RE: SOTW: Renault 5 GT Turbo

[Gazzab]

there was a lovely one that lived near me in Dorking in early 90s - yellow with steel wheels. looked very racey.

[Welshbeef]

If you think this is amazing well this lunchtime I spotted a 1.3 Austin maestro with 11k miles in mint condition £4.7k

.... Blue with different coupur bumpers. Looks very clean but £1k for a GTT or £4.7k for a ste maestro only one in the rave

[DaveL485]

The Donster said:

DaveL485 said:

The Donster said:

DaveL485 said:

BriC175 said:

Marf said:

Gazzab said:

Lots of my friends also had them with lots of remaps

How do you remap a mechanical carb?

Love it when people talk about 'chipped' Renault 5's.

You can change the AEI unit to one from a R9 or 11 Turbo for a couple of degrees extra advance but thats it.

Ive had one or two of these but only to sell on. I do still have a 9Turbo though and i'd never part with it, ever.
Great little motors save for the flimsy build and the fact you have to dislocate your hips to drive it if you're over 5'6"
I rapidly discovered that the 21 Turbo gave the same experience as the GTT but everything was magnified about three times over. Much much better cars.

Anyone who does a HG on one of these engines though deserves it. You look after it right (and yes, I understand that requires a bit of specialist knowledge) and they are absolutely rock solid engines....same goes for the 21 Turbo.

Isn't it funny how the rapid Renault hatch lovers progress onto the bigger rapid Renault saloons! I sold my 11 Turbo for a phase 2 21 Turbo (sadly, not a Quadra) and oh my, that thing absolutely flew. Two cars I still miss today, 17/18 years later.

It is, isn't it? I've had many, of all flavours. Currently have a Ph2 Quadra with around 250 horses and also a Fuego with a 21T 2wd running gear that sports over 300 bhp/tonne and 350lbft/tonne shared with a mate.
Stick a bit of boost up a 2wd and it turns into a frantic, lunatic experience of torque steering lunacy. Brilliant!

My red phase 2 ran a standard chip and Scorpion exahust and still put out 200 bhp, at 100,000 miles +. Awesome.

Wll have a look at your site when I get the chance - might find my old car on it (G830 PHO).

Mines the same. Standard management and map, standard engine internals, NEVER been apart from the day it was built and it competes with stuff two decades newer and double the price. Its a hoot!

Best use for a GTT lump- in one of these-


Street sleeper extroadinairre.

Edited by DaveL485 on Saturday 20th November 01:24

[ess]

I looked at one for a replacement to my money pit '65 MGB GT whilst a student.
Super fast at the time (21 years ago), but couldn't afford the insurance (22 year old).
Ended up with a white F reg 1.7 GTX instead.
Lots of fun, let down by appalling build quality.
Big ashtrays though being French an' all

[Xaero]

Great shed, I would have thought one of these in original condition could hold it's money or even appreciate as you don't see many around these days.

[NoNeed]

Anybody want to lend me a grand?







I'll repay it at a fiver a week! honest





If you can catch me

[Pugmitch]

I had one of these in my youth. Swapped a problematical 205 GTI thinking all French cars can't have electrical problems can they? Sure they can! Mine used to 'eat' turbo coling fans, clutch cables and batteries....you get fed up once the warranty expires and only 12 months or 60K miles in those days!
I remember it fondly as being the only car I've had that left me stranded.....didn't impress my new wife I can tell you. Awesome to drive though but this was the last of the French 'breed' I was to put up with......I left for Germanic reliabilty (they were in the 80's)and boy am I glad I never went back!

[f328nvl]

Pugmitch said:

I had one of these in my youth. Swapped a problematical 205 GTI thinking all French cars can't have electrical problems can they? Sure they can! Mine used to 'eat' turbo coling fans, clutch cables and batteries....you get fed up once the warranty expires and only 12 months or 60K miles in those days!

I had one too my first brand new car in 1990 (G378 BDU from memory, the number may be a digit out): Clutch cables pinging every few weeks, waiting for it to cool down so you could restart it after filling it with petrol, , trying to fight torque steer when the turbo came in; I nearly crashed it at the first traffic island on the day I picked it up.. as the lead article says, you could dent it by leaning on any panel, it was made out of bacofoil.

I missed the end of the warranty as mine was nicked from outside a pub after 12 months and a week - Security was crap as well.

But by God it was fast.

[NLB]

I love odd French cars, and one of these would be a great toy (if I needed another toy..), but... my abiding memory of the 5GTT is of trundling up the M1 one day in the late '80s on the KRS, and a GTT coming flying out of a slip road, diving across all three lanes, and disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

Still great things though (one of these, a BX 16v, an XM V6, an SM... um.. no.. Stop!).

Edited by NLB on Saturday 20th November 10:22

[DaveL485]

Xaero said:

Great shed, I would have thought one of these in original condition could hold it's money or even appreciate as you don't see many around these days.

I saw a mint (and I mean MINT) factory std J-Plater with 13k on the clock go for £6k, I also have a friend that stuffed a 350 brake Audi lump in one and that sold for £10k.
For the right ones- they're worth a stupendous amount.

[Jessop]

lol @ Stereotypical unreliable comments too..

