M11 GTT

[Coops Mk1]

Thought i'd share the ins and outs, the trials and tribulations and the emotional rollercoaster that is French car ownership.... or more specifically modified French car ownership.

Excuse the start of this thread, its all going to be copy pasted from other forums to get upto speed, however future updates will go on as well! Currently the car is running again ready for this season for some track and pod visits with any luck so no planned fettling till the winter!

here we go.............

Right,

It’s been a long while since I last updated the progress of GTT, over a year in fact I think it’s been! As such I’ve decided it’s high time to report back on an interesting year for Coops and l’escargot. And also to track changes and plans over this winter ready for the Return of the spool next year!

But first a quick history of the car under my ownership for those who don't know and to bore the pants off the rest of you ;-)

I bought her back in March 2007 and looking like thus:

did this within a month

so did this ;-)

did this to her at the ring ;-)

then after new box had some good times at pod, coupled with lots of banter from the club, some epic meets and an all round good time!

then this happened

and she finished like this

also changed wheel colour again back to black

and in its favourite habitat ;-)

This year as seen highs and lows for both of us, we successfully campaigned to gain the best ¼ mile we’ve ever achieved, running a very respectable 12.3@117mph at Santa Pod earlier in the year, that was in as you see it trim as well, no drag bells or whistles, just pure road trim

Based on this performance, the engine seems fit and healthy still, and in terms of driveability its been the same all year, no cause for concern mechanically from the ability to use the lump itself. Holds boost lovely, no oil burning, no stuttering and no power loss etc. The AFR’s are all looking pimptastic and basically no cause for concern. Not bad for a lump I built on the drive over 4 years ago now!

However, after attending the RTOC national day at Mallory Park, old gremlins long since thought as subdued raised their ugly heads. Main straight at 130........popped the header tank clean in half. And then again at Donington later in the year, split a water hose and popped the radiator. So there’s an ongoing pressurisation problem in the cooling system.

I have proceeded to check every know test on a head gasket that is possible without dismantling the engine, and they all come back clean as a whistle, no compression problems, no leak down issues, no oil in the water or vice versa, no combustion products in there either. All very cryptic and this has all lead me to believe that there is a more serious fault, perhaps a hairline fracture in the block or head. Either way something may have to be done!!! .........

...............so i added these..............they didnt fix it! :-( :lol:

The final desperate attempt by me before SORN was to replace the water pump and attempt a ‘do or die’ spin out to test that......however in true clio style she spat the dummy and I ended up with all the coolant all over the floor as it pissed out the radiator...this was the split I must of picked up at Donington and not noticed until now As such SORN was swiftly applied for and this year of boost was brought swiftly to an end, with the car sat suitably on the naughty step!

For now shes stood for the winter, tucked up undercover and all snug!

and so far to combat the issue i have purchased the following

i have decided to have a bit of a change of tact with the car now, i have had it setup for track **** for years. ever since i bought it and as i'm now old and tired its time to revive the car, stick to a similar theme but more of a porsche GT3 RS or megane R26.R theme, so stripped but comfy, useable and a bit more of a road warrior.

the plan is as follows, in bullet point and highly efficient stylee:

- Fit new suspension and raise ride height, use adjustable goodness to soften ride for domestic use ;-)
- Return a fair amount of the front trim to the car and remove the cage sidebars for road use
- Re-fit lecci front windows
- Wind the boost back to a more manageable level for road use, 10psi or so
- Fit road tyres
- Fit a stereo
- Assemble some sort of access to the boot!lol!
- Fit a flexi section to the downpipe and have a stealth exhaust (full system) made up to suit so it hides tailpipe like the original 172's

all the track / 1/4 mile part will be kept for just that, but it'll be a bit more restrained GTT next year methinks!

well thats its folks, hopefully this will be a bit more of a thread to read, but its going to be slow progress as i'm hoping to buy a house next year with the good lady!

 

[Coops Mk1]

November 2011

okay, heres the worlds smallest update

i was planning on stripping the engine this weekend, well sunday to be precise, but it rained, so i didnt!

as such i decided to dismantle my LEDA's and clean them up in the age old way i know of ;-)

safe and sound:

shiny.....er ;-)!

sorted

next week, more avoiding proper work and cleaning stuff....probably the rears [/

 

[Coops Mk1]

Late November 2011

Right, update!

