From Little Acorns...

Most of the following was once a modification diary on Astra Owners Club, where I was an active staff member from shorty after purchasing the car in June 2003, until quite recently. I've moved the info here in order to get it all in one place (and easily add it where necessary) rather than it being diluted and lost in the depths of a very active forum.  With that out of the way, on with the story....

After getting a new job, which involved travelling 25 miles each way to the office, plus driving to site visits most days, I needed something to replace myMk3 Astra Estate I had at the time, which had recently developed a ravenous thirst for oil.

So in June 2003, I purchased what I considered to be a standard "boring looking"  3dr 2.2 SRi MK4 hatch.  The badges come off the car as soon is it was home!!

 After stumbling across AstraSport one night (as Astra Owners Club was called at the time), the urge to do a few bits was too great, and over a the next few months the 'usual mods' soon followed -

The first major change was the purchase of a coupe bumper - a mod which was planned before I even bought the car...

Next up, I got the chance to get hold of some very rare Vogtland springs (-35mm) and some slightly scuffed/buckled Team Dynamics RVR2's, which needed a full refurb to make them decent again. It was at this point that "anti-bling" was born, and the wheels went anthracite (one of the first on AOC To do so), to match the theme of the other mods...

Then followed lots of minor detail mods that added to this theme, such as...

Colour coded stubby aerial...

And a modified MK3 Astra Estate Griffin for the back...

Then  it was back to the bodywork with coupe side sills being added, along with an Prodrive rear apron...

These sills were the 1st to be fitted to a hatch on AOC (and possibly the UK).  They were purchased from MegaVaux who had approx 100 pairs of Europa Blue ones in a pile in there yard. These were from the original 100 cars that went to 888 to be transformed into the T8 Coupe.

Then came a rethink at the front, and as much as I love the coupe bumper, it just didn't have the impact I wanted. After much searching I was lucky to to be able import a JMS splitter direct from the factory for very reasonable sum of money. 215/45/17 tyres were added instead of the usual 215/40/17s to give the car a "chunky" stance. Added to this were matching Steinmetz upper and lower grills, and some eyebrows to finish it off.

 And shortly after Irmscher mirrors were fitted...

And that wash how the car stayed for a good while (externally).  Photo below was taken at the AOC Xmas Party in 2006, where it won the "Car of the Year"

That's pretty much the main bits of the outside covered - the interior, and oily bits are to follow....

Read on...