Car of the Week: Holden Astra Convertible

Sometimes chopping the roof of a car to make a convertible can have a horrible end result. The proportions get messed up and if the maker decides to fit a folding hard top said car is usually left with a massive derrière, take the Renault Megane CC for example. However, at other times a manufacturer nails it and my long overdue car of the week is my case in point, the Holden Astra Convertible.

The Holden Astra Convertible, unfortunately only Europe got the Coupe

The Mk4 Astra was a strong seller for GM the world over, taking the fight to the Ford Focus and VW Golf in the hatch back grudge match of the late 90's. But despite strong sales the Astra always looked a little plain Jane. Thankfully in 2001 GM fixed this by turning to Italian styling house Bertone and asking them to turn the bland Astra into a Coupe. What resulted was a handsomely proportioned, elegant two door Coupe and fabric roofed convertible variant. And between 2001 and 2006 Holden got a hold of that convertible. Now almost 10 years after production ceased Holden's Mk4 Astra cab makes a tempting proposition. Let me explain.

A thing of beauty, really...

A thing of beauty, something I never thought I'd say about an Astra but after a day staring at them in for sale ads I really do think this car is a looker. That long tail adds a real elegance to the Astra's form and by electing for a fabric roof rather than a metal folding one the Astra's lines aren't ruined, roof up or down. On the right set of wheels the car sits really nicely too and I was always a fan of the Astra's front splitter for some reason.

Easy to fix

Being based on the hum drum Astra also has it's benefits, like the availability of cheap parts. There are literally thousands of Mk4 Holden Astra's out there so should something go wrong a part shouldn't be hard to come by nor expensive. In saying that though the big selling Holden proved to be pretty reliable in the first place so provided you buy right a well maintained cabriolet shouldn't need too much tinkering. Also the benefit of being a cab means original buyers might not have used them as hard as they would have a normal hatchback, more of a weekend cruiser than a daily commuter tool. So km's might be fewer and wear and tear less.

Turbo makes up for cheap interior

Two engines powered the Astra Convertible, a 2.2 litre four cylinder and a more powerful 2 litre turbo. The Turbo cars are rarer due to a smaller production run but worth looking for if you want something with a bit more overtaking potential. Naturally though, chopping the roof of a car doesn't do wonders for it's structural rigidity so although the Astra might be fine in a straight line round corners expect scuttle shake and more than a fair bit of flex. A cheap interior lets the Astra down too, a boring layout and hard plastics painted silver are the order of the day, while the option of red leather seats might not be to everyone's taste. My advice, get the roof off, look around, stick to a leisurely cruise and just enjoy the sensations of top down motoring.

    

Go get yourself one   

I have found a Turbo Astra, quite hard given there are only 9 listed on Carsales! This one comes from a dealer and has very low km's give it's age. Not a great description and it does have the polarising red leather interior, however for the price it might be worth a look if you want a cheap reliable convertible for summer.

2003 Holden Astra Convertible, $5990  

New Project: Peugeot 405 Mi16

Hello everyone, after a bit of an absence I'm back with an 80's tastic sedan that would be worthy of my car of the week trophy any day and to prove it I've actually bought this one; the Peugeot 405 Mi16. Let me explain the reasons why this car ended up in my shed and what my plans are for this legendary bit of French tin.

Why a 405?

You may recall a while ago I blogged about my love hate relationship with the Volkswagen Golf a car which at the time I was fixing up. The clutch had just decided to disintegrate though and to say I was peeved would have been an understatement, however that was months ago and the Golf is now fixed and with a new owner. Freed up for a new project my criteria was simple. If it was rare, a bit niche or just slightly random I was keen; oh and as long as it wasn't a Volkswagen! This led me to Peugeot's performance hero of the late 80's and early 90's, the 405 Mi16.

Strong bloodline

From the same engineers that brought us the iconic 205 GTI the sporty 405 was it's slightly rarer older brother. Originally powered by a 1.9 litre 16v but later upped to a full 2 litres (the car I have) it produced 160bhp, that's around 115Kw of high revving naturally aspirated goodness. A car I'd first seen in magazines and spotted only once on the road back in the UK it certainly ticked the rare box and with fewer than 20 still registered back home when the chance came up to own one down under I couldn't say no. Personally I also think 405's brought the sexy back to boxy designs. Yes square design was the in thing in the 80's and while many manufacturers just turned out hideous slab sided depression inducers, (here's looking at you Hyundai Excel) by enlisting Pininfarina Peugeot nailed it. Throw on the Mi16's equally edgy body kit and wing and this car just optimises what was good about car design at the time. My car in particular was also rather good value, came with a full service record, had pretty straight body work and despite being laid up in a garage for 9 months started first time. With all this going for it, the car just needed me to own it, even if I didn't know that much about classic Peugeot's! But that's what projects are about right? Learning...

What need's fixed?

So with learning in mind there are a few jobs to be done, the biggest actually being getting the thing road legal. For this to happen it needs a new CV boot and a rear engine mount. Once this is done a squeaky engine pulley needs some attention, sway bars will need replacing, some trim pieces require fixing and there's a rather large crack in the dash which needs filling. To top things off a machine polish probably wont go a miss before I'll be good to launch a frantic FWD attack on the epic roads I'm blessed with in the Northern Rivers.

Project Mi16

The whole project will be documented right here and also on my shiny new YouTube channel, should you be interested in hearing me prattle on. So as well as keeping the blog a little more updated with regular content, check back for project Mi16 updates.