Finally decided to crack on and get the car apart and see whats causing the over-pressurizing issue i've been seeing this season on track.

So this is how the car is stood currently, looking a bit forlorn on the 'drive' and a bit unloved

the damps caused a bit of mould inside, but next to none really and i've chucked loads of silicone bags in there to soak up the worst of it, so the interior still looks okay really need to get a garage when i buy a house next year though, not happy about damp and old clio tbh!!!lol!!

so bonnet off;

radiator and front coolant pipework out, i will be purchasing an alloy rad and silicone hoses to replace the final ones that aren't silicone yet. This is going to include some custom pipework, which i have made templates for and will be sending off to SFS performance to be made up over the winter

the idea is to remove the downpipe as well as rest of the exhaust system and get a new one made up. i plan to put a flexi section in the downpipe and then get hold of a mongoose or similar and modify it into a full stealth system. all just ideas currently and as such i figured to save scrabbling about on the floor under the car, i'd whip the turbo off the manifold and leave it in situ for now!

parts pulled off for ease of access

and more bits off to get to head bolts

and head off, i cheated and cut the cambelt, hence the top cambelt cover is on ;-)

this is the head/valve/combustion chamber area after 4 years and 16k miles on high boost, not too bad me thinks, seems to be running lovely. small bit of pitting on the exhaust valves and some build up on the inlets, but nothing to write home about.

head gasket, still looks fine from a distance........

but whats this...............fire rings a bit damaged and theres clearly been some blowby as theres striations all across the fire rings

and heres the block.....again pistons seem okay, no build ups and evidence of poor running, and the bores are still lovely.

but if you look closer in the red circles..............cracks........the damn blocks cracked across from the water ways to the head bolt holes.

so it seems that the blocks cracked and the headbolts have lost clamping force, allowing blowby into the coolant system under full boost and as such pressurising the system!

so at least i've found a fault, but its some work now to fix.

plan is:

- send head off for refurb and skim/check inc valves lapped in etc
- get hold of good F7P block, preferably in working order
- check new block, rebuild as necessary with my wossener pistons
- tap oil return
- slap back in for 2012 boosting

more updates as they come!

 

[Coops Mk1]

May 2012 - progress after a poor winter

ight, it¡¦s been a rubbish winter and I achieved absolutely nothing at all but finally made some progress this weekend

First job was to run up to big rons and liberate his engine crane to return it from retirement in his garage to active duty on my drive!

I took way too long gathering stuff and eating pizza upon my return as well, and as such didn¡¦t actually do a stroke till gone 3pm¡K¡Khey ho, am lazy what can I say!! :lol:

Anyway, after hour or so pissin about wrestling with a couple of studs in the block to box union and moving the box itself across as far as I could, I proceeded to rip the bad boy out the bay! I¡¦ll let the pics do the talking from here on for a bit!

Firstly the poor disco spuddy, been sat taped up like a cheap kinky hooker on my windowsill for months, I think it needs some love, and preferably a load of hot air from an F7P :wink:

Anyway, in went the crane and up came the block

Teased out inch by inch, like a gentleman¡K¡K ;-)

And out she came!

Quick oil drain whilst the block was still up in the air

Then boshed it down onto a block of wood for stripping.

At this point, tea and choccy was called for to celebrate a half a job badly done 8)

Then onwards and upwards, first to come off was the clutch assembly and flywheel, both of which will be checked and put onto the new lump. Initial inspection is good, everything appears to be in good working order good times with weapons for all!

Then whipped the pistons out, still looking okay after many miles of hard work and abuse over the past 5 or so years so pretty happy with that! Again, check over and into the new block they shall a be going!!

I¡¦m also pretty happy with the bearings, they¡¦ve held up fine over the years and show very little in terms of wear so overall the engines coping well with the power, it was just the headbolt hole cracks that have caused an issue, the internals are all minty mint ƒº

And that¡¦s it, the old F7P is laid to rest, I may pull the crank out as well then I¡¦m scrapping it¡K¡K¡K¡Kor maybe I¡¦ll make it into a table for my shed at the new house! Who knows! Seems a shame to bin it, little troopers seen me round a few tracks and spanking 12¡¦s at pod, we¡¦ve been through a lot together. And it was the cars original engine from the factory, 18 years in its one home, GTT¡¦s bay!

