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♪♫ Charlotte's Red MK1.5 GT Turbo Project ♪♫


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So those of you I know in person will know that I have a fair few starlets, not just the Glanza and the GT Advance that people have seen on here...



As the Glanza was approaching a roadworthy position, I was looking for a project for the future. I was sort of keeping an eye open on here/facebook/ebay etc but wasn't actively looking. I had rough ideas for a glanza or GT project. If i ended up with another glanza, i wanted to spray the full car the same colour as my recent project glanza (bright pearl pink basically like the cruise pink). If i got a GT I always had fancied making one up to look like the TOMS GT (3E5 red with full TOMS kit).



So one day I saw a thread on here asking for some advice on how much a GT was worth as a full car. It had a blown bottom end and no MOT etc but it was a complete car with all body panels and interior (which makes life much easier although i do have epic amounts of GT spares now lol). After a few PM's me and the lad came to an agreement and I arranged for Sam and the lad who shares our lock up to go collect it on his flat bed (I couldn't make the trip as I had to see to my horse)



Here are some photos from the original thread on here;



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And parked in it's new home- my lock up!



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The spec it came with was;



- standard 4efte with blown bottom end


- mint OEM EP82 wind deflectors




- mint OEM arm rest


- 15" team dynamics with 195/50/15's R888's good tread all round


- genuine TOM's horn button


- Genuine OMP deep dish wheel and boss kit


- autobahnn front mount intercooler


- Full exhaust system unknown make


- Carrozzeria Speakers on the parcel shelf (I believe they light up but not tested yet)


- JDM 60mm boost and water temp gauges and 2 pod A pillar


- Lowered on spings (not had a look yet as to what springs/shocks they actually are)


- Tinted rear windows and boot


- Loads of spares



Since it arrived i've had nothing but bother with my Glanza (see that project thread for some lols) so i've not had much chance to get stuck into this GT. But I have started to source some parts and spray up some parts for it.



Sourced some TOM's side skirts and some rear spats from JDM EP (cheers guys) and had already ordered a TOM's spoiler from iddy. Also purchased a modifed grill from JDM EP- a mk2 grill that had been cut out and meshed but i think it looks awesome. Due to a bit of a mix up i ended up with an EP82 ducktail by mistake from id-workz but i ended up keeping it for this GT as i do love a GT with a ducktail ^_^



Here are a few pics of the little bits i've done so far;



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I had braced myself for the sideskirts as they looked like they had taken a bit of a baterring at some point. there were quite deep scratches on the underside. Also, when they had been sprayed previously, there must have been a reaction, and they were COVERED in small bubbles all over (as were the spats).



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I've sprayed things that were like this before and they took a few coats of primer and flatting in between to get rid of the bubbling. I took the paint right off to see if there were any signs of previous repair. I was actually surprised to find that there were only a few very minimal areas of filler, no big areas of fiberglass, result!



Anyways, after a few prime/flat/prime/flat it came out really good! (looks better in person)



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Didn't get any photos during the prep etc of the spoiler but you can see if in this photo;



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And a wee photo of the grill once i had put it back together with the mesh etc



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And that





Rear bumper and spats



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And that's about it up to now, i need to sand down the other skirt and prep that, and i want to get the bootlid off and get that painted, do the boot shut and then the back end can all go on. I know it's not ideal to spray a car that way but i don't have the room to take every part off and spray them all then bolt it all on once the shell i sprayed. So ill do the back end, fit and mask it off, then work my way up the trim etc.



I don't have any specific plans on what turbo kit and set up i want to run on it, but i am thoroughly enjoying the CT9 on the glanza so maybe a nice CT9 set up with a hybrid from Liam D. But that's all a while away yet! Eventually i will probably sell the glanza project cheapish and just keep the GT's... who knows... but for now i'll enjoy them all!













Edited by funny onion
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Cheers yeah they are very fun! i do enjoy spraying stuff even if i'm not that good, practise makes perfect!

Everyone has to start somewhere but by the look of it your doing a good job. I want another starlet again but have my daily drive my Honda DC2 which I love plus I have a project car which is almost finished just getting the manifolds and custom exhaust made for it then done. Problem with projects is they cost a small fortune. I would only have a MK1 starlet if I got one again.

