The Cavalier Project (Page 3)


Photos and writeup by Trevor Freeman.

JANUARY 2006: DOOR SPEAKER MOUNTS
In January of 2006 I set out to do a better job of mounting my door speakers. They were sitting in the factory 4x6 mounts, which had been modified using a Dremel tool. They worked alright but did not look very pretty. I made some nice custom mounts using 1/8" wood, a drill, and a jigsaw.
New front speaker mounts. January 2006. New front speaker mounts. January 2006.
New front speaker mounts. January 2006. New front speaker mounts. January 2006.

JUNE 2006: RADIATOR FAN MOTOR
In June the radiator fan motor went out and I set about fixing it myself. The new motor is shown to the right of the old motor.
Replacing the radiator fan motor. June 2006.

NOVEMBER 2006: WATER PUMP
For the rest of the summer and the fall of 2006 I continued to have major overheating problems with the car. This required constantly checking and refilling the coolant, sometimes twice a day or more. It would gush out the bottom as soon as you poured more in. After tracing the problem to the water pump I picked up a replacement Duralast one from AutoZone. The original water pump had three broken/missing blades and the gasket was ruined.
A familiar sight. November 2006. Looking into the abyss. November 2006.

With the good water pump installed I flushed the radiator using a jug of Prestone flush fluid. The old pump is on the left and the new one on the right.
The old water pump with three broken blades. November 2006. The new water pump. November 2006.

DECEMBER 2006: A/C PROBLEMS REVISITED
As of December the bearings in the A/C compressor clutch were shot and the car was making a horrible squealing noise. While I saved up some money to have the A/C clutch replaced, a shorter serpentine belt was installed as a temporary fix.

Please continue to page four for more pictures and modifications.