Rebuilding a wrecked ASTRA VXR pt1 - how bad is the damage?

[@davidmccoy6296]

Great to see you back on again Dave,looking forward to the next video, good luck for 2025

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@davidmccoy6296 thanks dude, it’s good to be back rebuilding stuff! Hope 2025 is a great year for you too 😃👍🏻

[@BennyRich01]

Ive got ine of these, its an absolute beast. Best hot hatch, I've driven

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@BennyRich01 cool. I’ve owned a mk2 and 3 focus RS and far preferred the mk2 as it was a lot more “raw” so I’ve got my fingers crossed the astra is the same as it’s been a bucket list car of mine for years 👍🏻

[@darkvalebrewer93]

Great project dude. Looking forward to the process as usual 👍

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@darkvalebrewer93 thanks dude!! Appreciate you as always 😃👍🏻

[@theoh87]

Great video as per usual. It’s nice to see a family man with a KZbin channel getting his children involved. I know that people will comment saying that there are other KZbinr out there with children but I think yours is the best

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@theoh87 I really appreciate that! Thank you! Yeah, the eldest wants to help me out and learn how to work on cars, so he may be in a few of the videos. He also wants to be the camera man so expect some shaky footage in the next few videos 😂😂

[@theoh87]

@@DaveRebuilds Not a problem credit is given where credits due. That’s all good lol! The young KZbinrs getting practice 😂 Happy new year

[@peterarries7879]

Welcome back, Nice video, happy Christmas and all the best for 2025

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@peterarries7879 thanks dude!! Merry Christmas to you as well and hope 2025 is a great year for you too!

[@kierenleak6521]

I love my 2013 gtc vxr, i daily drive mine, mine done 123k great engine if looked after, i service mine every 6k, just a little tip when you service it, there is a cross bar, where the oil drain plug is, best to remove it other wise oil goes everywhere ask me how i know haha, check the front discs as theses are not cheap to replace, mtc Discs are 500+ with out pads, best of luck, loads of red panels on ebay at the moment kieren

[@DaveRebuilds]

Nice! It’s been a bucket list car of mine for years so looking forward to its first drive once fixed! Cool, will keep that in mind for when I service it, thanks for the tip! 😃👍🏻

[@kierenleak6521]

@DaveRebuilds driving is a experience in its own right, in the vxr, 280 bhp, as you got a induction kit it might be stage 1

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ happy days if that’s true! Will need to see about getting it over 300bhp once it’s fixed 😃👍🏻

[@kierenleak6521]

@@DaveRebuilds I think I remember right is 320bhp is stage 1 safe, stage 2 is with intercooler and full exhaust system 340bhp, I've got induction kit and intercooler to fit to mine, I've just missed out on full exhaust system, sports cat, as the original is a massive what I have read reduces power out put, I'm not a tuner , I'm only a hgv mechanic, look forward to seeing more videos as there not many of theses on the roads,

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ cool, good to know dude, thanks!!

[@bridoboy143]

Looking forward to the next upload happy hogmanay 🎉

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@bridoboy143 thank you!! Happy new year to you as well when it comes, hope 2025 is a great year for you 👍🏻

[@ANDY-we7mr]

Merry Christmas and Happy New year dave to you and your family 👪 😊

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@ANDY-we7mr thank you! Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and yours as well 👍🏻

[@johnreid7904]

Hi Dave, glad to see you back with a new video then. Hope everyone had a great Christmas? For myself I had told you about fitting a new turbo charger to my Astra estate, yes got the car going then. Until Christmas Eve and had just left my house and I heard a small bang, turned around back home and looked under the bonnet and found out the new fan belt was not there and the pulley had disappeared from the alternator. So did not have a good Christmas myself then, put a new alternator on, on Friday afternoon went to contact the battery up and found out the battery had a fault in it. So as you can tell my luck has not been very good. Roll on 2025 now, wishing you and your family a Happy New Year when it arrives Dave.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@johnreid7904 hi John, yeah had a good Christmas, thanks! Yours sounded like a bit of a car disaster?! Hopefully 2025 is a good year for you 🤞🏻😃

[@Dave.The_Sham]

Woohoo! Great to see Dave back on the scene. Nice project too. Happy new year to you and your helpers!

[@DaveRebuilds]

Thanks dude! Happy new year to you and yours as well!

