My First Classic Car! A 1987 GTA V6 Atmo - E43 CJA

Hey there everyone! Just want to introduce myself to the forum - I am hoping to be a regular here having bought myself a 1987 GTA V6 Atmo. I couldn't be more thrilled, since I was young (and some might argue I still am at 24) I've always dreamed of getting myself a quirky classic sports car, and I think I have found that in this GTA Atmo.

Whether its youthful bravado for me to go straight into my second ever car being an Alpine, time will tell . I come from a mechanical engineering background, having studied at Uni of Birmingham and now finding myself as an engineer at Toyota, but my hands on experience when it comes to cars is pretty much exclusively when working on my daily - a little 2006 Seat Ibiza. I've managed most front end suspension jobs on it, and have been (extensively) helped with a gearbox and clutch change on it too - hopefully with a bit of guidance I can figure out my Atmo? Can't be too bad surely? Famous last words

When I picked up the car, I managed the 100 mile trek back home in it, but not without some cause for alarm . The gearbox lever linkage decided to pack in on the final 10 miles, leaving the car stuck in gear in 3rd/4th presumably Through some very painful clutch slipping, I managed to get the car back home

After some research, it seems the lever linkage bushes are a common failure point for these and quite simple to fix if you have enough ground clearance to work under the car - seeing as I currently haven't got this readily available, I've left the car in the capable hands of Hightone Restoration on the advice of both Paul/Stephen, for them to inspect the linkages. Here's to hoping I'll be back on the road in no time, ideally in time for some meetups with all you other owners!

I'm aware of a few other things I want to resolve within my first couple of years to get the car into greater shape, including:
- Attending to some of the rubber exterior seals
- Resolving the fuel gauge cluster's temperamental nature
- Resolving the door locks temperamental side
- Resolving the temperamental 34 TBIA carb (something about the wax means the choke needs to be manually held open by a willing volunteer if the engine is started again after a little bit of driving)
- Recovering the missing service book somehow

Can't wait for that list to grow much longer the more I learn . Looking forward to meeting you all and creating some memories!

Raaj

[mettersl]

Welcome, as an ex Atmo owner I would say that they are pretty simple except the Carbs which need to be set up properly or replaced with Weber or Holley. Spares are not that easy to find for the original carbs, but they can be found and there is a “how to set up” guide available.
Gear linkage- yup, thats a change when you buy the car problem. I’ve had that (in France) so its on the always change list.
Aside of that the rest of the problems can often be solved by cleaning/reflowing solder joints…there are a surprising amount of electronics on the cars and its all a bit ancient and non standard compared to today. My car had not run for 20 years but it all came back to life with a bit of care.
If you read a bit of French the wiring book can be found on line, thats a useful addition, as it the workshop manual.
If you need help with anything, including sourcing bits, send me a PM and I’ll help if I can.
Most of the parts are common to other cars with a few exceptions (what state are your indicators and rear lights?) but there is improving availability as some of the hard to get bits get remanufactured.
Cheers
Lee

[mettersl]

Welcome, as an ex Atmo owner I would say that they are pretty simple except the Carbs which need to be set up properly or replaced with Weber or Holley. Spares are not that easy to find for the original carbs, but they can be found and there is a “how to set up” guide available.
Gear linkage- yup, thats a change when you buy the car problem. I’ve had that (in France) so its on the always change list.
Aside of that the rest of the problems can often be solved by cleaning/reflowing solder joints…there are a surprising amount of electronics on the cars and its all a bit ancient and non standard compared to today. My car had not run for 20 years but it all came back to life with a bit of care.
If you read a bit of French the wiring book can be found on line, thats a useful addition, as it the workshop manual.
If you need help with anything, including sourcing bits, send me a PM and I’ll help if I can.
Most of the parts are common to other cars with a few exceptions (what state are your indicators and rear lights?) but there is improving availability as some of the hard to get bits get remanufactured.
Cheers
Lee

[johnb]

Lee,
I’d be interested if you could point me in the direction of the ‘how to set up’ guide for the Solex carbs. Are you referring to the carburettor section of the GTA manual? If so I have a copy of that section already. If it’s something different I’d like to see it as I’ve never been totally sure how to do it for my A310. It runs alright but could possibly be improved.

