Project [Code name TBC] - Prologue pt1

This week I thought I would actually talk about the project car, after all that's why I was doing this blog and it's only been 5 weeks.... Finding Dori springs to mind...

So in previous entries I have mentioned why I wanted a project car, but I haven't answered a question I've been asked by a few other petrolheads since buying this car....

'So why a GTO?'

The answer to this one was always going to be a bit more controversial as they are not a popular car in general, though from what I've read, owners of the car love it unconditionally. I actually think that my need to have something different, and its prettiness makes me prefer it to its competitors. When I knew I wanted a project, I also knew I wanted to meet certain criteria:

• AWD
• Turbo or Twin Turbo
• Manual
• Qualifies for Classic insurance
• Easy initial power gains (I know GTO gets harder past 500bhp or so in comparison to similar cars of the era but 500 is probably going to be more than my initial aims for power)
• Good looking 
• Something a bit different

So with those criteria in mind I kind of knew it was going to be some kind of 90's JDM muscle  so started thinking through my choices:

(Note: for those who like to argue in import vs muscle threads on Car Throttle, here in the UK you cant get American muscle and was I HELL buying a Rover 25)

• rx7 - the later models are pretty (FD), but I didn't fancy doing an engine rebuild every time I took the car to the corner shops and measuring my oil in miles per gallon! Rotary jokes aside I love these cars, there is one that lives the other side of town from me that I am admittedly slightly envious of it even with it's cheesy F&F style decals... I think they are beautiful, but think these are a car I would love to drive but not to own. I am by my own admission an AWD fanboy and they didn't tick that box, combined with being as rare as hens teeth when I was looking meant they were never really an option. Good ones were few and far between, and when you found a good one the price required me to give up limbs....

• Supra - With a supra, it had to be a mk4, it had to be twin turbo and it had to be manual. The choice for a Supra in good condition was phenomenal.... as long as you wanted an N/A.... or an auto.... or both... The only ones at a reasonable price that were turbo-ed and manual were the mk3 and earlier, which if I'm being honest are probably a really good car, they just don't do it for me....

• Skyline -  I went further in my search for a Skyline than for the Supra or rx7... there is something about that name, and that GTR badge that was just screaming 'Buy me!'. I actually went to buy one and was talked out of buying it by the sales assistant, it was an R33 GTR they'd had in part ex and he couldn't answer any of my questions about it, or its history, or anything about any work done to it in the past... so I walked away, and kicked myself for a couple of months after thinking it was probably him being a moron rather than being a dud car. After missing out on that one, I trawled sites for a while but struggled to find another one in budget. There were plenty of GTS and GTS-T to choose from (quite often falsely advertised as GTRs)... but that GTR was always at the back of my mind and meant I couldn't commit to a GTS-T. Maybe an R34 as my next project...

• Other random Unicorns - There were occasionally others that caught my eyes, Galant VR4s, 240zs or 300zxs GTFours... but I quite simply never got the same spark with them as when I looked at the GTO.

I have always considered the GTO a very good looking car, even by modern standards which I think is quite a rare trait for a car with a production run that was fully contained within the 90s (excluding the Dodge Stealth variants rear wing *gags*).

My first experience of driving one however was not the greatest. It was from a small locally owned garage, and it was an N/A 3000gt. The owner of the garage allowed my to drive around 500m before returning it to the forecourt, think he assumed because I was young I wasn't going to be serious about buying the car. I made a comment about it not being as quick as I expected as I gestured towards buying the car, to which he took offense and threw me off the forecourt... looking back now that was probably a godsend. The difference in the drive between that car and the twin-turbo I now currently own in unreal, they are the same car underneath but essentially not really comparable in terms of drive and what the car can do.

In truth I would have loved any of the other cars I listed as a potential for the project, but I was always strangely drawn back to the GTO. They are just so different and rarely seen. They were under appreciated in their time, and they still are which is probably why you can still pick up a good twin turbo version for relatively cheap in comparison to other cars with similar performance. 

