Project GT1600 (aka The Reaper)

Introduction

As this is going to be quite a big ongoing project, I thought I may as well get a project thread up for those interested. The car was taken off the road about 10 months ago as I have two cars so only used it as a weekend car anyway. I have plenty of experience from a young age from working on several mates cars and projects and that of my old man. This, however, is my first big project completely on my own.

How the car stands

The car was nearly standard when I got it. It now stands completely stripped weighing 910 kgs and running about 180bhp at 18psi. A GT of the same spec as mine with full interior can run a 14.5 flat quarter mile on crap tyres. So est. low 14's for mine. Bodywork needs attention but is standard.

Plans and goals

Now then, I'm sure I have stated the plans elsewhere on here but I will end up with a stripped, caged, GT with a full (ie blueprintes, forged etc) 1600 build using the 1600 Sporting block running on DTA management. I hope to end up with a dry weight of 900kgs and 250bhp initially just to get it up and running, then push for 300bhp. The suspension and shell will be getting a full overhaul, new bushes, bolts, underseal, few bits of welding etc. I will prep the car and spray it Satin black inside and out.

ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS OR CRITISISM (CONSTRUCTIVE PLEASE) WELCOME THROUGHOUT

 

[coupe]

very nice wheels.

satin black will be great.

 

[westcott]

Gotta love gettting new parts. Just like Christmas only you actually get what you really wanted!!!

Very nice!

 

[DCSPORTZ]

Hi mate project seems to be comin along nicely, must say I love those wheels, they look way better when I came ova the other day, where did you get them from and where are you doin your sandblasting to clean up some of your stuff?

 

[MasterAuron]

Hello mate, welcome to the forum.

Wheels were Dan's, from a race Integrale, and you can't buy them anymore I'm afraid. If you ever find another set you'll be very very lucky and I suggest you snap them up sharpish, whatever the cost! Compomotive do a simular set new, TH Mono or something.

Andy at Sutton Soda Blasters blasts all my stuff. Doesn't actually use sand, just soda of different grades. His harshest one is just as good as normal sand and has a glass bead in it anyway. It was good enough to remove metal to smooth the two f*cked wheels back down. Spent hours on them to get them smooth again, cost me a fortune lol. He's a sound bloke if ever you need anything doing just go down and have a chat. He will primer your stuff for you and hires out his spray booth. If you see him, tell him Kyle with the wheels sent you lol. Google for his website.

 

[DCSPORTZ]

Lol I thought I saw them before.
what you goin to be doin next to it oh n I noticed that you've got a big hole in your boot are you goin to weild it flat and add one of them racing fuel tank or have some kind of custom set up, I had alook into it when mine was leaking but it was just too much for me to do at the time 

 

[MasterAuron]

Front end strip-down under way. Had a spare couple of hours today:

Wings off:

Suspension, brakes and wishbones off. Tie-rod arms disconnected, these will be coming out with the rack at a later date. Hubs carriers and driveshafts left connected also, to be dropped out with the engine and box.

Started stripping down the engine bay. Loom all marked up, unplugged and shoved to one side. Fuse bracket thingys removed and pumps and reservoirs removed.

New goodies including a carbon fibre Abarth Spoiler:

 

[MasterAuron]

Apologies for quality of pics. They're all from my phone as I can never be bothered to get my DSLR out especially with filthy hands. I'm hoping to go for a minimalist engine-bay look. Fuses will be relocated to the wing or under the dash at the suggestion of a mate. ABS and PAS gubbins will be gone also. Any wiring not needed will be removed too. I have a lot of loom work to do move stuff and incorporate standalone

 

[Aikmanson]

Punto huh? Have to say I havn't really heard much of them being over in the states. This is an awesome looking project though! Im defiently going to keep my eyes on this.

 

[MasterAuron]

Cheers Aikmanson. They're quite a common car over here in normal guise. GT's are somewhat rarer and becoming even more so as they die easily nd are just broken for parts instead of repaired.

Didn't want to get dirty this afternoon so had a quick fiddle about with a ready brek box to work out a simple dash setup to mount my gauges and switchgear. Imagine two flat pieces of carbon fibre instead of the cardboard though:

 

[westcott]

I will be keeping an eye on your project too!

Looking forward to seeing more updates.

