My Ax Gti With Vts Engine

[Bean]

Heres a little thread on my citroen ax gti that i have owned for longer than any other car. ive had it nearly 3 years now. i bought it as a project and slowly worked away at it.

here is when me and my mate picked it up it couldnt be drove as the brakes weren't working.

Dont ask me why i bought it as i hate most French cars, i guess i thought it would be a laugh really. It was standard apart from a full stainless power flow system with a stupidly big outward rolled tail pipe!!! haha and a k+n filter oh and the shark badge on the boot????!

The car still had 9 months mot but all the brakes were trashed! so we had to trailer it back which was fun as my mates frontera was over heating badly and we had to keep stopping to top the rad up with water lol.

So what happened to the ax well:

New rear wheel cylinders

New brake shoes ect

New brake pipes all round

Braided brake hoses

New track rod ends

New wheel bearings

Saxo vts front brake callipers

mintex 1144 pads

New gearbox oil

New spark plugs

cleaned all inlet out

Koni adjustable dampers

Avo 50mm lowering springs

new rad fan

new rocker cover gasket

Battery from the scrappy

2 headlights from scrappy

indicator from scrappy

Sills rubbed down and wax oiled and arches

tiger sealed most of the body kit back on

fix elec windows

Fit bonnet pins as safety catch doesnt work

the amount of receipts for parts i have for this car is unreal there's loads!

Theres probably loads more ive forgot. the car sat for over 18 months and went for its mot and all it needed was a new o2 sensor and the headlights aligned! i couldn't believe it

So now i had my run about on the road i stopped driving the starlet most of the time and put it up for sale.

heres a couple of ax pics i dont have many.

Disentigrated brake shoes, trashed cylinders corroded brake pipes lovely!!

there's the dampers which were another bargain!!! i bought the car for only £150 but i have spent quite alot on it now mostly just all the parts they soon add up doesn't really bother me though as i enjoy messing with them.

So as soon as it was back on the road i went straight to the back roads lol its so much fun.

It then got 4 new toyo cf1's and 4 wheel alignment which made such a difference!

Then it started leaking coolant out of the coolant level low sensor in the rad and over heating, so i replaced that and its been spot on since.

The car looks a bit rough but its so much fun to drive. i just drive about laughing my head off smiling all the time i must look like a right nutter.

So plans for it are:

maybe get a black bonnet as im sick of all the attention off the police

remove the old tired engine and box

get wings welded up and paint the bay

fit the vts 16v engine and box

get a converter loom made up

probably get a raceland 4-2-1 exhaust mani and a decat

maybe rub the alloys down and paint them grey or black

heres some pics when we went to glasgow for the engine

looks like the torsion bar has been lowered haha

Well im no longer rocking the badger look. i finally managed to get hold of a black bonnet after over 2 years of waiting lol. Also notice the heat shield fitted, decided to get one from the scrap yard as the radiator tank was starting to melt haha.

I even got the safety catch sorted with a bit of panel beating lol. i will be getting a new front panel welded in when the engine is out so that the front end will all sit right and the lights will actually line up with the bonnet.

Well i must have spent about 5 hours yesterday cleaning this little beast, i washed it first. then i decided to use some meguires scratch x on it which seemed to do nothing at all so i just thought f*ck it and i t cut the whole car.

i wish i just did a panel at a time as it took so long to buff it all off!! and was well hard work! i should have used a machine really. but the results are pretty good. heres a pic i took when i was through Cockermouth today. if you compare it to the ones above you can see the difference.

the passenger side front wing was the worst panel and its came up great i couldn't believe it! im going to get some polish on it in the next day or too to help project the paint and hopefully keep it nice and shiny. the car isnt looking half bad now i recon.

ive been doing a few more bits with this little beast, ive been meaning to spray the wheels for ages now and ive finally started, here's one finished it just needs some lacquer

i got my quick shift fitted today as well

Small update, its still alive after lots of abuse of trying to kill it, it just loves shifting at 7k its using a little coolant though haha.

New air intake fitted. It was off a crx but it fitted perfectly. i was sick of the stupid borp borrrrrp that the k&n filter made. it sounds much better with this one fitted and revs up quicker too, the old one was a bit clogged up.

I will doing a few 1/4's in this soon for a laugh to see what it can do.

Spec list so far

engine:

magnecore kv85 ht leads

saxo vtr injectors

custom induction kit with carbon filter using k+n throttle body adapter and standard front air feed

power flow (poor flow) stainless exhaust system with huge outward rolled tail pipe

Quick shift shifter

Handling:

avo -50mm lowering springs

koni adjustable dampers

sparco strut brace

standard wheels sprayed ford graphite grey

toyo proxes px4 in standard 185/60/13 size

Brakes:

saxo vts front calipers

mintex 1144 pads

goodridge braided lines

Well its been a long time coming but.................

i got an mot on it yesterday and....

ITS IN!!!

ive had a few wiring problems with it, and it took me a few weeks to get it to start. then ieventually changed the ecu and the ignition relay and it fired right up and ticked over spot on!

then i found that the clutch wouldnt work so me and my mate tank took the box off the other day (i wish i just did this before we fitted it all) and fitted a new valeo clutch kit. then got it all back together.

