General Punto GT 2.0 16V Turbo project

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General Punto GT 2.0 16V Turbo project

Liquid Knight

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So my Coupe is gone and in it's place is this GT with the had part of a Coupe 16V turbo conversion already done.

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Nice colour. Shame the steering column split and it took half an hour to get it off the street and on to my drive.

I'll do a full assessment tomorrow as it's getting dark and I need to get ready for work.

I have a rough idea of what to do with the car but what do you guys think?
 
I'm sure you can make a good one out of it and another gt on the road [emoji1303], not a real fan of engine swapping but if it's part way there it will be a flyer [emoji594]
 
i'm opposite, i love engine swaps!!! :D I get not ruining a nice original car, especially when getting old and rare like the GT - I loved my GT but on the flip side always kinda regretted getting such a nice original car cause I really wanted to do stuff to it and felt too bad doing anything so it stayed stock.. I really want a tjet swapped mk1 but not actively looked for one in ages because time and space, maybe one day.

Anyhoo, look forward to future posts, hopefully once you start digging around its a decent solid car, finger crossed.
 
The whole time I was working on the Coupe I knew ultimately it was a clocked car and not worth it. Financially it would be worth half a fully restored example but without knowing the true mileage there was the Sword of Damocles hanging over the cam' belts, head gasket, clutch and so on.

I was thinking of fitting the turbo engine into my Bravo but that engine has been faultless.

I wouldn't have done the conversion to my black and green pile of crap GT because it would mean taking a GT off the road but this is mostly done already.

https://www.fiatforum.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=34717

Already thinking as it's not an original GT it doesn't have to be a car any more. ;)

When I get time I'll go through all the bits and pieces to see what I'm going to need but following the steering column fiasco I may have to strip the car completely to see what other bolts are missing before making any major project decisions.
 
Decision stage.

http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=2640

982Kg plus the difference the Coupe bits make up minus what I can save with 200+ bhp.

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Before I get going I need to see what I have to start with and make a basic list of stuff I'm going to need. So after a busy day and with ten minutes of daylight left...

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20V Coupe 16's with Koni shocks and lowered springs. The brakes are in the previous owners shed. I get those next time I'm in the area.

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The 16V engine looks at home in there doesn't it? :)

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The turbo is free and looks reconditioned.

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This looks a mess but with no console I don't have to mess about with stereo stuff and things to keep the car focused. Blank canvas interior then. ;)

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Carbon wrapped picnic table on the back for some reason. Apparently this is an original Abarth spoiler and worth a bit. That can go to fund other parts.

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Old radiator in a new radiator box. Grrrrr! Just as well Alu-Tech are just up the road from me.

Boxes of interior trim pieces and at least two spare ecus so it's not all bad.

I'm going to need a passenger side headlight (may as well get a pair) indicator, side repeaters cosmetically; the interior can go. I have a pair of leather Bravo HGT seats for a touch of luxury if I want to go that way or a pair of buckets and harnesses will be just as good.

I'll take care of the welding and cosmetic side of things first and worry about the mechanical stuff when it's a little warmer and I can crawl about better.

Looks like a good project. With the Guy Croft recipe for 300bhp in my shed potential is an understatement. No rare car guilt and at the point where I can really stamp my ideas to it. :devil:
 
the engine does look good in there , if not a bit snug , hope you've got small hands for working on in the engine bay [emoji373][emoji373]be nice to see how it proceeds [emoji1303].
 
there was quite a few of these conversions around back in the day so i guess alot of info should be out there for this swap somewhere... I actually saw a 20vt mk1 on ebay not long back, never thought that would fit at all!!

Looking forward to seeing this one progress now, all in all looks like a great project starting point tbh.

One of the uno turbo lads i know started this engine swap in his minty green GT - had all sorts of issues getting it running right and its just sat for years doing nothing. I believe he is planning to swap it back to the original GT engine when he one day gets round to it.. He will probably have alot of bits that maybe useful or missing once you get tucked into the engine stuff... If you have facebook I could put you in touch with him on there - if you don't already know him of course.
 
So the first job today was to get the steering column reattached.

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The nut and bolt were on the bloody floor! :bang:

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Next was this...

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...it's a single bulb headlight so for a Punto 55, 60 or 60S. If that wasn't insulting enough it has some cheap eBay or Poundland LED halo side lights stuck in the way of the low beam so it would never pass an MOT. This took less time than the column to put it in the bin.

I may end up breaking this for parts as the loom is a disaster zone and the engine feels too tight. Not happy about turning on the crank so I'll have to take the spark plugs out and see inside the cylinders. :(
 
oh no it sounds bad [emoji1304]

It's worse. :(

The original owner has been in touch and it was only ever a test fitting mule. Sold as such to someone and a few different people later the words "scrap" and "parts only" were Chinese whispered away and replaced with "worthwhile project".

It does explain a lot of things I spotted wrong with the car. This engine and that platform have the potential to be a 160+mph car. Little things like finding new belts in the back rather than fitting them while the engine was out, about three different wiring looms and other things suggest it was bodged.

Being a test mule makes sense of the chaos.

If the engine is a paperweight then it will make a nice display piece at least. :D

I'm kind of project-less now. I can't get my Panda in my shed because it's gone from being full of Morris Minor bits to Punto GT bits. ;)
My Bravo is faultless but I may use the rear disc mounts and brackets from the GT to upgrade the rear end.
My Seicento Schumacher needs a couple of basic repairs.
My RX8 is also faultless but petrol is now £1.30 a liter so the Bravo is getting to see the road.

All that remains is to pick the carcass of the Punto and get it gone.

If anyone needs anything let me know. :)
 
Whats the shell like?? Possible you could just rip the engine out and start again or is the body loom all chopped up as well - that siad i can't remember if the GT has a seperate body and engine loom like a fire engined one.

Just thinking if the shell is solid enough you could possibly do a different engine swap, been thinking a tjet would be an epic engine swap into a mk1 and maybe one day I'll get round to having a stab at such a project. My main issue is not being able to weld or having a welder (or a local person that welds i am friends with which i did when i lived up north) so really I would have to find a solid shell to start with and thats getting super difficult now. Guess i should just bu ya welder at some point and start learning
 
The shell is not as good as advertised either. Stripped out for rust repair and abandoned due to the amount of rust.

It's being collected tomorrow for scrap. I haven't time to pick through all the parts, separate the good, bad and "Barry'd", strip, store and take forever to sell.

I gave up a perfectly good 16V Turbo Coupe that needed cosmetic and consumables work for basically nothing.

The whole time my Fantasia has sat waiting for me to restore.

As soon as this pile of crap is gone my Panda will be in the shed. :)
 
Going tomorrow and I will have a Lexus LS400 V8 to play with. If my Renesis goes Stimpy-ish I can drop the 1UZ into the RX8 and upset the locals. :devil:
 
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