Moonstone GTi6 Track-Lite Project

[reese]

Hi all,

Here is my Moonstone GTi6 which I bought as spares/repairs due it having snapped the belt making a mess of itself. Having previously had an Astor GTi6 which some decided to pull out on and write off I had a good base for a spare engine. I had not too long ago done the cam belt, tensioners and water pump on it as well so it was ready and raring to go. Handily both cars had done around 55k miles so were perfect for each other!

The gearbox in the Astor was whining in second gear and a stiff bugger when cold, the gearbox in the Moonstone I was assured was sound so the job ahead involved getting both engines complete with gearboxes out of the cars, separating them and getting the good engine and good gearbox mated to each other and dropped into the Moonstone.

First job involved was to pull the Astor straight in order to access the engine bay.


Then the stripping began!




Until it was just a bare shell and ready to be taken off to the scrappers!


Found a crate laying around at the top of my road, would highly recommend one for anyone doing an engine swap as they are so handy to lay along the feet of the crane to sit the engine on to move about with!

Next job was to remove the engine and gearbox from the Moonstone.....






Both gearboxes off.


Good engine and good gearbox ready in position. (Ignore the single lifting rope and its position that was to lift that side up to allow for easier attachment of the gearbox)


The rain came but that didn't stop play!




In!


Turned the car around so that it could be pushed nose into the garage to be worked on with shelter from rain and also some light!


Decided to fit my scorpion exhaust. Here's a comparison against stock.


Fitted


And here she is now, turned first turn of the key :in love: Here's a quick vid whilst bleeding the coolant system


Next steps are getting some insurance, an MOT and take her out on track!

[Piggy]

nice work!!

look forward to more updates

[MCH]

good work saving one

what's the car in the background of the last pic?

[reese]

good work saving one

what's the car in the background of the last pic?

Thanks!

That's my friend Dom's widebody 205 which is a work in progress at the moment. Here it is at FCS 2014.

[Niall]

Oh how is Dom? I spoke to him briefly at FCS this year but he seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet since!

[reese]

Oh how is Dom? I spoke to him briefly at FCS this year but he seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet since!

He's been very busy recently which has meant he hasn't had much time to work on the car or be very active on the forums etc. He's getting back into working on the car so hopefully we'll be able to finish the car off and post up some pics. I'll pester him to start a build thread over the next couple of weeks

[MCH]

thats a bit different, not sure its entirely to my taste but as long as he likes it...
Guessing from the window sliders and bonnet pins its got something nice under the bonnet?

I just completed returning a GTi6 to the road...

had this when I bought it:







Back driving now but its far too low so I want to get some slightly less harsh lowering springs.

[-ER-]

good work (Y)

[procta]

good work saving one

what's the car in the background of the last pic?

Thanks!

That's my friend Dom's widebody 205 which is a work in progress at the moment. Here it is at FCS 2014.

was that car on here before in blue and looked very sorry for its self?

[Eeyore]

good work saving one

what's the car in the background of the last pic?

Thanks!

That's my friend Dom's widebody 205 which is a work in progress at the moment. Here it is at FCS 2014.

was that car on here before in blue and looked very sorry for its self?

Nope this was red before!

[procta]

what's the crac with it been painted army green then?

[reese]

Some long overdue updates, a new job, a move to Cambridge and other things have slowed progress on the GTi6. That said, I've booked a track day on the 22nd of September at Snetterton in order to push myself to get the car in good working order!

So I started with the suspension, bought some Eibach springs to replace the GMAX ones that were one there, put them together with the existing Bilstein B4s along with new top mounts.



New Motaquip wishbones and balljoints.



New track rod ends.



Onto the rear.



Picked up some 21mm VTS torsion bars. The car having been lowered in the last few years mean that getting the existing torsion bars wasn't too difficult. Slide hammer and the nearside came out a treat, the offside needed some persuasion.



While the bars were out I checked the swing arm bearings for wear. When everything else is complete I will get the car level, double check the height and make any required adjustments then. This is how the car currently sits (excuse the dirt!).

---

I bought a Momo hub and a 3 inch dished wheel from McGill Motorsport.

Before.



After.



Started stripping the interior.



Bought some Sparco seat frames that didn't fit.











I bought part number: 499054 which are supposed to be specific to the 306. A number of members on the GTi6 forums have stated that they have bought frames to this number and they have been a straight fit. I found a guy who had a similar issue to me; he returned the 499054s and bought 499049s specific to 106/Saxo models which was apparently a direct fit for him, it's all very odd! Not sure whether to try part number 499049 or to just make some frames up myself.

