The easy to replace clutch on the Cavalier and Astra was a brilliant idea, took me about 20 minutes to change one back then such a shame car manufacturers took a backward step with that one brilliant bit of design.

In my youth I craved for the SRi. Such a good looking car. Amazing how cars once seen absolutely everywhere just disappear so quickly.. I can't remember the last time I saw a Mk2.

Oh I could prattle on about MK2 Cavaliers for days. I was a young Vauxhall mechanic from 86 to 91. Philips 751 and 752 radios were great, and as long as you had the code, or knew the hack were easy to work on. Clutch replacement in under half an hour was nice, and the timing belts snapped often but hardly ever bent any valves and were super easy to replace. I had an SR saloon at the time, did a few nice tweaks to it, and as a non injection model there were some fun things you could do. I did prefer the look of the saloon, and also preferred the SR/ SRi over the sort of fake posh of the CD models. Although the Calibre model was the one I always really wanted. SRi 120 was nice as well. Nice trip through so not that distant past 😃

My parents had the SRI, I remember thinking it was something really special! Nice trip down memory lane for me, thank you Mr. Hubnut!

Gorgeous looking Cav still cutting it today. Remember when this model came out I always loved the "modern" looking dash. In 96 I had an 11 year old tatty SRI with rusty arches but the 4 new Michelin's I had just fitted astounded the traffic Copper who pulled me in for a routine tax revenue raising inspection! Great cars.

My parents had a 1984 bog standard 1.6 L mk 2 Cavalier. Quite different; it didn't even have FM on the radio! but I remember the look of the dashboard even though it's been 25 years since I last saw it.

So reminds me of my days with company cars back in the 80's and 90's. I loved that era of cars. I also loved the velour seats, in my view the most comfortable type of seat covering - so much nicer than today's hard cloth fabrics, and certainly better than leather, never could understand the hype about leather seats - too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, plus you slide around on them. Gimme the old velour any day.

A friend of mine (now sadly deceased) had a Cavalier CD,a B-reg and I loved riding in it. I loved that buzzy sound the engine made as he pulled away and the velour seats,always preferred those to leather. Nice video Ian,keep up the good work.

That car has failed 1 mot in 32 years amazing

Great video, passed my test in my dad´s F-reg 2.0 GLSi hatchback. Loved that motor :)

Thanks Mr HunNut this is the best mk2 cav video since the early 80s top gear one! It's brought me over all nostalgic, I loved all the cavaliers I owned from the 1.6 base to the sri 130 and the couple of GL's in between but the 130 was my first true love and I've never had the same feelings about a car since, even though it was 11 years old and well passed it's best i was 18 and I loved it. That's the joy of your channel for people like me (around the 40 year old mark ) it's very relatable.

My first car was a 1987 Opel Ascona -C-CC 16N 4-speed. With this car my love with Opels/Vauxhalls began.

My second car was a 1982 cavalier mk2 in gold. Was a 1.3l and did struggle a bit. Sadly the engine blew eventually but it managed to coast along to a parking space off the main road. Wonderful car and boot was huge.

I've never noticed before, but the rear quarter of the Mk2 Cavalier really looks like it was inspired by the Rover SD1!

Seriously, seeing a new HubNut video always makes me happy.

Thank you for your review , you have brought back some wonderful memories , I loved my mk2 Gli cavalier hatchback . Wish I still had it .

Love these mk2's, really loved the saloons. The Calibre was the daddy of the all.. Once again great video!!!

A MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier with its original Phillips 752 stereo . These were all relocated to peoples MK2 escorts.

Had a 1987 1.6 Club saloon in white. Deck chair interior, yellow,black and grey striped seats with White carpets. You needed sun glasses to drive it but was a brilliant car. Gave no trouble and drove like a dream. Wished I still had it.

Another great review in your series of 70s and 80s cars. These cars are rarer than most so called classics and its really great to see them on your channel.

I had a Mk III CD ( along with millions of other drivers ). Loved that car. Tall gearing was great for motorways. Used to do an indicated 90 at a tad over 3,000 rpm.

Would be great to see you in a Senator CD 24v. REALLY wanted my dad to get one back in the 80’s....

