19/03/2011

Having just sold the M3 because running costs were becoming a heartache, especially with doing upwards of 500 miles some weeks and with a view to take part in the occasional trackday, I decided to go back to what I'm familiar with and buy a hot peugeot, in the form of this low mileage ph3 306 gti6. Spotted this car for sale on frenchcarsireland and contacted the owner about it. A quick poke around the car and a short test drive later a deal was done and I drove my new purchase home...







With a few trackdays planned this summer/autumn, the main aim is to get the car running right with a few minor upgrades.

Watch this space...


24/03/2011

Some shiney bits started arriving today...a set of uprated locking gear rods from pugracing's ebay store, to prevent them from popping off mid hot lap.




28/03/2011

More parts arrived this afternoon...a spoox/vibratechnics fast road upper engine and gearbox mount and a set of front and rear ferrodo ds2500's. The front pads are actually in clio 172 fitment, they provide a much larger contact patch on the disc, but lack a wear sensor, which isn't a huge issue. The car already has a fairly new set of braided brake lines. Want to get a new set of discs and good fluid before I crack into fitting them.



Just waiting on a powerflex lower engine mount bush I ordered from kam-racing now before I crack into fitting the engine mounts.

Also got the timing belt, water pump, thermostat and coolant done today....and put a crack in my rear bumper reversing it out of the mechanics yard


02/04/2011

Picked up a set of front and rear APEC discs from the local motorfactors during the week at a bargain price of €108, and fitted them along with the DS2500's. Just need to bleed them with the ATE super blue racing fluid I have here now and the brakes should be spot on.


09/04/2011

Last Sunday my car remembered it was french and the fan motor went bust, and the jump in pressure burst a hole in my rad too! I wouldn't mind but I only noticed it after filling the car to the brim with petrol to last me the week!

Dropped it to the mechanic on Monday afternoon, and he ordered the parts from Peugeot on Tuesday morning, and as there was a 4 day delivery time, I didn't get the car back with a new fan, fan relay, rad, and coolant til Saturday, running better than ever, but leaving me about €500 lighter than I had budgeted for!

With the car now back in my driveway, I went about fitting the new vibratechnics upper engine and gearbox mounts on Sunday, was handy enough doing the engine mount, but the gearbox mount needed the mounting bracket taken out of the car and the pins ground off to allow the use of longer bolts, a bit fiddly, but got it fitted in the end! My powerflex lower mount also arrived, but I'm trying to figure out a way to fit it without taking the driveshaft out of the car.

These also arrived during the week...



Rich_w roller bearing wishbone bushes....was hoping to get them fitted soon, along with new balljoints and track rod ends, but due to unexpectedly having to spend all my money on the rad and fans it looks like they'll have to wait til next month now.


16/04/2011

Got my arse in gear and fitted the powerflex lower engine mount...was putting it off because I didn't know how to get the bracket that joins it to the subframe out of the way...turns out it was as simple as undoing the upper engine mount nut and jacking the engine up enough to slip it out.

Started out using a hacksaw blade, but after obtaining numerous cuts to my hands and much cursing I got heavy duty on it, using a hand drill to drill out the centre rubber bit, a reciprocating saw to cut a slit in the outer metal ring, and a cold chisel and lump hammer to tap the metal ring out of the way. Once that was gone, it was as easy as lubing up the powerflex mount and pusing it into the housing. Jacked the engine up again to get the bracket back in and hey presto!


02/05/2011

Picked up a shiney new catback off a gti6 Fergal was breaking, hope to fit it during the week...



Went about de-badging the rear of the car, but it looks as if someone had superglued the '306' and 'gti6' badges on, so theres a few lumps of hard glue left behind that look as if they're going to have to be sanded off...hopefully I can do it without damaging the painwork!