Here is my project :p

1972 opel manta Drag car but street legal :D

IMAG0493.jpg

If you want to know what she is running click the link below :D

http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v310/novashed/manta%20a%20series/98169EAB-7877-4F1B-A248-BE59F02FE190_zpsoqanj90v.mp4

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That looks awesome i have a friend who would love that! haha



Well I had a few hours this weekend to start doing a few bits to this!



Started preparing to take the engine out. As I said, I want to do as much if not all of this myself. I will no doubt struggle a lot with a lot of the rough stuff like drive shafts and such but i want to give it a go as much as i can!



So i unbolted the passenger side bottom ball joint, took the split pin out of the end of the shaft and took the 30mm nut off with the windy gun and the shaft came out of the hub nice and easy. Drained engine oil and gearbox oil, enigine oil was thick black with plenty of metallic bits in but gearbox oil was like brand new didn't look as if it had ever been driven with.



power steering pump is off, loom unplugged barring the alternator and starter motor wires and the knock sensor. all coolant lines are off. speedo and throttle cable are off.



However, went to remove the drivers side shaft and the 30mm nut is not keen to budge at all. tried the windy gun but didn't want to over do it and bugger the nut. soaked it in gt85 so will have another go at a later date :/



So all that's left is gear cables and the drivers side shaft (and pop the shafts out of the box)




Also got a few more bits sprayed. got the other side skirt done, the side trims etc. Had to fill and leave the door trim panel because it was bonded on and when i pulled it off it flexed and rippled the paint, which then flaked off like a good un when i started to key it. will come right though I think.



Undersealed the sill too while the trim is off.




Will get some pics updloaded when i'm on my own computer but for now some reasonable progress!


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That looks awesome i have a friend who would love that! haha

Well I had a few hours this weekend to start doing a few bits to this!

Started preparing to take the engine out. As I said, I want to do as much if not all of this myself. I will no doubt struggle a lot with a lot of the rough stuff like drive shafts and such but i want to give it a go as much as i can!

So i unbolted the passenger side bottom ball joint, took the split pin out of the end of the shaft and took the 30mm nut off with the windy gun and the shaft came out of the hub nice and easy. Drained engine oil and gearbox oil, enigine oil was thick black with plenty of metallic bits in but gearbox oil was like brand new didn't look as if it had ever been driven with.

power steering pump is off, loom unplugged barring the alternator and starter motor wires and the knock sensor. all coolant lines are off. speedo and throttle cable are off.

However, went to remove the drivers side shaft and the 30mm nut is not keen to budge at all. tried the windy gun but didn't want to over do it and bugger the nut. soaked it in gt85 so will have another go at a later date :/

So all that's left is gear cables and the drivers side shaft (and pop the shafts out of the box)

Also got a few more bits sprayed. got the other side skirt done, the side trims etc. Had to fill and leave the door trim panel because it was bonded on and when i pulled it off it flexed and rippled the paint, which then flaked off like a good un when i started to key it. will come right though I think.

Undersealed the sill too while the trim is off.

Will get some pics updloaded when i'm on my own computer but for now some reasonable progress!

Glad you like it she is a real beast and sounds amazing as you can hear in the video :D.

Sounds like you are doing a great job on the starlet keep it up :)

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Yeah sounds epic! haha brutal machine.

Yeah Sam can have an engine out in a few hours but it will take me a lot longer this time as i've not done it start to finish on my own :p but it will get there, in the mean time i will spray as many parts as i can!

I cant wait to take her down the santa pod strip and might even use the NOS :D that's if I don't shit myself first lol.

Well the panels that you have sprayed look pretty good considering you are not a professional sprayer. Will be interesting to see the final product.

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Ahhh Katy <3

Miss that car

One thing I should of said is you might need to sort the horn out no idea why it kept going off randomly but it did. You prob havent had a battery on yet so wouldn't know but I couldn't figure it out. Haha.

Them JDM gauges and the armrest were the best finds for that.

Can't wait to see it when shes done. Colour looks amazing I toyed going red also

Can't wait to get back on my feet and get another already

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Yeah i noticed that it was unplugged on the actual horn lol, no problem will get it sorted in time, battery is off for the foreseeable future anyways and to save it deafening me haha.



Yeah the armrest is mint! although the gauges seem to be a bit off, hooked them up to a battery to check them as i was going to put them in the glanza for now and they need calibrating or something, i'll get round to sorting them eventually.




A bit more progress...