My Dad had one of these in GLS spec. Thanks for bringing back the memories and my search for a new plaything.

Yet again, Hub Nut shows me a car from my past. This time, it's one that my Granddad had. Exactly the same model, although his was in black. I remember the nice interior that in summer had a distinctively vauxhall smell, not unpleasant but not something you want to smell on a long journey in very hot weather. A brings back nice summer memories. Thanks Hub Nut. (might have been the CD only, after looking online at the front with the grill face instead of the one you had.)

Lovely angular fastback shape that’s dating rather splendidly. Lovely.

very enjoyable :-) my second ever car was a 1983 (X-reg so I thnk 1983) silver and black Cavalier SR (not an SRi). It was lovely, with Recaro seats, a 6 guage dashboard, alloys and a rubber boot spoiler. And of course, it looked fast. I transformed its appearance by installing red electrical tape over the silver side stripe, and painting the SR badge red to match. I loved that car :-)

Great video. Brings back so many memories! I used to own a 1.6 GLS saloon Cav Mk2. Loved it to bits but always wanted the SRi 130 model. Lovely condition that CDi for its age.

My Dad had MkI / II and III Cavaliers growing up. Full of great memories for me. Even that noise when you turned the lights on with the door open fired up my nostalgia. I'd love to own one now as an adult, excellent cars. Thanks for the great video.

5:17 What a handy design, look how easy it is to fill up the blinker fluid! 😅😝

We had that car in Germany as Opel Ascona C (not B !) and it was of that certain mediocrity that you neither needed to feel ashamed to own one nor does it have major downsides. It wasn't just an exciting car but way ahead the rear-wheel-driven, slightly old-fashioned Ascona-B. Technically it was reasonable and didn't give the owners too many unsolveable questions, it was easy to maintain, workshop costs were comparatively low and it offers enough room and performance. Even on the low end models which had a 1.3 Liters 75hp IIRC. Mothers friend owned a golden Ascona C hatchback with 1.8L 90hp (carburator model) back in '88 and we drove with 5 persons plus luggage relatively comfortable over to visit relatives in the GDR. I like the style of your test-drive-videos. It's driving under practical daily (sometimes miserable) conditions and reflect fairly good what's the cars pros and cons. The Mk2 Cavalier did a good job I think. The CD version is fairly luxurious compared to the "usual stuff", that Mr. and Mrs. Smith might have bought and put up in front of their house ... didn't see many CD-Versions of the Ascona-C over here. Watching your videos is a good way to spend a quiet sunday afternoon ... :-) Carry on the good work & thanks for sharing.

That's a great example of the mark 2 cav... it was always my favourite . Great vid Ian.

Some lovely nostalgic cars there, cheers 🍻 for the continual content..great channel

Sri saloon manual with Recaro front seats the best ever Caverlier

This takes me back as i had a MK2 Cavalier SR (not the i) - Great car and would love another one

Another good revue Ian. Never had a Cavalier myself, but one of my brother in law's had three of them from the MK1 onwards so he obviously liked them. Nice to catch a glimpse of the FD in the background too.😀

Mk2 Cav. Love them. Back in around 1990, I owned a red Astra gte which was great for a single, no strings male in his late teens. Couple of works colleagues, both with families, owned cav Sri’s. One a gold hatch and the other, a black saloon. I loved that car. It was always so shiny. We’d always race away from work. My Astra had the legs on the cav’s but they was great cars. 👍🏻 Hubnut. Your’s is fast becoming my favourite KZfaq channel. Might even buy a couple of stickers haha 😉. Keep up the good work.

I had the slightly lower spec 1.6GLS, it was a revelation performance wise after the 1.3 Montego that it replaced!

This reminds me of the rover sd1 from the hatch back bit

When you're working on a sunday, it's break time and you see there's a new HubNut video......this definately calls for a cuppa tea!

Oh wow. I remember my school friends father had one, not as posh, but it was a lovely car and he really looked after it. My first car was a J reg automatic Cavalier.

