Buy for £1300. 1990 H reg 2L 8v GTE with 100K on clock, very tidy.
One piece of front spoiler trim missing, nothing else wrong with it really.
Drive home shows that car is faster, firmer, quieter, smoother than the 1.3. Gets my pre-juices flowing. It's fast in a non-revvy way. Gear selection seems arbitrary, will pull in any gear.
Bit a flat spot at low revs - will sort that.

Flat spot easily sorted. The throttle cable was slack.

Don't want to touch car mechanically. It might destroy the illusion. It's a dream car at the moment, once I look at it closely it will just be another collection of oily or rusty bits.

OK here we go. Oil + filter, air filter (old one absolutely cacked), plugs. Discover that throttle plate and body coated in black crud and oil. Clean it out with carb cleaner. Throttle plate not reaching full opening because plastic slider worn down on plate mechanism.

The previous owner might have been a Vauxhall technician but he must have lost interest in this car. My plans are:

• Service it up to reasonable standard
• Decent exhaust. Stainless Steel, quiet (eg:Jetex).
• Performance air filter or induction kit.
• CD player, decent speakers.
• Chip?Cam?Head?
• Look after it.

Exhaust back box has just fallen off. Rust of pipe is the cause. Buy a Vauxhall standard back box, the shame of it all.

New cam belt.

Finally find out what the oil pressure sensor should display. There's something wrong with mine because it's showing max pressure all of the time. Buy new sensor.

Drive to north Wales on wet roads. This shows that the Astra handling is pretty good, but needs respect. It's all a matter of knowing when to back off. Almost lose it once on an unusual bend combination. Drive back via mid Wales. Excellent chance for test drive. Learn how to rev it. Have excellent time following a G reg MR2. Seem to match it for acceleration and catch up on the corners. Maybe I have more nerve since I'd expect the MR2 to have better cornering ability.

Think that the 8v GTE is an excellent car and obviously faster than a lot of people expect.

High rev driving has a downside. Fuel consumption up, mileage down to 35mpg. The gearing is very low as well. Doing 75mph on a motorway is about 3,500 rpm in 5th gear. Benefit of this is that the 5 gears are in close ratio which is better for acceleration and staying on the power band.

Go to local hospital A&E department to have rust shard taken out of eye. Not a painful operation since they use a powerful anaesthetic. But the swelling was painful, as was bright light. Top tip: use eye protection when lying under a car pulling rusty parts off.

Back from holiday. Get trounced by a mini in a traffic light race. My mistake since I let it get ahead at the start and then couldn't catch it before reaching the speed limit. Power to weight ratios!

Still think that this is the dogs knackers.

Spend four hours sorting the oil pressure gauge. A long process of learning. Start by removing the wrong sensor. Find two wires dangling down below the alternator. Turns out that these are the oil pressure and warning wires. Check that they are what I think they are by earthing them out. OK. Connect the gauges but they don't work. Clean out sensor with carb cleaner and system eventually works. For a while.

Another bit of bodge - headlamp washer pipe was blocked off with an old bolt. Remove this and fill tank. Water comes out of pipe. Need to sort that.

Oil is leaking out of the top breather pipe into the throttle body and then being burnt. Another thing to sort then.

Replace leads, distributor and rotor arm.

Take front bumper off to sort headlamp washer. Discover that there must have been a small prang since the front bumper is held on by a self tapping screw on the one side. This is probably why there is a piece of trim missing as well. Previous owner told me that he'd hit a cat. Could be true. There's a small crack in the bumper as well. And they call me Sherlock. Replace trim.

Still need pump for headlamp washer system.

There is still something not quite right with the engine. Occasionally it misses a bit under acceleration and can be a bit lumpy at low revs. Not sure of the cause. Plan to have injectors cleaned. Might be fuel pump, pressure regulator, throttle position sensor, air flow meter.

Looking to the future: Jetex quiet exhaust system, K&N induction kit, maybe modified head, maybe mild cam, maybe chip. Want to get it going properly first.

