Restoration/Build 1990 Consulier GTP Targa

I started it last August and made a web page with the progress.

The discovery….. http://www.consuliergtp.com/consulier.html

How I found the car….

http://www.consuliergtp.com/consulierstory.html

On the lift and getting it going….

http://www.consuliergtp.com/consulier2.html

Nice to see you here !

Wicked cool, and local!

Cool build!

When they were new, the company brought two of them to an autocross that our club was putting on. Everyone was laughing at them when they showed up and then they proceeded to kick everybody's ass...

Hell yeah, I just read your "How I found the car," and that's awesome!!

Woody MegaDork said: Everyone was laughing at them when they showed up

Because of? looks? 4-cyl?

Very cool! I'll keep an eye out for it at the track

JohnnyBquick wrote:

Woody MegaDork said: Everyone was laughing at them when they showed up

Because of? looks? 4-cyl?

You have to take it in the context of the time. I think this was 1986 or 87. If you think these look unusual now, they looked like kit cars from outer space back then. Also, no internet, so information passed a little slower back then. Nobody knew what the hell they were (unless you were an Auto-X subscriber, like myself...)and they weren't exactly pretty.

People can be cruel to the new kid until he sets the record straight.

Very Cool! Do you have any intentions to upgrading the engine? Like to the SRT-4 engine?

No srt4….just upgrading this one. For now I did open up the exhaust to 3 inch. Next will be 40+ injectors, air intake upgrade, throttle body, turbo, computer. Getting the suspension freshened up right now…ball joints, poly control arm bushings, rebuilding the Bilstein coil over shocks.

I do find most people love the looks of this GTP, or the hate it. Took it to a couple car shows even though it is not finished just to see what peoples reactions were. It gathered a crowd for sure! Autocrossed it once even with the shot rear suspension and blown shocks. Defiantly different to drive than my GLHS. Will take some learning.

JohnnyBquick wrote: Defiantly different to drive than my GLHS. Will take some learning.

I see what you did there

Changed 4 of the 6 rear ball joints yesterday.

Very cool - I want video when you're done

Johnny, are you coming to the OR-PCA autocross at the end of the month? Its a double event weekend, the 29th (South Paddock) and 30th (Pro Pits) at PIR.

http://where2race.com/clubs/view/oregon-region-pca

Fantastic find. Very, very cool cars.

Back in the late 90s I used to spend winters down in WPB and had read a lot about these cars. I had a 93 MR2 turbo at the time and drove over to the headquarters to check out the cars. The salesman was very nice and asked me a number of questions about my car. He asked if I wanted to take a test drive. I gladly obliged and took off in a bright yellow Consulier. The shifting and/or linkage was pretty crude. I ended up breaking down about two miles away and had to push the car in a church parking lot. I couldn't catch any gear at all and there was no more forward movement. This was pre-cell phone days so I had to beg them to use their phone. They are not located in the greatest part of town and I was stuck on the road with the most inconspicuous that existed at that point in time. Fun times...

Keep the updates coming.

Would like to. At least one of the days. If my shock rebuild is back and installed in time.

In reply to JohnnyBquick:

Cool. If you want to co-drive, I'll have the 944 Turbo there.

Got the a-arms cleaned up and painted. Ball joints and bushings in. Ready to install. By the way, these a-arms weigh 5-1/2 lbs each (without bushings and balljoints)

I have always considered a Consulier as one of those "Some day I will need to own one..." cars. Please keep the updates coming.

And I actually saw one today! A friend has a very good condition gen2 sitting in his shop receiving some major power upgrades. TurboIII engine with custom header/ exhaust and a huge intercooler so far... Definitely my pleasant surprise of the day.

Wow, I might actually get to see a Consulier in person, neat! Hopefully I'll catch you at a Beaches or autocross...

Very, very cool!

I learned about these cars when I moved here in 94. I knew they were Turbo Dodge powered, but I assumed they were longitudinal mid-engine with a transaxle, I had no idea they were East West with the stock gearbox.

These early cars always looked functional, it was the later double windshield captain Nemo cars that looked down right weird, were they the Raptor?

What happened after Mosler was wound up, did the rights or molds get sold to someone else for the MT900 or earlier models?

Those were some pretty cool cars. They ran them with us up at the Longest Day 24hr race at Nelson Ledges in the mid to late 80's. Don't remember how they finished but they were sure damn fast.

We called them the Consuelas.

tb wrote: I have always considered a Consulier as one of those "Some day I will need to own one..." cars. Please keep the updates coming. And I actually saw one today! A friend has a very good condition gen2 sitting in his shop receiving some major power upgrades. TurboIII engine with custom header/ exhaust and a huge intercooler so far... Definitely my pleasant surprise of the day.

Wait, you know Slowe?