Introductions

[Pedders]

Just thought I would say hello, now that the order is in for the first few stages of my GTR kit, and take the opportunity to say thanks to all the posters who take the trouble to document their build on here, Facebook, their own websites etc etc, for people like me to get a lot of info, make an informed decision and generally get hooked on the idea of building an awesome (and slightly bonkers, in a very good way) car.

It was the GTW which caught my attention, and the sensational photographs of it - who'd have thought a cloudy day could complement the look of a car so well? I have still to get bored of admiring that car.

So, it was with thoughts of the need for bodywork mods that I went to the factory to have a look, only to realise the the car is pretty special in standard form. It was about two thirds of the size I had imagined it based on the photos I had seen (Internet research only gets you so far...) and all the better for it! Being so low gives you a great perspective view of the car, and then when the rear canopy was opened revealing the v8 neatly packaged in, I wanted one badly!

Still fancy a few bodywork mods, though, GTW stylee but given time available this is at least an 18 month project for me, so lots of time to be pondering!

All of the above makes it sound like it is all about the appearance of the car, but that's not the case. The thought of v8 muscle in a sub tonne motor, the race car vibe and the build that is just as important.

Anyway, that's a bit more rambling than I had originally intended, so I better go - still need to source that wok for the subwoofer install.;)

Cheers all.

[Pedders]

LuckyP said:

Good for you pal!! Wish you the best of builds. Do it your way and do it right.

Now, is it BLACK???!!!

Me, Wayne and GFWilliams will await the commission payment from Ted and the crew.......(think I already drank mine!!!!)

Thanks LuckyP! Got a couple of bottles of the Ultima vino myself!

As to the colour, that's been the easiest decision so far, definitely BLACK!!!

Wheras the engine and gearbox, that is going to take some figuring out...

[Pedders]

356Speedster said:

Welcome and good luck with the build! You're definately doing the right thing researching & planning, so keep doing so and ask as many questions as you like on here.

I'm sure you'll find the build rewarding, but don't put any pressure on yourself to have it done in a particular timeframe, it's best done right, than done quickly!

Cheers, Mark

Thanks Mark - have been following your build on here and facebook - looking very nice!

[Pedders]

356Speedster said:

No problems. I see you're in the West Mids.... possibly not a million miles away me? Always happy to meet up and talk Ultimas if it'll help you with your build

Thanks Mark - that is much appreciated. I live just outside Solihull town centre, so hopefully not too far to compare notes once my build is underway?

[Pedders]

Stig said:

LS7 and Getrag - so job done

...and welcome

Cheers Stig - i've spent a lot of time on your websites!

LS7 and Getrag is the most likely route for me, as the idea of having a factory standard engine which should hopefully minimise future engine hassle does appeal. The thought of a 7 litre v8 does make me smile, too!

However, and I know this is daft given the weight of the car, but the thought of 600 bhp + does seem to sit nicely with the extreme nature of the car! Have been window shopping LS9's, but the thought of an extra £5k does make me wince, and will most likely break the (already pretty broken) budget.

That and the fact I have no idea if one will fit...

Ps sorry for the delay in responding all - just got back from Le Mans (my first time at the classic).

[Pedders]

FLYNLOW said:

Just wanted to say hello to all the fellow "PistonHeads"… I'm new here, but not to playing with cars.

I've been looking into the Ultima GTR, and I'm convinced I'm going to get myself one. I love the Idea of building the car from ground up, as thats my type of fun!!
Glad to say I've received the "thumbs UP" from the better half, so thats a good start if I do say so myself. LOL

Look forward to reading the forums, and learning what I can, as I save for my GTR!..

Hope to talk to you all later.

Brian - USA

Good luck Brian - sounds like you've already done the most difficult part!

[Pedders]

Storer said:

600hp from an LS7 is easily possible and you get a 7500rpm V8 with no lag.

Having tried my LS7 I am not sure you want more on the road especially with the weather the way it is this year!


Paul

I'd be interested to hear what you have to do to an LS7 to get 600bhp, especially something easy!

Many thanks.

[Pedders]

SpiritedDriver said:

I have been looking around and have come across some pretty impressive prices.


