[Track_Prep] 205 Gti-6 Track Car Build

[rallyeash 155]

Ive been wanting to start a project thread on my mates car for a while now so here it is...

 

Some of you will follow and of read my 205 2.1 16v rallye track car thread which is in the projects section.

 

and this 205 GTI build is becoming a pretty awesome build too and certainly worthy of a build thread

 

Around 4 years ago we went up to the midlands somewhere and came home with a really tidy 1991 graphite grey 205 Mi16 which had a few choice mods and what you would class as a tidy weekend/fun car.
At this point it wasn't really the idea to rip it apart and make it a track car but after a few choice mods the first track day soon came and went and Craig had the bug!

The lovely example of a fast road 205 MI16 soon had coil overs, Tran X plate diff, Safety devices roll cage, bucket seats and a few more mods.
It stayed in the fashion for a while and Craig started to get plenty of track days under his belt which was mainly Castle Combe or we both did a few airfield days.

The MI16 engine was the swapped to a GTi6 engine.

 

Now for all those MI16 lovers out there I can say as a track car and running back to back MI16 and Gti6 engines the GTi6 engine is so much better in all aspects :yes

This was all a couple of years back and I don't have any pictures to hand but from here onwards I do....

The spec at this point was a properly fitted GTi6 engine, 309 running gear, Gaz coilovers, safety devices cage, Tran X diff, 2.25 Torque technique exhaust, bucket seats etc etc and already it was giving my 205 a run for its money out on track!!

 

night before a trackday at Combe...
half way swapped from the 1.9 wheels with road tyres to the Speedlines with R888's

in the pits

 

Then the build really started to happen....
The car headed to Colin Satchell's workshop and had rear coilovers, front subframe and all his running gear plus a Satchshift.

Pics dont really do justice

 

Flash makes the underside look bad but here is the rear coilovers

and while the car was there somehow a set of Jenveys, Dta and a sandy loom was added then we took it down to Saltash and Sandy mapped the car at circa 180hp.

 

 

After collecting the car we were both itching to get out on another trackday so a local Combe on was booked up. It was going to be an interesting day, my 205 has nearly 50hp more but Craigs 205 was really well developed and the thought was his corner speed would be higher and manage to overcome the power issue down the straights.

It was a damp trackday and after a couple of easy slow shakedown laps on craigs car he started to build confidence and get used to the different driving style the car required with the new suspension.

We were correct the car had so much grip in the corners even in the damp. So much so after a couple of laps Craig was being towed back the the pits on a rope behind the recovery truck :dunno
He said it just stopped.... turns out the bottom end seized solid due to oil starvation and that was all before 10am.

 

A Peugeot sport france baffled sump kit and a Accusump system were soon purchased and a £200 replacement GTi6 engine was soon chucked in the car after a cambelt kit was fitted.

Back up and running at French car show 2013 at Combe with the GTi6 stand

 

A couple more trackdays came and went, and the cheap engine wasn't as good as the previous one and a few other annoying issues started to make the car a bit unreliable. Craig wanted to strip the car down and build it up properly to what he wanted as for the last 4 years things have kept on getting added and the whole car needed a bit of love underneath.

We came across a engine that was build 5 years ago with solid lifters, cams, Wossner pistons, steel rods, balanced crank which had never been fitted and just dry stored. After a few conversations we soon had it in the back of my work truck and headed to Pug Racing for Miles to give it a strip, check and assemble but also to added the Pugsport sump, Billet flywheel and crank pulley along with a paddle clutch.
That meant without the engine to worry about we could get cracking on the car....

old Gti6 engine came out

 

 

 

looks a bit sorry for itself

 

Works Maniflow exhaust manifold and a full 2.5 Maniflow system were purchased

 

Gti6 calipers weren't going to cut the mustard, Now binned in favour of Hi Spec 4 pots

 

we found a fair bit of surface rust when the bumper came off. Craig set to work on de rusting and painting while I started getting rid of crap that wasn't required... (gti6 engine loom, ecu etc etc)

 

With Oulton park trackday now only 2 weeks away and myself and craig booked on we don't have much time and the lack of light now in the evenings meant we were struggling to get to work on it. We took the decision Monday to trailer it over to my work and keep it in a storage container and in the evenings move it across to the workshop.

last night we dragged it from the container and into the workshop

 

 

 

 

 

front end going back together

 

exhaust system fitted. Just need an engine to bolt it upto

 

 

Starting to look like a car again!

 

near on midnight last night and the point we gave up.

 

 

Were hoping to get the nod from Miles this afternoon and collect the engine. We can then get it fitted and potentially running this evening! another late one coming up I feel....

ill keep the updated coming when they happen

Edited October 24, 2013 by rallyeash

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Ah, so this is the one that the parts man in Fussel Wadman always used to go on about when I went in there!

 

How come you haven't gone for the suspension mods Ash?

[rallyeash 155]

Yeah Jamie is a mate of ours. Been surfing a few times with him.

 

Cost mainly, I don't have £2000 spare to do the work on mine.

Also do I really need to make my car much faster. Without sounding big headed the last 6 or so trackdays I've done I've not had one car overtake me.... Not saying mines the fastest cat out there, as I know there is quicker stuff. Just that nothing has come up behind me on a circuit...

Edited October 24, 2013 by rallyeash

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

. Without sounding big headed

Too late you not fancying going racing ash?

Edited October 24, 2013 by allanallen

[rallyeash 155]

Yes we're both thinking of a series for next year.

Trackday trophy looks pretty good, good circuits and it's possible to solo drive.

[welshpug 1,661]

nice to see someone sorting the chassis before throwing lots of power in it and realising they don't work any more

[rallyeash 155]

Yeah he'll have both soon. 230-250hp potential with a serious chassis!

