coupedaves porto plan!

Well after much soul searching about my speed red coupe and actually seeing how much work really needs doing I have aquired Leighboys old porto 20VT.
Now at least this one runs and goes!!!
But it has already played up for me on the way to Tatton Park today and more resembled a steam train on arrival.
This turned out to be a poorly connected hose, dodgy expansion tank thread and a melted fan connector.
All sorted by the end of the day thanks to the coupe clan!!
But the electric window packed in on the way home so the fun can start!!!
The list to do so far:
Change the window regulator
Bloody good clean inside and out
Change the centre console for the good one from red.
Sort out the dodgy imobiliser
Think the passenger wheel bearing has gone so fix this week
Get the turbo checked too, pretty smokey!!
Refurb the alloys
Plus lots of little other jobs!!
watch this space for pics this time too!!

Plan for today:
Sort out the drivers electric window, stuck down.
While I have the door card off change them for the leather ones off the red coupe.
Wash the outside.
Clean the inside, maybe put the drivers seat from the red one in the porto.
Clean up a bit under the bonnet, very dirty under there!!
Check the coolant is still ok after yesterday.
Check all the other fluids too.

A few bits more might get done too.

well first fix is done!!
with the non-working drivers window.
checked all fuses all ok, tried the spare switch from the red one fine, checked all the connectors fine.
so could only be the motor/regulator.
So I set about taking the one out my my red coupe to put in the porto.
bit fiddly but nothing half as bad as it looked.
total time for taking the motor out of both red and porto then putting the good one back in the porto was about an hour and a half.
next job would be hoovering and washing but it's peeing down!!! see how the weather is after.
so will probably start cleaning the engine bay instead for now and might change over the centre consoles too.
oh and it now has a leather door card on the drivers door.

step two!!
cleaned a lot of the engine bay, boy was it grimy!!
also hoovered the inside and gave it a bit of a polish.
washed and chamoised the outside, came up nice and this time it's proper porto whereas my old one was a shade lighter and a pig to match colour wise!!
also topped up the fluids.
might go and have another go at a few bits after!!

all in all a good days work on the coupe.
electric window fixed, interior hoovered and cleaned, bodywork washed, engine bay had a bit of a clean and topped up all fluids.
and last but not least fitted the zender copy grill, i was sceptical but it actually looks really good!!

Day three in the Big Porto house!!!
9.00am Booked car into local garage who do all my work to get the driveshaft seal (which is peeing out oil faster than a tap!!) and check the nearside wheel bearing and change if needed.
2.30pm have catastrophic turbo failure!!!
3.30pm AA arrive and confirm turbo fubared!!
3.40pm Call Joe (countrcruising) to order recon turbo with 360 bearing.
4.10pm Get coupe towed to the garage to have the turbo replaced too!!
4.40pm Find out my AA cover gives me free courtesy car and end up with an Enterprise Rent a Van!!
5.30pm Get home completely fed up so go out on my bike for a ten mile ride to contemplate the joys of returning to owning what was a roadgoing coupe!!!

Just been to check how the coupe is at the garage round the corner, got a pic of her I'll post up later!!
The turbo is mullered, loads of lateral play, driveshaft seal doesn't look too bad but replacing anyway.
Wheel bearing is dry so they are replacing it.
Also the downpipe has a hole and a crack in it so luckily I have the one off my red one that will be going in to them along with my spare intercooler to replace the one full of oil!!
All going well so far, just waiting for parts now!!

Forgot to add it is very very clean underneath!! Even the jacking points are still straight and not rusty!!

How she looks at the moment!!


At home the other day with me other coupe!!

Well all is going well at the garage!!
So far they have:
Fitted new driveshaft gearbox seal
Fitted new front wheel bearing
Replaced the downpipe
Replaced the intercooler
Replaced the lambda sensor
Replaced the expansion bottle with a nice clean one
Fixed the dodgy immobiliser for now which is being fixed properly this weekend

Just waiting for the new turbo to arrive tomorrow now and it should be back on the road fingers crossed!!

well got it back at 3.30 this afternoon!!
took it nice and easy on the way home, pootling along as I've had so much car trouble recently I'm paranoid about any car not just a coupe!!
Got stuck in traffic waiting to get onto Anglesey and hey presto, steam from under the bonnet again!!!
The guy had knocked the dodgy electrical connector to the fan loose!!!
Opened the bonnet, 5 mins of ranting firstly to my girlfriend as i was supposed to be picking her up then a call to the garage!!
It's going back Tuesday morning for them to double check it but all seems fine now.
Put the connector back on and topped up the coolant and ran ok home!!
Don't know about coupe paranoia I'm thinking of going for counselling instead!!

Didn't spend much time on the coupe today but managed to clear all the crap out of the boot plus the bits that were changed this week, old turbo, intercooler etc
Put everything back but also put a toolkit in just in case!!!
Cowboy also told me I had a dodgy brake light too last week that kept coming on and off and my neighbour popped over this morning to tell me it wasn't working too so found out it was a loose connection in the bit of loom form the lamp itself to the connector block (about a foot long).
So with having a spare coupe just lying around in the garage I whipped the loomy bit off that and changed them over and now it's working great!!!
A lot to be said for having a whole spare car, it's already donated it's electric window motor and regulator, intercooler, downpipe and the brake light loom!!
The saga will no doubt continue tomorrow!!