[@gold4leaf]

Happy New Year Dave, hope 2025 is a good one for you and your family, nice looking project car to start the year with 😀 , cheers, Garry from DownUnder

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@gold4leaf happy new year to you and yours as well! 😃👍🏻

[@asifnoaman8978]

these are brilliant cars. I'm not into modern cars as I have a 1979 MGB GT and im 21 years old. BUT my fathers Astra GTC VXR running 350BHP and 520NM with a stock turbo with hybrid core is widly fast. Managed to beat a BMW M4 in the wet. The drexler diff and suspension setup is wicked and the weight of the car helps to reduce skipping when launching. His one has the optional full leather and electric seats with blue stitching and pin stripe

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@asifnoaman8978 that sounds lovely! I’ll be pushing for the 350bhp once the rebuild is done 👍🏻. That’s a cool car the MGB, old skool but very cool! What’s it’s like trying to find parts/panels etc?

[@asifnoaman8978]

@@DaveRebuilds easier than the vauxhall which is scary. Many companies specialise and still manufacture identical panels using original moulds and blue prints. However the car is now for sale and im getting a fully restored 1956 Morris Minor Splitscreen window. one thing to note about my dads VXR is that its fully forged so it is a good peace of mind that it wont go wrong. I advice service the car every 4k miles not 6k as the guy suggested above. The oil gets very black if driven hard every day

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ oh that’s cool, didn’t know that about the MGT! Hmm, so you’re saying I need to get a forged engine built for it? 🤔😂. I’ll remember to service it every 4K dude, thanks for the advice 👍🏻

[@asifnoaman8978]

@@DaveRebuilds use Mannol oil. Its the best in the game. Shell is overpriced and Castrol isnt as good quality either

[@asifnoaman8978]

@@DaveRebuilds and don't forget to use Mannol oil not Castrol or shell

[@skodakatie7341]

Great video, this car looks to be in really good condition, apart from the obvious damage. Happy New Year Dave❤.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@skodakatie7341 happy new year to you as well when it comes! Hope 2025 is an awesome year for you!! Yeah, should be fun fixing it, haven’t had a dash out of a car in a long long time so looking forward to that!!

[@ChatMotorsport]

I worked at a Vauxhall dealer in Bolton for 18 Months as a photographer, I only remember seeing 2 of these come through on the 2nd hand market, both sold on the day they came in. that induction kit is worth a few ££'s too. cant wait to see the next video :)

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@ChatMotorsport yeah I think the previous owner looked after it, as it’s only done 35k and seems to have been polished multiple times lol. Hopefully someone sees the video who knows the owner as I’d love it if they had the paperwork to go with it!

[@eamonkelly2792]

That doesn't look too bad, it's it's nice when the little one's help out, I hope you and the family have a wonderful New Year Dave

[@DaveRebuilds]

Yeah it’s not too bad thankfully! Yeah the older one really wants to help me fix it and I’m certainly not going to stop him as knowing how to use tools and fix stuff is important (in my opinion!) Happy new year to you and yours as well dude!!

[@jjones7535]

Ahhh yes been waiting for you’re videos to come back! Hope you good mate

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@jjones7535 thanks dude! Yeah all good here, hope you are too 👍🏻

[@kennovakowski1246]

Welcome back so nice to see your video pop up I have missed your builds. Merry Christmas to you and your family. On the west coast we have been lucky so far but snow is coming this week along with colder temperatures.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@kennovakowski1246 thank you! Apparently it’s meant to snow here today, but it’s always a bit of a hit and miss with snow around here so it’ll probably end up being sunny and windy lol.

[@audieconrad8995]

From across the pond, "Happy New Year and Auld Lang Syne!" to ya laddie! Love your vids Dave. Shine on you crazy diamond! 🚘

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@audieconrad8995 lol, happy new year to you and yours as well dude!! Hope 2025 is a great year for you!!

[@ANDY-we7mr]

Dave tinted windows 🪟 reflectors 😊

[@johnsteel290]

Awesome to have you back to doing wat u do best , awesome car too , well once u work ure magic on it . Kids have to earn their pocket money some how . Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year to u and the family , from me and my dave 🎉🍻🍻🍻

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@johnsteel290 thank you dude! Yeah I do love fixing cars, it’s one of my happy places lol. Absolutely right about the kids, although who said anything about pocket money 😂. Happy new year to you as well, hope 2025 is a good one!!

[@johnsteel290]

@DaveRebuilds yeah , my happy place is fixing , working on and cleaning cars , especially my camper van , that still hasn't been welded , manifold gasket sorted or the other little odds n ends sorting lol

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ 😂👍🏻

[@stevenjones19-m8i]

Hello Dave, brilliant video,great progress so far on the VXR Astra,the bonnet bar looks straight enough.Happy New Year 🎉.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@stevenjones19-m8i lol it’s definitely more squint than it looks, will definitely need replaced 👍🏻, but on the look out for parts just now so should be all good! Happy new year to you too!!

[@daxxr2532]

The first brand new car I ever bought was a 2015 astra J vxr, owned it over four years. Great cars.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@daxxr2532 that’s cool! I’m looking forward to driving it already I must say, bit of a bucket list car for me!

[@daxxr2532]

There are so many things you can retrofit to them, but most need to be programmed. Dash comes out quite easy, most parts are generic astra J, even the airbag

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ that’s good to know dude, thanks! I’ll try get as many standard parts as possible to save the pennies as I know certain parts (bumper for example) are ludicrous prices for some reason?!

[@daxxr2532]

Every 3 door astra J owner probably wants a vxr front bumper 😂

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ 😂👍🏻

[@jamessims7391]

Nice to see you back it been a long time 👍👍

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@jamessims7391 thanks dude! I actually posted a video detailing a bmw z4 last week if that’s of any interest? But yeah, been a long time since I had a rebuild to get stuck in to 😃👍🏻

[@ronaldmaxwell4579]

Good to see you back mate,Happy new year.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@ronaldmaxwell4579 happy new year to you too dude!!

[@jordankerry6387]

He’s back with another build 😃

[@DaveRebuilds]

Took me a while tho lol

[@jordankerry6387]

@@DaveRebuildskeep it up mate just watched it I think you should deffo get another toy

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ will keep my eye out for one 😉👍🏻

[@richardsarcheryreviews]

My boys love it when I get the cleaning stuff out mate they love the snowfoam so we cot some coloured snowfoam from duel auto care as well as some nitty gritty which is a great pre wash

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@richardsarcheryreviews good stuff dude, u guys should start a car cleaning business! Mine miss too many bits to do it as a job at the moment lol. Nitty gritty, will keep an eye out for some of that 👍🏻

[@petec7849]

good to see you back, I done one not too long ago, front bumper is silly money etc for them if you can find one, but they go well, will follow build. good to find low mile one

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@petec7849 thanks dude! Yeah the front bumper is crazy expensive! No idea why they are so much?? I’m sourcing the parts just now and everything is ok prices apart from the bumper 😂

[@petec7849]

yeah sure when I called dealer if they can get one sure it was about 3k, if you get one make sure towing eye cover there. again hens teeth cross e ver front bumper the same ,,if I hear of one ill give you a shout

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ good stuff, thank you! Yeah they r going for like £1500 on eBay currently, mental!!

[@petec7849]

@@DaveRebuildsyeah crazy money, my mate got a damaged one before and couldn't get it plastic welded as funny material, kept cracking in same place he got a 2 pack bonder. that stuck it better.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ yeah I’ve had that exact issue with a corsa bumper! At least he got it fixed in the end tho 👍🏻

[@jokerash]

You should be able to push the Vauxhall logo on the boot, on the lower part of it to release the lock, but if the battery is almost dead it won't work. Merry Xmas and happy NYE from Romania !

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@jokerash ah cool, I did wonder why the badge moved as much as it did if it wasn’t a button!! Thanks dude, appreciate that! Happy new year to you too!! 👍🏻

[@steveng5503]

Look like a nice easy one. Hopefully that’s the case. Was the radpack push back onto a pulley? Sounds like something rubbing when started up. Are parts for this model easy enough to pickup? Nice to see getting some help there. More than what I get. 🙄

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@steveng5503 😂, I didn’t even have to force them! Not quite as simple when I try to get them to come with me walking the dog tho 😂. Yeah the radiator is smooshed (technical term) up against the engine, so really want to get it out and straightened before I try starting it anymore 👍🏻

[@RumpleXStiltXSkin]

Good to see you back Dave 💪do you still have go to the states for your jollies (job) 😂

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@RumpleXStiltXSkin thanks dude! Yeah I do, I’ll be back over there in Jan I think, then over again in April (tough job, but someone’s got to do it 😂). May have a partial rebuild lined up when I’m over there too so that could be good fun

[@RumpleXStiltXSkin]

@ brilliant matey 💪

[@alicanyazgan]

new bonnet has to come with new hinges to awoid any issues they usually bent anyway

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@alicanyazgan 100% agree, I remember learning that the hard way with the BRZ that I fixed! Couldn’t get the damn bonnet to sit properly until I swapped the hinges 😂👍🏻

[@AmarMahmood-t9n]

Did you check the oil before starting it Pal?

[@DaveRebuilds]

I did off camera yeah, but thanks for asking 👍🏻 I always check the fluids first thing when the cars arrive as my pal blew a car up a few years ago as he didn’t check the coolant and then let it “warm up” 😳😂

[@robh6206]

Good luck finding a decent front bumper most are a couple of grand on ebay

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@robh6206 yeah I discovered that the other day! May have to buy a broken one and fix it to save the pennies 🙄

[@pauljeffries]

Front bumpers are a nightmare to source for those VXR's, I used to work in a bodyshop and we had one in for a new bumper, it took me over a month to find a new one, and that was well over £2k, you'll also have issues finding the bumper trim parts as they are no longer supplied by vauxhall.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ ugh, that’s not what I wanted to hear lol, but where there’s a will, there’s always a way! Hopefully lol

[@alanunknown8932]

New subscriber here. You sound north Scotland ?

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@alanunknown8932 awesome! Thank you!! I’m actually Edinburgh based but I’ve been told quite a few times that I sound like I’m from Inverness/the highlands lol

[@alanunknown8932]

@@DaveRebuilds I thought Inverness to

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ lol, definitely Edinburgh, but I do love the highlands so all good 😃👍🏻

[@AndrewReid-im7us]

Don't toss any parts especially the bumper trim there a few hundred a pairs matts are hard to find a good condtion set need any help let me know am in the middle of building the same car

[@DaveRebuilds]

Good to know, thank you!! Yeah I recon the matts will clean up nicely with the extractor once the rebuild is finished 👍🏻

[@johnmontgomery6508]

Wee hands to clean out door pockets😂

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@johnmontgomery6508 😂👍🏻

[@paultaylor9652]

They definitely don't build Astra's like this anymore, build quality since Stellantis took over isn't great.

[@mehere3013]

easy fix

[@DaveRebuilds]

😂, god I hope so 👍🏻

[@AUXITOLED]

Another solid video,Dave. We released a Portable car vacuum cleaner. Can we invite you to do a review? We have reached out via email for an inquiry.

[@fill7t1]

I'd thought you'd come off YT. I'd been subscribed, then unsubcribed 🤔. Have to catch up now 😊

[@DaveRebuilds]

lol, I’ve only posted a couple videos so don’t worry, you’re not too far behind 😂. Yeah I was away for quite a while, but hoping to be back almost full time 👍🏻

[@michaelstevens7533]

Damage don't look to bad. Should be an easy fix for ya bud

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@michaelstevens7533 I’m slightly concerned the frame is tweaked but got my fingers crossed it isn’t 😂, will find out at some point this week when the new parts arrive for it 👍🏻

[@bigbhp6808]

Like your vids been watching for a while however these are Absolute rubbish cars parts expensive and hard to find and when repaired very hard to sell best of luck however 👍

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@bigbhp6808 thanks dude! I definitely don’t disagree with the price of the parts, couldn’t believe how expensive some of them are! I’m hoping it’s a fun car to drive like the mk2 RS was but need to get it fixed first lol

[@bigbhp6808]

@DaveRebuilds unfortunately you will be disappointed as these are not a patch on a mk2 rs iv had a good few mk2 rs and tried a vxr as took one in a px and it was the worst hot hatch I ever owned under powerd and horrible handling

[@DaveRebuilds]

@ dang it, well that’s disappointing! It gets such good write ups as well

[@ben.f80]

No Dave you haven't.

[@DaveRebuilds]

@@ben.f80 😂😂, I wondered if the change in title would get a response from anyone! Haven’t driven the vxr yet so holding comment until I’ve driven it, but it would be hard to beat the mk2 RS focus I had, loved that car!