The Lowdown by the owner Vas Selvaratnam:

Here is my spec with no doubts some parts missing as I have been on a 7yr journey since buying the infamous Glenn Hi-5 Engine which holds the current quickest record for a 1.4 GT turbo engine of 11.02 sec qtr mile back in 2011. Since buying this I have been looking for a base shell to use for my build and its not been easy with budget constraints and the last were pretty bad and now finally on my 3rd shell…hooray i would say it’s 95% solid hence why I went for a 1995 2 owner low mileage campus shell which was likely to be the last of the Renault 5 shell before the Clio’s came on the market. I reckon 6 months maybe more to complete this build but the plan is to be ready for the Renault Turbo Owners club national day to have some fun. I will be honest this is the first time I’m doing this and it will be a great experience but also a lot of learning as I get to feel the new setup and see what times I can get. I know I will be in safe hands as the RTOC community is great but more importantly I have GBG to support me and also the infamous Scoff with tuning wizardy at EFI-parts who knows this engine very well but also has even crazier, monstrous Renault 5 then I do.

The Plan:

Engine: GT turbo 1397cc Engine, lightened and balance with steel liners and forged pistons with steel rods, custom big valve ported cylinder head with double springs and uprated pushrods, Fusion Fabrications Inlet Manifold with 680cc injectors
EFI-Parts (Scoff) custom cam, baffled sump, 420D adaptronice ECU, Garret GTX3071R Turbo, Tial 38mm external wastegate, custom exhaust, customer intercooler, Wizard of NOS nitrous planned for 2020

Transmission: 02M Seat Leon Cupra R 6 Speed box with darkside reinforcement parts and EFI-Parts adaptor, Quaife Diff, custom driveshafts, Spec ST3 Clutch -slightly aggressive street and drag clutch

Brakes: TBC

Chassis and suspension: GAZ fully adjustable coilovers, wider track subframe with Powerflex bushes

Wheels and tyres: 13″ with Mickey Thompson Drag Slicks

Interior: OMP Roll cage with extra support inside and to front suspension, 2 x Sparco Evo Seats, Sparco harnesses, Bosch fuel pump, fuel swirl pot, smaller tank

Exterior: Standard Campus with GT Turbo Kit, tarmac spoiler, morette headlights, custom grill.

Vas has started stripping down the Renault 5 shell ready for us to restore it. Yes he should be wearing eye protection the rebel, we did advise him but he is not an employee, so we can’t sack him for flouting health and safety.

Vas had originally brought this shell, however after sandblasting it, it revealed just too many holes, dents and work needed to make it a viable option. So back to the drawing board he went and after a Google search Vas had located a Renault Campus that could be used as the base car. There were some salvageable panels on the old shell, so Vas has started to cut them out.

Restoration work has started on the shell and the old panels salvaged from the donor car are now being cleaned up and spot welded into place.

Al is also removing all the surface rust, cutting out any bad areas, fabricating fresh steel plates and welding these into place.

Next up the shell was mounted to our rotating jig to make it easier for us to get to the hard to reach areas.

Vas then started to strip the paint off the shell starting in the engine bay…..

…. and then on to the interior.

With the plan for this car to have a bit of show as well as go, Vas has opted for the smooth look in the engine bay, so all the holes not needed in there were welded up and smoothed out.

Next up Al and Vas trial fitted the OMP role cage

The body kit has now been trial fitted. Al had to make a few adjustments to the side skirts as the sills are bigger on a Campus shell compared to a GT Turbo shell. He did this by cutting up the side skirts and re angling them and then bonded them using panel bond. Vas has also bough a bad boy bonnet that already has vents welded in and has the aggressive look he is after.

Due to the uprated power that will be putting pressure on the engine subframe Al has reinforced it. He did this by burning off the sealer and glue between the panel joins first to get a clean uncontaminated weld and then welding up all the seams.

As Vas is going for the smooth look the door looks have been welded up and smoothed out.

With the new body kits rear quarters and side skirts now fitted the shell was wheel into the booth and Jay coated it with a layer of  spray putty.

For added strength Al has started to fabricate extra cross braces on the roll cage

Al has carried on fabricating the extra cross braces to strengthen the roll cage. He has also custom fabricated new front inner wings in the engine bay so it is less holey!