An era when Vauxhall’ and Ford dominated the rep mobile market. The model you were seen driving very much denoted your status. In an organisation. Caused much envy when one of your mates Dads had a higher spec model than yours 😊

Velour: the sign of luxury! ;)

How have I only just seen your videos.... 😍😍😍 So good!! 👏

I love these cars. I owned four Mk2' s one being the SRI 130 That went like stink for its time... Excellent stuff. As always thanks for the memories.

ohh, the Ascona C's brother. My first car, miss those on the road

I liked the mk2 & mk3, I currently have a face lifted Insignia which is no way as good to drive in my humble opinion

I did my apprenticeship at a Vauxhall Main dealer in the early 90's. Brings back some great memories seeing this video.

I had a 1.8 SRI and it always had a rough spot above 2500 rpm but it was a much loved car , thanks for the memories

my first car cavalier mk2 great car you could work on them yourself the best one i wanted was the sri 130 which i never owned so i got the mk3 sri and cdx v6 wish i still had them

My dad had the 1.8 LXI very nippy motor 👍

Great video; I owned several of these back in the day, up to the GLSi; great cars, a faithful, dependable, purposeful car with a lively performance

What a very pleasant motor car, they used to everywhere didn't they! The Vauxhall Centre looks well worth a visit. Excellent review Ian.

Holden Camira in Australia. They didn’t have a good reputation and were a bit of a joke. I owned a couple and they were OK but No hatch sedans and wagons only.The wagon body shells were built in Australia and shipped to Europe weren’t they? They were replaced by the Holden Apollo which was a rebadged sv21 Toyota Camry. Fun!

I had a 2 tone red/black SRI which was a tremendous all rounder. Swift, refined,economical, reliable, spacious...glory days but those Recaro seats were rock hard..and that cliff front dash. Great time capsule video for me, thank you.

Lurvly! Top spec too. I had a China blue 1984 GLS saloon at 19 and kept it for ten years. Loved it. Nice alloys, seats, steel sliding sunroof and electric mirrors and boot release which surprised a few people when it magically popped open. Rust got it in the end and I had to let it go to the scrap as I was building a house.

Nice car not many about now. I always thought the estate was the best looking. 👍

A car badged CDi these days would be a diesel.

I adored my white H reg Cavalier Sri, had it up till 2003 when electrical gremlins finally got the better of me and every garage I took it to. That red and white Bedford van brings back many memories, wow how can seeing an old van stir up so much, what a great looking vehicle.

Just watched this one, how cool, again bringing back memories of cars I've driven, owned.. My Cavalier was the 1.8 LXi 🚗

We had one of the last cavaliers made, a 2.0 diplomat fully loaded, leather etc. Lovely car much better handling than the Sierra jelly mould. Hated the vectra so switched to mondeos

Hi , get yourself a Senator 3.0 CD auto, comfort at its best.

I had an E plate MK 2 and a G plate MK 3. Both 1600s. Both great cars. I worked on a stack of Cavaliers being “in the trade” in the 80s. Piece of cake to work on. As you said the clutch was very easy to change. Think the quickest I ever changed one was about 40mins out on site. As a garage we made quite a lot of money out of Cavalier cam shaft replacements. Again, a piece of cake if you had the Sykes and Pickavant special tools. Happy days. Keep up the great work Ian. I’m loving the Reliant Fox project. If we were closer I’d be round to get my hands dirty 😀

Thanks for bringing my childhood memories alive again brilliant car

First car was a E reg 2.0i GL hatchback..Couldn't believe i could get my hands on such a swish motor!

Always liked them. Looked much smarter than the Sierra. Interior reminds me of my Mk2 Astra. Very creaky!

Nice motor! Loved the old cavvies...great video as always bro, oh...and cool shades too! 😎✌️❤️

My dad had a 1.8 GLi, We went on holiday to Northumberland in it, towing a trailer. I can remember going to scrap yards to find parts for it, like the window winder knobs which always fell off. Ours even had a sort of foam rubber boot lip spoiler 👍

I really don't know why vauxhalls get so much flack! Every model is a good all rounder, decent looking cars, interior are well built. Yes they are not as good the German stuff but great value for money.

still some switch blanking panels on the dash I see. Not all the options ticked.