More later.

I've also had a little look around. Started with American Speed, which seems so much more expensive than crate engine prices, I guess am missing something around the cost of ancillaries and anything else to get the engine up and running?

[Pedders]

Managed to track down my first post on this forum, which shows the date I placed my order for a first batch of GTR parts - July 2012.

I took my first drive in the GTR on Saturday morning - with the chassis arriving in October 2012, I just managed to keep the build time to under 4 years....

I got up early Saturday morning with the plan of clocking up 30 miles per the GM engine installation run in instructions, prior to changing the oil. I was a bit anxious. With pondering the decision to buy one in the first place, I'd spent the best part of 5 years wondering whether the car would be any good. I'd taken a chance on the engine by fitting the LSA. Would it overheat with the charge cooler rad placed directly in front of the main rad? I'd lagged the coolant pipes running through the side pods - had that been a mistake? Would it really feel powerful - I'd gotten used to pretty big power with previous cars - the LSA engine package was quoted at 650bhp, but was that pub bragging? I'd never had an american V8 before - would it be an agricultural lazy revving V8 that wouldn't suit my driving style?

I'd read about the bump steer issues some other owners had spent a lot of time and expertise in sorting. I'd done the suspension alignment with fishing line, a ruler and a spirit level from B&Q. Would it handle, or would I bounce into the hedge at the first sight of a pot hole?

It was not that long ago that I did a 1000 mile round trip in a Ferrari 458 Italia. That is a beautiful car to drive fast, and the engine is a work of art. I was worried the expectation bar had been set a little high for the Ultima....

The road out of my house is not the smoothest of surfaces. As I slowly trundled along the bumpy surface, the body work groaned and I was jiggled about, and I was left wondering whether I'd used enough wurth bond & seal. Steering wheel was nice and stable, though, even over the bumps.

I pulled out onto a really nice smooth B road, applying a bit of gentle throttle. Things were starting to look promising - keeping myself to well under 3k revs and using a very light throttle didn't seem to stop the car from going very fast. Up into 6th gear and even that didn't seem to dull response to throttle input much.

I spent the first few miles getting used to the car and gradually building up speed. It was already apparent the car could seriously shift, and has a lovely low centre of gravity making it feel super planted. Also, the steering was fantastic, weighting up very nicely in the bends, and not giving any kick back over bumps. The view through the windscreen is so cool - it really does feel like you're in your own little race car, and the first drive was starting to feel special, helped by virtually no traffic due to the early start, route choice and good weather.

As I increased the push of the accelerator pedal the engine was sounding fantastic under load. All the temperatures were rock steady. Even the cabin was cool - I'd put the air con on from the off, and was feeling a little chilly!

As I approached the 30 mile mark I decided to pull over to see what might be leaking out the bottom. I peered underneath and there was nothing to see - happy days. I opened the rear clam and everything was in the same place as before the start of the drive - good news again.

I got back in the car to do the final bit of the initial run in per the GM instruction : 4-5 runs of 50% throttle to 4K revs, and then the same again but using 100% throttle.

First attempt, am driving at around 40ish and push the loud pedal further down quickly to half way - WOW - the response from the car is just incredible. The noise of the engine awesome. With confidence growing I do the other 4 runs to 4K. By this point I am in awe of the car, and having a fantastic time in it.

Now I try the 100% throttle. I'm going through a gentle right hander, am exiting it in 3rd gear and plant the throttle - instant Tokyo drift moment - get the car back under control (easier done than bringing my heart rate down - didn't expect to be power sliding on the first drive....) and then try again. The car is so incredibly fast that by now I am genuinely frightened of it, having done two full throttle attempts to 4K, I can't bring myself to do another full throttle run. Tons of power available instantly in any gear - I have never driven anything like this before.

I get home and climb out of the car. It is the fastest, most extreme thing I have ever driven. The car has totally delivered on 5 years of build up. The engine is awesome. I love it and am scared of it in equal measure!

Thanks to the factory for an amazing car, the guys at Autobionics for a sensational engine and exhaust package, and everyone on this forum and on the Ultima Facebook pages for all the help and support. I loved doing the build, but can see that the fun has only really just started!

