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Project 3.8

39K views 346 replies 62 participants last post by  GTA_Nigel 
#1 ·
As some people will know, or worked out I have got a new project on the go. After a tip off from Pud I have put down a deposit on a 147 GTA with Auto Lusso, the car is a cat D, the engine got hydro-locked presumably when driving through a deep puddle, or fording a river! It now needs a full engine rebuild. My plan is to get Ned and the guys at Auto Lusso to convert it to a 3.8 with a kit from AHM and other goodies as the whole front of the car needs to be taken to pieces to rebuild the engine from scratch anyway it seems a good opportunity to spec a car from the ground up. :thumbs:

I am just gauging peoples reactions, Ned and myself plan to document the conversion and rebuild anyway, but I just wanted to know if the members of the forum would like me to document with relevant pictures the work done here in the GTA section, I don't think anyone has done a full run down of a conversion over here in the UK and I thought it may be useful for anyone thinking of doing the same in the future.

This maybe a tuning lounge thing, but it seems more suitable here as it is GTA specific. Any mod’s care to comment?

Let me know what you think.
 
#2 ·
:cool: I look forward to seeing more of this, keep us well update! :cool:
 
#9 ·
I had the opportunity to do the same but I chickened out dut to the unknown.

Please keep us updated and informed.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Thanks for all the positive responses, well here we go…

So the basic car is a ’04 147 GTA in straight non metallic black which I believe is quite rare, the interior is black with grey inserts, which I have to say is my favorite colour combo.:cool: The body work is in pretty good condition, some small scuffs on the front bumper that look like they may have come from it being towed.

It also has an Autodelta Quad exhaust that will go as they really aren’t my cup of tea, so if any one is interested pm me, or it will be going up for sale in the coming weeks in the classified section of the forum.

It has 61k miles on the clock, Autolusso did the last service in June 2009 when it had 56k miles had a Q2 & PF pads installed. At the moment it doesn’t have a service book, but I believe that Ned is on the case trying to track it down, but considering the whole of the engine is being rebuilt this shouldn’t be to much of a problem.

The engine is a real mess so the front of the car is coming off and the engine is coming out and getting stripped. The plan is to give me a new block which will be bored out and prepped for a full AHM 3.8 conversion. If anything can be salvaged from the original engine then it will be moved over to the new engine, but the rest of the rebuild will be a mixture of new parts and those taken from Auto Lusso’s very extensive breakers yard and part bin.;)

So far my list of alterations are as follows.

3.8 AHM conversion and full engine rebuild.
Strip and rebuild gearbox, then powder coat, colour TBC
New Clutch
Lighten Flywheel
Aluminium undertray
PF pads with braided hoses
FSD and Eibach’s. Although I am now seriously considering some KW V2/3:confused:
Eibach ARB front and rear
Strutbrace (Wiechers Aluminium Probably)
Powder coat the majority of the engine, and sub frame colour TBC
Set of 18” Alfa Multispokes to be powder coated anthracite
All dents (all very minor) removed, bumper, bonnet and wings to be resprayed
And to finish I am considering either getting the car covered in paint protection film or taking it to G Techniq in Kings Langley as the finish they put on cars is just :wow:

I am considering removing the snorkel from the intake box as I know there are some people who have done it on here with good results as I know Ned isn’t keen on induction systems and having been hydro-locked already I don’t want lightning to strike twice!:tut:

The only real question mark is over the exhaust, I don’t know which way to go yet, I am leaning towards V6 cat-less manifolds from a GTV etc. and equal length front pipes. I plan on keeping the original cat more for sound baffling than anything else, and have a cat back system, either a Supersprint powerloop, or a Pud/Wizard system.

Once everything is on this will all be rounded off with a full custom remap. With graphs and the like with final HP and torque figures.

This will still be my daily driver for some time so I don’t want it to sound too lairy. Even if the performance maybe on the lairy side! I will point out that I’m not looking for a total track weapon either, and I would like to keep the car day to day drivable, I’m wanting something a bit “special” for the road that looks stockish, but can wipe the smiles of the M3 driving estate agents/Unimaginative VAG drivers/Type-R Chavs (delete as applicable)!

Any thoughts, and input welcome, at the moment nothing is set in stone, other than the fact that the deposit has been paid and the 3.8 is going in.

All I know is that I can’t wait for the car to be finished, and I know that I’m in good hands with Ned, Pud and the rest of the Autolusso guys.:D

Photo’s will follow.:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
 
#15 ·
I reckon it'll be fine as a daily driver, apart from the crap consumption, but then a 3.2 GTA has crap consumption if youve got a heavy right foot anyway. :)


Is there any other type of right foot with a GTA? The only other options for a replacement was a Maser 3200 or supercharging a Brera S neither of them would be exactly frugal, so I'm looking on a 3.8 as an improvement in fuel consumption compared to what I would have had! maybe:eek:

it makes sense to me!:rolleyes:
 
#16 ·
Wow, sounds like you're going to be a busy boy!! I'm more than happy to lend you a hand with the paintless dent removal. I'm not too far from kings Langley too. Good luck with build:thumbs:
 
#18 ·
Seriously, with that setup I think you'll need more than the Koni/Eibach, I'd seriously consider KW's or similar.

