Renault 5 GT turbo - Gordini head swap and general tinkering
Discussion
After finishing a complete rebuild of the car, I started looking into fitting the Gordini head onto the standard engine block. Being cross flow in design the power potential is far greater the the standard head. And the sound they make is something else!
I a aged to pick up a complete Gordini engine so the only thing left to do was to start making and modifying things to get it all together. Fortunately I have a spare front end to mock things up on, so I can still use the car while everything is being fabricated.
Anyway pics!
I a aged to pick up a complete Gordini engine so the only thing left to do was to start making and modifying things to get it all together. Fortunately I have a spare front end to mock things up on, so I can still use the car while everything is being fabricated.
Anyway pics!
exgtt said:
Great project! Is the car pearl white? Love the GTT I miss mine dearly. Do you know what your expecting power wise once completed? Are you sticking with the carb or going EFI? Good luck with it!
This is Glacier white. I had one as my first car about 17 years ago and always wanted another since, so I bought this one about 3 years ago. The aim is to get over the 300hp milestone keeping it 1.4L, although the the maxi 1.6 conversion is tempting!
I'm going efi, sequential injection on this build to get the most out of it, and not melt any Pistons. 😄
Here's a better pic of the car.
The plenum was the next job, I toyed with putting the injectors straight into the head, but decided to try and keep the head unmodified as its easier to replace in the future if ever needed.
First job was machining up the stubs to flanges.
Then I made up the outer plenum casing.
The inlet stubs were then welded the inlet flanges on both sides, then ports cleaned up.
This is about as close as I could get to pointing at the valves.
Then onto some machining.
First job was machining up the stubs to flanges.
Then I made up the outer plenum casing.
The inlet stubs were then welded the inlet flanges on both sides, then ports cleaned up.
This is about as close as I could get to pointing at the valves.
Then onto some machining.
They were everywhere 10 years ago, now it seems you need £4K just to get in something with an MOT. I dream about finding something 100% standard, in a barn somewhere. Brilliant little cars, so exciting to drive with 150+ BHP. I had a black one, had the usual 90s tuning parts, think it dyno'd @ 150 odd BHP with 178lb or torque, it was the torque that sling shotted the lightweight terror out of corners (in the dry!) there will never be anything like it again.
exgtt said:
They were everywhere 10 years ago, now it seems you need £4K just to get in something with an MOT. I dream about finding something 100% standard, in a barn somewhere. Brilliant little cars, so exciting to drive with 150+ BHP. I had a black one, had the usual 90s tuning parts, think it dyno'd @ 150 odd BHP with 178lb or torque, it was the torque that sling shotted the lightweight terror out of corners (in the dry!) there will never be anything like it again.
I know prices have gone crazy! It's has been made worse by the fact Renault have stopped making parts, so it's basically what is left in stock and that's it. And what they don't have has to come from a car someone is breaking.The bumper strips (old throw away item) used to be £20 each now they are £350 for the fronts...
They are out there, but anything OE untouched will more than likely need welding. They are great cars, I can understand why they are not everyone's cup of tea, but to me they are fun to drive.
When I built this engine I built it to give lots of bottom end torque, so it's very lively from 2k upwards. It will be interesting to see how the Gordini head goes, and when the turbo spools. I'm thinking of running the same turbo to start with to compare where boost comes in the go from there. I need a bigger turbo the the Tomcat one I have to get 300hp but I also don't want boost coming in at 4k...I don't want much.
Matty... said:
I know prices have gone crazy! It's has been made worse by the fact Renault have stopped making parts, so it's basically what is left in stock and that's it. And what they don't have has to come from a car someone is breaking.
The bumper strips (old throw away item) used to be £20 each now they are £350 for the fronts...
They are out there, but anything OE untouched will more than likely need welding. They are great cars, I can understand why they are not everyone's cup of tea, but to me they are fun to drive.
When I built this engine I built it to give lots of bottom end torque, so it's very lively from 2k upwards. It will be interesting to see how the Gordini head goes, and when the turbo spools. I'm thinking of running the same turbo to start with to compare where boost comes in the go from there. I need a bigger turbo the the Tomcat one I have to get 300hp but I also don't want boost coming in at 4k...I don't want much.
Agreed, a sensible sized turbo will keep it useable with maximise driving pleasure. The price for genuine parts and the way those have increased in such a short space of time is mind boggling, front grills are probably worth their weight in gold, well nearly! The bumper strips (old throw away item) used to be £20 each now they are £350 for the fronts...
They are out there, but anything OE untouched will more than likely need welding. They are great cars, I can understand why they are not everyone's cup of tea, but to me they are fun to drive.
When I built this engine I built it to give lots of bottom end torque, so it's very lively from 2k upwards. It will be interesting to see how the Gordini head goes, and when the turbo spools. I'm thinking of running the same turbo to start with to compare where boost comes in the go from there. I need a bigger turbo the the Tomcat one I have to get 300hp but I also don't want boost coming in at 4k...I don't want much.
In my late teens I did wonder about putting a Gordini head on the C1J, just a fleeting thought I neither had the funds or know how back then (still don't tbh) great to see it being done.
exgtt said:
Agreed, a sensible sized turbo will keep it useable with maximise driving pleasure. The price for genuine parts and the way those have increased in such a short space of time is mind boggling, front grills are probably worth their weight in gold, well nearly!
In my late teens I did wonder about putting a Gordini head on the C1J, just a fleeting thought I neither had the funds or know how back then (still don't tbh) great to see it being done.
Ha yeah good condition original grills are silly money, but some decent repro ones are available now. Gear knobs sell for over £200 In my late teens I did wonder about putting a Gordini head on the C1J, just a fleeting thought I neither had the funds or know how back then (still don't tbh) great to see it being done.
To be honest I thought the Gordini engine was completely different, until I had a customer turn up with one in a kit car and enlightened me. As soon as I heard it start up, I knew it was the next project. I started building this engine, before the first startup of the current engine.
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