I managed to get it such that there were only the shafts, gear cables and knock sensor/alternator/starter motor wiring left to do. With plenty of GT85 and windy gunning the 30mm nut came off the end of the shaft, but when i went to actually pop the shafts out of the box i failed lol. They were tight to come out and although i did try i just couldn't hit the pry bar hard enough to pop them. But i understand how to do them now which is the reason i wanted to take it on myself. If it was on a ramp i couldve done it but my knees are absolutely shot so getting positioned under the car is really really painful. Not being a moaning cow but that's how it is haha. Sam kindly took over and knocked them out for me (and trusted that i'd drained all the gearbox oil out- which i had haha)



I tried...



Also got a few more bits sprayed up, stripped the passenger door ready to remove and spray, just started prepping the passenger side door shut by removing all trim etc and unbolted the passenger side rear window.



Placed a huge order with ID-Workz, great service as always. Got all the parts to completely overhaul an engine (barring oill pump as i don't know which tyoe suits the block yet). Also ordered a TOMS front bumper- the last piece of the kit.



Excited to crack on with this now the weather is a bit warmer!


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Well i'm terrible at remembering to take photos but here's a few more!



wing in primer



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started priming at masking the wing mirrors. i'd been handling them for ages (the glass wouldn't come out- the screws were so tight i was afraid they would just round off so i just masked the glass). So i was moving it about and sticking my fingers in to mask it etc. then this monster crawled out after a few dusts of primer. IT WAS HUGE! must have been a queen. Absolutely mortified!



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pic of the R888'S oooooohhhhhhh. going to give the wheels/tyres a good wash as they're caked in mud from us rolling it in the lock up



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after i'd stripped out the front end (just before i took the intercooler off)



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and a quick pic just before the engine comes out. I managed to do everything myself apart from knocking the shafts out. with it being on axle stands and my knackered knees and hatred of being on my back while working on cars i just couldnt do it. in my defence though they did seem pretty tight. took sam longer than usual but he managed it with no dramas of course haha. all coolant pipes are off, i've unbolted the clutch slave cylinder, gear linkages are off, just need the little metal clips that locate them on the box out and kock sensor/alternator/starter motor wiring and it can come out. pretty chuffed so far :)



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I've also managed to bag some MK1 rear lights for it, which will go well with the glow panel. Toms front bumper is on order, and i've just received a £500 order from id workz of nearly all serviceable parts (ball joints, track rods, discs and pads all round, wheel bearings all round, handbrake cables, fuel filter etc etc) and also all parts needed barring piston rings and oil pump to totally overhaul an engine like i did for my advance. was unsure as to which type of oil pump i needed as i've not had the bottom cover off yet and what size bearings (will buy these after the block has been to be machined).



I will take some more photos today hopefully :)


Edited by funny onion
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Your GT is coming along nicely, Good progress. :-)

Cant believe that wasp!!! Id of ran away im allergic to them haha

Yeah it really was a monster, could've been a hornet but i'm not sure. I shit myself but luckily Sam was there so he got rid of it haha.

Another update!

Engine is out and she's been span around to give me more room all round to get in and take the remaining panels off.

Engine is blathered in oil and so is the gearbox. Hoping to split the box off and mount it on an engine stand ASAP to assess the failure and see what's salvagable and get a block crank and head down to machine shop.

So i'm currently stripping panels off the car to spray and then i'll tackle the roof/rear quarters, door/boot shuts. Stripping everything out of the bay to spray but that shouldn't take too long i don't think most things in there just ubolt.

Also in the process of spraying up another front bumper for the advance and then getting the front lip and offside sideskirt off for a refurb/respray before the shows start but it seems i'm running out of time!

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Here's a few more pics of the story so far....



bagged some nice parts for her- some MK1 rear lights to go with the glow panel, a HKS Hi power silent exhaust, an oem 3 point rear strut etc




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a photo of the part shelf for the rebuild




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Found a few more goodies on here when i stripped the hubs/struts off- greenstuff pads (nearly dead) and good condition Cobra gas shocks/springs




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Did pretty well stripping the hubs. Discs didn't want to come off but got there in the end!




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Few more bits painted...



this wing had horrible splits in the paint. total nightmare to get rid of




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Few pics of me taking the engine out. Sam steadied the engine of me as i lowered it down.



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started stripping the bay too so i can get it painted. Still a few bits left in but nearly there. not bad for an hours work



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and this is how she sits now.



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more updates soon!


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