30 years old, some mega-mileage Renault erm... Alpine?
Discussion
Great work op, especially using it daily. I know how flakey the fuel guage can be.
Here is my GTA Turbo with my first Evora. GTA seats 4 quite comfortably, the Evora does not! The GTA was always suprisingly quick with good handling to a foot and pretty good steering feel (non assisted). Mine was one of the later cars with sort of ABS.
Here is my GTA Turbo with my first Evora. GTA seats 4 quite comfortably, the Evora does not! The GTA was always suprisingly quick with good handling to a foot and pretty good steering feel (non assisted). Mine was one of the later cars with sort of ABS.
Gary C said:
Interior must have been terrible to be worse than my carrera 
.
Switches appear to have been thrown at the 1960's dashboard, the headlight washer switch isnt even on straight, and the electric mirror select switch is hidden on the underside of the dash ! The variable wiper speed is just a potentiometer mounted at random and operates totally independent to the stalk operated switch (and the blades of the wiper hang over the curve of the screen in the park position.
The heater controls are almost undecipherable some on the dash and one on the floor, and don't actually do much.
I love it
Ergonomically, the switch gear is way better than the contemporary 911, the quality of the plastic though was somewhere between margerine tub and ice cream tub.Switches appear to have been thrown at the 1960's dashboard, the headlight washer switch isnt even on straight, and the electric mirror select switch is hidden on the underside of the dash ! The variable wiper speed is just a potentiometer mounted at random and operates totally independent to the stalk operated switch (and the blades of the wiper hang over the curve of the screen in the park position.
The heater controls are almost undecipherable some on the dash and one on the floor, and don't actually do much.
I love it
Ok, so going back to the plot and the chronological order of things, some 8 or so years ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
The car at this stage had the Gaz dampers fitted, new seats, and all new rear suspension bushes together with new turbo oil feed pipe (safety measure) and various other bits and bobs including some welding to the front and rear. Suspension bushes are very expensive now, but are a very solid top-hat design so you get what you pay for and Renault knew what they were doing. They just charge way too much these days so I'm glad I replaced them when they were fairly reasonable.
So engine had come out and was with RATS in Derby. The compression test as I mentioned had revealed a low value on two pots - nothing bad considering the 200K odd miles (real miles remember as the speedo had been losing quite a bit on dropping out for extended periods i.e. a few months at a time).
However it was at this stage the block was taken apart, liners and crank etc all inspected. The decision was made to go for a full rebuild and as I mentioned before, the steam clean blew a pair of small holes in the block due to corrosion of the aluminium around the liner bases. Ultimately it would probably have been repairable at a push but just not worth it.
A friend then came up trumps (he used to service and restore Deloreans) with a late cross-bolted block. These were the last of the PRVs with the design really taken from the adaptations that were made for Le Mans - namely cross bolting - a couple of horizontal bolts on each side of the block attach the saddles for the main bearings. This stiffens the whole assembly and is generally 'a good thing'. (Not that the original block had this design and it had survived very nearly a drive to the moon)
So all good fun and the new bearings, liner seals, gaskets etc went in, along with a good s/h crank - the original had just started to pick up on the bearings. Again still could have been used if push came to shove and amazing for the mileage but best to replace. We had some fun when a liner from the new block turned out to have a hairline crack but a new one was made up and went in.
So now we get interesting as all the bits I'd collected over the years to make the 'ultimate' - in my view - Alpine were starting to come together.
So working from the base up the engine was now along the lines of this:
Cross bolted 2.5 block with newly machined liner seats
Low compression pistons with gapless 'Total-Seal' rings (gifted from another project)
New bearings, gaskets, seals, crank (naturally)
Larger injectors
Higher lift cams (I swapped these for the 'interesting' hybrid ebay turbo I'd bought - Chinese not very good but funnily enough with a good compressor from the point of view of tuning)
Revised ECU - still Renix but now with new map
Hybrid T3 turbo
Water cooled chargecooler, plus original intercooler
The aim was always reliability so hence the chargecooler to keep temps down. More on that later, but at this stage it sort of looked like this.
