29 replies to this topic

[jhinchy]

I had always been an admirer of the Speedster/VX220, and nearly bought one a few years ago. Since the recession has hit Ireland, it has brought the prices of sports cars way down, leading to many of the good ones being exported!
I spotted this Yellow speedster for sale on a classifieds website, and thought it was worth a look. It was an Original Irish car, so pretty rare. Probably less than 10 of them around at this stage. Yellow in colour, it was a standard car in need of a bit of attention, but it came with a OE hardtop, and a piper exhaust.
I drove to wexford to see the car with a wedge of cash, and it turned out to be a good one, so i brought it home.

Filling up for the journey home


First job to do was to give the car a good cleaning from top to bottom. It was used as a daily driver by its previous owner for a good number of years, so it need a good scrub. The build up under the seats was pretty scary!


I gave it a good service, but It needed 4 new shocks, so i decided to go with a set of Gaz Golds. I intend to do as many trackdays as possible, so these seemed to be a worthy upgrade. They were a straightforward swap, but it took a bit of playing around to get the settings right.

I gave it a quick polish to try to improve the faded paintwork, but it needed a respray, but all in good time.


I done 2 trackdays with the car like this, and was delighted with the car, but I felt it was lacking a bit of power.
Needless to say, i found myself browsing the forum, and then Ebay USA, and 2 weeks later, there was a full supercharger kit sitting on my garage floor.

[Goosenka]

Hello mate. What the hell happened underv that seat.??!!!!

[jhinchy]

I decided to go for a Stage 2 supercharger setup.
I was lucky with my find on ebay, as the auction included most things i would need.
Supercharger, Manifold, electric water pump, OE pump location bracket, LSJ throttlebody, etc.
I bought a ProAlloy chargecooler radiator and fans from a fellow forum member.
The car had a 100amp alternator, and I had a set of z20let injectors.
I rang Courtenay Sport, and organised a few other parts, belt etc, but also a ECU remap,
I picked up a cone filter and silicone pipe on Ebay,
Let the work begin!



The Forum was a great help, any question i had was answered by using the search function, or reading other project threads.

I stored the clams away safely while the work was going on!

[jhinchy]

Hello mate. What the hell happened underv that seat.??!!!!

It was just a build up of coins, cigarette lighters, damp paper, hair clips etc. It took some cleaning!!!

[Goosenka]

I live near Bootdog with his Irish plated Silver

[jhinchy]

Once it was up and running, i decided to paint it before i put it back on the road. Lucky for me my brother is a panelbeater, and we have a full bodyshop at our disposal!
It had been touched up in the past, and the paint had faded pretty badly, so it definitely desereved a bit of paint! I wanted to keep the car Original looking, so i ordered a new Opel Grill and rear badge.

There was a couple of small cracks around the body that needed to be sorted, but other than that it was pretty good.
I refitted the 2 clams, and removed all the door rubbers, mirrors, diffuser, splitter etc.




Fresh Paint...


Bit of Polishing


Im still waiting on new window seals for the doors, and must refit the rear quarter grills, and give it a coat of wax, but otherwise we are done.


I must put up some mileage now, just to iron out any issues, as its due to hit the track in 2 weeks time!
I took it for a short spin this evening just to see what the supercharger is like, and i was well impressed. it is a different car, and should be awesome on track.
Thanks for the online help.

[jhinchy]

Finished





Looking forward to driving it now!!

[H1 HWK]

Looks like new, nice job.

[Andrew aka Stuwy]

[VIX]

Top job.

[jhinchy]

I have about 50 miles on the clock now since the supercharger went on, and its awesome! It transformed the car. Only trouble is i can only select 2nd, 4th and reverse. Hopefuly something simple like gearshift cables or something catching on the mechanism.

[jhinchy]

I'm back on the road! My gear shift problem was a part of the wiring loom catching on the cables, an easy fix. I still can't get over how quick it can eat up road!

[jhinchy]

The supercharger "Bedding In Period" is going well.....

[jhinchy]

Attended a Trackday in Mondello Park last week, i had done 2 here earlier in the year, in NA form, but i must say the supercharger has made it a very capable car on track! I also got a spin in another VX220, but this car had been really well setup, with additional camber, wider front wheels etc.
It turned in much stronger than my car, with endless grip. I know what my next mods are going to be
Here is some pics of the car in action





and a short video of my last 2 laps, the day was nearly over, so it was time to kill the tyres!!!

[sworks]

Looks like you were having a lot of fun!! Nice car control too

[CocoPops]

Last time I was at mondello was 1990 when I was 11yrs old Loving the yellow speedster look with the Opel bar grill.

[JG]

That looks great, wonderful project

[jonnyboy]

Great thread. Must resist the supercharger urge! Good skills holding it sideways too!

[Firthy]

Love your work.... awesome skidds

[jhinchy]

I meant to update this thread many times in the last year.
I have done a lot of trackdays in the car since, and added a few track orientated upgrades.
Harness bar, 16/17 wheels with federal RSR tyres, and also upgraded to CL5+ brake pads.
On a recent Trackday, the car developed a misfire. I removed the plugs, and number 4 had suffered quite a bit of damage from detonation.
Further investigation showed a melted injector! It must have got very hot in there!





The cause of the damage I believe was a faulty injector. I replaced it with another z20let injector, and the car has been faultless since.
This has prompted me to improve things. I have bought a spare engine, blower cams, rods&pistons, and will be going down the Dutch road.
Looking forward to making a start on the new engine build,