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Im considering buying a gsi and would be keen to know from owners/exowners whats good and bad.Im keen on a 24v.
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Try www.autobahnstormers.co.uk/
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Im a regular visitor on that site,my last car was a 2.6 cdx but a foolish mondeo driver took a dislike to my front end!!!
Im based in the north east and most gsi/senators seem to be well south of me.
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Sounds fun. How much is it?
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I've never had a GSi; but I did have a CDX 3.0 12v manual estate; which was a lovely car to drive; at least until I drove it into the back of a lorry :-(((.
The only weak area I recall hearing about on these is the diff. : my one had a new diff. when a few months old; I do know of a couple of people with Senators that have needed a diff. rebuild at around 100k due to excessive whine.
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>>>couple of people with Senators that have needed a diff. rebuild at around 100k due to excessive whine.
Growlette joke: don't spend on expensive repairs, just don't let the wife travel in the back.
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"..lovely car to drive; at least until I drove it into the back of a lorry.."
Might be worth checking the brakes, then... :-)
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Nothing wrong with the brakes; just driver incompetence. I'd been driving a sludge box Omega all weekend, jumped back into my manual and managed to miss the brake pedal...
That lovely engine had sooo much torque it didn't stall; just embedded itself in the back of a heineken lorry* at walking pace. Not badly bent but enough to write it off; the insurance paid out at least 300 more than I thought it was worth; so I didn't argue. 'Upgraded' to an Omega.
* And me being a real ale drinker
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If you buy one i would expect you want a manual, i would. These cars are getting on now, there are very few left on the road, i think as few as 300. the engines are tough if looked after. A friend of mine had a 120k mile example and the engine was perfect(but it had been looked after properly). The main source of concern with these cars is the gearbox (getrag i think). They are not cheap to fix. the rear axle bushes go and clonk. Fuel comsumption is really quite good. Expect to replace the dampers if you buy a car with original suspension. Its a good fun car, but if your unlucky and dont buy right, you could be taking on a lot of expensive trouble.
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Trivia corner- these cars were nicknamed "WOOSHERS"
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Trivia corner- these cars were nicknamed "WOOSHERS"
Ok I will bite. Why?
Reminds me, are there any Lotus Carltons left running?
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>>Reminds me, are there any Lotus Carltons left running?
Check out www.mcp-motorsport.com/images/stock.asp
There are also half a dozen on Autotraders web site.
One of them has only done 55k - Yours for only £18000!
You'll need close to the same to pay for all the speeding fines!
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Because of the wooshing sound they make allegedly. My friend had one and it kind of wooshed until he put a big bore exhaust on!
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> Because of the wooshing sound they make allegedly.
Anything to do with the "Dual Ram" induction system?
Chad.R
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That makes it go 'Baaah' - you need a big boar...
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> That makes it go 'Baaah' - you need a big boar...
Wouldn't that just make it go "Oink Oink" instead?
Chad.R
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Just watch out for rust.
My brother had a very nice manual GSi 24v a few years ago (one owner ,70K , FVSH really well looked after example).
Everyone we looked at had rotten rear arches.
Open the rear doors and you will see rust in the seam which joins the rear arch. Unfortunately the rear arch itself is quite well hidden by the side trims. The main concern is if the rust has spread under the body across the rear suspension area. This a common MOT failure point and expensive to sort out (unless you are handy with a MIG welder).
Steering wear is another common problem.
Enough of the downsides !
They are great cars to drive (engine sounds nice too especially around 4000 rpm).
If you can find a nice one (which will be difficult) go for it...
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The Carlton Gsi 24v as opposed to the Senator was often dubbed "The Hooligans Express"
Regards.
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And the estate was VERY rare. I only ever saw one. If mem' serves well only 300 made. I stand to be corrected, but what a car.
regards.
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I'm not sure about the exact numbers either; but I've only ever seen 3 12v estates other than the one I had; and 4 of the later 24V 'diamond' estate. I think in both cases they were de-tuned slightly compared with the GSi equivalent; but more than adequately quick.
I wanted to buy a 24v after I wrote my 12v off; but I couldn't find a manual one, it was difficult enough trying to find a manual omega V6 :-(
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