The car at this stage had the Gaz dampers fitted, new seats, and all new rear suspension bushes together with new turbo oil feed pipe (safety measure) and various other bits and bobs including some welding to the front and rear. Suspension bushes are very expensive now, but are a very solid top-hat design so you get what you pay for and Renault knew what they were doing. They just charge way too much these days so I'm glad I replaced them when they were fairly reasonable.
So engine had come out and was with RATS in Derby. The compression test as I mentioned had revealed a low value on two pots - nothing bad considering the 200K odd miles (real miles remember as the speedo had been losing quite a bit on dropping out for extended periods i.e. a few months at a time).
However it was at this stage the block was taken apart, liners and crank etc all inspected. The decision was made to go for a full rebuild and as I mentioned before, the steam clean blew a pair of small holes in the block due to corrosion of the aluminium around the liner bases. Ultimately it would probably have been repairable at a push but just not worth it.
A friend then came up trumps (he used to service and restore Deloreans) with a late cross-bolted block. These were the last of the PRVs with the design really taken from the adaptations that were made for Le Mans - namely cross bolting - a couple of horizontal bolts on each side of the block attach the saddles for the main bearings. This stiffens the whole assembly and is generally 'a good thing'. (Not that the original block had this design and it had survived very nearly a drive to the moon)
So all good fun and the new bearings, liner seals, gaskets etc went in, along with a good s/h crank - the original had just started to pick up on the bearings. Again still could have been used if push came to shove and amazing for the mileage but best to replace. We had some fun when a liner from the new block turned out to have a hairline crack but a new one was made up and went in.
So now we get interesting as all the bits I'd collected over the years to make the 'ultimate' - in my view - Alpine were starting to come together.
So working from the base up the engine was now along the lines of this:
Cross bolted 2.5 block with newly machined liner seats
Low compression pistons with gapless 'Total-Seal' rings (gifted from another project)
New bearings, gaskets, seals, crank (naturally)
Larger injectors
Higher lift cams (I swapped these for the 'interesting' hybrid ebay turbo I'd bought - Chinese not very good but funnily enough with a good compressor from the point of view of tuning)
Revised ECU - still Renix but now with new map
Hybrid T3 turbo
Water cooled chargecooler, plus original intercooler
The aim was always reliability so hence the chargecooler to keep temps down. More on that later, but at this stage it sort of looked like this.
Ok, so car was now back with me along with rebuilt engine, turbo, more welding etc from Lee @RATS and back in its new home (garaged once more - it never was at the old house) as we'd moved and now had the additional space. I think my parents were keen to see it back home again too and not taking up space in their garage where it had been temporarily housed for way too long.
Now sadly around this time my Dad was suddenly taken ill with what turned out to be a Grade IV glioma - brain tumour.
If you have something this long, it goes not just on the physical journeys with you but also the big ones in life, including one of the final trips to the hospice one Sunday. I think from memory he died on the Monday.
Now sadly around this time my Dad was suddenly taken ill with what turned out to be a Grade IV glioma - brain tumour.
If you have something this long, it goes not just on the physical journeys with you but also the big ones in life, including one of the final trips to the hospice one Sunday. I think from memory he died on the Monday.
Pistom said:
This is turning into a fascinating and heart warming thread.
Hope that doesn't seem out of place after that last post but I feel empathy and sympathy with much I'm reading here even if I can't find the right words.
Thanks. Hope that doesn't seem out of place after that last post but I feel empathy and sympathy with much I'm reading here even if I can't find the right words.
As I alluded to before, it wasn't the only event of this nature, sadly we had been to a friend's wedding about 8 years before that which was a hastily planned event as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer (again a brain tumour). The Alpine then took us to the funeral about 4 months later. He was mid 20s, so far too young. As I said, own a car for long enough and it becomes a constant thread in all these things...
Anyway, on to happier times. The car was now back and although not getting enough use did go to a few proper events that year, including open day at RATS:
And OrigineRS at Goodwood:
On track next to John and his wife Sue. One of life's true gents who has owned his from new, so very nearly 30 years. We're a dedicated bunch...
Super rare two times Le Mans A220 racer with v8 Gordini engine.
I particularly like the bathplugs. How else do you stop things falling into the throttle trumpets?