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

Looking good, what does it entail to use coilovers at the rear? Is it a big difference?

[rallyeash 155]

A fair amount of fabrication and the knowledge of knowing how to achieve the correct ratio and spring rates.

[welshpug 1,661]

it entails a call to Satchell engineering.

 

https://www.facebook.com/SatchellEngineering?fref=ts

[stuart 31 3 Cars]

Look forward to having a nosey at this and yours at Oulton

[BusEngineer 7]

Very nice, good luck with the engine install

[rallyeash 155]

Full day on it today.

 

Exhaust all fitted and finished, all coolant plumbed on, throttle bodies and inlet fitted, Engine all wired up, filled with oil, gearbox filled with oil, hi specs bolted on.

All the lights work as I stripped the loom right down to what was required and it even cranks over now!

Need to sort the fuel supply out still then try and start!

 

Will add pics when I get on the computer and mapping is booked in for Thursday at Launceston

With sandy

[rallyeash 155]

pictures from the weekend and Thursday night

 

Engine got collected and awaiting the gearbox to be fitted on

 

engine in, underneath all bolted up and I crack on with wiring the engine up

 

I finished clamping up the exhaust manifold and bolted the rest of the exhaust system on.

 

throttle bodies re fitted and still wiring up

 

Craig took care of the brakes...

 

coolant plumbed up, wheels bolted back on and looks complete!

 

engine bay picture

 

it cranks over, full of fluids etc. Craigs popping over to merlins as we need a few bits for the fuel lines and we should be in a position to try and start it this evening.
The DTA is mapped for a standard Gti6 engine on throttle bodies. This engine now has forged pistons, solid liters and cams. It may fire it may not!
Mapping is booked for this Thursday, Its not the end of the world if it doesn't start before mapping but it would be much nicer to get it running so everything can be checked and tested. Nothing worse than getting it to the rollers and having an unfixable problem while on the rollers.

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

 

Works Maniflow exhaust manifold and a full 2.5 Maniflow system were purchased

 

 

Is that a one-off, as I don't see 2.5" system listen on their website??

Edited October 28, 2013 by wicked

[rallyeash 155]

believe they only list 2.25 which will restrict NA at around 230hp. The 2.5 system is made on the car.

[rallyeash 155]

the last update with the engine going in was the weekend, last night we sorted the fuel side out and tied up a few loose ends.

we swapped the plugs for 8 grades, rather than the 6's that came in it. We checked for a spark which it had, we had fuel and from cranking it would appear to have good compression.
it was then the nervous part to see if it started. After a few seconds of crank it fired up!!
Granted it wasn't running crisp, the revs were all over the place and the fuelling was way of but still a step in the right direction.

 

couple of pics

Plate fits above the radiator. keep the hot air away from the bodies and keep air channelled through the radiators.

 

 

grill fitted back on

 

bonnet doesn't now shut! changed from 1 gti6 engine to another and now the TB's foul the bonnet. how strange.

 

 

tonight's is finish of the front brakes and bleed system, sort the bonnet closing issue and load it on the trailer and take it back to Craigs house as he'll be heading down to Cornwall tomorrow evening with it! I have to say im a little nervous!

[allye 530 3 Cars]

That sheet above the radiator is a really nice job Ash, very tidy and will do the job well. Always nerv racking running car thats been thrown together very quickly!

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

Did you replace the engine mount/rubber at the distributor side (by a higher 306 mount)?

 

Wrt the Maniflow stuff; nice rear silencer!! Would like to have one for my turbo, but driving to the UK to get one made up is bit much....

 

Looking forward to the results of the mapping...

Edited October 29, 2013 by wicked

[rallyeash 155]

Nope same engine mounts used again and same gearbox used again. It's a little strange. On the plus side the engine doesn't hit the master cylinder any more!

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Good stuff, Be interesting to see what it makes roughly.

 

Exhaust's I have 2 1/2" on the shelf, bigger box's thou as that must be pretty loud?

[rallyeash 155]

Thanks. Yeah I'm not really sure what it'll make. Anything from 215-250 will be fine to be honest. Not really sure to the extend the head has been worked/how well...

 

Can't really comment on exhaust note yet. Didn't run it for long and it didn't run very well.

[A1AXX 26 2 Cars]

Lovely

[Jolly Green Monster 51 1 Cars]

Must be something different/wrong for engine to be in a diff position.

 

Nice project btw

[rallyeash 155]

Yep turned out the throttle bodies were touching the engine mount so we trimmed the mount a little which soon had the issue sorted.

 

Got the car finished wednesday evening and a few Laps around the carpark it was loaded onto the trailer ready to head to Cornwall.

 

Craig went on his own Thursday morning and was down with sandy before 9am ready for the rollers. I couldn't make it due to working unfortunatly. Soon ran into problems, Sandy started mapping the car and from what I understand the engine kept on wanting fuel after lifting off. Turns out there was a air leak from the inlet manifold, this was removed to investigate which led to a trip upto colins to plain the surface flat as it wasnt sealing square.

That sorted and up and running sandy started mapping and after doing the lower end of the rev range he wasn't happy with how the engine was performing. After a few hours of tryin to map around the issue it was confirmed that the engine has too much compression and Sandy didn't feel comfortable/safe to continue.

 

Loaded back on the trailer and back to Wiltshire the cars sat on Craig's drive with this compression issue. We haven't had a chance to do anything about it yet but the options are...

Sell the engine (probably in parts) and get another lump sourced. Potentially a sandy build or a standard gti6 lump (bit of a step back)

 

Or to find the reason why the compression is too high. May be able to have the pistons machined down or something to achieve the correct compression - Full strip down and rebuild required :-(

 

Not sure which way we are guna go with it but it's certainly not going to be at Oulton this Friday.