[Australia] GTE Downunder

[ant]

Hey all..

I have been a GTE fan for so long I'm not sure where to start..

Back in 1990 or so a friend by the name of Rod Browning built a rally car that everyone laughed at.. well till he beat most o them. The car was a Holden Camira JE.. now this is as close as you can get to a Cavalier without the badges.



Rod knowing this built the Camira with all the data he could get from Harry Hockly and others on the Astra GTE rally car and a few bits like Quiafe F16 box etc.

I then bought the car and ran very succesfully for ages.

In 1995 GM Europe setup Daewoo and gave them the Mk2 Astra to start off with and in Australia sold them as a 15i. I and a few other contacted Daewoo and told them I had all the running gear and would like a body and minor support to run in the F2 champs.. but they refused and all was lost.



Last year I picked up a 15i for a few thousand and still having the Camira I am slowly bolting them together to make my very own GTE replica.

This will be a rally car for Classic Rallying pre 1985..



Current specs:

8v 2.0lt
10.5:1 compression
Mild Cam + vernier wheel
Std Mainifilds.. (inlet and exhaust port matched)
Balanced botom end
light flywheel (0.7kg off original weight)
Link Engine Management (fully programable)

Std F16 box fitted at Present 3.94 f/drive

Last time on dyno I had fuel pump die but not before 110hp at the wheels

Bilstein Shocks front and rear with King Springs 300pound front and 400pound rear (aprox 200pound at wheel) for tarmac setup..
Dirt setup I change the front to 200pound.
Front adjustable with solid tops

Peugeo 405 288mm front discs with Holden Commodore Caliper single piston (pug discs redrilled)
Holden Astra 265mm rear discs single piston with hand brake
Honda Prelude 1" master cylinder and booster
Wilwood bias valve
Hydraulic Hand Bake

Electric Power Steering from Holden Astra (same as the Vauxhall Astra)

[richie00boy]

Re: GTE Downunder

Nice to see you all the way on the other side of the world! Car looks good, and always nice to see another 8V performing well.

[teej]

Re: GTE Downunder

Another 8v for the classic series.

[Belmont turbo]

Re: GTE Downunder

nice car mate rally beast

[Sipo]

Re: GTE Downunder

Welcome matey, didnt realise the MK2 even had a couple of fans

I am just trying to get my head around your pictures - top left is your friends rally car, to the right is a nexia you have bought as a close shell to a MK2 GTE and below it in the garage is an acctual MK2? Or is it that nexia that you are transforming to look like a MK2 ?

Simon

[ant]

Re: GTE Downunder

Its the Daewoo with GTE bumper from sunny old england... if you look you may see bonnet vents as well but not flush like the real ones. I just cut the holes and fitted them.

I have rear bumper and side skirts coming.. all with the help of ebay.. gotta love it.

I Will get better pics for you to see.. I lived in London for 3 1/2 years and I wished I could have bought a whole car back..

[cielo20]

Re: GTE Downunder

hi
are the shock top mounts the offset ones? if so where did you get them from? i need some for my cielo as it is going through a lot of tyres (on the inside) at a fast rate!

[ant]

Re: GTE Downunder

cielo20,

Designed and made them myself.. with a little help from a friend with the precise machining.

They may end up dearer than buying a set from the UK though!

A friend is setting a machine shop building/restoring planes.. I hope to move in and produce some parts for Daewoo to GTE conversions and for my own supply.

[cielo20]

Re: GTE Downunder

nice job! do they get the wheels straight again?

[ant]

Re: GTE Downunder

Didn't have a problem with anything this is just for strength and road feel.

Changing the camber/caster from the top mount is realy a waste of time because you only get minimal amount of change. Adjustable bottom arms will give you the best option for setup an give maximum amount of camber/castor.

[astrasteve23]

Re: GTE Downunder

interesting project there! keep us up to date! im loving those front legs and top mounts! me want!

[ant]

Re: GTE Downunder

The car has been moving along... so I thought I had better update you all with what I have done.

Adjustable Coil-Overs.

Front:

I did a few small things that most people wouldn't do.

I drilled out the bottom of the strut as I noticed the stop in the tube was a fare way up... then I machined a new stop about 15mm deeper. This game me about 25mm lower in the suspension with the same travel.



I then cut the tube bellow the thread at the top and shortened it accordingly then fitted the coil-over kit. I also stiffened up the steering arm after I cut most of it away to get a little more length for the spring.




Rear:

Having my Bilstien Rally shocks I decided to build my coil-overs myself. I bought the threaded tube from King Springs and made the rest myself before ordering these coils specially made.

The shock body is 50mm which is a little large... thus I had to make the rest my self with Kings making me a special 51mm I/S dia spring. This is to fit it all under the guard and it is a tight squeese with the top mount and is offest in the top mount hole.



At the bottom I am using a collar over the threaded adjustment as the spring doesn't fit over the thread. This works fine I just need to make a nicer looking locking nut setup.



I stiffened up the mount on the rear arm as well. Also the handbrake cable runs through the arm instead of underneath.



Electric Power Steering:

Holden Astra electric power steering pump running a Holden Camira p/s rack which is 3.3 turns lock to lock

[ant]

Re: GTE Downunder

Brakes

Front:

I am using Commodore VL Turbo Calipers. These are 1 piston type but are so reliable. the rotors are Peugote 405 with redrilled holes 288mm dia.

On a track day I couldn't get them to fade dispite my left foot braking. But saying this I will be upgrading to 4 piston brakes when I have the money.




Rear:

Holden Astra single piston with hand brake 265mm dia. Work a treat. I will upgrade to 2 piston Calibra calipers and rotors when the fron is done.

I also ran the had brake cable through the arm so it didn't hang down under the car.



Hydraulic Handbrake / Brake Bias:

I built my own hydraulic handbrake so I could leave the cable handbrake in it's place.

The bias is Wilwood

[ant]

Re: GTE Downunder

Front Lower Control Arm

Here I completely reproduced the arm from scratch. I got an engineering company to bend me Chromoly tube to the arm shape then I made up the rest and bosses for the Chromoly Rod Ends plus brackets for the sway bar.

It took me a while to make sure I had all the anles right and that the rod ends didn't bind with the full travel in the suspension.

When I was happy I got them welded... I could have done this myself but I didn't have the correct filler rod and I wanted to make sure it was done correctly.

The rear rubber joint is replaced with a sherical bearing in this alumimium housing... I did this myself and next time I will do it a little differently as it was very time consuming to machine these.

I have designed "jacking spacers" and this will allow adjustment to caster without removing the bolts. The camber adjustment will however be a matter of removing the bolt from the bottom of the strut to the rod end and winding in and out for adjustment. I have made this a little easier by having a 5/8" bolt instead of the normal taper on the normal ball joint.

[Ian T]

Re: GTE Downunder

Lovely work there, I especially like the bespoke front arms (above) - I'm guessing that the spherical joints are really for track use and wouldn't last on the road?

Ian.