GTO Engine Noise

Merry (belated) Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope this entry finds everyone in fine spirits this festive period.

I hope Santa was kind with the car parts this year to help everyone get ready for the 2016 show season!

So Santa may have got me 1 or 2 car parts this year, but I also treated myself to a new camera, a new action cam. Nothing flash mind, my budget didn't exactly stretch to a hero4, but it'll certainly do for what I need and will be much better than using my phone! As such I took advantage of the quiet holiday roads and unseasonably good weather (finally!) to do a bit of hooning in the GTO.

As promised weeks ago here the sound my car makes, currently with a stock in-take and Kakimoto Racing Exhaust. I look forward to hearing how it will sound down the line when I get round to upgrading the intake system as it already sounds pretty mean (even if I do say so myself)

I have been reflecting on 2015 and what it has meant for me automotively (if that's such a word), obviously it has been the year this project started (not so much started, but rather the year the car was bought) but it also had a few highlights building up to that point also. In the run up to New Year I will share my top 5 moments on my Instagram  as I reflect on my 2015 and look forward to what 2016 may hold!

So I will leave you with one final thought, and something I sure a lot of petrol heads are feeling...

WAIT.... I almost forgot to mention, when hooning I may have done a 0-60 video... which may be in next weeks entry... so until then, Happy New Year!

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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....

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Car History

Ok, so this Sunday I fully intended to do a walk-round of the GTO...

I fully intended to do this right up to the point where the Formula 1 Qualifying was postponed until 2pm Sunday due to rain... From that point onward my weekend was dedicated to shouting for Lewis... really, shouting. I was sure if I shouted loud enough at the TV he would be able to hear me across the pond... Guess it worked!


So as I was caught up in the history that was being made on the TV, I thought I would talk a little about my car history.

I didn't sit my driving test until I finished University, and by that point I had fallen into bar management, which meant for my first car I didn't need to resort to buying a 1.0l Corsa with a 4" exhaust (you may need to be a Brit to get that reference...)

My first car was a Blob-eye Impreza. Don't get me wrong, it was not a WRX, and it certainly wasn't an STI, but as a first car in the UK where you have to give your left arm for an insurance policy.... (I'm surprised more of us don't drive automatics for this reason...) this was not a bad car. It was a 2.0l GX Sport, and without a WRX or STI badge, I cherished that word 'Sport' that emblazoned my rear bumper. It was still relatively quick for a first car, and with AWD it felt like a bit of tank. Unfortunately  after 6 months or so the clutch went and I couldn't justify paying for a new one to be fit as someone offered to buy it for the same price I paid when I got it, so alas I had to let it go.

My second car was a Honda Civic Type R - an EP3. It was post-facelift model (2005) which loved to rev, and I loved to rev it! It saw off 0-60 in around 6.6 seconds. It had a fair chunk of power for a car that was so light, 200bhp, and it was enjoyable using that full rev range with the dash mounted gear stick. In all honesty I think that gear stick is probably the thing I miss most about the car... Vtec is good, but not as good as Honda fan boys make it out to be, and the engine could have used a good deal more torque to match its power.

My third car was another Subaru, and another Impreza, though this time it was 2.5l WRX Hawkeye.
With around 230bhp and AWD it did 0-60 in around 5.5 seconds, in all conditions.

Roads like this are why I love AWD. This car is the first car I did more than just normal service tasks on. It was mainly just service tasks, but I also upgraded the brake discs. It was enough to make me start thinking that one day I wanted a real project, that I didn't need any work completed in a day.

When my son was born I sold the car. This was a bit of a mistake. I got another hot hatch instead. I saved money on insurance and petrol but in every other sense the Impreza is the better family car. Its boot is huge and passengers get an acre of space, AWD is practical, especially in an area prone to bad winters. It had 4 doors to my current cars 2. I like my current daily drive, don't get me wrong I prefer it to my Honda, but it wasn't my Scooby... This car is why I got the Mitsubishi, I wanted a fast 4x4 and wanted a car that didn't matter if work was done in a day or not......

I will do a walk round of my daily and of the GTO in a separate entry.

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Project Start

Ok, so I have to start by saying I think I have the most understanding girl a guy could possibly ask for! We are currently expecting our second child, yet this weekend I was allowed to buy my first ever project car.

I do admittedly feel a little guilty, not for buying the car.... rather I can't even begin to try and recall how many adverts I've read recently for cars being sold purely for the reason of an expected child.

I've known for a while I wanted a project. I have bugged many a petrolhead friend, bouncing build ideas off them to try and help make my mind up. My ideas ranged from sleeper T5 Volvos, to classic restorations, to taking a new Beetle, doing a AWD swap from a 4motion Golf and the engine from who knows what to make a modern Frankenbeetle rat rod (I do admittedly still like that idea... maybe in the future...). My decision in the end realistically came down to two options. A classic with a wicked engine swap or something JDM. If I went the classic route I was mainly thinking a busa into a beetle or mini. I saw a couple of Beetles, but without the ability to weld that idea was a bit of a no-go because a clean one cost to much, so instead this was my choice.....

This is my 1991 Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo. When new it had 280bhp and lots of torques. It has AWD and AWS. It has some toys that help me unleash my inner child... every man loves a button for pop up headlights... don't they? It also has Active Aero front and rear and a button that makes my exhaust quiet (although I don't think that will get much use somehow...) I think the car was trying to be Mitsubishi's answer to other similar spec sports Coupes coming out of Japan at the time, however its toys left it heavy in comparison to its more basic rivals. Weight left it slightly slower, although 0-60 took around 5 seconds so it is still no slouch even by today's standards,

Over the next couple of months I aim to get to know the car. Learn what I love about the car and learn its flaws. Early next year I will start making changes and tweaks to it. I've had fast Japanese cars in the past, but never really had one to wrench on that wasn't a daily driver, so I will be starting  small at first and working up to bigger jobs down the line. I'm not going to be preaching how to do things, more talking about how I've done things which undoubtedly will be how not to!

If you would like to laugh at my lack of progress in real time you can follow me on social sites by clicking the links below or search the @s :

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