Good luck with it. I have just got mine back on the road after 14 years off the road.
As Lee says the carbs are the challenging areas, followed closely by the electrics.

Dave

[mettersl]

Hi Dave/John...sorry! , haven't found the guide in English yet but I'm still looking....
Cheers
lee

[johnb]

Hi Dave, haven't found the guide in English yet but I'm still looking....
Cheers
lee

I presume you mean me, Lee regarding the set up guide. If it’s in French I could translate but English would be better. Don’t spend time trying to find it if it’s difficult.

John (alias Dave)

Welcome, as an ex Atmo owner I would say that they are pretty simple except the Carbs which need to be set up properly or replaced with Weber or Holley. Spares are not that easy to find for the original carbs, but they can be found and there is a “how to set up” guide available.
Gear linkage- yup, thats a change when you buy the car problem. I’ve had that (in France) so its on the always change list.
Aside of that the rest of the problems can often be solved by cleaning/reflowing solder joints…there are a surprising amount of electronics on the cars and its all a bit ancient and non standard compared to today. My car had not run for 20 years but it all came back to life with a bit of care.
If you read a bit of French the wiring book can be found on line, thats a useful addition, as it the workshop manual.
If you need help with anything, including sourcing bits, send me a PM and I’ll help if I can.
Most of the parts are common to other cars with a few exceptions (what state are your indicators and rear lights?) but there is improving availability as some of the hard to get bits get remanufactured.
Cheers
Lee

Thank you for the offer Lee, I certainly will take you up on that soon, I am sure! Can't imagine having the gear linkage go on you in France - that does not sound like fun

As per your advice, I have also got the workshop manual which I was able to use to adjust my handbrake cables so that it is able to pass its MOT in a couple of weeks time. As for other updates...:
- Figured out where my coolant leak was coming from and was able to sort this out last week with the help of a new expansion tank from Simonauto and a bit of messing around with hoses and hose clamps. After an hour of driving, not a drop was lost! I was over the moon
- The gear linkage bush that had perished has since been replaced with a nylon one. The gear selection now engages well and feels great as you move through the gears.

One thing that is strange, is that once a gear is engaged, the stick itself seems able to move a fair amount if you try to jiggle it left and right (whilst still remaining in gear of course). I would like to make the gear stick feel far "tighter", as I presume that the cars weren't like this from new? I am not sure whether this is also linked to my car's inability to easily select reverse gear too. When I say its tough getting reverse, I mean you physically have to be built like a powerlifter (of which I am not ) to get it far enough left and to the rear to engage, all whilst holding that collar up. Not sure whether both of these could be linked to the gear selector knuckle based on the drawings in the workshop manual? Maybe someone on here has experienced either of these gear selector issues in the past?

Over the next few months I've got another few things I'll be looking to get my teeth into, but at least the car is in a fair driveable condition - touch wood that continues because it is great fun to drive!

[mettersl]

Hi Raaj,
Sounds like your gear linkage needs new balls...front back movement is done using the link rod where you have put new bushes, but left right is transmitted by a pair of nylon balls at the back of the car and these can and do wear.
Rats/John Ashley used to do exchange units that will sort that problem for you. Simon Auto probably do them too, but you have more shipping issues from Germany than Rotherham!"

Sounds like, you are making good progress on sorting the cars small issues.

Hi Raaj,
Sounds like your gear linkage needs new balls...front back is done using the link rod where you have pout new bushes, but left right is transmitted by a pair of nylon balls at the back of the car and these can and do wear.
Rats/John Ashley used to do exchange units that will sort that problem for you. Simon Auto probably do them too, but you have more shipping issues from Germany than Rotherham!"

Sounds like, you are making good progress on sorting the cars small issues.

Thanks Lee - its a work in progress but its been good fun so far! As for the two balls that you are referring to, I take it you mean the two that are circled on the attached picture from my workshop manual, that go on the gearchange knuckle joint that the arrow points at?