And a small local meet where we got rained on. Hard.
alpgta said:
Ok, so car was now back with me along with rebuilt engine, turbo, more welding etc from Lee @RATS and back in its new home (garaged once more - it never was at the old house) as we'd moved and now had the additional space. I think my parents were keen to see it back home again too and not taking up space in their garage where it had been temporarily housed for way too long.
Now sadly around this time my Dad was suddenly taken ill with what turned out to be a Grade IV glioma - brain tumour.
If you have something this long, it goes not just on the physical journeys with you but also the big ones in life, including one of the final trips to the hospice one Sunday. I think from memory he died on the Monday.
Sorry to hear about your Dad.Now sadly around this time my Dad was suddenly taken ill with what turned out to be a Grade IV glioma - brain tumour.
If you have something this long, it goes not just on the physical journeys with you but also the big ones in life, including one of the final trips to the hospice one Sunday. I think from memory he died on the Monday.
Lee at RATS did the rebuild on my GTA Turbo, I have loads of images of the build. He did a great job on the engine.
Ok, so here's what happened next.
So the car had been back with me for a while, and been used a bit before I embarked on the replacement of the carpets pictured earlier. At this point (as per the pic) I'd then found rust on the inner sills so post-screwdriver poke around it went to a local garage for some welding and a small service.
MOT was due at the same time so they took it to a local centre for that, however just as it's about to start the VOSA inspectors turns up for a spot check.
Apparently 'we haven't seen one of these in a long while, let's make it a test case' or words to that effect. To cap it all, the MOT inspector herself was female (which must be a pretty rare thing) and now she has VOSA breathing down her neck - which in a male dominated world is probably more than enough for her to then have a point to prove. Accordingly they spent very nearly an hour on the car and put it through something closer to a SVA test - with MOT lady showing exactly how proficient she was at spotting any small defect.
Ultimately it was passed (on the second attempt - after some more welding) but it now had a massive list of advisories, most of which focused on corrosion - suspension, chassis, subframe etc. Pretty much anything they could visibly see having very nearly crawled over it with a magnifying glass.
Hence it was used a bit that year, but the following summer I decided (before any MOT) that I'd tackle this head-on and correct anything I could find from the prior MOT sheet. I bought some two-part 1-2-1 epoxy mastic paint (as it's far superior to the standard hammerite type treatment), some wire wheels for the drill, new wire brushes etc and dremmel bits.
So here it is in various stages:
Getting better and by this time I'd blown up the dremmel :
Final product. Suspension wishbones, track-rods, chassis, all done:
I even did the calipers in gold.... mmm tarty!
I'd done pretty much the entire car, front and rear over the course of multiple weekends. All done.
'I'll just paint the main water pipes whilst I'm under here, may as well just give them a very slight clean with the wire brush'
It was then that a trickle of Type-D coolant appeared. A constant trickle that I then spent the next 20 mins decanting from various kitchenware into a suitable container.
To be continued....
So the car had been back with me for a while, and been used a bit before I embarked on the replacement of the carpets pictured earlier. At this point (as per the pic) I'd then found rust on the inner sills so post-screwdriver poke around it went to a local garage for some welding and a small service.
MOT was due at the same time so they took it to a local centre for that, however just as it's about to start the VOSA inspectors turns up for a spot check.
Apparently 'we haven't seen one of these in a long while, let's make it a test case' or words to that effect. To cap it all, the MOT inspector herself was female (which must be a pretty rare thing) and now she has VOSA breathing down her neck - which in a male dominated world is probably more than enough for her to then have a point to prove. Accordingly they spent very nearly an hour on the car and put it through something closer to a SVA test - with MOT lady showing exactly how proficient she was at spotting any small defect.
Ultimately it was passed (on the second attempt - after some more welding) but it now had a massive list of advisories, most of which focused on corrosion - suspension, chassis, subframe etc. Pretty much anything they could visibly see having very nearly crawled over it with a magnifying glass.
Hence it was used a bit that year, but the following summer I decided (before any MOT) that I'd tackle this head-on and correct anything I could find from the prior MOT sheet. I bought some two-part 1-2-1 epoxy mastic paint (as it's far superior to the standard hammerite type treatment), some wire wheels for the drill, new wire brushes etc and dremmel bits.
So here it is in various stages:
Getting better and by this time I'd blown up the dremmel :
Final product. Suspension wishbones, track-rods, chassis, all done:
I even did the calipers in gold.... mmm tarty!