Also, I don't think ARB's are required either. With decent coilovers there won't be enough roll to warrant it, and I believe there are downsides to stiffer ARB's.

Definately get the manifold sorted while the engine is out. Its not cheap, but consider Autodelta's - Jano told me its a bigger bore than the Supersprint or standard item. Wish I'd have done it while mine was out....


BUT! More importantly than ANY of that - for comparison, what are we looking at, performance and cost wise? We all know the AD 3.7 is about £7k, engine only, and it gets you upto about 310bhp. How does that compare to the 3.8?
If you don't want to tell us the cost (PM me :p) but at least give us an estimate power output ;)
 
#19 ·
Sounds a cool project!

The 3.8 is it bored and stroked? Any idea what rpm the crank / standard wet sump fed oil feed can cope with?

Are you going to be running standard throttle body and ecu or fully mapped induvidual bodies?

Would love a 3.8 in the 75 :)
 
#23 ·
Pretty sure it's stroked only AH Motorsports ... your 12v 75 can get to 3.5
 
#21 ·
I really don't know about the power output I haven't been quoted any figures and I honestly am not going into this with a figure in mind. I know that Adie's engines are supposed to be second to none, and with the mods I have already mentioned i am expecting something pretty decent. When it goes for a full remap I don't want to give the guy doing it a figure, I would rather he tune it to what ever he can get instead of trying to aim for my prefered power. Dynos can be fudged to say all manner of things.

My plan is also to stick with the original intake because if I start going down the Ferrari throttle body route I will be going over my budget and it is also something that can be added at a later date. And I think it should be plenty fast enough to start with anyway and I would ratherspend the money on getting the car capable of taking more power if I decide to go further (suspension etc).

As for the cost all I will say at this point is the AHM kit is around £2.5-3k. The engine is going to be inbits anyway so the cost of a conversion on a standard fully working car is difficult to say. We may have a better idea once it is all finished, but the price Ned and I agreed on was for all the work as a whole with the exception on the suspension and exhaust which I will sort out separatly. But the full cost of the project will stay between Ned and I. If people want to go this route I would highly recomend talking to Ned for a quote as each install will be different and he will no doubt be of great help.

I am planning to go the cat-lessmanifold route but I'm not sure I want to go the autodelta route all of their stuff seem very expensive IMO. I know you get what you pay for but it's still alot of money. Does any body have a price for the Autodelta manifold? I might see if Pud and the Wizard can get something together instead. But again I am working to a buget and an exhaust is another thingthat can be added to at a later date if needed.
 
#25 ·
BUT! More importantly than ANY of that - for comparison, what are we looking at, performance and cost wise? We all know the AD 3.7 is about £7k, engine only, and it gets you upto about 310bhp. How does that compare to the 3.8?
If you don't want to tell us the cost (PM me :p) but at least give us an estimate power output ;)[/QUOTE]

The 3.7 and 3.8 are the same, they both use 101mm bore pistons why AD calls it a 3.7 I dont know because it closer to a 3.8. the difference in power will be down to the work on the heads i.e gasflowed,cams ect,ect
 
#27 ·
Not sure that the AD 3.7 is the same I know that the pistons from AHM are designed by Adie and I think it pushes out more power from the rebore alone than the AD version, I could be wrong.

Also each set is made to order. Nothing off the shelf so I have been told.
 
#28 ·
I've handled one of Aidies pistons :eek: and they really are quality bits of kit.......would look good on a coffee table (in my house anyway)
Also spoke to him about the 3.8 and each one of his is pretty much a bespoke engine:cool:
 
#29 ·
I'll be following this thread with interest - good work Dan (and Ned obviously!) :thumbs:

As others have said, if it were me I'd go for coilovers rather than the FSD/Eibach set-up (or at least see if you can see a 147 with the FSD/Eibach set-up in the flesh before you buy). Other than that your spec looks great - very jealous.

Also very interested to hear the results if you take it to G Techniq. I was going to get the various chips and scratches on mine tidied up before summer and want something to provide a bit of protection for the paintwork.
 
#30 ·
Just when you think you are satisfied with your car, and that you could not want to possibly do anything else to it, along comes a thread like this!!!:lol:

A seed has been planted now and I just know that it will not stop growing.......:eek:

Will be unwillingly following this very closely....good luck with it!
 
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