[Car_Upgrade] Stdt Now With A Few More Horses.

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

This has been an on going project for quite a while, well too long really, although I've been out of the country for 3 of the 5yrs of ownership. Bout time I put up a thread on it's progress. It's finally getting there and did actually move under it's own steam the other week. Major leap forward considering I bought it as a non runner to start with.

 

Here's a summary of what I've done to the car over the last couple of years of being here. Still plenty more work to do mind. Started life as a stock STDT, solid late model shell in steel grey and also a non sunroof.

 

 

 

First job was strip the car to a bare shell, rust treat all the underside with Dinitrol and remove the horrific beige interior. Once all this was done the engine bay got a freshen up and i could start putting things back together.

 

 

 

I then bought a ph1 Xsara vts as a donor car, used the engine, gearbox and steering rack. Built up a freshly painted subframe with 309 wishbones and arb. Replaced the subframe mounts also with 309 items from Pug. Managed to sell the rest of the car and weigh in the shell and make all my money back.

 

 

 

 

 

Gti tank was fitted and all new brake and fuel lines installed. Decided to go for the 1.6 single line to the rear, a lot more reliable in my experience. Standard 1.9 disks on the back with 266mm setup on the front, new master and reservoir fitted. Always liked the 309 back axle so built up a 309 gti beam with 306 arms, 24mmm arb with grp a bushes and grp n mounts. Car was then rolling once again. Went for koni adjustables with eibach springs and grp n top mounts. I may develop this further at a later date. It's a road car so going to stick with fixed platform i think.

 

 

I managed to aquire some Exip wheels as used by Gutmann and also a Gutmann badge for the tailgate. The ride height looks spot on, just bloody wide with the 309 setup and 7j wheels!

 

 

 

 

The engine - The plan was to keep it on standard inlet and management for the time being, This is how I left it before I went travelling. It was given a freshen up with cambelt kit and waterpump. Changed the plugs, resealed the rocker covers with Wurth rtv, new thermostat, crank seal and inlet and exhaust gaskets. Also got the injectors cleaned. Only mods were a TTV flywheel and Pug1off bottom pulley.

 

Gearbox had a degrease, replacement speedo drive, and clutch arm kit with bushes. Also fitted a Quaife LSD and new seals.

 

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The car was then tucked away for a couple of years whilst I buggered off travelling and then subsequently moved to Vancouver for a couple of years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[welshpug 1,656]

not just the 309 beam making it wide, nearly 10mm a side on the 306/zx/xsara hubs!

 

why do you like understeer?

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Since I've been back, Feb this year, I've managed to get a lot done. The interior was completed with all phase2 plastics and some rare as rocking horse s*it ph2.5 door cards in green. Made a good set of seats out of 2 sets and sold the spare. Fitted bx 16v dash clocks and bought a green gearknob top from the group buy and a Momo Tuner steering wheel.

 

The engine was all in on the standard inlet but as it had taken me this long anyway decided to go down the Tb and management route. I wasn't happy with the re-angled exhaust either, minimal clearance and hardly any room so i bought a 4-2-1 off Miles which is a vast improvement!

 

 

 

I bought what i thought was a full Satchel setup, modified inlet with Lotus bodies. Turns out this wasn't the case at all and it required a lot of work to get it functional. This meant re-angling the flange and getting it welded and surface ground to allow a filter to fit under the bonnet. Blending the ports back in and fabricating a new throttle linkage and bracket for a TPS. In hindsight It would have been better to get Jenveys! Was to far into it so decided to persevere.

 

 

Time will tell if the inlet length is long enough!

 

 

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

not just the 309 beam making it wide, nearly 10mm a side on the 306/zx/xsara hubs!

 

why do you like understeer?

Yeah i may well swap out to a 1.9 hub setup. It shouldnt understeer with the 24mm arb, but yes the front should ideally be a bit wider track than the back. I will have to try and measure up and see.

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

I had to relocate the PAS pump so bought a kit off RichW. Very well made and fitted perfectly, managed to retain the standard spring loaded belt tensioner and just bought a new belt. Fitted Omex 600 loom and ecu. Made a bracket and mounted the coil pack and it fired straight up. This is pretty much where I'm at currently, just finishing off fitting a Toad Ai606 and then I can tidy up the wiring and finish putting the dash back together. I also nicked the ph2 fuel pump housing out of my daily and fitted a Walbro pump.

