CONFUSION SOLLUTION PLEASE?!?!

I have purchased a 1990 GTA Turbo to do a Tour of Europe. What should I check on the car before I go to give me piece of mind and what sensible spares if any should I carry on the trip? In order of cost what choices for tuning are there, such as how much for a free flow exhaust and best supplier (cheapest) how do you get 14psi boost and which chip (how much for a chip and where to get one?). Do these cars take kindly to being tuned or does it make them less reliable and shorten their longevity?
Thank you J

I do the exhausts and chip on my site. It makes a good difference running a bar of boost and fitting the exhaust. The best mod even on a standard engine is the chargecooler kit, though its not a cheap mod, and requires a fair bit of installation. You won't find any reliablity problems increasing the boost as long as there are no other problems elsewhere.

Before going on any Tour I would suggest checking all the basics, such as a good working electrical system and and cooling system.

Make sure you've got a good battery, a good working alternator, check all your earthing points and earth straps are in good condition.

Make sure your cooling system is working reliably. ie It maintains a steady temperature if left idling in traffic and the radiator cooling fan comes on. From cold, you should see the temp gauge rise, then after a few minutes it should drop again slightly as the thermostat opens, then steadily rising again until it stays sat about midway. If sat in traffic for any length of time the temp will rise slightly, but as long as your fans are working and you've no leaks etc it shouldn't rise any more than about 3/4 way up the gauge (about 90 if memory serves correct, maybe slightly higher). But if the gauge continues to rise, you're overheating! (Don't worry, this shouldn't happen! ) Check all your cooling hoses are in good condition and not perished, split or leaking anywhere. Particularly check the less obvious tucked away hoses. There are a couple of small coolant hoses tucked away down the right hand side of the engine, near the bottom, above the starter motor, leading to the oil cooler plate the oil filter is screwed onto. These have leaked on me in the past. Also check the hoses either side of the radiator at the front of the car and check the radiator is in good condition.

If I sound obsessed with leaks, I am! When I first bought my GTA and started using it regularly, it hadn't been run much previously and as soon as I started using it daily, I think a lot of the hoses where quite perished and brittle with age and lack of use. I ended up replacing every hose as each one sprung a leak! One I didn't catch, hidden away at the back of the water pump in the 'v' of the engine, under the inlet manifold, leaked unnoticed and caused an overheating session which led to blown head gaskets.

But don't be put off! If your car's been used regularly and maintained it should be fine. Just something to be aware of and check.

Also, check all your fuel pipes are good and not leaking. Fuel pipes leaking onto a hot engine have been the downfall of more than one or two GTAs!

I think most GTA owners also carry around a small toolkit. Just a good assortment of spanners, small socket set, allen key set and some torx headed screwdrivers are sometimes useful. Spare fuses and maybe some spare jubilee clips, small hoses etc. Or a mobile phone and recovery membership!

.My only addition to the excellent advice given by Juzzblack, would be to carry a spare altenator/water pump belt, and with regard to brake down cover, it is worth checking out Norwich Union car insurance who give you as part of the deal, Continental brake down, and accident recovery service which is quite comprenhensive, on their standard comp policy. There appears to be no age limit on the car, and max time away is 3 months. I dont know how competative it is in your area, I promise that I or any of my family have no connection with NU, but I now have all my cars with them, and I come and go to the continent as I please and quite often. Good Luck on your trip

Thanks for the great advice, the car has been a daily driver so I guess most things are OK. Back to the tuning, in what order cheapest first with prices please, Also do the engines take kindly to the extra tuning? Thank you

is that the GTA Turbo Boost Module (is this a chip?) Does anyone have any thoughts on this device? thank you

It's not a chip ,it's a pot I think
I had an ECU with a BBR ' chip ' .It basically turns the boost cutout off .Don't know if the BBR thing is still available , listed as a 25 Turbo unit .It'd be a tad dear as well I expect .

so do the power modules make a difference or not. worth the £££'s

I've not tried one but I think those that have rate them value for money .I know when I went back to std boost for a while you really notice the difference .
Not sure how it works but I would guess it fudges the MAP sensor signal to the ECU .This is not always a good idea if taken too far