's not fair!

[@russcattell955i]

My last of many Vauxhall / Opel cars was an Estate 1.6 LS. At the time I was mountain biking and in a band, so it was a load carrier. The low loading floor and cavernous interior would swallow plenty of sound equipment and instruments. Sleeping comfortably in the back sometimes, it was popular with girlfriends.

[@markyounanof3818]

Now these are the kind of cars I like to see reviewed. This area of cars hold my fascination the most and I remember foundly Growing up. I didn't know anyone who owned a ferrari or porsche etc. But my dad aswell as my friends dad's had all kinds of cars, one friends dad had a new granada scorpio cosworth, one had an older Bmw 735i, another had old xj6, one had a Seirra xr4x4i the list goes on. My dad had a old peugoet 505 estate but eventually got a vauxhal carlton 2.0 gls. Was hoping he would go for the GSi but just wasn't interested. Oh well great memories.

[@marvinsamuels1237]

Oh the memories you have prompted James! So many! My dad was (and still is) a Vauxhall man along with most of his family (a cousin was a foreman on the Cavalier production line in Luton). He owned 2 SRi’s (115) during the 80’s, one in metallic pale green, the other in white with matching white checked wool Recaro seats. He always wanted a 130, that was his aspirational car until the Calibre special edition with the same engine arrived. In early 90’s I inherited my mum’s 1.6 L hatch in white. It was spacious and reasonably economical, but struggled to get up motorway hills when I had my mates in it. Under steer was king, but the boot was big enough for me to stick the obligatory amp and large speakers that many a teenage boy fits to his motor. The car served me well for about 3 years until I traded it in for a 205 1.4XS. Great video as always 👍🏾

[@shooter3267]

I bought one of these new in 1988 in white. Loved it and did many miles without any trouble. Thanks for the memories!

[@Grump_Bender]

My first proper car. Moved from a tatty chavette to one of these in 1991. I just remember it seemed to just pull and pull. The most nostalgia riddled videos I've watched in a long time, thank you!

[@Chris-pr7sk]

99

[@anthonyparry2581]

SRI 130 Yes i had one for 6 years and my dad had the CD version the big difference between the two of them was the gear box the Sri had a close ratio box in the higher revs only dropping 1000revs where as the CD went down by 1500 revs but bothe would get up to 5000 revs really well ,i the swapped it for a 2ltr Carlton big big mistake it was SLOW

[@davebowman1982]

My dad had 3 Cav Sri's (1 of them a white saloon 130) as company cars when I was a kid. I honestly thought they were the dogs bollocks back then. It was also my first experience of car crime - 1 got broken into outside our house and the stereo nicked. Still though, lots of fond memories Thanks for helping me relive a little bit of my childhood

[@gowinm]

You can have a like before I’ve even watched this one. Great that you have so much breadth and depth to your channel Jayemm. Keep ‘em coming!

[@astorsimovitchlaw]

Thankyou Jay for this video, it brought back many memories of Friday nights with my mates in the mid 1980's. We'd play snooker, then thrash up the Finchley Road to Emmanuel's for a burger. The cars in said thrash were the Vauxhall Cavalier SRi, Mark 1 MR2, Mark 1 Escort RS Turbo, and occasional 4 speed Capri 2.8 Injection. Those were the days.

[@gerrywatson261]

Excellent video on what was one the favourite company hacks in their day! Thanks for taking me back to the 1980's James - they were fun times!

[@fraserparramint1903]

My Dad had a black SRi hatchback back in the day. That followed on from a rather bland light metallic green GL, a truly great upgrade. At the time I thought the SRi was a machine, with many memories of my Dad redlining it at every opportunity 😃 We also had a kid at school who was convinced the SR model was named purely as they all had a sunroof!