The bores looked pretty good too, still see the pikie in situ honing marks from last rebuild!

So that¡¦s the progress. I have new block tapped and decked, ready to be slapped with a dab of enamel then I can sling all the bits onto it and slide her home back into the bay, which I may give a spruce up too if they lift the pipe ban (its rained none stop for like a month, surely its damp enough now to let me wash the cars!) and the heads now done as well, so pretty much all the parts are in my possession, its just a question of getting it all done for FCS!

Final bits n bats, how to solve a lack of storage space issue, clio shed ftw!

And I have my new exhaust ready and waiting to go on as well

Shiny!

That¡¦s all folks!

 

[Coops Mk1]

Later in May 2012

So, the weather was acceptable and the hard work was behind me after last weekends scrap to get the....well scrap....out the bay ļ

as such I spent the day ripping the parts out of the old lump that I needed, the rods and pistons, and sorting out the remaining components to bolt onto the new block.

for the first time in cooper enterprises history, I decided to give the lot a lick of paint as well to make it look a bit tidier, admittedly it wont go any quicker looking shiny, but hey, pride in your work and all that! ļ

so, on with the pics, afterall that's what these threads are all about, sexy shiny engines in various states of assembly and spangly mods to bolt on!

First of all I split the old block down and removed my pistons and rods ready to be fitted to the new block, I also have these standard items kicking about now as spares ļ

sump off, oil pump out and main bearing caps removed so I could lift the crank out, again I'm keeping this for spares in case I need it as there's nowt wrong with it, good used crank, one careless turbo owner ;-)

and bare cracked block ready for scrappage or ressurection. I really cant part with it so I have a feeling it shall be reborn as a coffee table for the new house ļ

I then set about cleaning up the new block, removed the sump for painting and to allow me to access the crank to fit the rods etc

and the plan unfolds, time for a lick of paint me thinks!

first coat on and done, I ended up doing 2 coats on engine and the sump

painted some other random bits as well, pic of one here but you get the idea, its all black!lol!

then used this

to put in these... (no wussy ring compressors either, I just used me mitts ;-)

and torqued up the end caps as well after running about trying to find the darn haynes manual!lol!

and no, no ARP bolts, I intend to build up a fully forged bottom end over next year so this is basically an intermin build on a shoestring ;-)

new cambelt kit from which I took the idler pully and affixed it to the block, along with new water pump that was on the old block (did about 5 miles on it!lol)

lunch break ļ

and the finished article, all built up and ready to be dropped in next weekend!

 

[Coops Mk1]

Early June 2012

Right, quick update from last weekend progress before I crack on again today¡K¡K.. although this is mainly as its still drizzling and I cba going out and getting wet today!lol!

Made some good progress over bank holiday¡K..well I say over, basically I got drunk a lot so pretty much just spent Saturday early afternoon on it really! Few hours is all but got some big bits done so good times!

First job, build the head back up, so on went fresh gasket and exhaust manifold, then the turbo. I only put those two on as it means less work once heads on, turbo fitting is fiddly in situ, and by leaving inlet off I can have freedom to move engine about a lot in the bay to do the cam belt and also fit rest of the front of the car in, pipes etc

Fitted a shiny new tensioner pulley from the cambelt kit.

Then quick wipe over the mating faces on the block and head and head gasket on, locating it on the 2x dowels I transferred from the old block to the new. The gasket is a spesso 1.6mm Kevlar jobbie I got from big ron for the right money a while back, hence using it. Otherwise I¡¦d probably of just used a standard payen or equivalent.

So then it was a simple lift and drop to get the head onto the bottom end and line it up on the locating dowels. I then slapped in the nicely lightly greased headbolts and wound them in and out to clear the threads. Then wiped off and reapplied the grease for final introduction to the engine. Nipped up then angled tightened to finish off

Proceeded to then fit the turbo oil feed/pressure sensor assembly and connect it up and also the oil return. I had already fitted the starter motor and slotted the downpipe in before the head was fitted. Also connected all the rear wiring loom up before head went in and popped dogbone mounting plate half on to give me some wiggle room.

