upgrades?
Posted By : Philip Brammer, 02-Sep-2005, 07:33pm
First would be fitting an overdrive, if you don't already have one that is!
I can see this being a very popular thread Mike!!
I can see this being a very popular thread Mike!!
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upgrades?
Posted By : Mike Wrigley, 02-Sep-2005, 08:07pm
already got overdrive, I was thinking along the lines of tubular manifold, adjustable shocks, maybe upgraded brakes, leccy ignition and possibly a stage 2 head from the club shop....is this the right way to go?
cheers
mike-
upgrades?
Posted By : Colin Lindsay, 02-Sep-2005, 08:45pm
Personally I'd sell the Mk3 and use the cash plus the &163;1600 to buy a Mk1...
Only joking... (ducks to avoid missiles thrown by a myriad of Mk3 owners)
A tubular exhaust is a must for cleaning up the engine bay if nothing else, I've just fitted a 6 into 3 into 1 system which looks very presentable.
Electronic ignition is good as a maintenance-free add-on.
Spax or Koni shocks are also an excellent upgrade.
Personally if funds ever stretch I'll fit an aluminium radiator.
Other suggestions include alloy wheels, leather seats, burr walnut dash and a good CD player to hide the rattles and clonks that you get with a 30 year old car...
Have fun spending!!
Colin -
upgrades?
Posted By : Colin Lindsay, 02-Sep-2005, 08:46pm
Personally I'd sell the Mk3 and use the cash plus the &163;1600 to buy a Mk1...
Only joking... (ducks to avoid missiles thrown by a myriad of Mk3 owners)
A tubular exhaust is a must for cleaning up the engine bay if nothing else, I've just fitted a 6 into 3 into 1 system which looks very presentable.
Electronic ignition is good as a maintenance-free add-on.
Spax or Koni shocks are also an excellent upgrade.
Personally if funds ever stretch I'll fit an aluminium radiator.
Other suggestions include alloy wheels, leather seats, burr walnut dash and a good CD player to hide the rattles and clonks that you get with a 30 year old car...
Have fun spending!!
Colin-
upgrades?
Posted By : John Davies, 02-Sep-2005, 09:46pm
Mike,
It all depends .........!
First, are you sure that the car's standard systems are tip-top. Brake lines, both flexy and rigid, clutch ditto. Bodywork solid and protected with Waxoyl - you need a body off to get as much protection with paints etc. Rear suspension, bearings and U/js. Front bearings and steering.
Then, do you want performance or reliability? For that money, you could have the engine rebuilt as new for long-term running with money left over, or (just enough?) blueprinted with bronze guides, flowed head, etc.
Other bits I'd consider adding - electric fuel pump, ditto water, ditto fan, four pot calipers and vented discs at front, oil pressure gauge.
That should spend your money for you!
John-
upgrades?
Posted By : Mike Wrigley, 03-Sep-2005, 12:07pm
thanks for the suggestions everyone
the car is pretty straight, good chassis, bodywork and a reasonable interior. It will be used for mainly weekend fun and the odd trip into work when the sun's out so I want the emphasis on fun driving, it wont have to do 150 mile a day, every day.
Keep the suggestions coming, though I guess by the end of it there will be enough things that i hadn't even thought of to mean that &163;1600 looks like a drop in the ocean!!!!
Better keep going to work then, but my boss will be glad when I can stop dreaming about what I am going to do to the car....little does she know that I am getting more and more ideas from you guys...heh heh heh..
cheers
mike.-
upgrades?
Posted By : Don Cook, 04-Sep-2005, 10:58pm
If you are going to use it just for the weekend and occasional mid-week outings then you might as well keep it simple. I use mine for long continental trips once or twice a year so comfort and reliability are important to me: stainless exhaust, MX5 seats, Aldon ignition, inertia seat belts, decent CD player, door mirrors placed where you can see what is actually happening behind, decent dampers...&163;1600 won't last long!-
upgrades?