Good Luck!

P.S. I have a project of my own that I hope to get started on in the next few months. But, until then, its a secret!!!!:grin:

 

[MasterAuron]

No secrets amongst friends Westcott :bigsmile: Do tell!

ONCE AGAIN scupperred in my tracks by a friend coming over for a couple of hours to sort out his GT. Lumpy idle and popping and banging waaay more than normal on the overrun. Drove perfectly otherwise. GT's are always doing this and there can be a number of causes.

My old (working) AFM helped but did not cure. Tried a number of other simple/usual things to no avail. Blink code test bought up lambda sensor but was I heckers like changing that today as they usually don't budge without heat and they're awkward to get to onto of the downpipe.

So, I sent him away to check the timing, check the exhaust pre-lambda for leaks and change the lambda sensor. Fingers crossed!

 

[Aikmanson]

By the way you describe it, it sounds like the timing or maybe valve noise? was the lumping more timing sounding or internal. I don't know much about these cars like I said but i would consider those two first.

Hows progress?

 

[MasterAuron]

This is where I got today...dashboard out:

Uh-oh.....

Started stripping the electrical tape off the loom from the back of the car forwards, then removed any unneeded wiring and plugs (speakers, rear wiper motor etc).

Looking a bit better.

As I got further down I began to seperate the loom by their purpose (back left light etc) and taped them up temporarily.

 

[MasterAuron]

By the way you describe it, it sounds like the timing or maybe valve noise? was the lumping more timing sounding or internal. I don't know much about these cars like I said but i would consider those two first.

Hows progress?

Exactly my first thought buddy. When he text me the first thing I replied with was "Timing ok?". He said yes originally but when he was round he said the garage he last went to said they advanced the timing as it was running rough. This was due to another fault (now fixed), so the timing might need adjusting again but it was to late in the day to check as the wheel and arch liner etc has got to come off.

 

[MasterAuron]

Sticky tape and crap from what is only about a quarter of the loom:

About a Kilo of wires removed. Will weigh them properly at a later date.

And just think....all that lot is is two rear speakers, rear wiper motor and heated rear screen!

 

[MasterAuron]

Also weighed the ABS unit and bracket (4kg), PAS pump and reservoir (3.45kg) and carbon canister (1.25kg) bringing the total weight down to 897kgs.

 

[pgarner]

what target are you looking for before you put the cage in ?

 

[turbonutter69]

It's comin on good buddy.

 

[gendox]

this is looking good mate starting my drag project soon is nice to read through and see what your up to. can i just ask what is your goal at the end of this project ?
a fast road car
track weapon
sleeper

 

[charger69]

you're using the stock cylinder heads, and the block, is there anything you're gonna do on the engine block?

 

[MasterAuron]

what target are you looking for before you put the cage in ?

The cage is 25kg without any any bars I may decide to add in. So the car needs to be 875kg or less before the cage goes in.

It's comin on good buddy.

Cheers TN! Updating this gives me more motivation to crack on with it.

this is looking good mate starting my drag project soon is nice to read through and see what your up to. can i just ask what is your goal at the end of this project ?
a fast road car
track weapon
sleeper

Sprint car really but I want the setup to be adaptable for drag racing too. You'll have to tell us more about your own project now you've mentioned it!?

you're using the stock cylinder heads, and the block, is there anything you're gonna do on the engine block?

The bottom end is from the 1.6 Punto Sporting (non-turbo) and has been rebored to 87mm. CPS forged pistons and Arrow conrods. It's sitting in my bedroom lol.

The head is a standard GT head and will be getting some work done by Ric Wood of Ric Wood Motorsport when the time comes to it. What I'm having done to the head though is a secret for now at least.

 

[pgarner]

silly idea time.
could you not make your own dash say fiberglass as carbon would probably be £££££. just thinking your not going to need the passenger airbags (dunno did the punto have them) glovebox, heaters ( are you keeping them or just getting a smaller air heater rather than the full matrix ) all your really needing is the gauges - tacho, speedometer, temp oil and water, boost EGT etc. might cut down on the weight a bit

 

[charger69]

agree with pgarner, there's a big list of not needed stuff. removing them will give you more free weight, if that's your aim.