Finally i got to take it for a little drive last night. it seems to go well, alot more torquey and im sure its going to be great fun. the 16v engine is actually quieter than the old trashed 8v too.

its still looking very sorry for its self. theres lots of tidying up to do. but as soon as i get it out of my mates garage and back home i can start that.

the bonnet just closes!! :-D :-D

Well the vts engines head gasket had gone so i got a completely rebuilt ported and polished head so me and my mate fitted it with new gaskets, timing belt kit, filter ect.

Got a quick few pics today. still lots of tidying up, cleaning and probably some powder coating to do. You can see the protech mani sticks out alot! was hard work getting the vts rad in.

New stainless bolts on the rocker covers and coil pack

lovely and gold (for now)

Sits quite low

so spec list so far...

Engine:

Saxo vts 16v engine

Head completely rebuilt, ported and polished

Protech 4-2-1 stainless mani

vts full size rad

custom induction kit with carbon filter and standard front air feed

power flow (poor flow) stainless exhaust system with huge outward rolled tail pipe

Quick shift

Constella group N gear linkages

Handling:

avo -50mm lowering springs

koni adjustable dampers

sparco strut brace

standard wheels sprayed ford graphite grey

toyo proxes px4 in standard 185/60/13 size

106 gti 24mm rear arb to be fitted

Brakes:

saxo vts front calipers

mintex 1144 pads

goodridge braided lines

[Idrees]

Nice little project you got there dude, should be pretty damn quick too!

[The_Notorious_C_A_T]

I used to have a 16v ax and it could shift like.

Why do you have a swastika on it?

Also I would use a rear disk beam and what you think of the comp brake shifter? As I always prefered the b&m style one, as the grub screws aren't great for the collers on those shifters in my experience.

[Bean]

a mate put it on with tiger seal when we were sticking the bodykit bac on.

i wont bother with the disc rear beam, it doesnt need it. the brakes are amazing on this.

i havent really used the short shifter much and my exhaust rubs on the shifter linkage so i cant really say. the old plastic one was very worn and sloppy though so it did improve it.

[The_Notorious_C_A_T]

It's not just for braking mate, bigger arb and wider track as well. Also bigger torsion bars iirc!

My old comp brake did that, although it's only minor, it's an annoyance, never had that problem with the b&m style one, and I've had the grub screws come loose when using that kind you have and changing gear was a hassle for sure!

Did you do a full loom change or just the engine?

[Sparky]

lol that engine just fits in there

[scot-ish]

aye, love 16v's like this, i used to have a 16v xsi, and a 16v quicksilver, i love the ax though, there is one on 106moaners, and its lovely like, white with balck kit, and my mate had a white cituning one, i love old cars like that lol

you should deffo go for the disc beam as cat said, makes a helluva difference, only thing is you will have to change the handbrake cable, and get rid off the compensator.

[Bean]

It's not just for braking mate, bigger arb and wider track as well. Also bigger torsion bars iirc!

My old comp brake did that, although it's only minor, it's an annoyance, never had that problem with the b&m style one, and I've had the grub screws come loose when using that kind you have and changing gear was a hassle for sure!

Did you do a full loom change or just the engine?

you need to mess about with the bias aswell or the back end just locks up (like my mates 205 with the gti rear beam on haha)

I have a 106 gti rear 24mm arb to fit on the ax beam when it gets lowered. I really dont think the hassel and cost of changing the rear beam for a disc beam is worth it at all, the drums will be staying. also drums = handbrake turns! hahaha this is a slag after all so i give it plenty of abuse

i just bought a converter loom which was a modified vts loom that plugged straight into the ax multi plug. the only wiring i had to do was the fuel pump wire under the ecu and i changed a couple of plugs over on the loom which were damaged, easy peasy

after wednesday morning im off until the 2nd jan so ive got plenty of time to get the car back home from my mates garage and finish tidying it up.

i need to change the td04 on the ep85 aswell when i get the ax back. i will be taking it off the road over winter to save the starlet from the dreaded salt!

[Bean]

Well i got the ax home last week with no 1st or 2nd gear haha. the linkages were wrecked and one of them had fell to pieces. So i ordered Some constella group n ones and i got them fitted today they look much better no way thay will be coming off. I hope i never have to touch the gear linkages on this car again there an absolute pain in the arse on these. Tomorrow i will be replacing a strut top mount as i snapped one of the bolts. then i can take it for a drive cant wait should be good fun.

[StarletCraigy]

I particularly like the Swastika under the bonnet, makes it a bit meaner

[Sparky]

and faster

[Bean]

I particularly like the Swastika under the bonnet, makes it a bit meaner

haha a couple of people on the ax forum have been moaning about it and saying i should take it off. im not a nazi or anything, i just cant be arsed.

[jason_l]

haha a couple of people on the ax forum have been moaning about it and saying i should take it off. im not a nazi or anything, i just cant be arsed.

Leave it on I love this project, complete sleeper..............

[The_Notorious_C_A_T]

I find it funny tbh, and the axoc is full of gimps, although a few of the folks on there are decent enough but majority are bell touchers.

[Bean]

few more updates to first post. rebuilt ported and polished head fitted, vts rad 4-2-1 mani ect.. shes running just lovely like a new engine

[addz]

I like it, will be loads of fun.