5 GT Turbo Extra Van PH1

[hpojnk]

Among many other equally stupid cars I had a really nice van that I loved and cherished and put a lot of time and effort into. I sold it a few years ago for no good reason and unsucessfully tried to buy it back. (pictured)



I gave up and managed to find another one, identical spec and colour which was a bonus, felt like I was starting from scratch.

I got it at a good price from a super nice guy, drove it 70 miles home at 70 before engaging myself in “new car mode” aka deep clean it to death and generally inspect everything to give a baseline of where to progress from. Here it is

 

[hpojnk]

Looking funky fresh after a good clean and general tlc.


1.1 litres of firepower with my preferred ignition system and a quality windscreen surround “repair”


I gave the bay a bloody clean too, interior etc etc.

At this point I started fixing all the problems I could find, the tyres were knackered with 1 having a huge bulge in it so I bought two new ones and used 2 spares from my GTT. Free battery from a scrap car to replace the duff one. Major service, changed the driveshaft, box oil, fresh MOT (flew through, tester said it was mint underneath!) rebuilt the rear brakes and some other stuff I forgot.

Bought a minging door from a scrappie just for the higher spec door card and the door m/window mech spare etc.




Fixed some more excellent previous repairs




aforementioned rear brakes



I found a few small cracks on the front grill but had a few on the shelf so I replaced it. The replacement fits a bit differently so I had to modify it and some other bits a little bit as you can see.

 

[hpojnk]

As per the above photo with the front end swap that’s up to date to today, I painted the NOS wings and (dented) bonnet yesterday morning. I haven’t done any panel gapping on it yet, but the repro wings are really bad even by my standards. The colour match is OK considering it’s fresh paint done by me directly next to 33 year old paint done by Renault.

In between all the above I forgot that I’ve insulated and ply lined it, pressure washed it underneath ready to underseal it and some other stuff. I’ve driven it around a lot and it’s earned it’s keep already but the driving experience needs some refinement.

It runs a bit rough even with almost everything replaced and some carb tuning, I may strip it, clean it and rebuild it to rule it out. The suspension and tyre situation isn’t great, with 155/70’s and standard suspension it handles like a nun carrying a mattress so I will address this.

It pains me that I have complete Clio valver running gear and complete GTT running gear sat here ready to go straight in, but it’s not happening (yet..) as I’ve got all the other cars to build. I probably shouldnt have taken another on but a van is genuinely useful

 

[Sparkysparks]

I also know of a cammed f4r that the owner could probably let go of if you want another option.

 

[DaveL485]

I had an Extra 1.9D for a while, thrashed it everywhere, I did love having a van! Had to change it though, needed more seats for the family.

 

[Adey]

awesome van, good work on the ph2 swap. in for the updates

 

[hpojnk]

some more pics i forgot. pattern wings bare metal’d, etch primer and painted. i only work outside
quick blowover for the good spare wheels i had to match the fronts


sourced some ph1 wheels. they are “spare” for my ph1 gt turbo but i thought they’d be good for the van too. as always, quick blowover.


30 years of corrosion but should be straight/low mileage. hopefully not porous around the bead profile

brake fluid was gross


interior after initial spritz. repainted all interior plastics in original gris 612, removed the “plastic” van carpet and fitted an early grey ph1 carpet with nice pile.

what the quick carpet swap revealed. no rot just surface rust and pitting.


plastic van “carpet”


rust cleanup #1


i’ve seen people use “rust remover” or “converter” and always thought it was a gimmick; rust HAS to be cut out and bare metal’d/epoxy’d but as its a “cheap van” and i was tight for time i gave it a go.
you can see it doing something, hopefully converting it to some sort of stable solution
aand a lick of paint to try and protect it. i’ll pull the carpet out again before winter and get the welder out if needed

 

[hpojnk]

So that brings us non chronologically up to date I think. I also cleaned the bed out.



Next jobs are to blow over the whole lower side section where I’ve smoothed the door panels off, finish ply lining, maybe lower it and fit the PH1 wheels. I want to do an ICE install as the one on my Civic is fantastic. I’m thinking two 6x9’s in the removable side panels in the back.

 

[DaveL485]

Which rust converter did you use? It wont fix perforating rust, obviously, but is fine for coating a solid surface that you have cleaned up, i've been using Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80.

 

[hpojnk]

Which rust converter did you use? It wont fix perforating rust, obviously, but is fine for coating a solid surface that you have cleaned up, i've been using Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80.

It’s just Kurust cheap and cheerful

 

[hpojnk]

Sides painted today

 

[hpojnk]

also some bonus pics of what the van is slowing me down on

 

[detailR]

This little van is so cool Jake

I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[DaveL485]

Interesting (and diverse) collection there

 

[hpojnk]

quick virtual wheel and lows test, i'll start designing some signwriting when i can think of something funny

 

[hpojnk]

figured I should update for reasons to follow.

I removed the 1.1 na engine which made approx 40 nonchalant french ponies and installed my 150bhp (at the wheels so maybe 175 at the flywheel) turbo engine

I did lots of other stuff to make it work. here's a rough spec list:

body:

88 extra van shell

86 hatch front end swap colour coded in blanc panda

wings and side swage lines smoothed and colour coded in blanc panda

gt turbo dashboard

gt turbo wheel and gearlever

gt turbo carpet

gt turbo console



chassis:

standard van springs and shocks

standard van wheels and tyres

155/70/13 on 13x5.0”

gt turbo hubs with stud conversion, calipers & vented discs, ebc pads

gt turbo steering rack

gt turbo subframe and wishbones



drivetrain:

gt turbo engine and gearbox

gt turbo driveshafts

standard cam!

t2/25 hybrid turbo

209 aei

2.5” downpipe

2.5” ktec side exit

gt tuning breadbin

gplus alloy rad and hoses

choke flap removed and carb rejetted

greddy type-s BOV

8mm hardlines

gt turbo sender unit

earl’s braided lines

earl’s oil cooler

cup breather and cooling system
+lots more i forgot

I didn't get to paint the engine bay while the engine was out and I forgot to put the fpr in so it's in the inner wing for now.
it is comical to drive as a standard old white van with standard tyres and suspension. it spins through third and you hold on for dear life cornering.

currently fitting these super rare seats they 2 runners one working as you would expect and the second on an almost hemispherical rail that rocks the angle. beige is good but not in this so i'm going to dye them grey or black.

I'm in two minds what to do with the vehicle now, I want to tidy it all up regardless, but I might lose the sleeper look and lower it with appropriate tyres and some other mods. Or I may sell it I'm not really sure. But I really like it, its mega fun and I want to lay some times down so I can see what it can do which may motivate me to put a cam in and a bigger turbo.

Got to catch up with everyone at retro rides which was awesome. even got a passenger run in jon's van which is the most badass thing

 

[Haz]

I had a nosey at this at retro but wasn't sure who's it was. Looks like a good base and vastly improved since you bought it!

 

[Adey]

Looking good

 

[hpojnk]

Still driving and enjoying this but looking to let it go early next year to build my Escort. Don’t want to sell it but I’ve got too much on really. Either going to take it up a notch then let it go or sell as a rolling shell without the engine as I’d like to put it in my escort instead of building a third one.