Getting a replacement bush for the throttle linkage is turning out to be a bit more difficult than I expected. Vauxhall dealers don't stock this part. So it's off to the Bosch dealer then.

Superchips quoted £165 + fitting + VAT for a straight chip swap. Should give 10% torque and power increase. Recommended that I do any mechanicals first. I wish that I knew more about engine mapping so that I could suss out roughly what superchips do. I still think that it could be worth it, but later. Months later I did work it out.

An air flow meter costs £310 at dealers. Have booked in at local Bosch agent for a diagnostic check next week. This should highlight any obvious system faults. This should save money over the "replace everything" approach. Hopefully this will allow me to solve the slight lumpiness at very low revs and occasional power loss on acceleration. Will do a visual on the air flow meter, throttle position pot and injector wiring.

Trying to work out how the 20SER engine fitted to my car differs from the 20SEH listed in the 1990 owners handbook. Also have data from 1989 handbook, but no engine designation given. Apparently S means high compression ratio (10, as opposed to 9.2 in the 20NE engines), E means essence (petrol). H means hi power, R means enhanced power. Still doesn't explain why they differ.

I've made my mind up: Jetex exhaust is the way to go. Apparently Magnex are regarded as the market leaders but I don't need full Stainless Steel and Jetex are quieter. Must wait though due to cash shortage. The Jetex solution is not Stainless Steel, but it is Aluminised Steel which will help. Single polished 3" exit won't look too outrageous. Also complete system contains downpipe replacement. This will be ideal, since combined with stock manifold I will get a 4-2-1 system. Steve Broughton of SBD developments told me on the phone that the manifold is not the problem. What restricts the flow is the bit of downpipe where the two pipes are crushed a bit just as they join.

Noticed a slight whining from gearbox at low revs. It's just audible when the window's open. Will check oil level and shove some FTP/Slick 50 treatment in there. Whilst I'm thinking about chemical stuff, have read a lot of good reviews of 10K boost engine crud cleaner (bit like Redex).

It's all plans and no action at the moment. Apart from some polishing and cleaning.

I've heard from a few people that Jetex exhausts aren't actually that quiet. Is a headache worth it for 3-4 BHP? Engine is not burning as much oil as I feared. Backlog of little jobs that I can't be bothered to do. Front bumper bracket, exhaust pipe clamp, fuel pump studs, sump gasket, oil sensor wires. Front brakes are sticking. Need to fit new sliders and grease them with copper stuff, not the Vauxhall supplied stuff (or they'll seize up again in weeks). The handling of this car is great. Do not believe the common view that they're "dodgy" or "hedge tickets". They're not like Peugeots which run on rails. But they do stick to the road. Power steering is very well set up. You can always feel what's going on. Excellent understeer on a roundabout. Car happily and consistently slides. Still think that this is great car.

Finally start work on the backlog of jobs. Replace sump gasket, a bit of a neck ache special. As this entails draining oil, do 3rd engine flush and oil change in as many weeks (almost). Replace gasket where crank breather pipe comes out, takes ages because old gasket well stuck on. Solder oil pressure sensor and warning light connections - these had been bodged together for a while now. Check oil leakage from breather into throttle body. Not much coming through.

Thinking about air filter. Should I stick in a K&N panel filter and then route some 2" pipe from the air box to a suitable cold air pick up point? Or should I stick in an induction filter (round conical job) and then build a cold air system to it? Or put a bonnet vent in?

Just been reading about the Ecotek air bleed device. Apparently can smooth out engine, reduce emissions and help with BHP (1-2%) and reduce fuel consumption. Endorsed by lot of big names and magazines.

Replace the three rubberised studs that hold the fuel pump assembly on. Pretty simple job in theory but requires patience and specialist psi skills to undo rusted up nuts. Neck ache special again. Very careful not to drop rust into eyes.

