AX GT engine conversion!

[Jaffa_pug]

This is my car (Jaffa_pug) as she stands now:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/DSCF0149.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020498.jpg

For the show season, i'm gettin it re-sprayed (nearly done on the sanding down and bodywork, so next couple of weeks hopefully), and gettin the mirrors and bumpers colour coded.

Recently i've been looking on Ebay, and you gotta love it for bargains!!
So far my parts i'm pickin up/waiting to be delivered are:

AX GT engine and gearbox
Piper Fast Road Camshaft Kit
Weber 40 DCOE Carb

Hopefully by next week I should have all these items, and then the work begins!

[Jaffa_pug]

I'm gonna keep it white, but am colour coding the bumpers xsi-style. am also gonna put some bigger alloys - only about 15" - if i can find some nice, but not too expensive, 3 stud ones.
dunno how its guna affect my insurance - i've tried looking at insuring myself on a 1.6 xsi cos there was a bargain on ebay - and that was about £200 a year diff, and this engine isnt as big, so it should be ok :)

[Jaffa_pug]

oh, and me an my boyfriend are doing the conversion - he's gonna port and polish the head for me, and i'm gonna try and do as much as possible myself :)

[Jaffa_pug]

i've got a set of 3stud 15" white compo's waiting to be picked up sunday :) :)
otherwise i would do a hub conversion - be easier to upgrade the brakes then - but i'm a sucker for a bargian - 108quid on ebay!!

[Jaffa_pug]

went to devon to get my engine for the conversion - from the same guy who sold me the alloys - was gonna take my mums jeep to fit it all in, till she didnt let me - so i thought i'd take my car!!

And heres the result!!
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/013.jpg

All that and she still pulled to overtake slow cars!! I was speechless she even made the speed limit on the motorway!!

Wheels are on:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020522.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020521.jpg

In my opinion it totally lifts the look of the car, and the handling is soooo much better!

Re-spray in the pipeline for this month now, gotta finish off a few niggly bits first, so should be lookin awesome in time for FCS!!

[Jaffa_pug]

well my bumpers are being colour coded when i get the car re-sprayed, just from the design line down (like xsi's), so should tie it all in - plus i got a black xsi spoiler to go on the back soon too!

[Jaffa_pug]

right, had my front struts apart, thought i'd start with the brake calipers.
gave em hell with a wire brush, then yesterday took paint stripper to em to get the layers upon layers of rubbish paint off em - can you believe they had been silver, gold, and blue in their lifetime!!
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/004.jpg

painted them blue tonight, to match the center and dust caps on the wheels, but i cant get the pics off my fone and onto the computer to put them up at the mo - will take some pics tomo on my camera and post - i reckon they're gonna look sexual!

[Jaffa_pug]

had to take my new wheels off 2days ago - one of the tires had a slow puncture, another had a very suspicious looking bulge in the wall of it - so i've taken the opportunity to get the tires taken off and i'm going to refurb them (someone has obviously done so in the past, badly, lol)
so back to my 14's for now!!
am in the process of sanding down the texture on the bumpers, ready for the re-spray - the weather aint helpin my progress!!

[Jaffa_pug]

oh, and my calipers:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/006.jpg

[Jaffa_pug]

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/005.jpg

[Jaffa_pug]

for now am keeping arches etc standard - i'm running outta time for FCS and my to do list keeps getting longer!!
my brother has just come over from america for a couple of weeks and is having major withdrawl symptoms from not havin a car to tinker with, so i've told him he can sort mine out for me!!
will keep you posted!

[Jaffa_pug]

Right, running outta time to get things done for FCS now - so gone into panic mode!
Saw the dude doin my re-spray, he's going on holiday till the end of the month, so he said he can get it done the 1st week of july (cutting it a bit fine, but hey, whats life if you don't live on the edge of it?!?)

took the front of my car apart the other day, to get the bumper off and see if everythings ok behind it. only found one scabby patch, which aint bad for a 15-year-old car! then proceeded to tidy it up by spraying the whole thing black

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020543.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020545.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020554.jpg

took the bumper off to open up the vents under the number plate - ready for some mesh action!!
got my multi-tool thing on the go, this is the result:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020557.jpg

so next few weeks is gonna consist of ALOT of sanding and stressin!! REALLY want my car on the stand at FCS but if it's not ready, i'm still gonna come up for the day, jus Jaffa will be sittin in the car park!

[Jaffa_pug]

thanks, nice to know i've inspired someone!!

Wheels have been completely stripped back to bear metal, they look so sad at the mo!! getting bodywork finished off in time for the re-spray the end of the month - just hope everything goes to plan or aint gonna be ready for FCS!!

[Jaffa_pug]

well they've not been looking the best recently - have had them back to bare metal - but they're in white primer ready to go to the paint shop with my car - hopefully in the next week - i'm really cutting it fine for FCS now!!

[Jaffa_pug]

ended up at FCS still looking like a sh*tbox, lol. wasn't gonna bother with the stand, as i thought it would stick out like a sore thumb, but my boyfriend volunteered himself to take pics for the club, so tucked it awawy in the corner, and i don't think it made too many people throw up...lmao
decided to go for a stripped out look to the interior now: not completely stripped, you know, bucket seats and roll cage, more practical than that.
took the carpets out on sunday. was well suprised the fact it hasn't made the ride much noisier. is all in pretty good nick for a 15-year old car, can see the handbrake has been welded before, but apart from a wire-brushing and a coat of hammerite it doesn't need much!

[Jaffa_pug]

new brakes on...
black diamond disks, pads and braided brake lines, needed new calipers and a new brake pipe too, lol:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020580.jpg

also been busy while my boyfriend is away - i got no distractions now!!
Taken the rubstrips off the sides yesterday:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020577.jpg

- they needed to come off for the re-spray, esp. as one of the rear quarters needs some filler work to get it smooth - was gonna put them back on afterwards, but in a flash of inspiration i've come up with a whole new idea...

also, finally got one of my bumpers in primer!! looks even better than i thought it would!!

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020583.jpg

[Jaffa_pug]

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020584.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020585.jpg

took me all day to get that sticky crap and dirt off from behind the rub strips....lol

my 'other' wheels are sitting in the garage in primer, ready to be sprayed/powdercoated, can't wait to get them on....

been thinking of ideas for the rubstrips....it looks too bare without them, but i dont wanna put them back on, so:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/vinylidea.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/vinylidea22.jpg

think of the blue bits in the same colour as the center caps for the compomotives, and they are just quick mock-ups, will be a bit more to scale...wadda ya think??

[Jaffa_pug]

right, few things been changed in the last few weeks...

No sooner did i get the standard front bumper in primer did i find a damn reasonable XSI one, so thats in primer and on the car now:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/024.jpg

carpet has been ripped out, and floor painted:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020636.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020646.jpg

the doorcards are being changed from this:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020639.jpg

To this:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/S4020647.jpg

The rear standard bumper is in primer - although it aint gonna be staying, need to find an XSI one to go with the front one:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/009-1.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/010.jpg

And finally - my birthday present of my boyfriend - a colour coded center console and clock surround has been installed:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o308/bryony2484/011.jpg

Not bad for 2 weeks work eh??

[Jaffa_pug]

right - after too many problems with this car, i'm actually gonna break it for bits - prices are in the for sale section - or gimme a shout for anything not on the list!!