 

 

 

[Anthony 1,002]

Long time no speak James - hope you're well

 

Good to see you doing a thread on the old girl - I still remember the car when Richard owned it back in the 205Parts days...

 

Interesting your experiences with the reangled manifold, as I'm pretty sure yours came from the same place as mine - and my first one also had clearance issues and was basically jammed hard against the top of the gear linkage quadrant (ie slightly over-angled). It was clearly wrong and I got a replacement done and that one fit fine, so I'm wondering if they messed up a batch or something?

 

I think those 'bodies were the same ones I contemplated buying - sounds like it was a lucky escape if they needed that much fettling. Surprised how short the inlet tract looks on them in your pictures, as even my Jenvey setup with the standard short/compromised Jenvey manifold and a similar sized filter needed the slam panel trimming back slightly to fit.

 

All looking good though and looks like you've done a tidy job. That width beam and wheels at the back might not be optimal from a handling point of view, but the combination of width and height does look damned good, particularly with those wheels which do suit a 205 nicely (and probably a wise colour choice to hide the brake dust judging by the pain they look to keep clean!)

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Hi Ant - It has indeed been a while, hopefully see you at the odd show next year!

 

That's the problem I was having with the exhaust, was a PITA the down pipe bolts were way to close to the gear linkage. Even with grp N engine mounts I wasn't convinced it would be OK. Now it's on management I can develop the engine further so getting a 4-2-1 was a good investment.

 

The inlet tract length is short, I wanted to angle the inlet further down allowing for longer trumpets but due to where the inlet had been chopped it wasn't possible due to the large casting lug on the bottom. I have a couple of spare inlets so I may make another if it's down on torque. Thankfully I have an auto bonnet, I had to cut out the strengthening ribs as it is!

[Robbiedundy 58 4 Cars]

Steel grey looks awesome ???? What paint did you use on the standard inlet manifold?

 

I've just bought a green STDT and after seeing your interior pictures I really want to change mine now ????

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Steel grey looks awesome What paint did you use on the standard inlet manifold?

 

I've just bought a green STDT and after seeing your interior pictures I really want to change mine now

 

I used regular peugeot steel grey from halfords, but to be honest, your much better off getting it powder coated, mine started to chip and oxidize, even with a decent primer.

 

Yeah the standard beige interior is horrible, takes a while to change everything though!

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

I made a start on resurrecting the Gutmann spoiler I recently picked up. The rubber had split allowing water in, the mild steel strengthening strip has rusted through in places and expanded, pushing the rubber apart. I'm making a new strip in stainless, bonding it in with tiger seal and then repairing the spoiler with some flexible filler and textured black paint. Hopefully it will be as good as new when finished. Then it's just the rest of the Gutmann kit to sort out!

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Another update, had a massive list of things to get through but pretty much got there now. It's the little things that take the time! It's being picked up tomorrow and heading over to Northampton Motorsport to get wheel aligned, mapped and MOT'd. Fingers crossed the engine won't s*it itself as it's been sat for 4-5yrs.

 

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Well... big update! The car has been at Northampton Motorsport this week. It was mot'd, wheel aligned and I was over this afternoon for it to be mapped. It made surprising horse power, 198bhp and 160ft/lb of torque, I was expecting nearer 180. Makes a lovely noise, just a bit loud, I must be getting old. It's now on the road and I drove it home!

 

I gave it bit of a shake down on the local back roads, initial feel is good, steering nice and sharp with the xsara rack and holds the road well, tracking set to 0 toe. The engine is pretty responsive and revs freely with the ttv flywheel. Few niggles to sort, got a knock from the n/s front, need to trim the rear arches and some interior rattles. Also has the classic magnex loose baffle which needs sorting.

 

Overall I'm pretty pleased. It's been a very long journey up to this point. The car is far from finished, next on the agenda is body work with some Gutmann parts.

 

Going to spanner check it over the weekend and try and sort out the niggles and enjoy it!

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Excellent result and handy figures for reference

[Alastairh 47]

Excellent result mate!

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Cheers chaps, certainly looks like your manifold made a noticeable difference Miles. I wanted to play around with trumpet length but ran out of time.

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

[Anthony 1,002]

That's none too shabby! Was that on standard cams as well?

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

It is indeed Anthony which is why I was a bit surprised. Stock internals, omex, bodies and 4-2-1.