I know people complain about the price of parts, but when you look into it good parts for this car cost about the same as good parts for any car of the era, you just cant get cheap knock off parts for cheap like you can on other cars... which to me, is in all honesty no big deal. I'd only want to use good parts anyway!

When I read comments on forums for wider car communities (rather than owner specific ones about these cars) it was funny how often you would read owners slate the car, calling its' transmission shit, saying it was a bitch to work on and source parts for, but then go on to say they wish they'd never sold it and they wished they still had it, and they loved it more than their Subaru Impreza/Mitsubishi Evo/whatever hot hatch they traded it in for.... and having it for just 4 or 5 weeks I can already see that.... I have been frustrated that the same day I bought it I needed to replace the battery and its connectors, and that next time I get it out of the garage I know I've got to try to un-seize the bonnet 

release mechanism that wouldn't let me close it when I put it away at the weekend..... But at the end of the day it makes me smile more than any other car that I have driven, let alone owned, and that's what really matters.... 

As the stolen meme says, don't build it for anyone but yourself.

And so I conclude yet again having not really talked about my specific car... So I will make this Prologue pt1 of 2 for now. To keep up to date you can follow me on social sites by clicking the links below or search the @s :

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Abarth Exhaustion

In today's entry: Abarth Exhaustion... 

Monza Exhaust on the SuperSport

When I did the review of my daily driver, the Abarth SuperSport, a few weeks back I mentioned that although it only had a little 1.4l engine, it sounded mean and angry beyond its cc. So this week I decided that it was time to do that video! This may have also had something to do with damp and slippery roads combined with 90mph winds again at the weekend preventing that 0-60 video I want to do on the GTO... (wind speed may be a slight exaggeration but it was damn windy).

Digital Boost Gauge (apologies for glare)

I took this video on my phone with it propped up on a box whilst I revved. Lets be honest, this is not an ideal set-up, far from it actually... It may be how ITV film Emmerdale, but it was never going to give the sound this car makes the justice it deserves. 

In the flesh this exhaust does sound so much more beastly, especially with its Sport mode engaged even in its current stock guise. The engine and exhaust combination Abarth put on these cars (and the 595 equivalents) from the factory really make the noise generated from that 1.4 tjet engine second to none against other stock engines of a similar cc out there. 

Yes, that includes your Saxo, even with its 4" Halfords own exhaust tip you've tried to cable tie on... Wait... is that Burberry paint? 

Sport Mode - Engaged

The phone does not pick up on all the pops the exhaust makes as you ease off between revs, which is one of the traits that made me fall in love with the sound to begin with.... But alas, here is the video for now:

Although you can hear me start the car, the video was done on a warm engine. I had originally done a take with the phone sat further back and the wind noise wasn't the greatest, so this was a second take.

I have only been at this blog malarkey for 3-4 weeks now, so if I end up getting a better camera down the line I will probably re-do this video to try to show the car in the better light it deserves! If not, the phone footage will have to do.

I will probably do a similar video for the GTO, but with a bit of assistance in shooting it! I love this exhaust sound, but it will never realistically compete with that from a 3.0l twin-turbo with a racing exhaust system....

To keep up to date you can follow me on social sites by clicking the links below or search the @s :

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Walk-around Washout

This weekend I took the GTO out for a spin, intending to find a nice spot in the countryside to do a walk-around of the car. But got caught up in a torrential downpour and gale force winds. My attempts to film the car seem to be cursed. The rain... The wind... Together, it was raining sideways...

Not be be put off by bad weather, like a preppy high school cheerleader I put my best 'positive mental attitude hat' on and decided to try a 0-60mph test instead. I told myself "the car has AWD, it'll be fine, the weather will barely make a difference!". How wrong was I?

The results are pictured below:

*Disclaimer* This screenshot was acquired on a private road by professionally-amateurish car bloggers. Do not try this at home. No puppies were harmed in the making of this screenshot. 

The same run was timed by my passenger as just under 6 seconds so think I need to find a more accurate app to do a 0-60 time with, especially as I only went to just over 60 due to road conditions and it reckons I got that 1/4 time... Ultimately either way I gotta give it another shot. I've wanted to do a benchmark acceleration test since getting the car using the 0-60 figure but cant start with one in poor conditions or my improvements to the car will look like they've had more effect than they have, 

Don't get me wrong, I am not expecting the car to knock out a 5 second flat 0-60 as it could when it was new, but I know it has more in it than 6.89... but I do think it could still dip below 6 on dry roads.