If so, would I be right in thinking that its best to get the whole knuckle joint out by dropping the nut under the rollpin, and then with a bit of hot water slide 2 new balls on and then put back the whole assembly into the car? Or is the removal/install of the nylon balls best left to the specialists at Rats as you mentioned?

Hopefully if I am able to get this sorted and change the timing belt after I've figured out how to release the tensioner, then I should be all good to go for the next drive-out event! Fingers crossed

[mettersl]

Screenshot 2022-07-27 163537.jpg

Yes, the whole part (3) comes off and new nylon balls need pushing onto the ends.
If you do a search on the forum for "new balls" or something like that, you should find old posts with pictures.
The specialists (JL, RATS or whoever you are close to) can do this for you, potentially a an exchange item.
When working correctly the gearchange has minimal play.

Screenshot 2022-07-27 163537.jpg

Yes, the whole part (3) comes off and new nylon balls need pushing onto the ends.
If you do a search on the forum for "new balls" or something like that, you should find old posts with pictures.
The specialists (JL, RATS or whoever you are close to) can do this for you, potentially a an exchange item.
When working correctly the gearchange has minimal play.

Thank you for the explanation I've had a look through the forums and there really are some gems on the posts - I'll likely be giving a few of the specialists a call to see whether they're able to do an exchange of sorts, as the simonauto exchange service seems a little steep. I did see that they offer nylon balls (https://www.simon-auto-shop.de/epages/S ... ts/091100K) on their own, but I am sceptical of whether they too will not be the best for fitment, similar to the replacement bushes that I read about through the old posts on the forums. Will provide an update once I have got this sorted! Then onto the other tasks and further afield drives

It has been a little bit of time since I was last able to get under my Alpine, but I finally got a moment, and was somewhat surprised to see that the balls for the gear change knuckle joint aren't exactly balls on my GTA - these cannot be standard surely? Maybe this would explain why there's play to the sides in the gear stick even when in gear?

On a side note, surprisingly over the last month or so of driving, the gear change even for reverse gear has become easier to engage - I guess its just a case of the gear linkage bush I had replaced getting a little softer with use

It has been a little bit of time since I was last able to get under my Alpine, but I finally got a moment, and was somewhat surprised to see that the balls for the gear change knuckle joint aren't exactly balls on my GTA - these cannot be standard surely? Maybe this would explain why there's play to the sides in the gear stick even when in gear?

On a side note, surprisingly over the last month or so of driving, the gear change even for reverse gear has become easier to engage - I guess its just a case of the gear linkage bush I had replaced getting a little softer with use

Update: they're just dust covers Here's me thinking I would be able to see the balls condition without even taking them apart - I was wondering why they looked similar in appearance to stuff like CV boots haha.

Has anyone here had their clutch done recently? Would appreciate any recommendations of good-value-for-money-garages that would do a new clutch for an Atmo? Its due a new clutch based on the history of the car so I'm thinking I should probably start getting the ball rolling! I've considered doing it with the help of simonauto and a mechanic that I know, but given that their ramp is currently not working, and that this is an older car, I think it may be wiser to get an expert on it!

Hi Raaj.

As you've probably read already, clutch is an engine out job. RATS, JL or Paul Sage are probably the best bets.

It's not complicated, but you do need the ramps really to cut the work down. The engine either comes out via the hatch (leaving the gearbox in situ) or the gearbox, suspension, engine and entire rear subframe all come out the bottom as one unit - secured by 4? really big bolts. The latter sounds more difficult, but is the easier, more efficient option. Whilst it's out, I'd do the other jobs - check for any subframe corrosion, same on the suspension etc. Also worth checking the slave cylinder and potentially rebuilding (atmo can be replaced more easily in situ, so not as much pain as the turbo). Also check the clutch fork arm and exchange for the later version if it's not already been swapped over.
I would also look at replacing the front to rear coolant pipes. Yes it's another £500+ to do that, in stainless or aluminium but again it's an engine out job if they spring a leak later anyway. Add in that you're disturbing everything and it makes sense to do that as one if you can, especially if you're now going to use regularly.

Cheers
Darren