introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

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murrayarnold
Posts: 6
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 12:42 pm

introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by murrayarnold »

A very good day to all. This is my first post on the site. As a quick introduction, i am from Scotland, 45, live in Croatia and work in Afghanistan/Iraq as a Project Manager for an American construction company. That's all straight forward so far. My car i have, well i told my wife it was her 40th Birthday present :-) is a 77 Fiat spider. Not the best looking car in standard trim. Please before you frown, that's only a personal opinion. The car choose me, i did not choose the car. Yes it basically turned up on my doorstep saying buy me. So after 3 years I decided that the red headed stepchild in the drive had to have a make over. Its in for a penny in for a pound now. And the final part of all this is going to be a complete GC engine. Well the work that's gone into transforming it into a grp 4 GULF OIL livery car has been awesome in my view. And it took little encouragement to go full on under the hood. Oops, bonnet.
So you can see my car and the work on the blog i have created and i hope you will all enjoy it and comment accordingly with either critique or awe. Ether way i look forward to some dialogue with fellow owners. I have much to learn regarding this car but will do with all your assistance. Thanks for reading and please enjoy.

http://www.gulfrally124spider.com/
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Last edited by murrayarnold on September 5th, 2012, 5:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Guy Croft
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Re: introduction and new car ( grp 4 gulf oil replica)

Post by Guy Croft »

welcome Murray, fantastic car soon to be 'Crofted', of course!

Friends on my Facebook will already have seen this outstanding replica.

As for the readers and members from our cousins in the USA you know them you take the heat!

G
Guy Croft, owner
TS131Volumex
Posts: 48
Joined: January 22nd, 2008, 5:58 pm

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by TS131Volumex »

Another stunner !! I would gladly see that parked next to the Spitfire . What are you asking Guy to create for it ?
murrayarnold
Posts: 6
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 12:42 pm

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by murrayarnold »

Well I originally contacted guy after a few references from a spider forum. My idea was to find an original 16v head. I simply wanted the wow factor. Naive of on hindsight. So I had a few emails with Guy who turned out to be an extremely honest guy with similar convictions and beliefs as myself.
No up to this point I had purchased fast cams, exhaust and 40 downdrafts from state side. I did not plan the engine side enough as my budget on the engine was stupidly never a consideration. If it had been I would have pre paired better. But I went of half cocked and feel rather foolish for it. But every days a school day and lesson learned.
So after a few more emails I decided to go e Guy the go ahead to build a new 8 valve head for me. But now this rendered the original exhaust, cams and carbs useless as none would be a compliment to Guys head. And I totally understand the need to make sure the engineers product has only the best parts attached to it for 100% effectiveness.
I have contacted OJZ to get info on an exhaust but still waiting a reply. Which reminds me I must phone them.
But off course, the engine is nothing unless fully done. Put a GC head, in fact any modified head, on a standard and old bottom end and sparks will fly. All that new induction and compression will soon have you reaching for the spare oil tin in the barrage, ha ha. Any way I am now talking of stuff I have little experience in. But I will learn.
So basically I am going for the complete GC engine. There are the obvious bolt on parts that others will supply. Again these parts will be first discussed with Guy to find out who he can recommend. So I have to consider a new radiator, cooling fans, engine mounts, alternator, ignition system, steering etc. The list quickly builds up. But I am now motivated to build a show winning replica that will impress all lovers of my own hobby.

Thanks for your interest and please keep up to date on my blog where I will keep all new updates to the car updated.
Guy Croft
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Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by Guy Croft »

Nice post and kind refs thanks Murray.

I'd be pleased if you would (can?) tell members where you are actually writing from!

I think some would be surprised and not a little impressed.

G
Guy Croft, owner
murrayarnold
Posts: 6
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 12:42 pm

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by murrayarnold »

My pleasure. Sorry i just get so used to my working environment i forget others may find it interesting.
For those who may find my globe trotting of interest here it is. Are you all sitting comfortably? good, i will begin :-)

