Club G40 Forum
Club G40 => Photos and videos => Ongoing Projects => Topic started by: Alex on July 14, 2008, 02:21:22 pm
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I was quite pleased with my blog on CP, so I figure it makes sense to pick up on here where I left off over there.
Makes sense to start at the beginning:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/00-03-02.jpg)
For those of you who don't know my car, it's a 1991 Polo GT which passed into my hands in March 2000 as my first car. It was a good, clean, standard example which had been used as a second car and dog carrier for a young family in Bristol.
In my hands it stayed standard for three weeks, before the 15" Adikt Speed wheels and Longlife exhaust system found their way onto the car. And, after finishing my a-levels in 2001, I treated it to Spax suspension and late spec lights all round.
Here it is in October 2001, proof it hasn't changed much visually for a long time!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/01-10-01.jpg)
About this time I had a ride in Paul Borthwick's bonkers G40 saloon, and promptly abandoned all plans to tinker with the stock engine. But it wasn't until 2005 that I finally got my paws on a low mileage G40 engine thanks to Pete Mirfin and Dan Knight. Doubling the power with the help of Andy Strange was a graduation present to myself. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/05-06-01.jpg)
(http://members.aol.com/krupaspace2/008.jpg)
To be expected with its new found power, I was quick to start pushing for upgrades elsewhere. The 239mm brakes made way for 256mm ones, and brand new G40 spec steering and track control arms are now tucked away under the bonnet.
(http://members.aol.com/alexgrantuk/0602.jpg)
This year I've been trying (where my diary and bank balance allow) to get it out on track a bit. In April I managed to get a few laps of the Nürburgring despite crap weather keeping me to a near crawl. I'm hoping to get it to Curborough for some tyre shredding in September.
There's still a lot to be done though. I'm not aiming for any more power, the plan is to make it a quick and reliable point to point car. It's crying out for:
- Oil cooler - long overdue
- Limited slip differential - probably a Quaife one, the G40 box is currently sat in my parents garage in Cardiff awaiting a rebuild. I need the diff first though.
- PPP subframe and wishbone conversion - I had been hoping to get this sorted a few months back, but ran out of cash. Tempted to borrow a bit extra when I get my loan for a daily and whack this on asap.
- New suspension - the Spax stuff it has at the moment is about seven years old, and getting quite creaky.
- Gauges - I need oil pressure and temperature gauges, plus a more accurate boost gauge.
- Rear strut brace - something I've always put off due to needing to use the boot!
I'll post updates in here as and when I have things to say!
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My latest car related spend - a daily driver:
(http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9160/mediazz6.jpg)
It's a 2002 Passat 2.0 SE, metallic black with a dark grey velour interior. All the creature comforts and reliability I need.
Just need to get cracking on the Polo now. :D
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(http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/9148/03082008002go8.jpg)
Tidy. :)
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My alarm continues to be the worst part of the car, it's acting up again.
April 2001 that thing went in - it's the worst £450 I've ever spent. The installation was crap, they made a real mess of the car, it goes off if you leave a slither of window open, but isn't even phased if three windows are smashed. Useless waste of cash.
Having repeatedly let me down for years, its latest trick is the alarm siren randomly going off when it's supposedly inactive. Such as all the way up the A1 earlier, while I was driving. It's time for this thing to be taken out, and for someone with a brain to fit a new one.
In other news, my green tint rear screen is due to be fitted in the next couple of weeks and my exhaust is getting ceramic coated which should bring under bonnet temperatures down a bit. :)
EDIT: one more thing, the white 306 in the picture above met an unpleasant end this week. My housemate left it in the office car park on Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning we came in to see this:
(http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5461/13082008002qq7.jpg)
It wasn't his car, it was the Practical Classics pool car, but it's a bit worrying in a car park with 24 hour security and CCTV. Especially when there are 8 car mags and 5 bike mags in the building and some of them leave cars there overnight.
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For the first time since I've had the car, it failed its MOT this morning on something which couldn't be fixed on the spot.
The Spax suspension kit I've had on it since Agust 2001 has finally reached the point where it's fit for the bin. The front struts and springs have lost their powdercoated yellow finish and gone rusty, they look like they've been dredged up from the Titanic, and it's even worse out the back. On the driver's side the shock has a really bad leak, and has cost me my certificate. It literally wasn't something which could be ignored on the trust that it would be changed soon.