Went bucket seat shopping at GSM Performance.



Being 6ft 3 a lot of the seats were too small however I sat in a Bimarco Futura which was a perfect fit! Will be ordering these very soon.

[reese]

good work saving one

what's the car in the background of the last pic?

Thanks!

That's my friend Dom's widebody 205 which is a work in progress at the moment. Here it is at FCS 2014.

was that car on here before in blue and looked very sorry for its self?

Nope this was red before!

Indeed, this is it pre steroids.



Progress is still being made, I think Dom is looking to get out on track at some point in October.

[reese]

Did front discs and pads, lines and fluid to follow...


Cambelt done too. Sacrificed one of my allen keys for use on the tensioner!






Picked up a polly bottom engine mount too, to fit soon!

[DeeTurbo]

Nice meeting you yesterday day Matt.

Where did you get your locking pins from?

I've swapped the bases on the seats and fitted them today.

[reese]

It was good meeting you too Dee. Just had a look at your build thread and they look a lot better than what you started with, good job!

The pins are from the VW locking kit that I used to do the Golf cambelt. You can find the pins separately under VW part number 3359.

[reese]

Got a package in the post....


My new seats!


Mocking up the seat frames in Denis's car (russian guy on the GTi6 forums)


Denis welding up the frames


Mocking up the side mounts


Seats in! (Side mounts will be shaped and painted soon)

[Mattcheese31]

Some nice love going on in here, cracking on nicely

[Eeyore]

Dennis' rally is so nice. love the home made seat mounts. They look great!

[Matt-Rallye]

Holy thread revival!

Nice to see it hasn't been forgotten about despite being on the back burner a good hoon on track should renew enthusiasm!

[Dum-Dum]

I hate to shit on your cornflakes mate but do you know that a 1/4" drive ratchet or T-Bar handle will also turn the tensioner rather than runining an allen key.

Good work otherwise.

[reese]

Some nice love going on in here, cracking on nicely

Thanks!

Dennis' rally is so nice. love the home made seat mounts. They look great!

Indeed, his car is a fine bit of machinery! Thanks, they are based largely on Denis's but with a couple of tweaks.

Holy thread revival!

Nice to see it hasn't been forgotten about despite being on the back burner a good hoon on track should renew enthusiasm!

Thanks! Regarding the track, watch this space... 

---

I hate to shit on your cornflakes mate but do you know that a 1/4" drive ratchet or T-Bar handle will also turn the tensioner rather than runining an allen key.

Good work otherwise.

Not much of a cornflakes kind of guy myself but regardless the size 10 allen key I sacrificed hadn't had any use in 2 years. Once it was shaped it was a much better fit than a 1/4 inch ratchet and a whole lot more versatile.

Thanks!

[reese]

Track rubbers on


Spark plugs replaced, think I found the cause of the misfire and erratic idle...


MOT time


Track oil in

[reese]

At Snetterton


A short edit of us behaving like lunatics...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWPLL0ncXWA

Car was generally good although was a little too understeery (without stupid tire rear pressures) so I've started thinking about potential next steps which could be Hybrid ARB and some negative camber at the front, any suggestions are welcome!

[reese]

Oil cooler mocking up

[impotentials]

Just looked through yours Reese, looks like a good project with lots of do it yourself bits, seats look really nice, comfy?
Many more plans, cage etc?

[7057sam]

See why brought a drift wheel haha

Nive driving mate.did get the ns2r from guy off ebay,reason i ask is because i brought some of him and kept the stickers on the side.

[MY95]

Car looks good! How are you finding the B4s and Eibachs?

[reese]

Just looked through yours Reese, looks like a good project with lots of do it yourself bits, seats look really nice, comfy?
Many more plans, cage etc?

Thanks mate! The seats are comfy but they lack a bit of lumbar support so I think I'll be looking to buy the velcro support pads you can just stick on to see if that helps. At the moment just the oil cooler, rear ARB and more track days!

See why brought a drift wheel haha

Nive driving mate.did get the ns2r from guy off ebay,reason i ask is because i brought some of him and kept the stickers on the side.

Haha, thanks mate! I bought them in the summer of 2015 off a guy in Northampton - they were from eBay. How are you finding them?

Car looks good! How are you finding the B4s and Eibachs?

Thanks mate! It feels quite similar to standard but with a little less roll. It would be interesting to see what B8/B6s are like with them.