GH Factory Sigma Turbo #292

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:17 pm

Now that the Christmas and New Year period is out of the way I can finally get the restoration of my Sigma Turbo happening in earnest. I'll start from the beginning and then add to the thread as the various jobs get ticked off.

The car is a November 1981 build Blue/Black GH Sigma Factory Turbo and is #292 out of 500. It's a very tidy 2 owner car with 194,000 km on the clock. The car is totally original, right down to the Philips AM/FM Stereo Cassette Player and Speakers! It had been sitting unregistered in a shed at Murray Bridge outside of Adelaide in SA since 1999. The owner had basically started it every 12 months to make sure that everything was running ok but it hadn't been moved out of the garage for over a decade. It really is in great condition, but at the end of the day it's still 30 years old!

Here are the photos from the advertisement in Gumtree for the car + some shots that I took of the compliance plates etc. once I had picked it up;

We basically threw in a new battery, changed the oil, put on 4 new tyres and then I drove it the 1600km back to Sydney without it missing a beat. Absolutely G O L D ! I'm planning on restoring it to original condition, with a few small improvements. I'll post details of the next steps later on this week.

lance · Post by **lance** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 10:30 pm

Thats a good find .Whats that under the radio ? A trip computer ?

strx3 · Post by **strx3** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:05 pm

Hi Tim

Love the car mate.

If there is anything you need let me know.

Steven

ghuphill · Post by **ghuphill** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:11 am

i have seen this car in the flesh ,and have met tim ,and can say say this is one very clean and solid gh turbo ,period cruise control is cool ,it even sounds like a stogk gh turbo when it takes off,also did any1 notice the holden torana radiator? once tim has completed his tasks on this car it will be one of the most tidy factory spec gh turbos around.

Post by **Shifta** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:48 am

Great car - I'm jealous! Great find

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:34 pm

Hey Lance,

Under the radio cassette player is a Zemco CompuCruise... it's a trip computer/cruise control. They came out in 1979 so it was actually installed in the car by the first owner (he was an auto electrician). I'll be keeping it in there as it matches the rest of the car so well. At the moment it isn't working due to a small electrical fault but that will be fixed soon.

Hi Steven,

Mate I love your car... it's so tempting! I'll be in Perth the weekend after next so wouldn't mind catching up quickly if you're around (2nd, 3rd and 4th of February). Just let me know.

Hey Pier,

The exhaust is sounding a bit better now and a few other bits and pieces are being sorted out at the moment. I'll have more photos up tomorrow. Hope you're well mate!

Hey Shifta,

Thanks mate, I'm really happy with it and can't wait to get it finished. I get comments everywhere I drive it, and it's great that people can appreciate a classic.

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:24 am

Ok, I'm finally getting these build photos in some sort of order. So once I got the car back to Sydney we basically gave it a very good detail inside and out. These shots were taken over a couple of weeks just before it went in to get the suspension and exhaust done. Here we go...

Hoping to have the car back later this week and then I'll get some shots of the new suspension. I've put in lowered King Springs front and back and heavy duty Monroe shocks. All the bushes etc. have been replaced with Nolathane ones and any other worn steering or suspension components have also been fixed.

strx3 · Post by **strx3** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:56 am

Hi Tim

Let me know what day and time suits you for a beer.

Steven

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:04 pm

Ok the project continues and I got the car back today after a bit more work being completed;

- New exhaust system is in with thanks to the team at Central Coast Mufflers in Tumbi Umbi. The Sigma now has a 2.5 inch stainless steel system from the turbo back. It goes (and sounds) brilliant.

New radiator and thermo fan installed with thanks to the team at Treads Tyrepower in Kincumber.

I'm still waiting on the rear lowered King Springs to come in so the suspension and steering will get sorted in a week or two. The car also needs to go to the auto electrician to get the A/C back up and running + tidy some of the wiring.

ghuphill · Post by **ghuphill** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:26 pm

looking good tim (real good ) im sure you would notice a healthy boost in power with a decent exhaust ,esp if the engine is in good tune,bit of old school turbo fun

are you going to remove the mud flaps ,imho it will clean up the whole car that extra bit ,keep up the good work and progress as you go mate

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:32 pm

Hey Pier, I'm not so sure about the mud flaps, I'll have to have a closer look at some other cars and make a call then I guess. Once all of the lowered springs are in it will be easier to make a decision.

Hope you're well mate.

Cheers,

Tim

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:39 am

Well it's been a while since I've posted but I was driving and a massive branch fell out of a tree and hit the car. It's been an the paintless dent removal place and then the panel beaters for the past 6 weeks so as always, everything is taking longer than expected.

New air filter and crankcase breather... goes and sounds so much better!

New Momo sports steering wheel ready to install.

Back from the panel beaters.

The paintless dent removal guys also did a great job.

Bonnet is now nice and straight but front grill needs to be re-chromed and painted.

Removed the mud flaps... thanks for the tip Pier!

Lowered King Springs have been installed in the front together with new shocks and a full Nolathane kit. The rear is being done this week so will have photos of it sitting nice and level soon.

I also bought a new set of Turbo rims which will be going on the car this week, together with new centre caps. The original rims will be getting fully restored and polished, and then I'm fitting Toyo 215 x 55's to them.