So, new suspension time. I've got a cheap GSF shock going on to get me road legal again, the next thing to do is sort out a whole new kit. I fancy coilovers, but I'll probably reign myself in and get an H&R Cup Kit.
Ballache though, it means the car will be in the garage over a show I'm covering this weekend. I'll have to fill up the Passat instead.
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After months of half-hearted tweaks (money's been tight this year) I've finally got some half decent updates for you! :o
On Tuesday my SFS hoses turned up, so I've been chipping away at fitting them for the last few days. Tonight, I'm all done. :D
First step was getting the ribbed charger-intercooler hose off. Looks like I've replaced it just in time, two large cracks and it's been rubbing on the fan shroud.
(http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8421/01102008003de3.jpg)
I trimmed about an inch off one end of the 45 degree hose, trial fitted it and it seemed pretty much spot on. Even better, because the new charger-intercooler pipe isn't ribbed it doesn't touch the fan shroud, result! :)
(http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/9115/02102008001dk5.jpg)
Annoyingly it's very very slightly kinked where it goes into the intercooler, but it's so close to straight I'm going to leave it as is. The SFS logo is on show deliberately, it'll help with the write up for Max.
Then I got onto the three straight pieces, taking even more care to get a straight, clean cut as they're on show. The two boost hoses on the top side of the bay fitted really neatly, and again I've left the SFS logo on show on the longer one. On the shorter piece I only had half a logo, so I rotated the hose to get it out of sight. Stuff like that bothers me. ::)
(http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/889/02102008005xy4.jpg)
The only one I haven't done is the one which comes out of the top if the intercooler, and for now I'm leaving it as it is. Having slackened both jubilee clips I realised that neither the radiator cover or intercooler was going to move enough to get the rubber hose off, let alone put a box fresh silicone hose on. So fuck that for now! It's also hidden between the grille and charger, so it won't show up in pics, and there's not much benefit in changing to silicone here anyway as it's such a short piece. I'll do it when I've got more time.
Unfortunately I've not been able to take it out for a test drive because my housemate's car is blocking the garage doors, but they seem to be leak free.The supercharger seems to be noisier though, but that could be because it's inside a garage.
Next on my list is a ceramic coated exhaust manifold, which should help bring under bonnet temperatures down a bit. I borrowed a spare one off a friend and sent it on Tuesday, so that'll be coming back early next week. It's neater than exhaust wrap, and they've just started doing a range of colours so I didn't have to get it done in the usual flat white. I chose to get mine done in black, though I did um and ah about brown.
(http://www.zircotec.org/rte_img_standard_93.jpg)
I'll do a before and after temperature test when it comes back, and I'll post the results on here.
Have a look at www.zircotec.org if you're curious, and if you go for it then say you saw the offer in Max Power and they'll knock 10% off your bill. :)
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for the I/C hose you mention not replacing. Simply remove intercooler (sliding it down and back) a 5 minute job. It'll thank you for cleaning it too probably!!!
Ceramic coating looks good. Not cheap tho from what i've heard!
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Cool, I'll give that a go early next week then. :)
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Today my Zircotec coated manifold arrived, and I think it looks sweet!
(http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/2446/zircotecaj8.jpg)
It's come out as a really really dark grey with a very slight metallic effect. Next step, of course, is getting rid of the standard one after a temperature test. It makes sense to replace both gaskets while I'm at it, though I'm hoping the bolts will last another session. That said I've decided to chicken out of doing it on the basis that the standard bolts look rusted to fuck and I can't be arsed snapping them and immobilising the car.
Pretty cool eh?
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does look good - however any ideas on cost (you probably got it cheapo what with the connections and everything!)
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It's about £120 for a manifold that size, but that's without the 10% Max reader discount. :)
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so you'd be looking at £150+ for a 4 branch presumably!
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Yeah it's not cheap, I don't think it's horrendously expensive but it's not cheap.
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Alex, i had a boost leak from that hose and i used a straight one... Seems that is more proper than the 45 degree one in my point of view...
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It's too much of an angle to use a straight piece, surely? This seems to be properly attached, and a snug fit.
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The future's bright!
It's got a busy few months ahead:
- Mid Feb - service with VW filters and fluids, plus Mocal oil cooler to go on, at VW2000 specialist garage near Peterborough. Nick Goodyear's doing the work.
