Twingo John's £150 Twingo Extreme Trackday Project

[CreweTube]

Intercooler not connected, no driveshafts so no gearbox oil, exhaust not connected, no coolant in it because no coolant bottle connected so super short test fire up



Sounds a lot healthier even at this stage than all the others, fired up and immediately goes to 900rpm idle which I believe is correct for the engine. Was missing the battery negative to chassis connection so was not playing ball, somehow it worked before with old engine without this and stopped when I disconnected driveshafts so I can only assume it was somehow earthing via gearbox -> driveshaft -> hub -> shocks -> body in some evil way.

 

[CreweTube]

Putting it all back together again!



Next step, driveshafts and properly connect exhaust. Fill/bleed brakes and clutch then go for full send.

 

[CreweTube]

Not a lot of progress with a new baby, furkled around with intercooler pipework a bit more for clearance using a hybrid Clio/twingo pipe setup but not happy with it yet.

Have a Dacia sandero coolant bottle to fit somewhere more suitable and now poking around with Renolink

 

[CreweTube]

Been a while....nearly died abroad (fun perforated gastric ulcer out of nowhere) so been in recovery for a while unable to do anything but last few days felt strong enough to get driveshafts in at last and fiddle with boost pipework.




Aux belt grooved to f*** because it rubbed in previous route

 

[gtpower]

Intercooler not connected, no driveshafts so no gearbox oil, exhaust not connected, no coolant in it because no coolant bottle connected so super short test fire up



Sounds a lot healthier even at this stage than all the others, fired up and immediately goes to 900rpm idle which I believe is correct for the engine. Was missing the battery negative to chassis connection so was not playing ball, somehow it worked before with old engine without this and stopped when I disconnected driveshafts so I can only assume it was somehow earthing via gearbox -> driveshaft -> hub -> shocks -> body in some evil way.

Hello I have 1.2tce twingo gt engine if you would like it for cheap 150 ono

 

[CreweTube]

Been pootling round doing random bits and bobs whilst I can around work, 10 mins here and there and still fighting the coolant tank situation. Ultimately i think this is a knockon from using @Adey old 182 rad which is just significantly wider and deeper than stock Twingo so people who use the clio boost pipe setup above can still retain the OEM tank. So have been exploring alternatives...Dacia Sandero one was smaller but didnt fit, tried a bit of heat to reshape but wasnt going anywhere. Then looked at a Mk2 Megane one and it seemed to fit nicely in others who have a 2.0L swap...however on fitting it still didnt fit as the GT/D4F engine mount is humongous compared to a F4R top mount.



Now this would be fine...but it fouls the headlight entirely so needs to sit lower, so bashed out the inner wing a bit



Now its on the wonk, fouling the edge of the engine mount so may give it a trim down later




Some Clio D4F models seem to have a thinner 2 bolt mount which may work but seems to have a bit of a bend in the base plate which the Twingo doesnt have.

 

[CreweTube]

Whilst grinding the ever loving f*** out of the engine mount with a combo of carbide rotary and mini disc, it dawned on me the Sandero coolant bottle I tried before and tried to heat mould into shape required less to be cut off. So after half an hour of risking fingers and thumbs with the carbide bit...




Quick spray of paint in a rare instance of preventative maintenance

 

[CreweTube]

Is it running yet?
Decals?




Applied and got into the DemonTweeks sponsorship program so have to run these decals to get 10% off there plus other goodies (incl these decals, monthly £150 raffle etc)

Technically all the car should need now is filling up with fluids and bleeding clutch and brakes (joy) and should be driveable once more.

 

[CreweTube]

Seeing as we're gettin close to getting it running, time for standard deviation into non essential tasks over actually a running car....

Because racecar, decided to sack of heater matrix/blower unit in the interest of weight saving, a right faff but it never got hooked up on engine install so wasnt heating anyway.




Also found the missing suspension top hat cover jammed inside the vent tube...was missing since I picked up the car so guess it got loose and blown/sucked in here at some point during previous ownership



Not as heavy as I thought...need to weigh it but certainly not the 15kg I was told it was.

 

[CreweTube]

Almost like it was meant to be...



The tiniest trim and the FIA electrical cut off fits in middle, will have fire extinguisher on right and mystery button on left.

 

[CreweTube]

Dry fitting, may put the cut off on left so it can be badged appropriately on the dash clearly

 

[CreweTube]

Finally got back to properly working on the car so cranked out a few videos recently, first up a clickbait but true title:



Followed by normal content:


Enjoy!

 

[CreweTube]

Spoiler alert for upcoming video, it drives!



Engine swap: completed it mate.

Had a horrid time bleeding it and it just wouldnt behave properly clutch wise, depressing it didnt cut the power to the wheels at all....until I rammed it into 5th. An unholy clunk and stall immediately followed, at which point everything seems to work....

I'm guessing the clutch plate has/had fused to the flywheel having not really been seperated for probably two years and sat in a scrapyard for an unknown amount of time before then. Now seems to select all gears and have pootled around on the drive due to a distinct lack of brakes.

Tried to bleed them, 3/4 bleed nipples rounded and the n/s rear left seems to have been ugga duggaed sideways into the caliper so think we'll get a fresh new caliper or two for the back.

Well chuffed it actually drives, swapped an engine with no prior mechanical knowledge on my drive. It just took 3 years.

 

[Adey]

well done, some graft gone into it now.

once fully up and running, what the plan? back to some sprints?

 

[CreweTube]

well done, some graft gone into it now.

once fully up and running, what the plan? back to some sprints?

Have the final round of Javelin Sprint Series booked for October 6th at Oulton so hopefully runs enough to survive the day, maybe a few winter trackdays then sort out a proper plan for 2025

 

[CreweTube]

Proof of life.

First time driving it with:

• The new engine
• That gearbox actually changing gears
• The new bucket seat (and much lower)
• Six point harness
• New steering wheel
• Even more stuff removed from interior

All added up to quite a change from last time it drove under its own power with <50% the horsepower it does now.

 

[CreweTube]

Another job down

 

[CreweTube]