one for Show and one for track (106 and astra)
Discussion
cheers for your comments people, my god could you imagine if id signed up on here without the van!! 
(flame retardent suit required) the peugeot may be an accuired taste, but i get a nice big smile when i drive it, and truth be told i love the attention it gets at shows, as i do shows not only in this country, but france, belgium, holland, and germany too. and so you know its not a trailor queen i drive it to shows, and smoke in it
thats only some of the pics of the van taken from one of my progress blogs from my local car club. but with it being the end of the month pay day has come so a few more goodies will be getting bought in the next few days, so will keep this thread updated for you guys.
ill be keeping an eye on your track room, and may come to some events with friends who have track based cars, and will try to introduce myself i see someone from here.
id love to RWD the van but..... i am pretty much mechanically retarded, as i paid for the peugeot to be built this is my first attempt at getting my hands dirty, im learning tho
i did the hubs, brakes, suspension myself, some of the colour coding, all the strippage and spraying inside and i will be attempting the LET conversion myself, with help from friends of course.
(flame retardent suit required) the peugeot may be an accuired taste, but i get a nice big smile when i drive it, and truth be told i love the attention it gets at shows, as i do shows not only in this country, but france, belgium, holland, and germany too. and so you know its not a trailor queen i drive it to shows, and smoke in it thats only some of the pics of the van taken from one of my progress blogs from my local car club. but with it being the end of the month pay day has come so a few more goodies will be getting bought in the next few days, so will keep this thread updated for you guys.
ill be keeping an eye on your track room, and may come to some events with friends who have track based cars, and will try to introduce myself i see someone from here.
id love to RWD the van but..... i am pretty much mechanically retarded, as i paid for the peugeot to be built this is my first attempt at getting my hands dirty, im learning tho
i did the hubs, brakes, suspension myself, some of the colour coding, all the strippage and spraying inside and i will be attempting the LET conversion myself, with help from friends of course.Edited by Pug me on Sunday 2nd May 16:50
The 106 is defo not for me! But it's yours and so long as you like it (weirdo!) then fine.
The van however - brilliant! The power to weight will be impressive for sure. However visibility being a van (in your rear quarters) will be a mare, surely? Thought about cutting out the side panels and filling with polycarbonate, so still lightweight, cheap, and gives visibility? A la R26R ?
How much has the van cost to date?
The van however - brilliant! The power to weight will be impressive for sure. However visibility being a van (in your rear quarters) will be a mare, surely? Thought about cutting out the side panels and filling with polycarbonate, so still lightweight, cheap, and gives visibility? A la R26R ?
How much has the van cost to date?
Jesus, you paid someone to do that to the pug ? I would pay that someone to stay the hell away from my car !
I have to admit I am slightly mystified by the Astra Van.
My train of thought was something like, okay, you are stripping a van for the track. Nice sleeper.
Then ! Whoops ! giant ( and pointless on the track ) wheels have appeared, and it has been painted to appear like a mint humbug.
It would be 100% cooler and more interesting if you had left it externally standard, on some black steel wheels just big enough to fit over the brakes.
Then the power....I was thinking, oh maybe its a Van because you then have enougth room for a rear diff and transmission tunnel, or maybe a mid mounted engine.
But then I read it was yet another CTO1LET engine swap.........which is a bit 2000 and late don't you think ? and its not going to be terribly interesting on track......lets quote Autozine on another FWF Turbo Astra........
" If you push it into corners, its front wheels will be upset by torque steer, understeer and lifeless steering. It’s a shame that its chassis is overwhelmed by power..... its iron-block turbo engine makes the car nose heavy, worsening steering feel, understeer and chassis balance "
I don't know, maybe I am just a bit negative here, but if you are going to the bother and expense of strip, cage, suspension, brakes, engine swap a car, maybe starting with a decent car in the first place would get you much further. Say an E36 BMW for example, that responds really well to that treatment. Then again maybe I should be thankful you haven't ruined a decent car.
I have to admit I am slightly mystified by the Astra Van.
My train of thought was something like, okay, you are stripping a van for the track. Nice sleeper.
Then ! Whoops ! giant ( and pointless on the track ) wheels have appeared, and it has been painted to appear like a mint humbug.
It would be 100% cooler and more interesting if you had left it externally standard, on some black steel wheels just big enough to fit over the brakes.
Then the power....I was thinking, oh maybe its a Van because you then have enougth room for a rear diff and transmission tunnel, or maybe a mid mounted engine.