I had 5 Mk2 Cavaliers as company cars, 3x 1.6L, 1x 1.6LX and 1x 1.8GL and despite doing approx 50k per year they never let me down, good motorway cruiser but light enough to be flicked about around town. Loved them so much that when I had to buy a car with my own money.... I bought another one! They just worked!!!

My Dad had a new Silver Sri in 1985, had the close ratio box which was a massive improvement over the High geared cd. Was a smart car and the 1.8i engine was massively better than anything Ford had to offer.

Nice car! The interior kind of reminds me of a Carlton my dad owned, especially those plush seats. Great video as always!

Always a joy to see a motor that’s obviously been well loved throughout its life 😀

What a blast from the past! My dad used to drive rep cavaliers in the 80s. His were the Sri version. Fantastic cars and I remember them shifting when my dad put his foot down and that was a lot. I had the mark 3 cavalier in the 90s. That was the Sri 130 and that really went well. I must admit I hammered that car and it kept going. Probably one of my favourite cars of the 80s and 90s. 👍

Sweet Jesus HubNut, this brought back memories, I had an 87 CDi saloon back in 91/92, 5 speed manual, silvery/blue in colour and I loved it... When you filmed the interior and switched the lights on, that lights on warning buzzer gave me a flashback to a day I'd forgotten forever, great time in my life. Very nostalgic, thank you very much. 👍

I see a new video from hubnut and I click like with out even watching the video yet I just know it will be enjoyable thanks hubnut.

Excellent Video On The Cavalier Mk2 Cdi Auto!! A Nice Car, With Fine Driving Dynamics, And Well Put Together! Hard To Believe The Mk1 Cavalier Came Out In 1977 On An R Reg Plate! And Were Only Available As A 4 Door Saloon! Makes The Mk2 Seam Like A Jaguar!!! All Your Road Tests Are A Joy And Delight To Watch Ian! You Should Have Your Own Weekly Road Test TV Show!!!!!!

Loved this Ian I owned a Mk3 Cavalier CDX in magic grey with all the electric goodies had her for 6 and a half years lovely car never let me down in all that time unlike cars I've owned since.

Thanx for Reviewing the Vehicles from my hay-day, LOVE the Channel. FAREWELL!!!

I remember these very well as Opel Ascona’s (Belgium). But my dad had a Sierra, as he worked at the Ford plant in Belgium. Love that example, very well preserved!

I absolutely love old Vauxhalls, lovely video!

Oh wow now this brings back some fantastic memories when i used to own one of these but mine was a 1.3 GL and also starred in one epsoide of the 80s show Lovejoy and was used for a scene just outside windsor castle it was on a B plate loved that motor...great video hubnut 😎😎😎

Ah the memories. This was my first car in the early nineties (1.6 GL hatch manual in china blue) took me to the raves around B’ham, Glastonbury fest, a fairly quick car for it’s type, of the times. Had some great county lane drives to Bewdley Bridgnorth and “the cider house” at Quatt. Great times. All the best Hubnut. Cheers.

I used to get shuttled home in a mk2 Cavalier auto (taxi) in my teens after nights of merriment, happy memories looking at that dash through OVD tainted eyes! If there's any chance of you reviewing a mk3 Cavalier GSi manual I would be more than happy given that was not my first car but the first car I owned that I loved. Keep up the great work, love your turn of phrase.

Thanks for reviewing the Cavalier. My Dad owned a 1982 Cavalier 1600 GLS Hatch in the late 80s. Henna red with matching velour interior. My Grandad at the same time owned a 1986 Cavalier Commandor Hatch in silver. This was a special edition model

i had a 87 sri which got stolen and driven through a shop window replaced it with a 85 cdi both great cars.great review hubnut

What a brilliant review that brought back some great memories. I had a silver E reg SRi 130 back in 1995 and totally agree that they are a great car. Took it on a driving holiday to Czech Republic and it performed faultlessly for over 2 weeks. 2 lasting memories from that ownership: Firstly alll the recognition it got at flying across Germany on the autobahns at well over 3 figures, from Ascona drivers, one German guy pointing out the '130' logo on the door and giving massive thumbs up. I realised why, their sporty Ascona was the SRi 125, he was admiring the extra 5 BHP of the UK models. Secondly not as happy, an evening spent in A&E after attempting to fit new rubbers to headlamp wipers. One metal strengthner sprung out and went straight thro my middle finger. Removal was quite painful but worth it to get the headlamp wash wipe back fully functional. My theory being If it's got the option, it's got to work! 👍💯

Great video, i use to own a 1983 mk2 cavalier cdi in gold which had extra gauges on the dash volt and battery from memory, then i got a 1986 mk2 sri which was a rocket with the recaro seats was a brilliant car.

