Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Steve Brookman on 03 November 2015, 18:08:33
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Having had two Omega's from 2001 to 2011, I have now returned to a Vauxhall.
(http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah18/stevebrookman/Royale5_zpsk3g5fb8i.jpg) (http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/stevebrookman/media/Royale5_zpsk3g5fb8i.jpg.html)
(http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah18/stevebrookman/Royale1_zps1cnvwasz.jpg) (http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/stevebrookman/media/Royale1_zps1cnvwasz.jpg.html)
(http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah18/stevebrookman/Royale6_zpsb1tpsier.jpg) (http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/stevebrookman/media/Royale6_zpsb1tpsier.jpg.html)
It's had its original 2.8 carb and three speed auto replaced with a 3.0 injection and four speed auto from a later Senator.
Plans are to take it in a few weeks for an MOT-see whats wrong and eventually smoke around and carry out a rolling restoration.
Steve
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Nice. 8) Good luck with the restoration! :y
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That is nice!
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I enquired about that one , looks a good solid project :y
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Had a Monza once,always liked the look of them,but Senator suited my needs better so took out Monzas engine and swapped it into Senator to replace that cars very tired 2.5 lump,then scrapped rest of Monza.Still have three :o rear light units for a Royale in the shed-never know when they'll come in handy :D
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Saw a bit off that exhaust. ;D
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Bear me in mind when looking for parts
Keith ABS
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Definitely bear Keith in mind, there's lots to be had via the ABS. :y
Got a Royale Coupe up my parent's drive myself, rotting away merrily :'(
Rear wishbones tops, and the inner arches are the places to watch for terminal Mot-failure rust. Everywhere else is less serious, and more cosmetic.
They're a moneypit, with a woeful engine (in 2.8 carb form, the 3.0i you have is great) but god, do I love the look of them. :)
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Definitely bear Keith in mind, there's lots to be had via the ABS. :y
Got a Royale Coupe up my parent's drive myself, rotting away merrily :'(
Rear wishbones tops, and the inner arches are the places to watch for terminal Mot-failure rust. Everywhere else is less serious, and more cosmetic.
They're a moneypit, with a woeful engine (in 2.8 carb form, the 3.0i you have is great) but god, do I love the look of them. :)
Money pit / Omega springs to mind ::) ;D Although its basically wear and tare items once the car has been serviced . I would have thought once an mot has been put on the Royale it wont be much more than regular servicing to keep it running smooth + a bit of welding :)
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The majoy problem is parts. In the case of every single car and club you can think of, Minis, Landies, MGBs etc, thwere seems to be a large industry of remanufactured parts. Sadly, with the Royale/Monza, theres basically what is left of the ex-dealer stock from the 70s 80s, and then the odd QH ball joints etc.. and things which are also left over from the time when the cars were still in production.
New wings - £200 each.
Inner wings - basically don't exist.
Interior trim, fabrics - find a donor vehicle.
Wishbones, weld up and repair your own, or pay £300 for (admittedly excellent) re-furbed ones.
New carb? - If I want a set of carbs for an E-Type Jag, I can walk into several specialist auto shops in this country and buy an exchange one, or one off the shelf. The Pierburg carb on a Royale is a horrifically complex affair which was only ever used on one other vehicle... the Rolls Royce Camargue. Sadly Camargues are not as abundant in scrap yards as they once was.. :D Though the Royale died in 1982, the Monza lived on until '86, however, just like a FL 3.2 Omega Elite compared with a 2.0 8v PFL Omega GLS, there are so few components common (even the fuel tank was different!) that aside from panels, the wiring, diff, interior and much under the skin if totally different. A Lotus Carlton engine will drop straight in, though, as they're all based on the same engine!