Posted By : Kevin Rochfort, 04-Sep-2005, 11:24pm
Air conditioning would be an excellent upgrade, and would probably take a large chunk out of the &163;1600.
I've seen an A/C'd Spitfire in the USA, a very neat installation with some extra air outlets to direct the air where it's needed - also the evaporator was in it's own air box, not combined with the heater like a modern car.
Kevin-
upgrades?
Posted By : John Davies, 05-Sep-2005, 08:47am
Nice one, Kevin!
Irony lives! And drives a convertible car.
John -
upgrades?
Posted By : David Rumens, 05-Sep-2005, 09:32am
I agree adjustable dampers and better seats all help with the comfort, plus in the case of the dampers also the road holding. An upgraded radiator, a spin on oil filter adaptor and or oil cooler, and electronic ignition will all improve the reliablilty.
If you want to improve the performace and your GT6 is a late Mk111, post engine KE 10,000, then I would consider fitting the earlier Mk11/Mk111 cam (308778) as this gives better performance right through the rev range. Then fit the 6-3-1 exhaust manifold and free flow aircleaners. If you are replacing the head avoid increasing the compression ratio as you will have problems with pinking due to the present fuels.
Just my thoughts.
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upgrades?
Posted By : Nigel Gibbins, 05-Sep-2005, 11:21am
I suppose the first question to ask is "what do you want form your GT6?" You mention a bit of weekend driving... okay, so it's essentially a leisure
car and possibly for the summer months?
Good stuff...
Well, you already have K&Ns and Sports back box so the logical next step here would be the tubular manifold, get a 6-3-1 as the 6-2-1 isn't much imporvement over the standard one. (&163;350).
Electronic ignition would take away the possiblity of points problems as you'll want to jump in the car and go rather than fiddle and fettle. (&163;100)
Halogen headlights (&163;?) and an uprated alternator (&194;&163;26) [ACR18] are a good upgrade.
A good Stereo/CD player/MiniDisk/iPod and speakers (&163;150+) (mine are behind the seats and set into the deck) and a automatic up/down arial (to stop scally's pulling it off).
I always like to fit a oil pressure gauge if poss - so I recommend one for you too... It's alwasy nice to know what's going on in there. (&163;30)
Electric fan - behind the radiator (&163;100)
Engine valances - to keep it clean (&163;50?)
Radiator cowl - to help keep it cool (&163;35)
Some top quality polish and wax and a pressure washer..
.. (&163;100?)
A car cover (&163;100) - you won't believe how filthy it can get even in a garage and it will help stop you scratching it when you try to squeeze past - if the car is outside then it keep twigs/leaves/bird poo off.
Waste of time stuff...
Alloys wheels - they won't improve your driving enjoyment of the car and will set you back &163;500 (new), I'd prefer to spend the money on car comfort.
Brake upgrades - they are perfectly good as they are, you could fit a servo if you want an easier time of things but it isn't necessary.
Dampers - (unless worn out) adjustables on a road car are a waste of money, good quality standard (type) shocks are all you need and are much cheaper.
Springs - the harder the spring go the less comfortabel the car will become - your choice there.
That should put a big dent in your budget... some of it you may already have - but that's where my money would go if it were me.
Good stuff...
Well, you already have K&Ns and Sports back box so the logical next step here would be the tubular manifold, get a 6-3-1 as the 6-2-1 isn't much imporvement over the standard one. (&163;350).
Electronic ignition would take away the possiblity of points problems as you'll want to jump in the car and go rather than fiddle and fettle. (&163;100)
Halogen headlights (&163;?) and an uprated alternator (&194;&163;26) [ACR18] are a good upgrade.
A good Stereo/CD player/MiniDisk/iPod and speakers (&163;150+) (mine are behind the seats and set into the deck) and a automatic up/down arial (to stop scally's pulling it off).
I always like to fit a oil pressure gauge if poss - so I recommend one for you too... It's alwasy nice to know what's going on in there. (&163;30)
Electric fan - behind the radiator (&163;100)
Engine valances - to keep it clean (&163;50?)