[@klasseact6663]

What makes this channel so great is a car like this gets the same attention as some DB supercar gets💯

[@rthomasbox]

I remember back in 1988 going to the Vauxhall Dealer to pickup my dads brand new Cavalier CDi 2.0 16v with electric windows in the back!! First time we had bought a brand new car. I was 11years old. Car before was a 1986 Montego MG which he wrote off supposedly doing a three point turn into a lamp post. That’s what he told my mum anyway when it was bought home on a trailer with a V shaped front end. Great memories!!

[@stewartbrown4394]

I had a SRi 130 in red. As a young lad in the mid 1990s I loved it, most of my peers were knocking around in RS turbos, Golf GTis and the like. Oh the memories ...

[@stuartchaston6592]

I had an '86 cavalier 1.6 GL in the early 90's. A colleague called Jon had an 87 SRi 130 and I was well jealous of the sportiness and power of the 130. I have very fond memories of many great times in my Cav.

[@whyyoulidl]

Me too! Also had a longing for the Cavalier, Astra and Belmont limited edition LX/LXi 😀

[@mohamedimardbrucelee8564]

My 2nd car was a similar aged cavalier hatchback in about 1992 , I loved that car! Electric blue, did 60 in 2nd gear and speed bumps in 3rd like they wasn’t there lol. Man ,that car was fast at the time, scared all my mates but the handling was bad. Front wheels bumping when they span , I remember how comfortable it was to drive though above all . Loved it just couldn’t afford the insurance cost. Takes me back, thanks for the review .

[@whyyoulidl]

OMG! I remember the front wheels bumping when they span; I had the 1.6GL

[@ManilvaRS]

Uncle had a couple of these and then a mk3. Always felt like rocket ships when I was a kid. The Mk2 always reminded me of The 2000 SUX from Robocop.

[@Jack-tx2ve]

Totally agree on the robocop thing

[@black8art]

I had an old and abused 1.8 SRI, in red with a VERY RARE grill with driving lights! That was pilfered from the car overnight whilst parked on the street! Very distinctive and made the car look even more sporty! I THRASHED that car, as I was often late for work, and travelled EVERYWHERE with the throttle buried in the carpet! 125mph and a sub 8 second 0 to 60 time was intoxicating, and this was my first 5 speed, front wheel drive and fuel injected car! The Recaro seats were worn but very supportive and I LOVED the torque and high speed stability through corners! (I tested it VERY often!) My brother had a final edition Cavalier 2ltr SRI, AND a Vectra SRI, which I got to borrow or drive him "home from the pub", and neither were as dynamically fun, or comfortable to me! I would go as far as to say, the Mk2 Cavalier SRI was THE BEST Cavalier/Vectra class car Vauxhall ever built! (the Vectra SRI Estate coming a close second, due to it's versatility and mile cruching ability!) It saddens me to see these cars were so "scrapable" (as was mine eventually!) and so few left on the road. They were, truly, a magnificent car! 20+years later, and I STILL miss mine!

[@RaviFernandez]

Just came across this video and so happy I did! Had one of these in white from ‘88 to ‘91. Favourite memories are many drives to Scotland and back trying to keep it at it’s max speed at often as possible on the very lightly policed northern motorways and enjoying the very dodgy Vauxhall handling on A & B roads😄

[@oliverlanchester2632]

The first car I remember my dad owning when I was a child. This video has brought back so many memories. He brought it new and ran it way past 100k mark with virtually no mechanical issues.

[@adams7405]

They were pretty reliable.Mine went in every 9000 miles which was every 3 months as a travelling rep for a flour company LOL. Well past 100,000 miles it was shipped off to auction and officially died in 2003.

[@MizraPaul]

Awesome video, properly reminisced about the number of these I worked on while working in a Vauxhall-approved Bodyshop in the early 90's.