The Autobahnstormers has recently managed to start getting some repair panels remanufactuered, somehow, so I believe. To the prospects are looking up compared with 5-10 years ago. But they cost similar amounts to restore as some 70s Italian exotica, more in many cases, and when you're done command the classic values of a used tissue. In no way am I saying don't own one, they're brilliant, a glorious example of when styling was capable of making some bloody beautiful shapes with basically a ruler! This was the last car Vauxhall in the UK made any serious contribution with the styling, before being shut down and Opel doing all the work. I love them as cars. It is, in all but name, a grandfather of the Monaro, wearing a tweed (or should that be crushed velour?) jacket. It's a Senator coupe. I really really like them :y
Have a look up Derek GM6 spares. He has everything that there is left, basically :)
PS I also note yours is a series 1 (yes, in spite of selling in such tiny numbers, they did give it a mini-facelift in 1980) which is great, as they're even rarer than the S2s :) The blue looks stunning, too, so much fresher an interior than the greys and blacks all cars have now.
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Thanks all.
Keith I have pm'd you.
Many, many thanks Diamond Geezer!
I will be looking for a spares car (a bit like rocking horse poo!)-but Derek GM6 spares site looks good.
Many thanks for the positive comments!
Regards
Steve
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I'd actually love to get it back on the road. I bought it as a project in my last week of Uni, thinking 'how hard can it be?' Family politics, bereavements, unemployment, 7 years later and I'm earning minimum wage, with a recently smashed Omega with a £1900 repair bill. And this is the most I've been earning since I left Uni, too. Got it some of the way, some bodywork, the brakes are shot to hell, engine won't run right, the inner wings done (badly, not my choice)
Don't see it happening any time soon, given how comparatively easy it is to get parts for Omegas and yet I can barely keep my poor old lady on the road without a rattling cat, and some moron driving into me on a dual carriageway. :'(
PS You're welcome, Steve, any help advice I can give let me know.
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Hello Diamond Black Geezer,
What is the difference between the series 1 and 2?
Thanks
Steve
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Series 1, chrome bumpers, sloping dash and oil/battery gauge in dash clock set
Series 1 1/2, very few cars made, differant seats, squarer dash layout and differant dash clock set, still with chrome bumpers
Series 2 differant bonnet, mainly smooth, differant headlamps, front indicators, plastic bumpers, some front brake differancs, longer drop links, differant wheels
The main visual differancs between the models of the series, saloons and coupes included. My old Opel Senator is a 1 1/2. As for the 2.8 carb, there was/is a conversion using a Weber which also makes it manual choke. Got one on my Senny but dont ask me what model the carb is as not been under the bonnet for a long time.
Keith ABS
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Thanks Keith!
Steve
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Had a series 1 1/2 Senator for a couple of years some while ago.A Y reg. 3.0l CD with injected engine.That's one of the cars I will forever regret selling! :'(
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Sorry, didn't realise you'd asked Steve!
Yes, keith's basically given you a comprehensive list. As a general rule there's a little thin black extension on the bottom of the front valance, and they have a squarer dah, not the full-width affair of yours. Interestingly, the dashboard of the S1 Royale was basically the very last thing that Vauxhall Designed in Luton before the last of the team were laid off or transferred to Opel in Germany. (Not all a sad story, as the chief designer of Vauxhall became Chief Designer of Opel - Wayne Cherry - who gave us Carlton, Calibra, etc.)
As you can see, certain elements of the car's design are rather unique. :)
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Thanks!
Have now put the original alloys back on.
What viscosity oil would you recommend-10w 40 or 20w40.
Thanks
Steve
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From memory theres a bottle of 20-40 mineral in the garage, seem to think 10-40 is a little thin/off... but please wait until someone arrives who runs them regular/knows the cars intimately who can tell you for sure, as I'm having to remember back a few years. :)
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Used to run my Series 1 1/2 and Series 2 Senators on 20-50
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Thanks Baza!
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There'll be a big oily hand print over the name, the bottle in the garage'll say 20-50, as Baza says I bet :y
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Thanks all!
Will get some 20w 50 from Wilkinsons to give it a flush-noisy tappet when cold. Pouring with rain all week so will have to postpone the oil change until it stops.
Thanks
Steve