The fabrication of the roll cage has now been completed and it has been removed ready for paint. Al has been trial fitting the intercooler and fan and has modified the front bumper to accommodate the bigger intercooler. The strengthened sub frame has also been reattached to the engine bay

The shells interior, engine bay and underneath have now been coated in black raptor to give it a durable layer of protection.

The owner Vas has dropped the engine block off at the shop ready to have it sprayed. You forget how small these blocks are especially as this will be running 450 BHP when all is finished. It’s Small but packs a punch, the Prince Naseem Hamed of the engine world!

Big Al and Jay Da Spray have prepped, primered and masked up the body work and the shell has be lifted into the booth ready to be coated in the chosen paint, but can you guess what colour it is going?

The shell and engine bay have now been sprayed and it is looking sweeeeet! For those of you who guessed Satin black and gold engine bay you deserve a medal!

Al has installed the headlining that is wrapped in black alcantara and coupled with the gold engine bay is looking pimping!

After cleaning up the welds the roll cage has been sprayed in the same gold colour as the engine bay and has now been fitted by Olly, Al and Jay.

After a year break on the project, where Vas has been saving money, he has now bought all the parts to complete the project and the 5 is back at the shop. Click on the walk-around video with Vas and Olly as they provide an update on this project.

As Vas mentioned in the video, the suspension components have now been fitted, this includes the coilovers, top mounts, and lower arms. The gearbox has also been fitted, which is a VW six-speed box chosen as it is more robust and should take the increased power.

The brake components have also been fitted, including discs, calipers pads, brake lines, and bias valve.

Vas has opted for this SQS Racing sequential shifter that not only will look great in his stripped back interior but also perform better than a standard shifter.

The majority of the panels have been trial-fitted including the whole front end. Vas has modified the front bumper to allow for the larger intercooler. I have to say the front end is looking pretty menacing.

Vas has gone for a custom Volantech steering wheel that gives him the ability to operate a number of functions using the various buttons on the steering wheel. He has also installed a custom handbrake.

The Carbon fibre spoiler has been fitted.

After a bit of a break from the GT Turbo build due to some internal engine mods being done elsewhere, the car and engine are back at the shop where it’s full steam ahead. We will be bringing you a full explainer video where Vas and Olly will explain in detail the various internal mods that have been done to the engine to make it a more reliable high horsepower streetcar.

Vas has mounted the VAG gearbox to the C1J engine and it’s now ready to be fitted in the engine bay.

Vas has trial fitted the custom inlet manifold however, he hit some issues with the bosh injector fitment, therefore the fuel rail has had to go off to be modified to enable it to work with new Seimens 690cc compact injectors. Once this is back it will be the next thing to be fitted.

Vas is pretty much finished installing the Fuel System in the boot area. He will run the car on 99 octane for everyday use however, with this setup it can also handle race fuel.

The Gaz shocks have been installed with Compbrake adjustable top mounts again as we have had to adjust the position of the top mounts to the correct camber adjustment, due to the now much wider track. We have also fitted longer track rod ends and longer custom brake hoses. The area we cut into will be finished and sprayed soon.

The custom dashboard switch pannel is in that will control such things as the lights and front windscreen heater etc Vas has also installed the gear selector display.

The Turbo and pipework have been fitted. Vas has gone for a custom fabricated screamer piper that will exit through the bonnet spitting flames.

The new wheels have arrived from Driftworks.com Vas has gone for Japan Racing JR10s.

The custom wiring of the whole car has started with the engine bay.

The dash and switch box have been over to CW Trimming to be wrapped in fabric to match the headlining.

The rest of the panels on the car (front wings, doors, bumpers, bonnet, and boot lid) have been prepared over at the Bodyshop and have been sprayed to match the body. We are getting very close to seeing the whole car together. Its all go as Vas is debuting the car at the Max Power reunion event on the 28th of August at the British Motor Museum.

The panels have started to go back on the car as well as all the glass, and the car is very close to being ready for the Max Power Reunion show this weekend (August 28th – 29th 2022) The car will be complete apart from setting up the ECU electronics and tuning the engine which means it will be a non-runner for the show.

To be continued …….