Didn't really do anything today with the coupe, by the time I was ready the weather turned crap so took some bits off the red one in the garage instead.

Got a couple of pics though!!

Note the nice clean expansion bottle courtesy of Joe!!

The story so far today!!
Had a call off my auto electrician asking if he could come over to sort out my immobiliser so I said ok.
Anyway he has just left and for the princely sum of £25 he has fixed the alarm so that now works and is coming back tomorrow after work to put a new block on the immobiliser ao that will be working properly too!!
Bargain!! On a bank holiday too!!

This afternoon brought yet more drama and paranoia for me!!
Plumes of white smoke on boost!!!
Anyway got home had tea and watched Corrie then went to inspect when it was cool.
Coolant had gone down but oil was fine, topped up the coolant and took it for a quick blast, no smoke or coolant loss!! This coupe baffles me!!
Anyway also this afternoon inbetween ripping stuff out of the red one for people I managed to fit the centre console and stereo from the red one in project porto, the one in the porto was in poor condition.
Then this evening while checking all the hoses etc I gave it a bit more of a clean under the bonner to find, luckily!!, that the bonnet catch was loose so that got tightened up nice and tight!!
Whatever next will the project porto bring to me!!
god have I just tempted fate!!

Oh and I have treated it to something nice off ebay but it's a surprise!!

work done tonight:
cleaned out ebv with carb cleaner, i had hesitation when coming on boost and at 3500rpm in fourth and fifth.
Cleaned it, loads of crap came out and runs much better now.

Changed all the boost hoses for those off my red one and put the nice big group buy hose clips on too!!

Well haven't done much for the last three weeks with holiday and everything so today Taffy very kindly fitted something for me while he was over.
Had a garage full of coupe owners today!! Me, Taffy, TrevM and Cowboy!! The red couple is now a couple of bits lighter too!!
Anyway, the day before I went on holiday I bought some nice plus dials off ebay and they have been sitting on the kitchen worktop looking pretty since last saturday.
So when Taffy kindly offered to fit them today I jumped at the chance!!
He even changed the mileage to match my coupe!!
I have got a pic but having trouble hosting at the moment, haven't seen another porto with plus dials, have to say I'm in love with my dash!!
So much so it even got hoovered out and the interior cleaned too this evening!!
Will put up pics as soon as I can.

Big up today for Cowboy for fixing my none working speedo!!

well come the end of the month the tax runs out so the coupe is going into the garage for a winter holiday!!
then come next march it will be coming back out.
so the plans for this winter include:
refurb all the brake calipers and repaint, also change the cast rear ones for the alloy ones off the red one.
funds allowing new discs too but these aren't crucial at the moment.
Then the front end will be coming off, front bumper, slam panel, etc etc and everything derusted and my new slam panel fitted.
while all this is going on when I get bored doing the other bits I'll be tidying up the engine bay too!!

well it's now officially off the road and in the garage for winter!!
ordered a few nice bits for it and will keep the thread updated as progress is made!
Who knows I might even pull my finger out and sort out some pics too!!

Haven't done much to it in the last month as I have been busy with other things but this weekend I'm planning on doing a bit.
Here's a few pics of what has been done though.

Plus dials, bought off ebay for £80!!



Decided on trying the standard grill in silver, think it looks ok and didn't cost a penny!!



The last pic I have is of the new rocker cover, ordered some more paint which should hopefully come this week so I can finish it off.
Colour is Ford Focus ST Electric Orange just to be different!! (Looks much better in the flesh than the picture!)



Other bits I am doing but have no pics are colour coding a pair off headlights, hopefully that might get finished this weekend too as I ordered porto paint along with the orange paint.
I have a strut brace that needs stripping and painting up, probably in orange again.
Also have some other bits and bobs for the engine bay that need tarting up first too!

Had a spare half hour today so thought I would fit my orange rocker cover!!





Probably not to everyones taste but I like it.

chromed coil pack cover thanks to Cowboy!!
rocker cover gasket thanks to Joe!!

Did find a couple of problems whilst fitting it though.
The first not so big and a really easy fix, the tape round the coil pack wiring is terrible and mostly missing, didn't have the tape or the time today to do it but will be doing it before it's started again.

The second more worrying problem I found is that the idiot who had the car before me had changed the rocker cover and snapped off two of the rocker cover bolts and made some crude attempt to drill them out which has made a right mess!!
Luckily I have two spare heads and one is being refurbed at the moment so next year will get it changed over along with the cambelt and some other bits.
Don't you just love projects!!

wow i have actually started doing something today!!!
my mum has adam til after lunch so i thought i would carry on colour coding my headlamps!!
so i made my kitchen the spray booth as it's a tad too chilly outside.
they have already been primed so have applied some porto to them now and they are now drying in my "oven" the boiler cupboard, it works a treat!!!
hopefully will get some laquer on them later then they will be ready to go back together.
have to say the paint from www.auto.paint.co.uk is the best paint i have ever used and i have used a lot!!
downside is the house now stinks of paint!!!!

now up for sale
http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=967843#Post967843