New '89 GTUs Driver in Flint
10-27-13, 05:10 PM
#1
Unburned Hydrocarbons
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Location: Flint, MI
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New '89 GTUs Driver in Flint
Hey everyone, it's Matt here with my first real post.
Today I just discovered that my car is a rare 1989 GTUs model (one of 1100 made in 89 and 90). The former owner told me when I bought it in 2010 that it was a GTU, so I previously assumed it was just a base car. I then started to gather clues that something was different about the car--4 piston front calipers, LSD, and a door sticker specifying 205/55R16 tires despite the "331" for N/A in the VIN. Sweet!
The not-so-great: An aftermarket sunroof was installed at one point in the car's life. It's missing quite a bit of its clearcoat and someone put a Turbo hood on it. The previous owner swapped in an S4 motor and did the very minimum to get it running on the S5 ECU and wiring--no emissions, idle control, thermowax, oil injection, or 5/6 port sleeve actuation.
As a naive 20 year old, I ordered an '89 water pump for it when I noticed it was leaking from its weep hole, only to discover that it didn't fit and my car didn't have the correct engine. I overheated it severely before I was able to obtain an s4 water pump, so the car sat with no compression for 2.5 years. I got it on the road again this summer with a junkyard engine I purchased about a year ago from the Car and Driver 787B-themed LeMons team that had been campaigning an S4. It's another S4 motor, but at least I'm enjoying my car again and beating Turbo II cars and almost everyone else under 300 hp at school car club autocrosses.
As for myself, I'm an engineering student that just started grad school. I'm the engine guy and a driver for the Kettering University Formula SAE team. We just had our best season in school history--winning the fuel efficiency event at all three competitions we attended this year and climbed up to 38th in the world out of over 500 collegiate teams. I've done work with boosting and flex-fuel setups as the leader of our SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge team and am experienced with Megasquirt, ProEFI, and MotoTron.
Here's the car:
Today I just discovered that my car is a rare 1989 GTUs model (one of 1100 made in 89 and 90). The former owner told me when I bought it in 2010 that it was a GTU, so I previously assumed it was just a base car. I then started to gather clues that something was different about the car--4 piston front calipers, LSD, and a door sticker specifying 205/55R16 tires despite the "331" for N/A in the VIN. Sweet!
The not-so-great: An aftermarket sunroof was installed at one point in the car's life. It's missing quite a bit of its clearcoat and someone put a Turbo hood on it. The previous owner swapped in an S4 motor and did the very minimum to get it running on the S5 ECU and wiring--no emissions, idle control, thermowax, oil injection, or 5/6 port sleeve actuation.
As a naive 20 year old, I ordered an '89 water pump for it when I noticed it was leaking from its weep hole, only to discover that it didn't fit and my car didn't have the correct engine. I overheated it severely before I was able to obtain an s4 water pump, so the car sat with no compression for 2.5 years. I got it on the road again this summer with a junkyard engine I purchased about a year ago from the Car and Driver 787B-themed LeMons team that had been campaigning an S4. It's another S4 motor, but at least I'm enjoying my car again and beating Turbo II cars and almost everyone else under 300 hp at school car club autocrosses.
As for myself, I'm an engineering student that just started grad school. I'm the engine guy and a driver for the Kettering University Formula SAE team. We just had our best season in school history--winning the fuel efficiency event at all three competitions we attended this year and climbed up to 38th in the world out of over 500 collegiate teams. I've done work with boosting and flex-fuel setups as the leader of our SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge team and am experienced with Megasquirt, ProEFI, and MotoTron.
Here's the car:
10-31-13, 06:18 PM
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Hi, its nice to know there's other FC owners on this site that live near me and also use their car for competition. Also, I found the story about your car quite interesting.
10-31-13, 06:58 PM
#3
whats up!
but yea... your poor GTUs needs some work... Give it time, we can help you out.
(BTW... (Blame me, its all my fault because Im lazy) I have a thread going on for people who want to mark down their name for new "GTUs" fender stickers.
To this date they are "NLA" and I bought the last one available. Im currently trying to get exact copies made... but like I said, my fault for not getting on the ball... After Sevenstock I will...)
but yea... your poor GTUs needs some work... Give it time, we can help you out.
(BTW... (Blame me, its all my fault because Im lazy) I have a thread going on for people who want to mark down their name for new "GTUs" fender stickers.
To this date they are "NLA" and I bought the last one available. Im currently trying to get exact copies made... but like I said, my fault for not getting on the ball... After Sevenstock I will...)
10-31-13, 10:36 PM
#4
Unburned Hydrocarbons
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Thanks, guys! Going from "just another dead FC" to having a blast in my GTUs in only a few months has really been great. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the car on the scales today for a vehicle dynamics class lab:
It's missing the power steering pump, a/c components, smog pump, oil injection, catalyst(s), spare tire, and radio. The rest of the interior is complete. The aftermarket power sunroof is heavier than stock. The single exhaust system I pieced together is lighter than stock. I would assume the 225/50/16 Ecsta SPT's on it are heavier than stock. This was with 1/4 tank of fuel, so it would be about 80 lb heavier with a full tank.
Now I just need to sort out an intermittent 6k rpm-up misfire before this Saturday's school autocross...
It's missing the power steering pump, a/c components, smog pump, oil injection, catalyst(s), spare tire, and radio. The rest of the interior is complete. The aftermarket power sunroof is heavier than stock. The single exhaust system I pieced together is lighter than stock. I would assume the 225/50/16 Ecsta SPT's on it are heavier than stock. This was with 1/4 tank of fuel, so it would be about 80 lb heavier with a full tank.
Now I just need to sort out an intermittent 6k rpm-up misfire before this Saturday's school autocross...