[@jb3222]

I had a succession of Cavaliers, including two Mk11s, and they were all utterly reliable and, by the standards of the day, went pretty well. It's been great to see such a beautiful example let loose on the open road again

[@xeboi11]

Fantastic, I had one but black in the early 2000's when I was a teenager, very fond memories of that car

[@adams7405]

Have a 5 series Alpina in the garage and a E220 for business but have a fondness for my 1984 SRI as an aspiring rep at that time...snazzy 2 tone paint,Recaros and a six dial instrument pack on those early cars.Can't remember it breaking down and did an indicated 125 on the M1.

[@F7GOS]

my dad always had Cavs and seeing that sunroof mechanism made me smile big time.

[@michael5089]

Thank you. Loved this car. 👊💙💙💙💙💙💙 More of these 80s and 90s icons please!!!!! And 70s!!!!

[@Astoooooria]

Really enjoyed that. It was the ultimate rep car in the late 80”s. In the 90’s I had a Cavalier Calibre for a few years which was the last of the line Cavaliers.

[@whyyoulidl]

Yep, loved the Calibre; nice chunky stance from the back end; even better when tastefully lowered 😀

[@darrenhitchcox6345]

I had one of these back in 2000 to commute from Plymouth to Liverpool, a 300 mile journey that I did on Sunday eve and then back on Friday. I did 26000 miles in that car and the only thing which went wrong was a noisy wheel bearing. It was a damn decent car, especially since I only paid £600 for it !! Dynamically, it was ok, but I was very spoilt as I also had a Cavalier 4x4 Turbo, which I did not want to rack the miles in. It did love to understeer if pushed to hard, but the car served me damn well.

[@matthewgodwin3050]

I love these late mk2 Cavaliers. Very fond memories of riding in the back of one of these as a child back in day. Great cars to drive for their time too, and those striped seats are absolutely fabulous.

[@eze8970]

The days when a rev counter, clock, radio, cassette, sunroof & 130 decals meant a great deal! - Remember seeing a few white ones of these about. Thanks J!🙏

[@apanda1662]

I had one of these as a company car, I loved it and went on to have the following generation in the CDi with air con. They were a good car back in the day and very comfortable

[@TheTheoblad]

Had one of these babies in my 20s. In a rather fetching white & grey scheme. Thanks so much for bringing those memories back 😊 I loved it, it enjoyed a good thrash.

[@N13CRM]

I had the same colour LXi saloon as a company car and did around 60,000 event free miles in two years. This has brought back memories I had forgotten like the sunroof mechanism…brilliant piece thank you.

[@jazzventura]

My grandma' had an Opel Kadett from this generation, with exactly the same handle for the sunroof. Good memories with her and the car.

[@mpersad]

What a restoration, the owner/people who did this should be very proud of themselves - it's an exemplary piece of work.

[@thomascharnock]

That sunroof. Reminded me of my dad's old sky blue Astra. Amazing how a small detail in a car can bring back memories, especially since my dad passed away a few years ago now. Cheers Jay 👍

[@whyyoulidl]

Yep, same here with the sunroof handle observation. It's those small details. I'd kick myself the amount of times I turned the handle the wrong way for tilt or slide open 😆

[@undeadtotheend6420]

My dad had one of these loved it, super reliable and never had any issues.

[@darrencox5102]

I was 18 in 1988 and bought an “A” reg (1984) SRI. I loved it. It was in white with black and orange (if I remember correctly) fine check Recaro seats. I liked it as it wasn’t the usual XR3i that everyone else seemed to own - although I think my Dad was disappointed as he worked for Ford 😂. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@Flipper-hd6cx]

Darren we must be the same age, I went from driving my Mum's Escort Mk2 to my own first car in 1990, a lowly 1982 Cavalier 1.6L in China blue, much to my Dad's disgust as he was a lifelong Ford man. Apart from the heated rear window not working, and apparently never having worked as both sides of the switch were wired to ground, it was a good if not terribly exciting car. Accelerator pump on the carburettor used to block regularly, making opening the throttle suddenly a bit of a lottery. Good to be reminded of something you don't really give much thought to, but was quite important in my life.