Blydenstein info arrived today (that's quick, I left an answerphone message on Saturday and today's Monday). Looks excellent. The A pack cylinder head (standard valves) would give +10-12% torque and power for £326 inc VAT, a B cyclinder head (larger inlet valves) would give +12-14% for £385 and a B+ head (larger inlet and exhaust valves) would give +14-16% for £458. That's about 124 + 19 = 143 BHP. And there's improvement across the whole rev range. A £23.90/BHP, B £23.88/BHP,B+ £24.62/BHP.

They sent me a stack of photo copied articles. There's loads of advice in there. Bill Blydenstein recommends sticking with the standard cam shaft. He never raises the compression ratio - "I know how important reliability is and to safeguard this aspect I never raise the compression ratio". Changing the octane rating plug (as fitted to some Vaux management systems) from 95 to 98 should give 2-3% gain. Most engines will cope with +25% increase in power before reliability becomes and issue. Engine efficiency will improve as they coke up! His favourite exhaust system is made by Jetex. He offers air box modifications + K&N filter that will give +3-5% on power and torque.

A lot of things are making sense here.

Vauxhall helpline phoned me back today to tell we what a 20SER engine is compared to a 20SEH. The 20SER was fitted to Astra GTE only and differs from 20SEH engine fitted to Cav Sri130 in the engine management system. Impressed that my enquiry which I left at the Vauxhall web site was replied to within two days.

Found the air filter test results from Revs magazine (Issue 47 June 2000). The K&N panel filter in a modified airbox outperformed the K&N induction filter! Suspect that induction filters are for the more image conscious, rather than true performance enthusiast.

Took car to local Bosch agent, Gino Fatino in Gloucester. Left it for two hours. Came back, they'd checked all the obvious (plugs, rotor arm, air filter etc) and were happy with it all. Also cleaned out throttle body and idle valve. Said plugs looked OK. Hadn't done diagnostic because his computer was being fixed by computer tech. Arranged to come back tomorrow. Didn't charge anything.

Talked to Bill Blydenstein on phone. He said that an 8v with B+ cylinder head has been known to see off a standard 16v. I believe that since although max torque and power will be lower, it's pretty much a flat torque curve for the 8v, where's the 16v is a bit more peaky. He said that standard Vauxhall exhaust manifold is pretty good. Reckoned that 20SEH engine had different cam timing from 20SER, ie: less low end torque, more high end. Reckoned that performance exhaust would add 2-3BHP. He said that 10:1 compression was plenty enough. Pushing it past here (the standard figure) would make the engine a lot more noisy.

Went back to Bosch garage. An hour later the verdict: CO content of exhaust was 0.1%, ie: car virtually running on air. There is a calibration screw on the top of the air flow meter which allows adjustment of the fuelling. Had also done the diagnostic and got error 19 - engine rpm sensor. Said that this couldn't mean much since engine wouldn't run with this fault. Also said that engine and system was in good order which is good to know. As to the worn bush in the throttle linkage, that would require a completely new body. So I'll leave that for a while then.

Now feels a lot better, acceleration a bit more solid. Good.

Just read up on a cheaper alternative to the FSE power boost valve. This item works by raising the fuel pressure. After recalibration for correct air fuel ratio this should improve responsiveness of car. A cheaper idea (one recommned by A Graham Bell in "Modern Engine Tuning" books) is to compress the standard pressure regulator in a vice. This means that the spring is more compressed than before and therefore requires a larger force to open the release valve. For a Vauxhall 8v 1.2mm of crush is needed for 4bar fuel pressure.

Fitted new centre caps to the alloy wheels. The metallic surface had come off the old ones. Look good now.

Had to order locking wheel nut tool. Luckily the previous owner had given me the box that they came from and the 4 digit code was written on it. Whilst I was waiting in the Vaux dealers I picked up the trade price guide book. Standard trade price was between 20% and 30% less than the retail price, so noone's doing you much of a favour if they give you 10% discount.

