GTM Libra Re-build

[Jamie]

Not strictly a motorsport related topic but, as we're all petrolheads, I thought you might be interested in some details of my current project car - a GTM Libra.

I think I gave some general background info on it when we were corresponding via email (the bad old days) but some may not have seen it, so to summarise...

The car is a GTM Libra, essentially a kit car though this one was factory built and registered new in 2002. I am a GTM fan having owned a coupe in the 90's and also still own a Rossa but these are a really nice bit of kit and I've always wanted one. This one came up for sale a couple of years ago at the right price so I snapped it up. I bought the car from a chap called Tim Maylon who was Seb Vettel's race engineer at Red Bull during his championship winning seasons and it had been off the road for a while with a blown head gasket.
I originally intended to replace the head gasket and get it back on the road but I'm incredibly anal when it comes to my 'toy' cars and its now a full nut and bolt rebuild - every last component has (or will) be removed, replaced / refurbished / improved before I'm done and I hope to get it on the road this year.

I've basically gone through the car from back to front with the rear end nearing completion now and I'm moving on to the front end. One of the photos shows the rear end with the rebuilt engine and gearbox in place, another shows the rear bodywork back on (cill end covers not yet fitted), another the front end stripped down and the car when it was still all together a few years back.
I've rebuilt the lotus elise engine and gearbox but its been breathed on with a fully gas flowed head, cams, brand new stiffened motorsport block and other detail bits and bobs, it should make around 180-185 bhp in this spec and the car only weighs 725-750 kgs so it should be lively.

Anyway, I could literally go on for hours about the changes / improvements I've made but I'd bore the socks off you all so I'll restrain myself 
I'll keep this updated as I reach new milestones in the re-build. The intention is for this to predominately be a road car but I'll definitely be doing some trackdays and some sprints with the car as well.



 

[charleselan]

Jamie that is superb and not at all out of place here; it's all about cars and other automotive devices. Can't do better than that colour which looks very similar to my 1969 Lotus Elan S4 D/H, I just love the colour on a dainty sports car.

You are doing a smashing job on the car and it will be amazing when finished, fantastic.

[Jamie]

Feb 13, 2018 22:43:50 GMT charleselan said:

Jamie that is superb and not at all out of place here; it's all about cars and other automotive devices. Can't do better than that colour which looks very similar to my 1969 Lotus Elan S4 D/H, I just love the colour on a dainty sports car.

You are doing a smashing job on the car and it will be amazing when finished, fantastic.

Thanks for the kind words John. I just love tinkering with cars, this one has become a real labour of love.

[mikael]

It looks great, Jamie. A most interesting car indeed - a real performance car. Just looking at it, one's not in doubt that it steers like a racing kart.

It seems even to have a reasonably good trunk at the aft - or?

[robmarsh]

Thanks Jamie it is great to see threads like this on this site as per john's comments. It looks like a real beautiful car and the colour is perfect-just right to my eyes. I think you will have a lot of fun with this and look forward to updates. As a teenager we used to spend all weekend taking cars apart and trying to put them together again-would have loved one of these though.

[chrisb]

that is brilliant Jamie, threads like this are just great - I really love hearing about things like this - thanks mate

[René]

Great stuff Jamie! That must be a fun car to drive.

You do understand that we want to see regular updates now!

[Jamie]

Feb 14, 2018 7:15:27 GMT mikael said:

It seems even to have a reasonably good trunk at the aft - or?

Yes it does. Its surprisingly practical in that regard with a decent sized boot that GTM claimed could take a set of golf clubs, there's also a good bit of room behind the seats - plenty enough room to go touring  👍

[Jamie]

Feb 14, 2018 9:27:37 GMT René said:

Great stuff Jamie! That must be a fun car to drive.

You do understand that we want to see regular updates now!

I promise to post updates when I have something of interest to report 

In a bit of a fallow period at the moment as the front suspension wishbones and uprights are away being blasted and powder-coated. 
However, I'll be busy at the weekend measuring up the rear suspension geometry as I've engaged a company called 'Track Developments' to develop and make a set of front and rear anti-roll bars for the car. The original ARB's we're optional and are now as rare and rocking horse poo with hens teeth stuck in it, also the rear suspension has been completely re-engineered by a company called Z cars (there are some pictures of my car in their workshop when the suspension was developed on Facebook) and the originals would likely not be the correct rate now.

Its all very interesting and I'm currently immersed in a fog of roll centre calculations, wheel / damper movement ratios, wheel rate frequencies, spring rates, weight distribution & centre of gravity calculations etc etc......

More to follow 👍

[Carl]

Jamie,

Your GTM Libra is awesome! The engine alone is so beautiful that the need for an engine cover seems a shame. Where would you take it for track days?

Do you need a co-driver?

Cheers, Carl

[Jamie]

Thanksf for all the positive comments chaps, much appreciated.

[Jamie]

Feb 14, 2018 21:49:53 GMT Carl said:

Jamie,

Your GTM Libra is awesome! The engine alone is so beautiful that the need for an engine cover seems a shame. Where would you take it for track days?

Do you need a co-driver?

Cheers, Carl

One of the styling aspects of the car I really like is that the rear clam-shell bodywork has a large window in it so the engine and mechanicals are on full view 👍Track day wise, Brands Hatch and Donnington will be at the head of the list but these will be very expensive so we’ll see....it’ll definitely get a run up the hill at Shellsley Walsh.

If you ever find yourself in the UK Carl, I’ll happily let you co-drive for a blast through my favourite country lanes 😁

[Carl]

Thank you Jamie! That is a definite added incentive to renew my passport!

[mikael]

Feb 14, 2018 20:35:41 GMT Jamie said:

Feb 14, 2018 7:15:27 GMT mikael said:

It seems even to have a reasonably good trunk at the aft - or?

Yes it does. Its surprisingly practical in that regard with a decent sized boot that GTM claimed could take a set of golf clubs, there's also a good bit of room behind the seats - plenty enough room to go touring  👍

That's nice!

I'm going off a tangent now, but talking about luggage space I came to think of a relatively new sports car by Honda, the Honda S660, which I tried by a Honda dealership when it appeared in 2016. It's nothing that can compare to your GTM, as it is a car in the "kei" (light) class, which is limited to 660ccm. Thus it cannot be a "rocket" - yet the S660 is turbo-charged which gives it a bit more power than a usual "kei". It's a cute and charming little sports car - yet it has absolutely no luggage space whatsoever. (The front end of this mid/rear-engined car is completely occupied by coolers, air conditioning, etc.) It is probably something that soon will become annoying - if you're two in the car then there's not even room for a couple of shopping bags.

The Honda S660

It's interesting to note that all of the Japanese manufacturers  started making sports cars "in the small" - with very-small displacement engines. Shown below is the first Honda sports car, the S500 (with a 500ccm engine), and Toyota's first sports car, the Toyota Sports 800 (with a 800ccm engine).

Honda S500 (1963-1964), Honda's first sports car

Toyota Sports 800 (1965-1969), Toyota's first sports car

[René]

Great post Mikael. I truly enjoy this Japanese angle and your knowledge.