High Mile Club
Jay Ivey, Birmingham
Mega-miles Cavalier with a difference: it is a fantastic daily driver.
Ten years ago we had hole in the car fleet to fill and this did it admirably. With my job in the NHS I often find homes for cars that need them due to older ladies and gents having to give up driving, so I am used to taking on interesting old motors that need a bit of work. This was one such car – a single owner rarity that had been well-loved. Like a few cars I have had, there was something about it that meant I should look after it and not rehome it, pretty soon it became part of the family.
The family who had it from new used it for all sorts of jobs, family holidays, work and such like. They used to go crabbing in it! It only had 33,000 miles on it and I paid £100 for it, although it has to be said, it needed quite a bit of work when it arrived on the back of the trailer.
Over the next few years we kept it on the road but after a while the original engine got worn out. I wanted a bit more performace and better MPG, so I decided to swap in an Isuzu 1.7 diesel engine from a 1995 Astra into the Cavalier’s bay to replace the original 1.6 petrol engine. The job itself was reasonably straightforward – it’s all specced up to Vauxhall standards and measurements – and once it was in it ran really really well. It still does. Bodywise I’ve sorted dings and chips and it’s had new metal in the sills and a lick of paint on both sides. I think it looks pretty smart for the miles and hard use I give it. It’s been broken into a couple of times, I live in an urban area and I use the car for all sorts of jobs, but each time I have cleaned it up and sorted it. Without it we wouldnt have been able to move house five years ago, it was also our wedding car four years ago and my wife and I both love it. These Cav MKIIS are rare now, especially estates, which is a shame. They are involving to drive, really distinctive and very reliable. Here’s the proof.
DO YOU HAVE A HIGHMILER Want to join the High Mile Club? Email danny.hopkins@practicalclassics.co.uk with your story and some pics. Make sure it is over 180k miles and you have done the lion’s share of them.