In 98 i got very bored of my life. That was in Falkirk in Scotland. By the way at this point I already owned my 73 Triumph TR6. My dad had unconsciously been an influence on my love of cars. Old cars funnily enough. My father used to race along side Jackie Stewart when they used to do hill climbs on the rest-and-be -thankful on the east of Scotland. It was not uncommon (according to my mother) for myself to call the same Mr.Stewart " Uncle Jackie". So without going into that in any depth, you now understand the beginning. Sadly this was interrupted by a family break at a young age. Ok that can also wait.
So i left in 98 and went to work for the military in Bosnia & Croatia where i met my now fantastic and beautiful wife and now mother of my 2 fantastic sons. In that time I ended up working in Bosnia for the British Military, than the Canadian Military before leaving to work in Africa in Darfur for the African Union and then in South Sudan for the Sudanese Peoples liberation Army. My point of contact was an amazing General who had been trained by Fidel Castro. Ha ha, i could honestly not make this up. So then i work in Kenya and Uganda. Oh and i started a property management company in Croatia somewhere in between.
So i left Africa for personal family reasons ( I discussed this with Guy so i will go no further here with that) I then mobilized to Afghanistan for some more dust grime. And in case i did not mention, bombs, yep, loads of them. I have managed to dodge quite a few close calls. So much that i think i am now rather numb to it all. In fact after 3 and a half years of bombs and bullets and generators blasting in my ear every night, sleeping in nasty conditions and riding into Kandahar city dressed up as a local in the back of a beat up Toyota, i find home life rather , well how could i say, boring. Seams i only like my life to be in a constant state of crisis. Maybe that's my motivation. Oh yes i have also had my spell in Iraq where i took a security team to a place where you should not be. A town called Al Kurna where the Euphrates and the Tigress meet. Formally know in biblical times as lower Mesopotamia. For the less knowledgeable, as I was, this is the cradle of life as our modern civilization know it. Where we started. Adam was not after all, the first man, he was the first recorded and recognized man who was basically the father of all. Recognized by all faiths and cultures as the cornerstone of our current civilizations. An I was fortunate enough, in the current climate, to walk in THEE garden, yes its still there, the Garden of Eden. I have stood in the footsteps of giants. And believe me it was belittling. thought provoking, you name it. I was also in Israel last year and bathed in the river Jordan, stood at the great wall in Jerusalem, Walked in the church of Annunciation in Nazareth. So you could say i have seen most. And by the way, i am sending this from Dubai and in 3 days will one again be in Iraq. I may be lucky to visit the hanging gardens of Babylon this time if its safe enough. Oh yes Iraq has it all.
Ok so i digressed slightly, i do apologize. So the Fiat, yes that's where I was heading. So anyway i was at home and a guy came to the door looking to find the Scotsman selling the Fiat 124. This is in Croatia by the way. Firstly i asked what 124. Then he mentioned a white Spider and bells starting ringing. So i wont drag this out any more than necessary but suffice as to say I ended up with it some 6 months later. And i bought it from a fellow Scotsman who worked with Sunsail only 3 villages away. I had seen the car but never paid it attention. And the story has more twists and coincidence regarding how the Fiat even ended up in Croatia. Bizarre but true.
So after buying the car on the premise it was for my wife's 40th birthday :-) I decided last year that the time had come to rejuvenate this little car into something special. And this is with the full support and enthusiasm of my very supportive wife.
The pi-ester resistance ( pardon my french) will be only possible with the inclusion of a GC full blooded engine. No holds barred now. This will be the best of the best.

Not you typical GC forum post I am sure but i hope you all enjoy the reading. Maybe one day i will write a book about the life of a contractor.
Guy Croft
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Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by Guy Croft »

MODEL POST!

Thank you very much for that fascinating resume Murray!

Don't worry that no-one commented, 75% of members here are only interested in their own projects, and that's ok, all forums are like that.

G

PS - members - this was probably written while Murray was sitting on a sandbag in Camp Bastion. Heard of Camp Bastion?
Guy Croft, owner
murrayarnold
Posts: 6
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 12:42 pm

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by murrayarnold »

Well i was in the Helmand Province area at the time but am now in Iraq only 3 miles from the Iranian border. Oh i do get around. Fortunately ( i think) i am now not under military law. But having said that my new posting is just as bad in its own way. But i am in the right place at the right time and if i play my cards right i may get somewhere better.
So engine stuff now. Guy, looks like we are now full on with engine spec, or at the least the head. The new cam profile is sounding great. You know the sound from the twin 44s on the power band with the overlap is simple worth listening to every time. I had a lotus sunbeam back in the day with a serious bit of modification work done to it. sound of the carbs when it came on cam was music to my ears. My friends said they knew the sound of my car a mile away. That was more than 20 years ago. Duplex timing gear, full on race engine with a flywheel no thicker than a china plate. I bought it from a gentleman in Ayrshire at the time that had been competitively racing it on the track. My word, could it eat gear boxes. And at that age buying new 5 speed dog boxes was not in the budget. So it was a new 4 speeder out the scrap yard every other week. I got extremely efficient at swapping the box out by myself.
Well lets see how the budget can cope with a new box for the GC special that's going in it. I am giving Guy the green light to do what he sees fit to make a serious power house. Luckily i have other cars so i can also give Guy plenty time, if off course he needs it, to produce it. That way the guys out there with a short turn around time can get priority over mine with no worries. And guy, i cannot wait to see what we can plan for the bottom end.
Last edited by murrayarnold on September 22nd, 2012, 3:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Guy Croft
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Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by Guy Croft »

thanks Murray..

always nice (and it often happens here) to get positive comments..