They are only unreliable and have a bad reputation as people always tended to "up the wick" and make them go pop without suitable fuelling lol.

Me and a friend hopped in the H reg GTT and set off to LeMans this year, no tools or spares.. there and back not a problem. 13psi of boost and bang on fuelling...

The frenchies were loving it.. lots of thumbs up en route

Will be in Redline magazine [i think?] as a feature from brunters which was done the other week.. good for a genuine 130mph according to their timing equipment.. 6.9 to 60mph.. all good

Dont let the stereotyping put you off the old R55.. very strong engine good for very good power tuned correctly too.. if somewhat laggy with a big blower lol.

sound unique (but tractorlike) too lol.

[schuey]

I had one about 10 years ago,in between a owning a Metro Turbo and a Polo G40,loved a bit of forced induction rarity back then! 240bhp when I had finished with it,sounded nuts with sequential dump valves to annoy the neighbours with.Wish I had still had all of those cars....Reliable too,never had engine trouble,the same couldn't be said for the other bits,all kinds of wiring issues as I recall. Great buy at a grand though.

[anything fast]

dave stew said:

It's funny that there's the comment that you're either a Ford RS fan or Renault GTT. Back in the mid eighties when I was 21 and driving a Mk2 RS2000 and a very active RS Owners Club member we went to the local Chinese Chippy with a fellow RSOC member who was driving an RS1600i. We ordered our meals and the owner's son spotted the RSi outside.

"Fancy a go of mine?" He asked? Too right!

While the nosh was cooking, Bob and I ragged this R5T round the wet streets of Dukinfield. It was good - better brakes than the rear drum equipped Ford. Almost a convert apart from the truly horrendous French build quality.

Ford RS please!

I think a lot of people of my generation (30 plus) have misty eyes for most 80's sporty hatchbacks.. and why not? the fun you could have in a 130 odd bhp car was amazing and makes todays 200 odd bhp hot hatchbacks look bloated....

for my money.. in my order of preference but I would have any one of these in my garage if i had the room... (all 80's cars)

S1 Escort RS Turbo
Escort RS 1600i
Mk1 Golf GTI 1.8
S2 Escort RS Turbo
Renault GT Turbo
MK2 Golf GTi 16v
Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9
Astra GTE 16v
Astra Mk1 GTE
Peugeot 205 1.6 GTI
Escort XR3i
Mk2 Golf GTi 1.8
Charade GTTi
Fiesta XR2
Toyota Corolla GTI

[hairykrishna]

Jessop said:

lol @ Stereotypical unreliable comments too..

They are only unreliable and have a bad reputation as people always tended to "up the wick" and make them go pop without suitable fuelling lol.

Come on, stereotypical? I love the things but reliability and build quality really are not their strong suits. Even as standard the cooling system was pretty marginal and the gearbox was fragile.

[spdpug98]

Always wanted a R5GTT but was one of the 205GTI brigade, then just before I got too old I bought this uprated turbo and running approx 180bhp



Now living in pieces on a drive not too far from me, shame really as it was immaculate when I sold it on

[Hools]

DaveL485 said:

Xaero said:

Great shed, I would have thought one of these in original condition could hold it's money or even appreciate as you don't see many around these days.

I saw a mint (and I mean MINT) factory std J-Plater with 13k on the clock go for £6k, I also have a friend that stuffed a 350 brake Audi lump in one and that sold for £10k.
For the right ones- they're worth a stupendous amount.

:-)

Edited by Hools on Saturday 20th November 13:37

[DaveL485]

Hools said:

DaveL485 said:

Xaero said:

Great shed, I would have thought one of these in original condition could hold it's money or even appreciate as you don't see many around these days.

I saw a mint (and I mean MINT) factory std J-Plater with 13k on the clock go for £6k, I also have a friend that stuffed a 350 brake Audi lump in one and that sold for £10k.
For the right ones- they're worth a stupendous amount.

:-)

Edited by Hools on Saturday 20th November 13:37

That would be the one then! Where is it now? At a guess living in a carcoon somewhere only gracing the roads on sunny days!

[DaveL485]

hairykrishna said:

Jessop said:

lol @ Stereotypical unreliable comments too..

They are only unreliable and have a bad reputation as people always tended to "up the wick" and make them go pop without suitable fuelling lol.

Come on, stereotypical? I love the things but reliability and build quality really are not their strong suits. Even as standard the cooling system was pretty marginal and the gearbox was fragile.

I think this is always going to come down to personal experience. I'm fairly good with the spanners and maintain all my own stuff religiously. In all the C1J's and JB3's i've owned i've never had a HG, liner or gearbox fail. Electrical gremlins yes, but they are, in car age terms, pensioners!

Saying that though I have a mate with one at the minute and it is the most horrendously unreliable heap ive ever come across LOL

[Hools]

Yeah she's safely tucked up for the winter. BTW she wasn't quite that much but has more than made up for it in bits and bobs since I got it.

[anonymous-user]

spdpug98 said:

Always wanted a R5GTT but was one of the 205GTI brigade, then just before I got too old I bought this uprated turbo and running approx 180bhp



Now living in pieces on a drive not too far from me, shame really as it was immaculate when I sold it on

Shame about the wheels and dodgy bumpers though. These cars always looked better standard.