Radiator cowl - to help keep it cool (&163;35)
Some top quality polish and wax and a pressure washer..
.. (&163;100?)A car cover (&163;100) - you won't believe how filthy it can get even in a garage and it will help stop you scratching it when you try to squeeze past - if the car is outside then it keep twigs/leaves/bird poo off.
Waste of time stuff...
Alloys wheels - they won't improve your driving enjoyment of the car and will set you back &163;500 (new), I'd prefer to spend the money on car comfort.
Brake upgrades - they are perfectly good as they are, you could fit a servo if you want an easier time of things but it isn't necessary.
Dampers - (unless worn out) adjustables on a road car are a waste of money, good quality standard (type) shocks are all you need and are much cheaper.
Springs - the harder the spring go the less comfortabel the car will become - your choice there.
That should put a big dent in your budget... some of it you may already have - but that's where my money would go if it were me.
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upgrades?
Posted By : James Carruthers, 05-Sep-2005, 11:40am
I'm going to disagree
kind of
Personally I found the ride of my Spitfire (original Mk3 suspension) way too bouncy for a road car, let alone a "sportscar". All the springs and dampers were in tip-top condition - so it wasnt worn out.
I upgraded to some slightly stiffer springs - 330lb - and the ride was more bouncy due to having standard shocks - erk! Then I put on some adjustable shocks - whilst the adjustability is a waste of time (unless you do the odd track day I guess) the fact that you could set them slightly stiffer works wonders - and now the ride is superb. It's firm but with enough comfort. It's a compromise - though to me it feels more comfortable than the original suspension! It is also a sports car - it's meant to be driven with haste - and the slightly stiffer setting does help.
This difference is also on modern cars - German cars tend to be quite a bit firmer than French - for instance. So I don't think there is a "right" in terms of how stiff the ride is.
Moral of the story - if you want a stiffer ride you've got to change the shocks too. Obvious when you think about it...
Of course - is the GT6 a sportscar...
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upgrades?
Posted By : Nigel Gibbins, 05-Sep-2005, 01:42pm
I agree with you
... what I'm trying to say is get 'normal' shocks that can't be adjusted, but make sure they are 'stiffer' than the standard ones... I meant 'standard' as the type not the rate...
*I doodid and edit in the original post - amazing what difference one word makes*
Ang's spitfire (BTW) has standard springs and shocks and handles the bumps very well - much more comfy than the GT6 on uprated springs and shocks. The 'bounce' takes me some getting used to though as I'm used to thre racer.. with 800lbs springs!!
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upgrades?
Posted By : Mike Wrigley, 05-Sep-2005, 06:42pm
Thanks to everyone for all the advice...
I must admit that I didnt realise quite what a minefield I was wandering into here, I thought that everyone would just say "shocks, brakes, manifold..." it just goes to show how different people want different things and what a versatile car the GT6 is.
A MKII cam was mentioned, is this just a straight swap? I had looked at a fast road cam from kent or piper but started to get scared with having to change the valve timeing and what not....is this reasonably straight foward or a nightmare job? No one seems to have commented on the possibilty of a stage 2 head from the club, anyone got any experience with these? Are they worth the dosh? I presume that getting my origional head machined to stage 2 spec would be cheaper but I dont want to entrust it to someone with no experience of our cars and to be honest wouldnt really know what to ask for (told you I was new to this). Anyone know of a good machine shop in the nottingham area?
Again thanks alot to everyone for all the help.
cheers
mike-
upgrades?
Posted By : James Carruthers, 05-Sep-2005, 07:53pm
Mike,
Legend has it that as yours is a MkIII GT6 it should have a very nice flowed head anyway - so I wouldnt worry.
As for timing in a different cam - its really very easy.
James
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upgrades?
Posted By : James Carruthers, 05-Sep-2005, 07:51pm
Where do you get stiff standard shocks from then?... would have gone for those over my AVOs...
I thought they were just all "standard"
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