New numberplate frames really look the part.

A few small dents were taken out of the boot.

Rear number plate surround still needs painting and re-chroming.

Body is now pretty straight!

Can't wait for those rear springs!

Cleaned out my garage and can just squeeze the Sigma next to my Maserati. Good times!

What's next? The engine bay still needs tidying up and both the air con and the heater are not working so they will be looked at over the next few weeks. Then I want to get a decent stereo installed and do some restoration of the interior. It's never ending!

ghuphill · Post by **ghuphill** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:36 pm

good to see the car is allways improving tim ,looking very nice ,i still belive the blue and black are the best looking out of the turbos,yes mud flaps and tow bars are a big no no for me on on older cars. car looks so much better,keep up the good work mate.

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:27 pm

Hey Pier... It was great advice so much appreciated. I'm really looking forward to getting it back with all the suspension sorted. It was so much fun to drive already that I'm sure it will be mental with the rear dropped and tightened. Game on!

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:29 pm

Ok first post for a while as I've been crazily busy... and I foolishly just purchased a DeLorean so now have 2 projects running at the same time. Fun!

Hey I know it's not a Sigma but it has the same lights as my GH

The suspension is finally finished with lowered heavy duty King Springs and new Monroe shocks. No more rattles!

I bought a spare set of rims on eBay and am using those while the original ones are being fully restored and polished. Should have them back in a few weeks.

Engine bay is looking a bit better but I want to drop a catch can in this weekend... just have to find some space!

New centre caps... I actually got 2 x sets so these ones I put Mitsubishi stickers on, and the others have Globe stickers as per the stock factory look.

They look pretty sweet, but the entire car will look so much better when my original rims come back in a week or two.

Once the fully restored rims are back on, with new Toyo 215 x 55's, I'll be starting on the sound system. I've already got a pretty good idea of what's going in it so stay tuned...

turbosigma · Post by **turbosigma** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:31 am

Keep up the Good work...

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:23 am

Thanks turbosigma, it's taking longer than I would have liked but I'm pretty happy with the result so far. Just need more $$$'s!!!

Post by **Shifta** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 2:43 pm

Nice work! I drove mine last weekend for the first time in 2 years! I need to follow your example and get moving on a resto

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 6:56 pm

Hey Shifta... Yep you have to drive them mate. I try to get mine out at least once a week. I'll be interested to watch what you do with yours once the resto starts.

Cheers... Tim

crystalmeths · Post by **crystalmeths** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:41 pm

timdensley wrote:Thanks turbosigma, it's taking longer than I would have liked but I'm pretty happy with the result so far. Just need more $$$'s!!!

yes but you have a car that can got time traveling in you can go back in time and buy a shit load of bhp shares when they were cheap and come back and sell them for a huge profit

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:55 am

Hey crystalmeths,

Mate unfortunately my DeLorean isn't in nearly as good a shape as my Sigma is. As such it's been at the mechanics for the past month getting a stack of work done to it... so no time traveling for me at the moment. Hoping to get it back soon so that I can at least have some fun driving it while the GH is getting the heater and air conditioning sorted.

The BHP shares sound like a good plan though, or maybe a shed full of GTHO's!

Cheers,

Tim

geezer101 · Post by **geezer101** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:50 pm

timdensley wrote:
Mate unfortunately my DeLorean isn't in nearly as good a shape as my Sigma is.

I hope this didn't turn out to be one of those 'Uh oh, I should never have bought this thing' moments

timdensley wrote:The BHP shares sound like a good plan though, or maybe a shed full of GTHO's!

Cheers,

Tim

I heard a tale about Ford GT40's being literally unsellable in the UK. Before they were dropped from the showrooms, the prices for them new had dropped to 3k pounds. Now they are worth $200k +. Which car would've been more fun to drive?

timdensley · Post by **timdensley** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:34 am

Hey there geezer101... mate I probably rushed the DeLorean purchase a bit, but I wanted a manual and had just missed out on a great one that was up for auction on eBay so pretty much jumped on the next opportunity. Got the call from the mechanic today though, and it's good to go so I'll be picking it up later this week. It's had a stack of work done but they are pretty happy with the result so hopefully the fairly major $'s will be worth it.

An original GT40 would be a great car to own... even a new one would do me, those things absolutely crank!

geezer101 · Post by **geezer101** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:27 am

timdensley wrote:It's had a stack of work done but they are pretty happy with the result so hopefully the fairly major $'s will be worth it.

I'd hope so timdensley. The DeLorean and a Maserati in the garage - and you still wanted the GH turbo. Outstanding!

barana · Post by **barana** » Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:24 pm

brand new deloreans can be had for abt 70k rhd from the new delorean co in texas, amerika.

GalantGC · Post by **GalantGC** » Sun Aug 19, 2012 4:38 pm

Great thread, I remember looking at the GH Sigma Turbo and Wherrett specials, when they first come out in the showrooms. I have always liked them. That car of yours is in very good condition, please keep the updates coming, great work.

Pete.

1979GE · Post by **1979GE** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 12:45 pm

serious jealousy going on over here!! that thing is mint!! good to see one un modified and original looking :-) love it!

Sigma-galant.com