Called in at local car hi fi place. Guy there was very helpful. Saw a single CD head unit made by company that I've never heard of before - Nakamichi. Looked really cool, minimal with proper volume knob. Best future plan seemed to be: replace standard cack speakers in front, but size limitation means that you'll never get anything big enough in there. Replace rear speakers with 2 6x9 speakers on MDF parcel shelf. If more bass is required then it's bass bin time in the boot.

Not doing anything at the moment. No money. Few jobs need doing: front bumper bracket, headlamp washer pipe connector, cold air feed ideas, brake calipers. Just noticed that car is not sitting straight. About 1 inch higher one side than other. Wonder what that could be, seems to drive straight. Turns out that it's the wonky driveway. Toying with idea of putting uprated shocks from last car into this one. Wouldn't cost anything since they're sitting in the garage. What about the springs? Is it different springs due to heavier car?

Getting some response to my queries on CavWeb forum and Astrasylum. Slight lumpiness and occasional poor acceleration likely to be due to fuel starvation. Fuel pump relay is mentioned. Can't be throttle position sensor, because it's simply an on/off switch apparently.

Go round to Vauxhall dealers to pick up locking wheel nut key. Nope, it doesn't fit. Now that's a bit annoying (read in sarcastic style). Two options: graunch the bolts off or make a special tool.

Think about getting machinist to make me a special tool. Would cost about £50 probably. Then decide that having locking wheel nuts and no key is not good. Want to sort it out now. Visit Wickes (DIY chain, bit like B&Q & Homebase but cheap and good) to buy angle grinder (£49). Bring it home. Remove locking wheel nuts. This was triumph of perserverance over logic. Firstly ground slot in them. Then heated them up with blow torch. Then punched them with hammer and chisel. The heated. Then punched. Then heated. Then punched. Eventually, as head split into bits, they moved. Luckily, one out of four didn't need doing as it was a normal one anyway. My brother then worked out that his alloy nut key would have fitted anyway. Doh.

Not doing much at the moment because I feel knackered (lack of sleep and too many other things on). Few things going on in my mind at the moment: 1) Need to sort brakes out. 2) Need to sort occasional power loss, will replace fuel pressure regulator and flow damper. If that doesn't work then I'll look at the injectors. 3) Going to do K&N panel filter and air box mods. 4) Having second thoughts about exhaust system. Seems to go well enough with the restrictive factory item. Maybe just the back box for looks? 5) Definitely doing the Blydenstein cylinder head swap. 6) I wonder if those uprated dampers sitting in the garage will fit the GTE? 7)Going to do front suspension rebuild (new bushes, track rod ends, ball joints). A lot of thinking and not much action. That's lack of cash and energy.

Few things that I've found out: a Fiesta XR2 is maybe just as fast from standstill, an Escort RS Turbo is faster, a Carlton 2.0 CDi is not (same enginge, big bloaty bodywork), a 405 Mi16 might be a a tad quicker. Interesting article in Revs article reported that gearbox friction reducer helped get another 2BHP to the wheels of a Golf GTi MK2. 10K Boost had no effect on peak BHP (has done in some cases).

Stack of bits building up in the garage: drive shafts, front suspension bushes, ball joints, track rod ends, brake discs. All this stuff came from Regent Components in Cheltenham, just noticed that they gave me a 12% discount, which is nice. They're a good place, open all day Saturday as well. If you live in Glos/Chelt then I recommend using them.

I'm going to do a complete front suspension rebuild, but not until I've got all of the bits. Can't get the front back bushes from local Vauxhall dealer, but Online Autosport can get them for me.

Replaced fuel flow damper. It's the dome shaped part between fuel pump and fuel filter. It prevents surging in the fuel line: pressure rises, regulator opens, pressure drops, regulator closes, pressure rises, regulator opens, pressure drops, regulator closes etc. To depressurise the fuel system I disconnect the fuel pump with the engine running. As I was about to do this I noticed that the fuel pump stopped working when I touched the connector. Seems that connector wasn't on very well. Might have something to do with engine problems under hard acceleration. Also replaced fuel pressure regulator. Notice that some of the rubber pipe is a bit cracked. Will buy some in and replace it all. Start engine and notice fuel dripping from fuel filter at back. Tighten jubilee clips and all is well.

