I'm wondering about all this MSD business. There's people who say they are selling a "rare" MSD GSi, but I have also read that all GSi's were SRi's that MSD upgraded????
I had a vectra V6 SRI estate as a company car ... very very thirsty .. I drove from farnborough to letchworth and back and used a whole tank - a journey of probably no more than 140 miles !! ..
Powerful with absolutely no handling !! ... i.e. even on mild bends on the motorway it would need to be held in lane with some force
Never heard of MSD though?
Dum spiro, spero
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Sis start life as SRis, which are then given a thorough working over by MSD (Motor Sport Developments) in Milton Keynes. This involves some pretty tasty kit - in our case 215/45 Yokohama AVS Sports (now standard issue on the Aston Vanquish and Porsche Boxster, incidentally), cool six-spoke 17in OZ alloys, bitier brakepads, thuggish Magnex tailbox, racerish Irmscher spoilers, and inside, hip-hugging Recaro seats, alloy gearknob and a hunky steering wheel with part leather, part shiny plastic rim.
But the heart of this conversion was the extra 24bhp that MSD squeezed out of the 2.5-litre V6, lifting peak power to 192bhp, chiefly by dropping in reprofiled camshafts (there's now a 2.6-litre version, with fewer horses but extra torque, more of which later). It didn't take long to suss that the engine was what makes the GSi special. It had a really purposeful burble at idle, and when you took it to the red line it went all Alfa on you, tightening to a nape-prickling yowl. Even Lord M liked that. Only problem was, it seemed to have a couple of flat spots as the revs climbed and only pulled with real vigour over the final 2500rpm. Combined with long-striding gearing, this meant plenty of shifting to keep it simmering - full-blooded redline lunges were fine when you were in the mood, but a bit of a bind when you weren't. Initial fuel consumption was a bit scary - even on long hauls we couldn't better 25mpg, though when it was thoroughly loosened up it was quite possible to achieve high-20s. During the fuel crisis (what did you do in the fuel crisis, daddy?) it actually topped 30.
But the GSi wasn't just about straight-line urge. Lotus had a hand in retuning all the Vectra chassis a couple of years ago, and those wide, low-profile Yokohamas sharpened the GSi up still further. It wasn't the last word in fluidity or delicacy, but there was a tautness and a connectedness that made it a genuinely satisfying steer. It's amazing what a difference having decently supportive seats makes too, and those Recaros were just superb.
Other likes included the kickin' CD hi-fi, the air-con, and the Trafficmaster. Dislikes? The wheels filled the arches to overflowing, which looked great but meant they were particularly prone to kerbing. In winter, first thing in the morning, the alloy gearknob felt like changing gear with an icicle. And I became increasingly conscious of the limited interior space. It's an age thing (the car's, not mine). Cars in this class have become bigger, roomier - the new Mondeo feels as tall and airy as a cathedral by comparison. The Vectra's got a decent boot, but it has no more passenger space than a Golf, and with three growing children competing for space, long journeys often felt like a couple of hours on the Gaza Strip.
If the Vectra didn't have the perceived cool of the Alfas on the fleet, it did at least have seemingly bombproof mechanicals. Or so I thought. If the GSi had left a month earlier it would have departed with a clean bill of mechanical health. Up to that point our visits to our local dealer, Wellingborough's York Ward and Rowlett, were purely for routine servicing (10,000-mile intervals,
" Uh Betty you should of seen this car in Ely today!! it had stickers and stripes
all over it, and when it started up, the noise!!!, I could feel my teeth rattling!!!"
This is for a daily, not too worried about the mpg tbh although it does state 28 on the facts which is better than the 20 I get atm. I was planning to spend a lot more on a newer diesel to get the power/torque/mpg, but I can't justify it tbh. Handling wise they do say that the GSi is a lot better than the rest of the range, but then I don't plan on thrashing it about.....much
I did read that article, it does seem they are all from MSD. Seems people try to imply it's more than it really is. Just enquiring if anyone has any first hand experience with them
Cheers Stu, I think that's where Lee did a copy/paste from
I think I'm set on one, just need to get one a bit closer, I'm watching 2 but they are Birmingham way. Not the end of the world, but I'm in no hurry so might as well wait
There is another at County Liquidations in Essex, anybody had any dealings with them?
Cheers, I did have a read up, seems they are used to get shot of all reclaimed cars from finance companies. IIRC it said you have 1 hr test drive to check it's all okay, after that it's tough shit
drifter wrote:Cheers Stu, I think that's where Lee did a copy/paste from
I think I'm set on one, just need to get one a bit closer, I'm watching 2 but they are Birmingham way. Not the end of the world, but I'm in no hurry so might as well wait
There is another at County Liquidations in Essex, anybody had any dealings with them?
If you do opt for the ones near Birmingahm please don't hesitate to give me a shout if I can be of any help. I've seen a very nice one on ebay thats only 5 miles from me.