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

I've done around 60-70 miles on the car now and starting to get used to it. I've been very impressed with the tyres and the quaife, bags of grip and you can get on the power nice and early. As i expected I had to trim the rear arches and i also raised the rear ride height by around 10mm to give me a bit more clearance, which also improved the rake front to back. The fronts were on full soft which i have increased slightly, would be nice if the Konis had clicks for their front damper settings - Ah well.

 

I think the power figure is a bit optimistic, it is quick don't get me wrong just thought it would have a bit more poke for 198bhp. Although i have no recent comparison so it's hard to say.

 

The only issue i need to sort is it's jerky on initial throttle, It may be down to the ttv flywheel, anyone else had any issues? When changing gear as soon as you re-apply the throttle it's very on-off. I may change my throttle return spring, i've checked for any slack in the cable and all seems well. Obviously its more noticeable in the lower gears. If your gunning it everywhere it's fine and the throttle response is excellent it's mainly through town and light throttle.

[welshpug 1,656]

depends how the initial throttle settings were done, also part of mapping it will help a lot on transitions from closed to open throttle, thats where experience and attention to detail comes in.

 

cams may be a bit retarded which can pick up a few bhp right up to at the expense of a decent mid range

Edited January 25, 2016 by welshpug

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

depends how the initial throttle settings were done, also part of mapping it will help a lot on transitions from closed to open throttle, thats where experience and attention to detail comes in.

 

cams may be a bit retarded which can pick up a few bhp right up to at the expense of a decent mid range

 

 

Bit of an update - The problem on initial throttle application was down to the TPS. I had problems fitting a TPS due to the bodge that was on the setup before. It had moved every so slightly, so as I started to apply the throttle the ecu didn't register it until 3-4% throttle opening, hence the sudden jolt, nothing, nothing then bang! Ultimately the TPS needs to come off and be re-adjusted correctly as I don't think it's sitting quite square on the end of the throttle spindle. But for now the TPS lower value has been re-adjusted getting rid of the jolt and a TPS correction setup so the ecu monitors lowest reading constantly and adjusts accordingly, no matter what the TPS raw is. Drives so much better, far more refined, good on light throttle applications and I no longer look like a leaner going down the road. The lightened flywheel didn't help the issue either!

 

 

 

Cracked on with finishing the Gutmann spoiler, was a lot of work. After slicing down the entire length of the spoiler and removing the old metal strengthening strip i made a replacement out of some stainless. Bloody nightmare to cut and drill! Fitted the new strip and tiger sealed it in and clamped the two sides of rubber together. Once this has gone off i used some flexible bumper filler to tidy things up. It was then painted with Halfords bumper paint.

 

Fitted it this afternoon, holes didn't line up and also had problems gluing down the sections that sit on top of the boot at each corner. It's on, but need to re-stick the one side as I had problems clamping it initially. Looks pretty good though, just the front valance and arches to do next.

 

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[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Looks well that James. The back end looks really fat

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Cheers Henry, it's getting there, getting it on the road was the first big hurdle now it's just sorting out all the niggles and developing it further, but most of all enjoying it!

 

A few small things are in progress, the mrs bought me one of those repro gear knobs off ebay. The quality is actually pretty good and they seem more durable, but time will tell. The only thing I don't like is the top. The font and colour isn't quite right and the resin top is far to domed compared to the original. It just didn't look quite right.

 

As my interior was green anyway I bought a green top from the group buy and carefully managed to pop out the new resin top off the gearknob without damaging it was glued in place pretty well! The only issue is the shape was slightly different meaning I had to split the hard plastic back off it as it sat too proud and file the edges down to get it to fit but it looks a lot more OE.

 

 

The other change is the front suspension, the wishbone angle was going the wrong way and it didn't feel as compliant as i'd like. So after a bit of reading i've decided to go with the 206 eibachs and some b4's. Might get a chance to fit them tomorrow, see how that performs.

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

I managed to get the 206 springs and b4 dampers on. Ride height has gone up by around 20mm and the wishbones now sit level. From an aesthetic point of view it doesn't look as good but I'd rather it handle better. I took it for a quick drive down a local bumpy backroad and it certainly feels more compliant but still pretty stiff.

 

 

206 eibachs - 205 eibachs - bilstein -30mm

 

 

 

 

[welshpug 1,656]

much difference in wire diameter?