Then ensured the engine was still locked correctly at TDC (I locked it prior to head fitment to ensure valves cleared the pistons wheni torqued the head down) and stuck the cambelt on, lining up all the marks on the pulleys, belt and cam cover

Then turned the engine over a couple of times to check timing was okay and no valve clearance issues etc. all smooth and good pleased to report. Kept going until timing marks were re-aligned.

By this point it was time to give up as I wanted to go the pub ļ as such packed up again, using the bay as a shed once more!lol!

Then wombled up to watch a local heavy rock band play called Three Second Fuse (3.S.F.) at the pub, if your into that kind of stuff, facebook them, they¡¦re damn good imo! Few ales and some tunes later, impromptu jam session ;-)

That¡¦s it for now!

 

[Coops Mk1]

and todays progress

am off out again so no time for waffle commentary but heres how she stands ;-)

lots of niggle bits to do and all of the exhaust system

also found out i've misplaced a load of parts, stat housing, dizzy, lifitng eye/acc cable carrier and spark plugs all gone walkies so progress will stall tomorrow once rest of the bits are on and done :-(

cheers

Ben

pics:

 

[Coops Mk1]

The Rain The Rain!!!! Since I MOT'd the car Saturday its done nothing but rain, so not even used it!!! :evil:

not happy, 8 months of waiting and the Great British summertime scuppers me :-(

as such I decided to look to the future.............and bought some more shiny stuff! :lol: :twisted:

 

[Coops Mk1]

right, she lives!

spent most of today running about acquiring the final bits i needed as somehow i misplaced my stat housing and some other bits, but Dan helped me out with the parts i needed

so after a run up to his i started about 3pm with actual work, cupla hours later she looked thusly

so time to crank it over and make some pressure in the oil system..................................fail.........couldnt get it to take for love nor money, no oil through the pump pickup.

big ron was over as well and after attempting to back fill the pump through the turbo oil feed and an hour or so of messing about i gave up :-( Ron went home and i packed away........

but couldnt resist, so i splapped the king lead on and the fuel pump feed and just fired it up.....for a millisecond and turned it off. repeated it again and second time the oil warning light flickered off....YES!!!!

so whipped king off and fuel pump and cranked it, and low and behold i got pressure in the system in a couple of cranks after the fire up!

vids of fail then win!lol!!! had to jump it as the battery was totally dead, excuse the loudness, no exhaust system atm so straight out the downpipe!

and this is how it stands now

chuffed its all running, had a bit of a fail as my oil cooler sandwich plate pipework was pissing oil out, nipped up and sorted, but i still have a water leak to find and fix but overall its working! got clutch and gears and brakes as well.

so few more hours tinkering and sorting stuff and it'll be MOT time

 

[Coops Mk1]

30th June 2012 - MOT!!

12 months ticket on it today

tickeld boost on the way home too, including WOT.........

good god i actually popped wood 8) :twisted:

updates to come, perhaps vids etc depending how excited i get.

teething issues so far after 8 months out of action:

1 - Exhaust sounds like its blowing from the downpipe, all joints are leak free so its either a weird placebo from the turbo to downpipe gasket i've added (and considering removing, turbo and gaskets are just a waste of time) or its a cracked front pipe!

2 - exhaust backbox is knocking on the rear chassis leg a touch, not bad but not ideal

touch wood that seems to be it so far..................... drives lovely and my god does it shift!

 

[Coops Mk1]

Right and that's it! Cars been running a dream for a while now, did Blyton park last month and it ran faultlessly all day bar boiling the brake fluid a lot!

pulled 258bhp on the rollers on the same day, literally drove off track and onto the RR, so car was a tad warm and I think its an underestimate as it feels as quick as last year. Off to pod on sunday, so we'll see I suppose!

cheers

Ben

 

[Gray]

Yeeeees, Coops, yeeees!!!! :approve:

Need to come over and see her now it's rebuilt.

 

[Tutuur]

nice read Ben! good to see you haven't lowered the boost and brought it back to street trim. it's lovely the way it is!

