1995 Vauxhall Calibra

This is my very low mileage lightly restored Calibra 2. 5 V6 with sought after manual transmission and was also seen on a TV show on motortrend although not yet shown in the UK.
I bought the car 2 years ago from the chap who bought it from the TV show and his intention was to create a fleet of touring car replicas to advertise his new garage, this became a task he had no time for so he sold the cars on and I bought the Calibra.
When I got the car it was in need of a fair bit of bodywork as it was dented on every panel (I think the car may have been vandalised at some point hence why it got parked up) the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree, the interior had seen better days but it did run ok.
It hadn’t been on the road since 2004 and was parked up at a farm and at some point due to a broken rear quarter light had a bramble bush, a lot of spiders and some mice living in it! Despite this it was completely rust free and is the main reason I bought it.
I started with the mechanical side of it by replacing the cambelt, water pump, radiator, plugs, leads and a few sensors. Next was the suspension rubbers, wheel bearings, coil springs, top mounts, new driveshafts, discs and pads, front callipers and a few more sensors!.
The interior was next and is also where I was most fortunate! After gutting and cleaning out the interior I stumbled across an absolute gold mine only a mile from my house where unbeknownst to me was a private collector who had 2 fully restored Calibra’s and a lot of parts from parts cars. In his possession was an extremely sought after and complete cream leather interior, a good used headliner, V6 stainless steel exhaust and various new interior parts. After relieving my wallet of a small fortune I could get the car ready for an appointment with the bodyshop to rid the car of its 30+ dents and necessary paint refresh before its mot which it sailed through! The last stage was stumbling across a set of wheels I used to hanker for in the very early 2000’s when flicking through the Carnoisseur catalogue (the posh version of Halfords in the late 90’s). The 17” AEZ Parron wheels were originally purchased from Vauxhall tuning legends Courtney sport and somehow ended up at a bodyshop less than 50m away where they were refurbished and sold to me! It does have the original 5 spoke wheels in good condition but a few of the tyres are quite old.

The following is a brief list of the parts I’ve replaced
Engine- Gates cambelt and waterpump, radiator, Magnacore leads, Bosch plugs, NOS 3 bar pressure regulator, new Bosch fuel pump NOS GM Crank sensor, Full service.

Suspension/ Drivetrain- new rubber bushings all round, new wishbones, new coil springs, new top mounts, new front wheel bearings, discs and pads all round, new front Callipers, ABS sensors all round, new driveshafts.

Electrical- ABS sensors, traction control motor, Crank sensor, oil pressure switch, coolant temp switch, reverse switch, outside air temp sensor, nos clock, various interior switches

Bodywork- new windscreen, replacement bonnet (original dented) PDR on most dents, 2 dents although small and minor required more work (front wing and rear quarter) and along with the 2nd bonnet had full front re spray plus blended properly into doors and rear quarters.

The car hasn’t had a nut and bolt restoration only what it needed to become a great example, all electrics work including the sunroof and it’s been tastefully upgraded with period correct wheels (they match the OEM wheels which come with car) it’s not been welded up or full of filler and I have the before and after pictures from when the TV show found it, the state when I bought it plus a few pics through my journey to where it is now and still has the dealer sticker in the rear window from where it was purchased.
It’s a rare low mileage example plus manual rather than auto and one of the lowest mileage V6’s on the road currently and with Turbo’s fetching well into 5 figures for similar condition and low mileage 16v’s now attaining good prices. It starts an drives perfectly and always gets plenty of looks and attention and the only reason why it’s up for sale is due to increasing family commitments and I already own another weekend toy so come summer it won’t get used.