Race Engine Forum UK

A few years ago I had a mk2 Fiat Punto HGT abarth which I did a few track days in and took round the Nurburgring but unfortunately due to a excessively corroded chassis I had to scrap the car, I kept some of the performance parts I had fitted as I always wanted to get another,

My old HGT Abarth at Oulton Park

recently I managed to find this punto hgt which has a sound chassis with very little rust, the idea with this track car is only to improve the handling and braking, the engine I shall be keeping standard, I want to be able to learn how to drive fast on a track to eventually get into motorsport.

I had some omp strut braces from my old hgt which I managed to fit on, the lower strut brace is quite difficult to fit, the engine is a 1.8 16v vfd, 130bhp

I wanted to upgrade the brakes a bit this time so I got a set of calipers off a mk2b punto hgt which uses a 284mm disc instead of 257mm,

the calipers I immediatly sent them off for a re build and they came back as new, along with some new ferodo ds2500 pads and discs I fitted them on.

suspension I opted for vogtland springs and dampers which lower the car 35mm all round,

I fitted the suspension kit with some new top mounts and mounting cups

I had a spare set of O.Z Racing ultraleggera alloy wheels which I had some Yokohama AD08r tyres fitted, I have used these in the past on the Nürburgring and they are one of my favourite set of tyres, they offer a lot of grip once warmed up, I opted for 185/55/15 which is the same size as the original tyres so they are a perfect fit with no scraping of the rear wheel arches.

I had a omp steering wheel off my old hgt which I fitted
On to the instruments, Racetech gauges which I am sure Guy will approve of, very easy to install as they are mechanical so no wiring, oil and coolant temperature, oil pressure

the oil temp I will fit into the mocal sandwich plate, I cleaned it up with some jizer brake cleaner before fitted (after this picture was taken)
I had a mocal laminova left over from my uno turbo which i didn't end up using so it will be perfect for this punto, it is the smallest size so equivelent to a 10-13row air to air oil cooler, I decided to fit it into the lower radiator hose due to the shape of the hose meaning it was a easy fit, the oil lines I used mocal 1/2" 100r6 hose with 1/2" fittings from Think automotive.
the hgt uses a oil/water heat exchanger which I removed and in its place a mocal sandwich plate with a m20 extension bolt, the original (new) oil filter still fits

oil lines fitted and secured with rubber lined p clips, the aim is to keep the oil temps below 85-90 degrees.

This is currently how the car looks, Trackday is booked in December at Oulton Park circuit.

Work well done Mark! Keep us posted about your track day.

Regards,
Charles

A nicely documented post with super photos, well done!

The only observation I would make is that I would never use push-on rubber hose and clips on oil lines. It's just too risky. I've seen them leak and blow off, same goes for fir-tree push-on hose and swivels.

I've tried all the different methods and the only one I recommend is Mocal 100R6 stainless-braided with crimped-on swivels. Think Automotive make this up at their works. Always fit one straight swivel to any hose (the other end can carry a straight, 45 or 90 deg swivel) and following this rule prevents the hose from coiling up when you fit it.

GC

Guy Croft wrote: ↑November 6th, 2018, 1:14 pm A nicely documented post with super photos, well done!

The only observation I would make is that I would never use push-on rubber hose and clips on oil lines. It's just too risky. I've seen them leak and blow off, same goes for fir-tree push-on hose and swivels.

I've tried all the different methods and the only one I recommend is Mocal 100R6 stainless-braided with crimped-on swivels. Think Automotive make this up at their works. Always fit one straight swivel to any hose (the other end can carry a straight, 45 or 90 deg swivel) and following this rule prevents the hose from coiling up when you fit it.

GC

Good point on hoses.
I agree, a great job so far. Enjoy the trackdays.