 

[domsclio182]

What power were you running to get the 12.3 at the pod, car looks great.

 

[Coops Mk1]

Yeeeees, Coops, yeeees!!!! :approve:

Need to come over and see her now it's rebuilt.

come over to Diddy's chippy in woodhouse tonight mate, i'll be there at about 6pm with Dan and big Ron

 

[Coops Mk1]

the car has always been on the same/similar boost, 16psi peak, 14psi held and its pumped out rolling road results varying considerably from 253 to 285 and it ran the 12.3 at same boost. so I take the RR results with a pinch of salt if i'm honest

 

[Gray]

come over to Diddy's chippy in woodhouse tonight mate, i'll be there at about 6pm with Dan and big Ron

PM or txt me where that is, I'll bob over mate!

Mini Boost meet?

 

[Nafoff]

ah thats why gray isn't replying to texts',
you look different with a beard ben, glad your well and this is still running good and in your ownership

 

[ScottyRS]

This makes my project look like a regular service. I'd love to know how to do all this. I have real trouble with knowing what screws go where and what i've missed off. I wouldn't attempt this until i'm much older and my wife banishes me to the garage.

 

[dezmondo]

Only popped to the bog for a sec but ended up in here for ages while I read the whole thread, cs on your smartphone ftw! Smashing job there!

 

[Djw Dave]

I've loved your car for years, awesome machine.

 

[Coops Mk1]

cheers dave, me too! hence i still have the damn thing!

Keiran, good to catch up mate this eve and the meggies a beauty in more powerful trim, loves it!

Neil, i shall never never let it go! mk 1 till i die.....or more specifically, my mk 1 till i die!

 

[Zmaster2k]

Yup this cars a monster! Everytime i see it i re-consider N/A!

 

[Djw John]

Such an awesome machine, always really liked it! I'm right in thinking it was you that came up with Sarah to pick up the coupe yeah?

 

[Coops Mk1]

me? nope! never owned a coupe!lol!

 

[Djw John]

Na it was someone with a turbo Clio came up with a lass called Sez who bought my coupe in Edinburgh, never mind!

 

[Lal B3N]

Nice write up. Car looks great.

 

[Cw Tuning.]

really enjoyed reading that mate nice one

 

[Coops Mk1]

Small update

since Blyton park earlier in the year the brakes have felt awful, so this weekend I decided to investigate. firstly the rear bias valve was set completely wrong, slack as anything meaning little to know rear brake effort, enough for MOT but insufficient for what I want, so I stripped, cleaned and reset the adjustment assembly and regreased the arm on the valve itself so it was all nice and free.

secondly, I took out the old front pads, which pretty much fell apart upon removal, then popped some cheap as chips Volvo ferodo standard pads in, for testing. result is the vibration is still there so thinking I warped the new discs at blyton. as such I will order some decent front pads and new discs again next month

and finally, I found some dot 5.1 fluid in the shed, so I will do a brake fluid service sometime soon as well

whilst the wheels were off, decided to pop on the silver superlegs and clean up the black ones, so turb's will be bopping about on these for a bit

cheers

Ben

 

[Daz.]

Still needs side strips

 

[Hixle]

Love it!

 

[Coops Mk1]

No Dazza man, just no, go flock with the rest

cheers Lukey

 

[NorthloopCup]

I really like what you've done with this!! A 12sec qtr proves it's no slouch either!!

 

[Coops Mk1]

I really like what you've done with this!! A 12sec qtr proves it's no slouch either!!

cheers chap

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Just read all that, great work mate. This may be one of my favorite cars on here

 

[Djw Dave]

Na it was someone with a turbo Clio came up with a lass called Sez who bought my coupe in Edinburgh, never mind!

Cool story bro...

 

[Coops Mk1]

7 year nearly thread bump..... won't go into detail but I'll just leave these here....

 

[Gouldy]

After reading this thread today, this is my favourite car on cs. Awesome

 

[Coops Mk1]

Cheers @Gouldy don't tell the rest of the fleet but she's still the darling child....just horribly fallen from grace currently

 

[Rojer]

Didn't even know you had this! Looks good, so what happened in the 7 years and whats the plans now?