Project GT-Stage 3:Mobile Auto Care/Auto Expo

Well well.. This stage wasn’t expected this soon!

Two days after taking delivery from Auto Transformers, it was time to get to enjoy the GT again!

Taking it out to Supernats for its sneaky debut of Stage 2 after only appearing once at Sportscar Sunday for Stage 1!

The next day on some safe spirited driving through the Adelaide Hills on the way to the Palmer Hot Rod Street Party, it wasn’t shifting like it should have! eek!

So on the Tuesday (after the Public Holiday Monday), it was straight in to Mobile Auto Care!

Rewind a Sec!

For those of you that have found Project GT for the first time, Project GT is a ongoing series of article features on South Australia’s great automotive businesses! Whilst using our biggest volunteer’s “JK’s” Subaru Liberty GT as the example! Feel free to check out the Rear lights Loudz Creations did in Stage one, and Auto Transformers customisations in Stage 2 articles.

Now when you think of Mobile Auto Care, you probably think of this..

And since they usually come out to your office or home, you wouldn’t think that they would do bigger jobs, such as a clutch.

Well that’s where you are wrong! They actually have their own full service workshop located a stones throw from the city, in Richmond!

Yep! That’s the owner Geof Tartoosie‘s Evo out the front, and a keen eye would notice the Mercedes Van with the Adelaide Auto Expo logos not only in this picture, but also at Horsepower Crew Festivals; such as recently at Spring Automotive Festival!

More on Adelaide Auto Expo a little later in this Article!

So why would we take the GT there?

Well actually the GT has been regularly serviced there for the last 2.5 years!

But Why?

Well.. When it comes to Mechanics, it comes down to trust & experience, and when the owner is a motoring enthusiast himself, a long time qualified Mechanic, and his team are carefully selected by him to work on cars such as the EVO (above) and these two Hot Rods (Flame & Silver ones Pictured) then you know that your ride is in great hands!

Plus!

Aside from having a whole fleet of vans on the road, so you can have work done on your car, Caravan, Trailer or Bike at your Home or workplace…

They also have Loan cars!

For cases like this, when your hot ride is a daily ride, you have work that might take more than a day, and you still have to get around!

There’s 5 Exotic Echo’s to choose from or..

This Mighty Mitsubishi! (We would have preferred the Evo Geof!) 😉

Before we get started!

Lets interview Geof Tartoosie (GT) & get to know him a little better!

Here is a pic of Geof & our biggest Volunteer “JK” at Geof’s Favorite Thursday Lunch Spot “House Of Tien” They’ve actually known each other for several years before even Horsepower Crew was a thing!

HC: How long have you been a Motoring Enthusiast Geof?

GT: Been into cars since I could crawl! Mum used to buy me a car every time we went shopping if I was a good boy. I was obviously a good boy. My first toy hot rod I got when I was 7, it took 44 years to build a replica of it. (Flame Hot Rod above)

HC: How long have you owned Mobile Auto Care? (MAC)

GT: Had MAC 6 years, I went to school with the old owner & he wanted to make sure somebody who knew what they were doing bought it as there is a good team working here. 3 office staff, 6 guys on the road and 1 in the workshop. We do all mechanic work, vehicle pre purchase inspections, a/c regas too. been around since 1983, we have even expanded to Mobile Caravan Care & Mobile Trailer Care in recent times.

HC: What did you do before MAC?

GT: Well i’ve had a fair few “Past Lives” Worked for Mitsubishi Australia for 14 years, started as apprentice & my last job I was the Service Training manager. Then i worked at Ralliart, managed a V8supercar team for 10 years, i also owned a business called EMTECH that was on South Rd back in the 90’s/2000’s, retailing and installing all the goody bits you could have on your Evo or almost any car back in that day!

HC: Wow, you have been a big part of Automotive in SA! Show us some pics of your own cars!

GT: Well a bit like HC, i’m into all types of Horsepower, you’ve seen my Evo and the two Hot Rods in the earlier pics, so here’s a few of the others..

GT: I’ve got a soft spot for Mitsubishi’s, so i recently got this Starion

GT: My Red Corvette doesn’t get out much, but she’s a beauty!

GT: My Monaro has been around the scene for a while, people know it from the [FLOORIT] number plates.

GT: I’ve got a few more, but i won’t take over the article too much with them all! 😉

HC: Thanks for your time Geof! and thanks for being a part of Project GT!

Let’s Get into Stage 3!

So upon first chat with Geof’s Main man around the office (Luke), we discovered that after pulling out the CV shafts

Get the Gearbox out..

The old clutch was the one that was giving up!

Not too bahd, given that its the original clutch from the factory in 2005 and has lasted 150,000 clicks over those 14 years, you would say “It had a good innings!”

Lets Talk Tech!

On that first discussion with Luke, we determined that the OEM version came in a “Dual Mass” Flywheel, this means that it dampens noise, vibration and harshness when under heavy load (such as towing).

Easy decision there, no need for that now that we have the custom rear and no towbar!

We also discussed that the later “Series 2/Post Facelift/07-09” Models also came in 6 speed, and this could be a good time to get a clutch that could potentially fit both this 5 speed; and that type of 6 speed box in the future.

Unfortunately not; but nothing ventured, nothing gained!

We then talked about future mods to project GT, which include a Full exhaust system and tune, and talked about this potentially being about a 30%-40% gain to the factory 180kw, arriving at a streetable & fun 240-250KW.. So we needed to choose a Heavy Duty clutch to handle that increase..

When it came to brand selection, we couldn’t go past the “Xtreme Performance Clutch” made by the “Australian Clutch Services”, they are quite the South Aussie success story starting out of a small shed in Mile End a number of years ago, and now being renowned internationally for their superior quality products. Based on them being South Aussies with a high quality product, we couldn’t go past them!

You may also remember them joining Horsepower Crew and SA Time Attack at TrackFest! in 2018 & 2019 at The Bend Motorsport Park!

Them “Fresh parts out of the box Feels”!

And them perfect fit feels!

And while we had it there, let’s get a few other things done!

We had these rear springs to go in a while ago, but the GT was sitting flush because of the Towbar weighing it down. So now that the Towbar is out, its sitting higher and time to bring it back down a safe distance from the ground! Plus something else needs doing!