few questions

Post by **A M R** » 15 Oct 2006 08:40 pm

hi guys im new here.

im considering getting a 340dl as my first car simply because its rwd and shouldnt break the bank to insure. havent got my license yet, but got my test booked for nov 22nd. im a mechanical minded person and i dont mind getting stuck in with any dirty/bodge jobs lol...

anyway, enough about me.

what i really wanted to know is will a set of 13x7.5 wheels with a offset of 8 and a pcd of 4" fit on the car?

also ive been browsing around on here for a bit and i have come across some stuff about carbs and cams.
is it possible/easy to fit bike carbs somehow or twin dellorto 40's?
and what kind of a performance cam can i put in and how hard would it be to source one?

last question - i hear the 1.4 is the same as a r5 gtt. would i be able to bolt on manifold, turbo, etc from it easily, or is it a job that costs more money than its worth?

all help would be appreciated thanks.

Post by **Chris_C** » 16 Oct 2006 12:18 am

Welcome to the forums!

Wheels I'll have to leave to someone else, PCD is 4x100, which is nigh on 4", but not quite, so thats a maybe!

As for the rest of it, yeah, its perfectly possible to stick a pair of twin 40's on any of the engines, you can get the manifolds of a R19/Clio Williams/Loads of other renault stuff to fit it to a 1.7, likewise te 1.4 is as you say near enough a R5Gtt lump, so can get a manifold from that. The 2.0l stuff is also possible, but you have to look to volvos own manifolds, or get one welded up. Bike carbs the same, just need to weld up a manifold to match the carb flanges.

Thing is, as you say it's your first car and want something cheap to insure (nothing is cheap to insure as a first car...

) theres not many companies who'll even touch you if you put engine mods down, and not declaring carbs really isn't an option. I found that the insurance different between a 1.4 and 2.0 300 was nothing, but try modifying them, and it's a different game. If you want power, I'd buy the most powerful stock engine (360GLT has a 2.0i, which can keep up with a 205GTi) and then in a year or two bolt on a turbo to it!

Go with what you reckon though, just remember to check the insurance BEFORE you spend weeks of effort and lots o pennies, fitting carbs on any car is never going to be cheap, remember you'll need dyno time to set them up.

Post by **A M R** » 17 Oct 2006 12:35 am

thanks for the reply mate.

thing is im only 19 so insuring a 2 litre really is out of the question - doubt most companies would even want to insure me, let alone give me a quote.

anyone else like to have a go at answering any of my other questions?

Post by **SteveP** » 17 Oct 2006 09:36 am

I insured my 2.0 GLT when I was 19, it cost £40 more than my 1.3 Skoda Favorit (which was a Group 5 car) at the time.

Post by **Stavros** » 17 Oct 2006 10:34 am

regarding the GTT engine, it should be far easier than most people make out, its just nobody has done it yet, and everyone is relying on rumour and heresay.

once we have done it ill happily post up details and pics on how to, or even do it for people.

Post by **classicswede** » 17 Oct 2006 07:44 pm

The simple answer on 13" wheels is look no further than the Mini.
As to the manifold I dont know of a manifold to fit a side draft webber or similare but I can get such things made no problems.

My first priority would be to make the thing stick. All the parts need (just about) are available.

Post by **A M R** » 17 Oct 2006 10:46 pm

i see...

so what would you reccommend doing in terms of suspension upgrades??

i know i want to lower the car by about 2 inches or so, but i also want a harder suspension - something that'll be good for both drift and track

Post by **garethreece** » 18 Oct 2006 06:58 pm

Try Liverpool victoria for your insurance, just over £800 for an unemployed 17yo with full Uk licence on a 1985 340 Gl 5dr

Post by **A M R** » 18 Oct 2006 08:07 pm

OH SHIT THATS CRAZY!!!

i got quoted 1025.58 on a glt full comp!

cheapest i got before on a glt was when i used confused.com and it was around £1600!

wonder what it would be like for a starlet gt turbo...

cheers man thats probably the best useful info ive had yet.l

Post by **340GLT** » 18 Oct 2006 11:04 pm

Glad it got passed on second hand!!! lol Liverpool Victoria is good for young drivers i have found!!
Adam

Post by **garethreece** » 19 Oct 2006 10:34 am

Yea cheers ad, problem is they dont let you do it in instalments.

Post by **340GLT** » 19 Oct 2006 11:08 am

No i know you still having problems getting yours on the road? As you were talking about getting rid of it?
Adam

Post by **classicswede** » 19 Oct 2006 08:24 pm

A M R wrote:i see...

so what would you reccommend doing in terms of suspension upgrades??

i know i want to lower the car by about 2 inches or so, but i also want a harder suspension - something that'll be good for both drift and track

2" is a good number. Its quite simple what is needed
Poly bushes
Front springs as you require - I will work out poundage for you from your requirments
spax on the rear and some lowering blocks.
Take a look in the offer section for a thread call - performance parts cat

Post by **A M R** » 19 Oct 2006 09:55 pm

cheers mate. but wont i need to put some new front shocks on as well if i put some spax ones on the rear?

seeing as that 2 litre glt quote was pretty low, i was thinking of going for a e30 316/318.
what do you guys think?

Post by **SteveP** » 19 Oct 2006 10:07 pm

I'll be suprised if you can insure a 316/318 for the same price as a GLT - if you can, have fun when you oversteer it into a ditch

The 300 series is notoriously cheap to insure, the reason I got my 360 was because it was about the cheapest thing I could insure for the performance.