Inspect throttle body to see how much oil is coming in through engine breather. Not much. Clean it out with carb cleaner. Also clean out idle bypass pipework since it's a bit carbonated. Check engine oil level, it's in middle of range,so engine is burning very little oil.

Remove front bumper. Connect up headlamp washer pipework. Uses decent grooved jubilee clips rather than the puny standard ones which can never be undone once they've seized. The front bumper has been held on by a self tapping screw on the one side. Fit new bolt. Take a good look at air filter box. My plan is to cut a major hole through the wheel arch (where the standard air inlet hole is) and a similar sized hole in the bottom of the air box. Will then fabricate a major Aluminium duct that fits in the wheel well. Toying with idea of removing fog light and using that as "air ram" style inlet. As I'm sitting on tarmac with car jacked up I notice some body filler rubbing down grooves on the front wing near the headlight. It's the angle and the sunlight that make it show up. I'm deeply suspicious as to what has been covered up. Here's the evidence: lower valence had part missing, front bumper had crack in top edge (repaired on inside and only revealed when stressed during removal), bumper held on by self tapping screw, filling evidence. The most worrying aspect is the paint flaking near the suspension top mounts...could this have been caused by metal bending? Good news is that car seems to handle fine.

Whilst things were going so well I decided to do the brake sliders as well. Discovered that lower bolt on the first side had a piece of studding welded in top of it. Remove brake disc and apply heat to exposed end of bolt. Attack head with hammer and chisel. Then heat. Perserverance is the way to do these things. Decide to take it easy, so I polish some of the car. Bit more chiselling of bolt head. Eventually welded part shears off to reveal.....a normal bolt, but with the internal hex part rounded off. Impact driver time. Still no joy. Now I know you shouldn't do this, but I balanced blow torch so that the flame was aimed straight at the bolt end. Then I went off and had a cup of tea. Five minutes of cooking should do it I reckoned. Unfortunately not. Bit more impact driving. No luck. Decided to drill it out. First two drills were blunt but third did the business. Drilled the biggest hole I could without eating into the thread. Then bashed other end with hammer so that bolt sheared apart. Now I had a problem - how was I going to get remnants out? Luckily I found a stud remover (a backwards tap that does up when you turn it anticlockwise) that when driven into the remnants allowed me to unthread them.

Fit new sliders and pack them out with copper grease. "Sliders" is a bit of a misnomer, "stickers" might be more apt. Since I'm running out of time, fit it all back together. Pump brake fluid through. Brakes seem a bit soft so I decide to do a full system blead. Only manage 3/4 before running out of fluid. That'll do. Fed up by now.

Take car for test drive, brakes a bit spongy but OK. Will complete the blead out sometime in the future. Not sure what to do about brakes. Maybe if I strip them down I could Scotchbrite the bores so that the sliders run properly. Not going to fit new discs until I'm happy. Had same problem with my last Astra- got though a few sets of discs due to warping. Wheels are noticeably warm when I touch them. This is the solution.

I've had a few emails in the last month or so from people saying how they like the web site. This is very encouraging, thanks m8teys. I wrote most of this because I could find very little info when I started tuning my old Astra. I've produced the site on a "max info, min graphics" approach. Funny how the history section is the most liked, as it's the bit I like doing best. To my mind, too many car sites are about showing off rather than for real info.

Here's the current plan:
• Front suspension rebuild (all joints) + driveshafts + brakes + dampers
• Injector clean: still needed
• Rolling road
• Rebuild back suspension
• Air box mods
• Jetex exhaust system
• Blydenstein head
• Bee sting aerial
• Clear side repeaters
• Up fuel pressure?
• Lower?
• Repsray