45 replies to this topic

[morley]

Hi guys, got myself a gtm coupe a couple of years ago, just getting stuck into it so thought i'd make a project thread to track progress and give me some motivation. It's my first rebuild and i'm also teaching myself how to weld along with the help from a friend. 

 

The pictures below are from when i first got it, i'll get it all up to date to where i'm at when I get some spare time. 

 

 

[Shooter63]

Nice looking cars, good luck with the rebuild

Shooter

[tiger99]

When I was younger I wanted one of these but never had quite enough money. I think the mechanical layout inspired a number of mainstream cars as it was rather successful in the handling department.

I hope you enjoy the rebuild!

[DomCr250]

When I was younger I wanted one of these but never had quite enough money. I think the mechanical layout inspired a number of mainstream cars as it was rather successful in the handling department.
I hope you enjoy the rebuild!

Ditto .... They were a favourite car in Cars and Cars Conversions, I remember the tests claiming the handeling was very good, I could never afford one either so went down the cheaper Mini Marcos route.

Good luck with the build, it will make a great car when finished.

[nicklouse]

Just a note there has been a very good upper arm and steering lockout done for the rear that you should consider as it does improve things. Ask on the GTM Facebook group.

And before you start anything find out about replacement windscreens,

[DomCr250]

There was a modification between the 1980's cars and the earlier ones for front bump stop improvement too - I think they moved the rack slightly upwards.

Edited by DomCr250, 09 August 2016 - 06:47 AM.

[nicklouse]

the mod I am talking about did not come from the factory.

 

and there were mods to the mods from the time of Cox to Heery.

[MrBounce]

I will be keeping an eye on this. I adore the GTM Coupe and still want one now. 

[nicklouse]

I will be keeping an eye on this. I adore the GTM Coupe and still want one now. 

You saw mine naked didn't you?

[morley]

It's not been on the road since 1991, I had a good look around when i bought it, all the panels seemed really solid. Although lots of surface rust! 

 

 

 

 

One of the previous owners cut a hole in the passenger sill for some reason.... which as you can see was full to the brim with water

 

 

 

Drained the water out and started playing around with some bits

I found some compomotive MS wheels local at a bargain price

F1 style mirrors

Lotus elise bonnet vent (ebay bargain) my 1st bit of fiberglassing, went pretty well, still needs fully sanding down and blending in, but i'm trying to leave any glassing/filling as long as possible to let it fully cure.

Lotus elise seats, I'm quite tall and it's the only way i'll fit in it without hitting my head on the roof! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Took the body off, somehow found a way of storing it all in the single garage... luckily the Grandparents had the garage roof converted to a pitched roof many years ago

 

 

 

 

 

Time for some bracing and to see whats lurking inside the sills...

 

 

This was supposed to be the good sill, the one which wasn't full of water! 

 

 

 

A spit was cobbled together by myself which i was pretty proud of, added some more bracing and sent off to get it sandblasted

 

This is what I  came back with, the panels are very heavily pitted, it's hard to show in the pictures

 

 

 

 

 

Lucky for me there is a chap on the gtm forum who has bought all the rights and plans for the coupe so is capable of reproducing it, so I can get replacement panels... jumping straight in the deep end with my first bit of welding/panel replacement...

 

floor:

 

half a floor:

 

Panels painted with rust proof paint and weld thru primer

 

 

 

 

Knocked the sill stiffeners up myself

 

 

 

 

So the innards of the inner sills and outer sill have been painted with more rust proofing paint, next step is to weld them on.

 

Some family are down at the moment so progress might be delayed for a couple of weeks

 

 

Thanks for looking 

 

 

[morley]

I've got the rear steering locking kit from Rossabitz and a heated windscreen too! My first couple of purchases, at least that way I can use the heated one and keep the other as a spare

 

Just a note there has been a very good upper arm and steering lockout done for the rear that you should consider as it does improve things. Ask on the GTM Facebook group.

And before you start anything find out about replacement windscreens,

[ac427]

Nice work. Good luck with the project and more pix please

Edited by ac427, 12 August 2016 - 07:46 AM.

[SAL 821X]

cracking little things these....

 

 

Lotus twin cam........ What..... I said nothing ;)

[morley]

Found some spare time this evening, just checking everything lines up and managed to lay down a few plug welds and get it tacked in position. With any luck I'll get it welded in over the weekend. 

 

 

Inside of the sills painted

 

 

 

 

[minisprint]

I've got the rear steering locking kit from Rossabitz and a heated windscreen too! My first couple of purchases, at least that way I can use the heated one and keep the other as a spare
 

Just a note there has been a very good upper arm and steering lockout done for the rear that you should consider as it does improve things. Ask on the GTM Facebook group.
And before you start anything find out about replacement windscreens,

Where did you get the screen from?