My 3200 progress thread.

Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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As per my newbie thread, I bought a cheap, history unknown, 3200gt to play with. Its not to everyone's taste but it probably would have ended up as spare parts if I hadn't taken it on.

Figured I might as well make a progress thread to show what I've done to it.

The list so far -

New water pump, full cambelt service, full oil and filters service.
HRE 597r 3-piece forged alloys, 19"x8.5j/20"x11j.
Custom stainless exhaust, straight through from the cats back.
New speakers all round.
Bluetooth stereo with built in phone mount.
Cup holder built into centre console.
De-tinted rear lights from black back to red.

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It came with the full bodykit fitted, done at the same time as a crash repair by a previous owner.

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I'm now onto fixing the many small issues it has. This week I've replaced the broken fog light lens (and the other side too cos I bought the wrong one at first, so figured I might as well use it as its in better shape than the old one). While doing this I sorted out some iffy wiring to get the fog lights and reverse lights working again.
Also fixed a heater/fan issue with a new fuse box.

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Next up on the annoying little things list is trying to get the air con blowing cold, fixing the remote central locking, and working out why my interior lights don't work.

Bigger things still to come include a full refurb and rebuild of the wheels, brake overhaul, cruise control retrofit, new clutch, new headlight units, engine bay refresh, and a full respray to tidy up the bodywork. And I'm sure a hundred other little things I'll find along the way!

All this is while I use it as my daily driver, because why on earth would I drive this - 96016

- when I've got this sat on the drive?!
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I'll keep this thread updated with more progress as I make it.
 
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Harry

Harry

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1,192
Nice photies, where is that lovely old chimney located? It’s a shame Fred Dibnah blew most of them up!
 
Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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Harry said:
Nice photies, where is that lovely old chimney located? It’s a shame Fred Dibnah blew most of them up!
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Somewhere in Cornwall... That photo was taken by the shop who fitted the suspension so I don't know where exactly! It's an engine house from an old mine. Lots of them down here!

davy83 said:
good luck with it. The suspension appears to be broken I presume that's deliberate?
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Forgot to say, I've also fitted one of your (?? Guessing by the name...) contactless pedal pots and it came with the throttle body done too.

It has some idling issues, hunts a bit, but nothing concerning enough for me to look into the causes yet!
 
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davy83

davy83

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Jhc32gt said:
Somewhere in Cornwall... That photo was taken by the shop who fitted the suspension so I don't know where exactly! It's an engine house from an old mine. Lots of them down here!


It goes up and down. ;)

This is max height. I drive it somewhere between this and on the floor.

View attachment 96022
View attachment 96023
View attachment 96024

Not a simple installation as nothing is off-shelf for these. Had to have a few custom made up to get it to work. It still uses the original shocks though so the ride and handling are largely the same as before.

Forgot to say, I've also fitted one of your (?? Guessing by the name...) contactless pedal pots and it came with the throttle body done too.

It has some idling issues, hunts a bit, but nothing concerning enough for me to look into the causes yet!
Click to expand...
interesting!! the hunting is probably the contactless conversion on the throttle body, is it one of mine too (yes i make the pedal sensors)? There is no absolute cure for that sadly. I do try to make sure an throttle bodies i convert don't hunt at idle but its some times a struggle.
good luck with the car and let me know if I can help at all.
 
Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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35
davy83 said:
interesting!! the hunting is probably the contactless conversion on the throttle body, is it one of mine too (yes i make the pedal sensors)? There is no absolute cure for that sadly. I do try to make sure an throttle bodies i convert don't hunt at idle but its some times a struggle.
good luck with the car and let me know if I can help at all.
Click to expand...

I think the tb is one of yours. I haven't looked at it for a while but I vaguely remember it had volvo on it somewhere. I think I asked you about it on ebay when I bought the pedal pot but never got round to checking properly.

As said, it's a minor issue so not something I've really looked at much. Definitely not a complaint BTW, the pedal pot made a huge difference!
 
Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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35
Had a few weeks off work with a couple of broken ribs, so took the opportunity to sort out the wheels.

They had been 'refurbished' before by basically throwing a bucket of satin black paint at them.

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First up was taking them apart to get the centres out.

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Then, as they hadn't been primed previously, the black was scraped off the lips. I was hoping to find some nice clear aluminium that I could quickly turn into a brushed alloy finish. Sadly it turns out they were originally chromed, and the only prep done before the last refurb was to sand the chrome just enough to render it un-salvageable.

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So a quick change of plans meant they were destined to be painted. I opted for MG xpower grey, to match my front grill surround and rear badge.

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I gave the rear barrels a fresh coat of satin black too.
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Meanwhile the centres were sandblasted and painted in a purple metal flake base with a black candy over the top.
In normal light they look black, but when the sun catches them right they have a nice sparkle to them.
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This was taken before the black candy top coats.
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I was taught a neat trick for stripping the paint off the wheel hardware. Throw them in a tub of gravel with a bit of vinegar, and shake!
Worked a treat, but didn't quite get rid of all of it. So I picked the rest off, by hand with a little knife, all 140 of them...

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Tbc...
 
Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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I kept the original hardware as I wanted to keep them looking as intended.
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And finally, reassembly! A very long slow process, torquing each bolt to spec, in a star pattern to keep things even.
Finished off nicely with a new set of genuine HRE center caps.
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And the money shots... I'm more than happy with how they came out, its totally transformed the way they look and hopefully does a bit of justice to a set of pretty special wheels.

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That's my son's golf in front. Yes, we're a family of boy racers... This is my daughters car... 97139
 
Ewan

Ewan

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6,835
Does your insurance company give your family a discount for the safety feature of having your cars glued to the floor?;)
 
Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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Ewan said:
Does your insurance company give your family a discount for the safety feature of having your cars glued to the floor?;)
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Haha! The girls is on coilovers, but isn't very low.... Yet.
I bet she wishes she's got an insurance discount though, first car insurance on a 2.0 celica Gti-16 is astronomical! (as is the boys 1.6 golf, but not quite as painful as hers)
 
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Jhc32gt

Jhc32gt

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GeoffCapes said:
That Celica is lovely!
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Yeah it's a little beauty. And it has popups! :cool:

The camera is very kind to it though, the paint is actually 50 shades of pink after 30yrs of sun damage.
But it polishes up well. Her plans involve a wrap so we're not all that fussed about making it perfect as it'll be covered eventually.
 
GeoffCapes

GeoffCapes

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14,000
Jhc32gt said:
Yeah it's a little beauty. And it has popups! :cool:

The camera is very kind to it though, the paint is actually 50 shades of pink after 30yrs of sun damage.
But it polishes up well. Her plans involve a wrap so we're not all that fussed about making it perfect as it'll be covered eventually.
Click to expand...

I'd love a GT-4 Carlos Sainz Edition. A work colleague had one and I've lusted after them ever since.
 
philw696

philw696

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25,622
Lowered my Renault today inspired by the above.
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Amazing what picking up 400KG of glass blocks and mortar can do.
She didn't complain at all to be fair Ms French doesn't either.
 
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