26 auto italia
masterclass of how ‘dog ear’ gears work, before
reminiscing about his days on the forest rally stages.
“We only used the clutch for setting off: once
underway, it was right foot for accelerator, left foot for
braking – that’s it.”
By now, Steve is in his stride. Michael has to wait
while we both get on our hands and knees to inspect
the front suspension. Bespoke Walkers suspension is
fitted, the front and rear arms being a direct
replacement for the originals, without modifications. At
the rear, the weak rear suspension and differential
carrier is replaced by a tubular motorsport-spec design.
“With the standard set-up, if you hit a kerb when
drifting sideways, it would fold up and buckle. This
design is rock-solid.”
The 8x17 Monte Carlo wheels (“They’re aftermarket,
as Speedline threw the original moulds away”) are there
to allow a Walkers large-diameter brake upgrade, with
discs and four-piston callipers from Alcon. The
hydraulics (and oil hoses) are from Goodridge – and
despite being motorsport-spec, it does have a cable for
a handbrake. “This is a legal requirement for the MOT.
Racing cars, of course, don’t have handbrakes.”
The steering rack is much faster. “The standard Delta
integrale is 3.6 turns lock-to-lock. This is 2.2 turns. It’s
much better in slides, as it needs less shuffling of the
wheel to sort out.” Literally, a dab of oppo and Steve’s
away – as I’d find out later. Suspension? Four-way
adjustable competition-spec, with Intrax dampers.
Steve has also fitted a Walkers floor-mounted pedal
box, competition seats, Sabelt harnesses and Lifeline
extinguishers. It’s also ready-wired for a map light and
trip meter, for those eager to get even more serious.
A proprietary Stack digital racing dash replaces the
original gauges and dials. “It picks up temperatures
from dozens of feeds, and is much more accurate,”Forged pistons, Garrett
race-spec turbo, Abarth
rally-type cams and MoTeC
ECU help unleash 437hp