Lovely charming cars the Mk2. Nice to see this video at last.

More memories ☺, I had a couple of Mk2 FWD cavaliers, plus numerous RWD cavs and Mantas in the 1980's and 1990's. The A505 Luton and Dunstable Road was a very familiar route, it was always a nightmare when the M1 ground to a halt. Pleased to say that my well used 2004 Zafira shows none of the rust issues that ultimately doomed all of my previous Vauxhalls and Opels!

Interesting and relaxing to watch. I don't know anything about 80s' cars as I was working away a lot in the wilds of Wales running a cold store. My boss had a Sierra. That's all I remember.

These are definitely a rare sight on the roads today, I remember them being everywhere, Wasn't this shape Cavalier one of the most scrap cars in the UK, also another great review Ian.

I love the MK2 Cav. Can't remember the last time I saw one though, which is peobably an indictment of Vauxhall's (lack of) rustproofing in the 80s. They didn't really crack that until the Vectra, IIRC. A mate in 6th form had a red 1.3 litre A-reg saloon which, despite it being woefully underpowered and having a brown dash full of blanking plates, I was keen to buy from him (I had ambitions of fitting 17s and a Calibre body kit) until he parked it in a ditch one night. A lot of that interior / switchgear looks very familiar from my first car, a B-reg Nova (which I turned into a sort of SR replica). I especially remember those little plastic holders for the seatbelt clips! Like many people's dad's in the 80s, mine was a travelling rep, initially selling office machines (typewriters, photocopiers, and those 'Ditto' machines with the drum and the smelly blue ink) for a company in Droitwich. He'd get a new car every two years, and they seemed to alternate between Vauxhall and Ford. I think he preferred the latter, but as a kid my favourite was an A-reg MK2 Cavalier estate, because in the days before kids had to be belted into booster seats in the back, I could stretch out in the estate bit and play, sleep, whatever. Boney M and Abba on the stereo - happy times! His next car was a white mk1 Sierra - I remember being impressed by the fact it had integrated front driving lamps and a very plush velour interior (even though, like you, I think the slab-sided, angular Cav has aged much better). Then back to Vauxhall with a big Carlton, followed by another Sierra (a 2.0 GLS), a 1994 Granada Scorpio (one of the last Mk3s before the 'frog-eye' facelift) and finally, a 1998 Toyota Camry 2.2, which he bought on retirement and which my mum still drives and keeps beautifully maintained to this day. Yes, I think I preferred the Cav to the Sierra, the only downside being that the former is FWD which is never as much fun as RWD. It"s funny how, considering how important it was to car makers in the 80s and 90s, the job of travelling sales rep has now almost completely disappeared, another thing killed off by the internet I suppose. And the few that are left would doubtless never be seen dead behind the wheel of anything less than an Audi or BMW. My dad still drives like he did in his rep days - 80mph in the fast lane, even though he's nowhere to get to that can't wait.

This brings back some memories! My dad owned a blue MK2 1.6l on an A registration when I was very young. He must have owned it for a good 13 years and he eventually swapped it for a 1.7 turbo diesel MK3 which had the Isuzu engine

Had a 1.6 GLS 20 years ago and it had some poke when you nailed it

what a great video brought back so many good memories i had the sri 2l on a e plate the facelift model but drove a cdi cavalier they were great cars and cheap to run at the time .

This video took me back to 1987 which I can just about remember. My dad had the SRI version and at the time it felt ''fast'' :)

I had an 87 D plate 2.0 CDi but mine was manual. I loved that car but the rust monster came and ate it. I've never enjoyed a car as much since. Great Vid brought back many memories.

This brought back good memories as my 1st car was a 81 sri cavalier, two tone metallic blue.