I'd done pretty much the entire car, front and rear over the course of multiple weekends. All done.
'I'll just paint the main water pipes whilst I'm under here, may as well just give them a very slight clean with the wire brush'
It was then that a trickle of Type-D coolant appeared. A constant trickle that I then spent the next 20 mins decanting from various kitchenware into a suitable container.
To be continued....
So today's installment....
The GTA is obviously rear engined & water cooled and as such there are two main pipes that go to the rad at the front, plus a smaller one for the heater. My cleaning of the pipes as mentioned in the previous post hadn't exactly been vicious, so this was just bad luck plus nearly 30 years use that meant one of them had sprung a leak now. It was a relatively known problem that we were seeing in the club more and more often.
Massive pain though after all the work and I spent some time pondering whether I had any other option than to get the engine out again. Those pipes are single piece and were only designed to go in with the engine and rear subframe out of the way.
I did wonder though whether I'd be able to sleeve the pipe with some silicone hose as at least a usable fix. Time to try out my specifically long ramps:
Unfortunately not. The split was where the pipes rest on a plate at the front of the chassis just before they divert to either side of the car. Put simply they really do rest on that plate and there simply isn't the room to move them in-situ. I guess with a bit of effort I could have cut the pipes and patched it, but that would have been a bodge.
So I had a bit of a think, saved up some more cash and waited for an answer to appear in the form of new stainless pipes that one of the club members was having made up. These were the second batch so we knew they were a very good fit, well made and superior to other replacements available. Plus unlike the original mild steel ones they won't rust.
They are quite a complex bend:
More hatching of plans and again another trip to RATS beckoned:
Getting the pipes out means dropping the engine, gearbox and rear subframe as a single unit, plus removal of the fuel tank at the front. So added to the wish-list was a gearbox rebuild with all new synchro rings plus strip down of the front end, including peeling back the fibre-glass from around the front cross-member and making any repairs - more welding!
3rd, 4th and 5th synchro rings can still be sourced for the UN1 box from Renault. 1st and 2nd are a different design completely and aren't available. However after a bit of a quest I had one (or two) rings to rule them all. Actually I had four as I bought another set for a friend.
I did make sure they were clean of any grease before this visual gag as this isn't my illustrated copy of the Hobbit and she would have killed me...
The GTA is obviously rear engined & water cooled and as such there are two main pipes that go to the rad at the front, plus a smaller one for the heater. My cleaning of the pipes as mentioned in the previous post hadn't exactly been vicious, so this was just bad luck plus nearly 30 years use that meant one of them had sprung a leak now. It was a relatively known problem that we were seeing in the club more and more often.
Massive pain though after all the work and I spent some time pondering whether I had any other option than to get the engine out again. Those pipes are single piece and were only designed to go in with the engine and rear subframe out of the way.
I did wonder though whether I'd be able to sleeve the pipe with some silicone hose as at least a usable fix. Time to try out my specifically long ramps:
Unfortunately not. The split was where the pipes rest on a plate at the front of the chassis just before they divert to either side of the car. Put simply they really do rest on that plate and there simply isn't the room to move them in-situ. I guess with a bit of effort I could have cut the pipes and patched it, but that would have been a bodge.
So I had a bit of a think, saved up some more cash and waited for an answer to appear in the form of new stainless pipes that one of the club members was having made up. These were the second batch so we knew they were a very good fit, well made and superior to other replacements available. Plus unlike the original mild steel ones they won't rust.
They are quite a complex bend:
More hatching of plans and again another trip to RATS beckoned:
Getting the pipes out means dropping the engine, gearbox and rear subframe as a single unit, plus removal of the fuel tank at the front. So added to the wish-list was a gearbox rebuild with all new synchro rings plus strip down of the front end, including peeling back the fibre-glass from around the front cross-member and making any repairs - more welding!
3rd, 4th and 5th synchro rings can still be sourced for the UN1 box from Renault. 1st and 2nd are a different design completely and aren't available. However after a bit of a quest I had one (or two) rings to rule them all. Actually I had four as I bought another set for a friend.
I did make sure they were clean of any grease before this visual gag as this isn't my illustrated copy of the Hobbit and she would have killed me...
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