 

[MasterAuron]

It's something I've considered boyos. In time, perhaps. For now I'll be using the standard dash (I've removed some weight from it) and the standard heater unit and matrix.

It's a hell of a lot of time, effort and extra cost to change the dash and faff around with another heater when I've got so much going on already.

There was no passenger airbag and the drivers one was in the original steering wheel.

 

[MasterAuron]

Block and box out after work yesterday, the lo-tech way....

1. Carpet and jack under the block.

2. Jack up with a board underneath. Just enough to take the weight of the engine.

3. Unbolt the mounts.

4. Lower the engine slowly with the jack until it drops to the floor then wiggle the jack from under the engine.

5. Drag the carpet from under the car.

 

[MasterAuron]

Small update. A little something arrived to help put the power down. Been in Egypt so not been able to touch the motor.

 

[turbonutter69]

That looks nice.
How was Egypt.

 

[MasterAuron]

That looks nice.
How was Egypt.

Sound mate. Pretty cool seeing the pyramids and stuff, Cairo is a sh*thole though for the most part lol. The red sea is awesome for fish and coral. Went snorkeling around Ras Mohamed and diving just off Naama bay.

 

[turbonutter69]

Sweet mate sounds awesome. I've always wanted to go to Egypt to see the pyramids. I'll get there one day. Always wantd to go fishing on the Nile too.

 

[herb]

egypt may have changed since i went 10 years ago??
but didnt you find it annoying? (beggars, kids trying to sell you bic pens, people always trying to get close so they can rummage through your pockets/bags)
also when we went we had armed police escorts everywhere we went
and i was so disappointed with the pyramid i went in i dont know why but i expected some relics left in there not just a passage way and a empty room at the end

 

[charger69]

egypt may have changed since i went 10 years ago??
but didnt you find it annoying? (beggars, kids trying to sell you bic pens, people always trying to get close so they can rummage through your pockets/bags)
also when we went we had armed police escorts everywhere we went
and i was so disappointed with the pyramid i went in i dont know why but i expected some relics left in there not just a passage way and a empty room at the end

can you even imagine in what kinda mysery live those kids that you find annoying? you should think about it what you and your country did in the past to them, so you can realise where they are now.
but whatever happened in the past it's not your fault, the fault belongs to some people that are dead now.
how about people that try to steal, i agree with you.
and they protect you so much that they could kill a guy if they harm you (tourists).
so think about these things.

 

[MC707]

can you even imagine in what kinda mysery live those kids that you find annoying? you should think about it what you and your country did in the past to them, so you can realise where they are now.
but whatever happened in the past it's not your fault, the fault belongs to some people that are dead now.
how about people that try to steal, i agree with you.
and they protect you so much that they could kill a guy if they harm you (tourists).
so think about these things.

Totally agreed. I see those kinds of kids every day where I live, in fact. The pickpockets too xD.

 

[MasterAuron]

Now we've finished putting the world to rights...

Here is the front subframe...

Has a pretty pointless counterweight bolted onto the back of it. Removed along with half of the bracket that it bolts to. Another 2.8kg's shaved from the weight.

Off to the blasters!

 

[MasterAuron]

Also whacked the fibreglass bonnet on so I could shift it out of my room as it's getting rediculously full of parts now. It's considerably lighter than the steel one (both will be weighed at some point) and has small and quite subtle vents to let heat escape and a letterbox vent in the front to allow air flow straight to the filter.

 

[MasterAuron]

Got home from work at 1 today and proceeded to finish stripping the engine bay. Scuttle panel off...

ABS and engine loom removed. ABS will be weighed later along with the other uneeded wiring.

Engine loom is pretty icky. Need stripping, sorting and re-wrapping. Ended up with this:

 

[charger69]

cool , so now the engine space is cleaned.

 

[obi_waynne]

It's going to be great when it's done. Keep up the good work.

 

[MasterAuron]

Gave everything bar the underside a bit of a scrubba dub dub the weekend just gone. Came up well considering the car is nearly 13 years old. It's actually cleaner now than it was in the photos as they were taken half way through.

 

[MasterAuron]

Also ordered my cage today. Sparco 6-point bolt-in but it will be welded in. Up to 4 weeks wait!

 

[MasterAuron]

Back end is starting to come together now. Ran out of gas though for today :blink: