Buying and running a Cavalier Convertible

If the hood is not attended to, water will get in and the interior will suffer badly – there is no substitute for a water-tight original or a replacement hood, so this is a necessary expense. As you would expect for a car this rare, replacement panels may well be an issue, though front panels were shared with the saloon so are easier than the rest. Neither the doors (which were unique to the two- door) nor the rear quarters (which were unique to the Convertible) are available, so if the car were to be seriously damaged it’s a matter of repairing what you have or re-using rear panels from a car that has suffered front end damage. Interior trim is unique to the car, but mechanically things are much rosier as the Convertible shares many components with its saloon or hatchback equivalent.

That said, these days finding even secondhand parts to restore a worthy example can be a challenge because while the Cavalier was a huge success in its day, the attrition rate has been very high among the 807,000 Cavalier Mk2s that were built. Surprisingly though, around 50 convertibles are still on the road and another 250 are SORN'd, proving that soft tops tended to be cherished rather than regarded as tools to be used and then thrown away. This pool means that while the cars are becoming difficult to find, even the best won’t break the bank. Rust buckets only fetch a couple of hundred pounds, but are probably best viewed as a source of spares. Useable, unmolested cars are available from £1000 to £1500, but buy the best you can or be prepared for a lot of work. You will find quite a few have been customised with body kits and arch extensions; some of these – particularly from the German company Irmscher – are quite neat, but others are rather crude. Good examples with a not too leaky hood are £3000-£5000, but a well looked after car in original or restored condition will command more. If you can find one for sale, the very best examples such as our subject here today will be worth pretty much whatever the buyer is prepared to pay.