Bottom-end ideally:

1. Bored, face block fully deburred, core plugs etc etc
2. GC.CP pistons (CR tba depends on fuel octane, pref 10/1 +)
3. GC_Cunningham rods I just had a batch come in..
4. GC FULLY prepped crank, LC bearings, GC_Helix En 24 steel FW with integral ring gear
5. GC big wing sump
6. 1" cambelt and toothed belt water-pump drive
7. GC_Helix comp clutch uprated organic

plus the usual list of oil system accessories .......

need I go on..?!

If you have the budget (which, respectfully, I know you do...), I have the technology.... and that goes for any reader of this site.

Typical photos of similar builds show some of the stuff...

G
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the FW DO vary in style..........
the FW DO vary in style..........
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If I build it this is generally what it will look like.............same spec I have in mind for you. Not a million miles from Geoff Ward's Montecarlo (film etc on Facebook)
If I build it this is generally what it will look like.............same spec I have in mind for you. Not a million miles from Geoff Ward's Montecarlo (film etc on Facebook)
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Guy Croft, owner
nickp
Posts: 54
Joined: October 23rd, 2007, 8:42 pm
Location: Barnsley, South Yorks. UK (A)
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Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by nickp »

Nice car, soon to be made nicer (and quicker) with the addition of a GC motor!!
Oh, and a fascinating lifestyle you have there Murray. Keep safe in those bad places fella.
nabihelosta
Posts: 94
Joined: December 14th, 2010, 5:37 pm
Location: Lebanon

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by nabihelosta »

Murray..

Just got to read this thread.

Much more interesting than your car, is your life. Very exciting and courageous.

All the luck with your awesome project, and your travels and stayings. If you ever pass by Lebanon, drop me a message and I'll catch you somewhere :-)

Nabih
HORSEPOWERunlimited
murrayarnold
Posts: 6
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 12:42 pm

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by murrayarnold »

i was very close to you about 9months ago. The country next door to you. I have in addition worked with many Lebanese people and found them all very hospitable and reputable. Your country is indeed very beautiful. I will one day drop in and enjoy the hospitality. I do have a few friends in your area. Thanks for reading and commenting.
miro-1980
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Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by miro-1980 »

Murray

Fantastic project !

I truly appreciate the way you did the Abarth trim . Excellent workmanship . Almost too good for an Abarth (!!)

I have a pretty civilian 124 spider. It had a standard folding roof , whioch i found to be boring after while and put on it a targa hardtop. , roll bar , and now I ma thinking about doing more ( maybe not as much as full gr 4 trim but hopefully something close to gr 2)

Found your thread fascinating reading ....

Keep this thread alive and with pictures, please !

Miro

PS: GREAT DECISION TO GO FOR A GC ENGINE.
I HAVE MADE THE SAME DECISION DONE IT IN 2009 , ASKING GUY TO BUILD AN ENGINE FOR MY 131 ABARTH REPLICA.
NOW , AFTER 3 SEASONS OF DRIVING IT ON RACE TRACKS AND IN RALLIES I STILL BELIEVE THIS WAS THE BEST CAR DECISION i HAVE EVER MADE!
www.Fiat-abarth-rally.com
GC_93
murrayarnold
Posts: 6
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 12:42 pm

Re: introduction. grp4 Fiat 124 spider

Post by murrayarnold »

Thanks Miro for your appreciation of the work on the car. The decision to go with the GP4 was for me easy. Simple case of all or nothing. Once that was made it was also a days looking for the correct colour scheme. I fell in love with the Gulf Oil colours straight away. Donors for all the parts so far come from all over. GP4 body panels and all lights from Guys Abarth works museum in Belgium, the wheels from Italy, the tyres, fuel pumps and other small items from Britain, the dashboard, brakes and ignition system from America and off course the power house is being currently worked on by GC. the icing on the cake. Oh i forgot the material for the interior courtesy of Maserati in Italy. The sound deafening and carpet however is also British. And all built and put together with love in Croatia.
So its an international effort for sure. I am only concerned about one item. That's the rear wheel spacers.With the additional power to the rear end i am worried the torque may be an issue. I have already renewed the rear wheel bearings but am more worried about sheering the lengthened wheel studs.

I have created a blog where all photos of the build can be seen. Please feel free to have a look. Obviously when the GC engine is ready for the transplant i will update the photos. But a Quaife gearbox and LSD are still to be purchased before the engine goes in.
http://www.gulfrally124spider.com/
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