Hello folks. Just introducing myself having recently taken ownership of a 1989 GTA atmo. I bought it (unseen) during the first lockdown in April 2020 as I fancied a bit of a classic/project while being stuck at home, but unfortunately, due to illness, that didn't happen. Was a bit of a gamble but seemed good value and was pleased to find that the car was as described (albeit there may still be undiscovered horrors). Anyway, now I am finally able to get working on it, so time to join the owner's club and tap into the knowledge!
Some details about the car:
- registration F300YNH, grey with factory-option BBS split rims, leather interior, ABS
- one-owner car prior to the chap I bought it from who didn't do anything just put it in storage for a year
- lived its life in Northampton until original owner, a Mr Blundell, got too old to use it (I'm told)
- 70,000 miles, last MOT'd in April 2019 at 67,700 miles
- piles of early paperwork/history including dyno readouts and original pre-delivery inspection!
- paintwork is decent but with some minor lacquer peel
- BBS alloys are badly pitted and in need of refurb, one (rare) centre cap is missing
- leather interior in great condition, carpet has faded to green(?), sagging headlining
- original Philips MCC stereo still works and sounds great!
- front and rear subframes are badly in need of a RATS blast & powdercoat; front crossmember unknown...
- had a water leak at some point and engine bay is mucky from rusty water spraying everywhere
- scuttle panel and frunk liner both intact
- runs fine (as far as I can tell from shunting around the driveway), doesn't overheat (ditto), starts on the button
- electrics mostly seem to work, but have an ABS warning light and therefore SERVICE warning, and fuel display is stuck at 18.7G
As a side note, I previously owned a 1986 black GTA Turbo, reg D333WPC then D848BRS, which was Superchipped to 240bhp. It was great to drive, but problematic (overheating, electrics), I didn't keep it long as it was my only car and didn't have the patience or cash to look after it properly. This one will be different as I'm treating it as a classic/project and am prepared for the work and expenditure, and have other cars for daily transport.
Would be interested to hear if anyone knows or has come across either my old one or current one.
Work done so far:
- replaced rear brake discs and pads, and refurbished the calipers
- stripped and cleaned/greased front brakes (appears to have upgraded grooved discs and new pads)
- replaced brake fluid
- cleaned corrosion product from the ABS wheel speed sensors
- replaced the headlining
- restored the leather on the steering wheel and stripped the spokes back to bare metal
- stripped out the interior to have a good clean, fixed stuck seat slider, replaced corroded steel bar for the rear seat mounts
- fixed the broken door mirror
- cleaned up the pedal box incl got rid of corrosion on throttle mechanism causing sticky throttle
- changed the engine oil, replaced the air filter element, flushing the coolant system
- fitted a new Yuasa battery
I'm getting to the point of trying an MOT so that I can drive it and further assess what work it needs. Ultimately I intend to get it down to RATS for proper assessment and engine out / subframe/crossmember repairs. I'm in Aberdeen and I don't know of any other GTAs or A610s in the area but would be delighted to hear from anyone vaguely local.
Couple of pics attached.
Best regards,
Murray.