[Pedders]

Abbosevolution said:

Or bigger

Ha! Was thinking just after I pressed submit on that post that it was a permanent record of my need to man up!

Thanks for the replies all. Am definitely getting the car on track post the 500 mile mark. I quite like the idea of the drag strip, too, just to practice a quick start in a safer environment. There's a YouTube clip of someone racing off the lights in a corvette and getting it very wrong. I'm keen not to have the starring role in someone else's dash cam movie....

[Pedders]

ROWDYRENAULT said:

Make sure your big brain is in charge if you know what I mean. Lee

Thanks Lee - and definitely good advice applicable to lots of situations!

[Pedders]

Good to hear from you, Ian - I remember that conversation well!

I need to get some new photos of the car, so apologies to those who have seen these posted elsewhere but....

Edited by Pedders on Friday 23 September 22:57

Edited by Pedders on Friday 23 September 22:59

[Pedders]

deadscoob said:

I'd highly revommend you get your headers zircotec'd - it will make a huge difference to under clam temps with those.

Many thanks for the very kind comments all - really appreciate it. Coating of the headers is definitely on the list for the 'Phase II' works, deadscoob.

Engine temps all nice and cool so far, albeit the car hasn't been run for more than 45 mins, and then in little traffic conditions, so I might be tempting fate!

The running in continues, with me getting a bit braver. Pic of car basking in the sunlight having earlier this morning made the jump to hyperspace (aka third gear charge down the slip road to join the M42).

Bottle of detailing spray carefully cropped out of photo.....

Edited by Pedders on Saturday 24th September 12:28

[Pedders]

chuntington101 said:

Do you have any pics of the heat exchnagers (or low temp radiators) for the supercharger? It would be interesting to see what your / AB's solution is.

Hi Chuntington,

See below some build pics showing the charge cooler rad which sits in front of the main engine rad. The coolant is circulated via a Bosch electric pump powered from the engine wiring loom - not sure if there is ECU control of it - from the rad to the water to air inter cooler at the engine end (which is part of the LSA crate engine package). I can't claim any credit for coming up with the solution!

[Pedders]

deadscoob said:

The LSA is a very neat install isn't it.

It looks from the photos that the whole package is much lower than the big supercharger in the factory Evo, is that right, or is it an optical illusion?

If it is lower, it obviously must have good benefits with a lower CoG too, seems win win with that package nowadays

Hi deadscoob. I think the factory supercharged evo engine is pushing 1000bhp, so I suspect it needs to be a fair bit bigger than the standard LSA one. On my installation, the supercharger has been fitted with a smaller pulley to overdrive it to up the power. I suspect it's at the limit of what it can deliver (the LS9 standard supercharger, for instance, is a bigger displacement), but it does fit very neatly.

The LSA one is a twin screw unit that sits in the v and between the air intake. The black thing you can see on the top of the engine sits on top of the supercharger and houses the charge cooler (hence the two pipes running to it, which carry the coolant - all of which is GM standard (except for the crinkle paint finish which AB sorted just to cheer it up a bit).

Edited by Pedders on Sunday 25th September 20:10

[Pedders]

Storer said:

It would be quite interesting to see what the complete car weighs wet. If you get chance to have it corner weighted or pop it over a weigh bridge I, for one, would be interested.
My LS7 engined GTR goes just over 1100kgs wet.

Paul

Thanks UltimaCH.

With fuel tanks brimmed, it was measured at 1143kg during the IVA, Paul.

[Pedders]

That's a nice weight.

Thinking through what accounts for the difference, I have the 997 turbo transaxle, non forged alloys (skimped here, on account of these being the 2nd set of wheels I bought for the car (don't ask...) and the supercharger and related gubbins, as well as the general weight difference between the LS 7 and other LS engines.

Edited by Pedders on Monday 26th September 12:25

Edited by Pedders on Monday 26th September 12:52

[Pedders]

deadscoob said:

You won't notice it on road with that lsa flinging you down it

It doesn't seem to be holding it back, but that's one less pie for me this weekend!