But then I read it was yet another CTO1LET engine swap.........which is a bit 2000 and late don't you think ? and its not going to be terribly interesting on track......lets quote Autozine on another FWF Turbo Astra........
" If you push it into corners, its front wheels will be upset by torque steer, understeer and lifeless steering. It’s a shame that its chassis is overwhelmed by power..... its iron-block turbo engine makes the car nose heavy, worsening steering feel, understeer and chassis balance "
I don't know, maybe I am just a bit negative here, but if you are going to the bother and expense of strip, cage, suspension, brakes, engine swap a car, maybe starting with a decent car in the first place would get you much further. Say an E36 BMW for example, that responds really well to that treatment. Then again maybe I should be thankful you haven't ruined a decent car.
lol as said i always knew you guys here wouldnt like the pug but... without blowing my own trumpet too much its won awards here and europe (top 20 best modified car in europe 2008) its also been in george sampsons singing in the rain video and will be in streetdance uk 3d the movie which is out in a month or so, so..... yes you dont like it, but did your standard (no matter how nice) car get you any of these sorts of achievements?? as well as 4 magazines features here and abroad.
i am very proud of what i have, and feel as proud as any ferrari/lambo/whatever driver does when they drive there pride and joy down the road
ok so the van, i am particularly mechanically challenged i know little to nothing, so for me to attempt some sort of RWD or anything else of the nature would just simply not be feasible, so my obvious choices are C20LET, Z20LET or a v6, yes all have been done before but due to my age (28) i grew up watching cavs and calibras fly around the area where i live, and i always loved the sound. So the choice for me was very simple and i think with 300-350 bhp it will be a fun track toy to annoy scoobys with.
hmmm now the comments on the vans bodywork and wheels etc, the wheels you see in the picture are merely my show wheels, this van albeit a track toy will be attending all manner of modified car shows with mylocal club, i have a set of 8*17 TSW Imolas (old skool cool) in my garage which will be wrapped in some decent tyres
Now a lot of people wanted me to do it as a sleeper, but as you have seen my car, do you really think i would want to drive round in a shabby looking atsra van?? lol ill agree the front bumper looks w
k but... there is a reason for it, the area i live is particularly bad for vauxhall theft, GSi bumpers are extremely easy to steal (one or two kicks) and cost £400. I can only park the van one way up the drive (which is backwards) so the front will be on show all day etc while im at work, so i decided to fit a bumper that even a blind man wont steal yes its crap and a more 90's style, but who cares
hope this irons out any queries
ah and the reason im using the van is because its my old work van, it has 206,000 miles on the clock so isnt worth a penny, and bottom line, if i break it, i dont care
i am very proud of what i have, and feel as proud as any ferrari/lambo/whatever driver does when they drive there pride and joy down the road
ok so the van, i am particularly mechanically challenged
i know little to nothing, so for me to attempt some sort of RWD or anything else of the nature would just simply not be feasible, so my obvious choices are C20LET, Z20LET or a v6, yes all have been done before but due to my age (28) i grew up watching cavs and calibras fly around the area where i live, and i always loved the sound. So the choice for me was very simple and i think with 300-350 bhp it will be a fun track toy to annoy scoobys with.hmmm now the comments on the vans bodywork and wheels etc, the wheels you see in the picture are merely my show wheels, this van albeit a track toy will be attending all manner of modified car shows with mylocal club, i have a set of 8*17 TSW Imolas (old skool cool) in my garage which will be wrapped in some decent tyres
Now a lot of people wanted me to do it as a sleeper, but as you have seen my car, do you really think i would want to drive round in a shabby looking atsra van?? lol ill agree the front bumper looks w
k but... there is a reason for it, the area i live is particularly bad for vauxhall theft, GSi bumpers are extremely easy to steal (one or two kicks) and cost £400. I can only park the van one way up the drive (which is backwards) so the front will be on show all day etc while im at work, so i decided to fit a bumper that even a blind man wont steal yes its crap and a more 90's style, but who cares hope this irons out any queries
ah and the reason im using the van is because its my old work van, it has 206,000 miles on the clock so isnt worth a penny, and bottom line, if i break it, i dont care
Edited by Pug me on Monday 3rd May 18:50
ExPat2B said:
" If you push it into corners, its front wheels will be upset by torque steer, understeer and lifeless steering. It’s a shame that its chassis is overwhelmed by power..... its iron-block turbo engine makes the car nose heavy, worsening steering feel, understeer and chassis balance "
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