If anyone know of any good 0-60 timing apps, please feel free to drop me a message on the social sites, otherwise feel free to follow to keep up to date:

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Daily Drive

Ok, so I ended last weeks entry at the point of trading in my beloved Hawkeye WRX for a hothatch due to the birth of my son. (at this point I would like to note that the Mrs was happy to see the scooby go, as she saw it as an unneeded expense at the time, but was not impressed when the baby seat would not fit in the new car...) This week is talking through that daily driver. Those of you who have checked out my instagram will have already seen that this was for an Abarth Supersport.

When I bought this car it was from new, but at the end of its production run. A couple of weeks later I read an article about this car and how much of a unicorn it was. Apparently there were only ever around 850 Abarth Puntos brought to the UK, and of these only 138 were of the top spec Supersport version, the majority being either the Abarth Grand Punto, or the Abarth Punto Evo. Although I have seen social media peppered with them from time to time, in my area I only know of 1 other Abarth Punto, and thats an Evo.

I love the fact that a lot of people, especially non-car people, don't really know what they are. I have lost track of how many times I've been asked what an Abarth is, and when people finally click, say "so thats like a fast fiat 500, right?" as if Abarth only do 500s and nothing else..... Don't get me wrong, I like the 500 models, I went to the showroom intending to buy a 595 Competizione, but walked away happily with my Supersport instead, its more me, and I like the fact you don't see them as often as the 500 based models.

So what I have is a car which I love, and although its nippy its the slowest car I've ever had. It has a 1.4l t-jet engine which has around 180bhp, which although it isn't much pushes the car to 60 somewhere in the region of 6.5 - 7 seconds. Which given how small the engine is, isn't actually that bad.

Abarth Supersport engine bay.

In fact when I was looking into this car, I read many a reviews and most compared the car to 1 of 3 cars. The Golf GTI, the Civic Type R and the Focus ST. All of the reviewed said the same thing, the car was a great little car but couldn't compete with those 3 of hot hatches on performance. But the Abarth has a smaller engine, and cost significantly SIGNIFICANTLY less. The other 3 cars will all cost you in the region of £30k, maybe just under. More if you want a decent spec. My little gem was under £20k. This means it was being compared against the big guns, when it cost less than the smaller hot hatches on the market, still coming in a few quid shy (couple of g's in fact) of the cost of a Fiesta ST and Corsa VXR with similar performance, and has the same 0-60 as the PUG GTI but costs around £7-8k less!

With Abarth you also get lots of goodies as standard. In fact the parts list on the Abarth would do as a shopping list for the GTO... Each corner sees a set of Brembo's coupled with Koni suspension. The seats are Buckets by Corsa (not the Vauxhall kind...). The dials were designed by Jaeger. The exhaust sound is mean for a 1.4 thanks to a system by Monza coupled with an uprated airbox thanks to BMC (I'll have to post a video of it on a later entry). Not a bad list for a car which is still stock....

I have mentioned the GTO has pop up headlights, a button on the car that makes me a bit giddy. The Abarth has a go faster button, and I've always wanted one of them since I was a kid, lusting after an M3 purely because it had the M button... I've come to realise BMW's are not for me, I indicate and don't tailgate, however the go faster button is still right up my street!

I love talking about the car, I love explaining what an Abarth is to non-car people. I love explaining the bolt-on's that come stock to car people. I do love this car, but I miss the tear your face off acceleration. I miss having power whenever I want it, this car needs you to be in sport mode and in the right rev range or the turbo lag will see you accelerate from 30-60 at the pace of a Dacia Sandero. I miss having AWD and as I mentioned last week, that is what ultimately made me want a project car.....

In the mean time, if you want to keep up to date, follow me on social sites in the links, also more pictures below:

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Alloy + Brembo

Corsa Seats

Having a bath

Dat Ass!