- End of Feb - off to Sussex, where it'll be rolling roaded to check what it's putting out at the moment, then QEP will be porting the head and fitting an uprated camshaft
- March - onwards to Regal Autosport for a full rolling road setup and remap
- End of March - Gaz are building me a coilover kit, I just need to get my paws on some spare front struts (anyone?)
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Woohoo! An update! With pics!
I've spent the day at VW2000 near Peterborough servicing the Polo with Nick Goodyear and fitting its new oil cooler. :)
Because of my foglights and the complete lack of space, I decided the best place to mount it was under the number plate. Admittedly this involved much more dismantling than expected. I thought at first we'd be able to drop it in by removing the grille, but that didn't work. So we removed the front bumper:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120254.jpg)
This still didn't give us enough access, and we found the horn bracket was getting in the way, so whipped off the front bumper bar:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120257.jpg)
It's a flimsy bloody thing. You can see the horn bracket in the middle of the bar:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120262.jpg)
First thing to get sorted was the thermostat sandwich plate, so we could mock up the route of the hoses to the cooler. Check out my rat look brace bar. :(
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120272.jpg)
With it all connected up we could fill the car with oil and let it run to check for leaks and bleed the coolant system. We had a little seepage where the hoses connect to the top of the cooler, but nothing a little tightening couldn't solve. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120276.jpg)
I cut holes in the two flaps of plastic for the oil hoses to run through and ran them down the back of the bumper bar so it looks tidy. Everything's nicely hidden.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120287.jpg)
Here's the car back in one piece, you can see the oil cooler below the number plate. I know it's neglectful but my lack of cash last year means the Polo's not had a service since late 2007. It's not done massive mileage since, but the oil was pretty nasty. It's much happier now, sounds healthier and I don't get noisy tappets when I give it a good ragging. Result!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120296.jpg)
And here's the street outside my house, with my plaything for the weekend. Some old dude was staring at the Scirocco when I got back from the garage, and then nearly shot his load with excitement when I pulled up in the Polo. Weird, but flattering I guess.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1120304.jpg)
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Good work Alex. You might want to get hold of some mesh to guard that oil cooler from stone impacts. They are pretty brittle the matrix of the coolers. Last thing you want is to loose oil pressure when having a blast.
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I was wondering about that, it's pretty vulnerable.
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I'd be a bit concerned with the length of the oil cooler pipes, the oil has to go a long way ! Could well be fine, but I run the line as short as possible to on the right side of pumping capacity. Either way it looks a pretty tidy installation.
Tut tut for not changing the oil for such a long time !
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Yeah the oil lines are pretty big tbh, but it does seem to get around them ok. Think Automotive, who supplied the kit, pre-made them up in that length. We had to find a route for them where they wouldn't get caught in the charger belts or rub on anything. Conveniently they do seem to be about the right length to go around either side of the radiator.
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(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/20032009.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/20032009001.jpg)
8)
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ooooh, very nice. Make sure you get an uprated driveshaft ready for it going on !
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That's the plan! :)
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Helix organic clutch on its way. :)
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My coilovers arrived yesterday, look to be really well put together as well. :D
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/28032009.jpg)
Got 275lbs springs on at the moment, how hard will that be?
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I now have no ICE in my car!
Never thought I'd actually do this, but faced with nowhere to fit gauges the head unit had to go, and that left the amp and wiring kit redundant. I've left the speakers and head unit loom behind, just in case, but this lot has all come out this afternoon:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1000671.jpg)
Plenty of room for gauge wiring etc in the dash, unlike the Passat:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1000667.jpg)
Got a new sticker as well, thanks to Ricci from work. Love it :D :
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1000672.jpg)
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Lovely stuff! I have the same AFRM gauge as you, what make is it as i'm unsure of mine...
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seriously like the ceramic manifold!!! very tempted! if i can borrow a manifold to exchange with someone whie it gets done!
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Lovely stuff! I have the same AFRM gauge as you, what make is it as i'm unsure of mine...
It's from a Canadian company called Duostyling. The early ones were shit but I've had no issues with this one.
seriously like the ceramic manifold!!! very tempted! if i can borrow a manifold to exchange with someone whie it gets done!
You could go all OEM and have the manifold done in brown, just like it was from the factory. :)
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i (well its sam's) has a spare manifold
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No pics for this update, but I've had e-mails today confirming that my gearbox is now Quaife equipped and ready to come back to me. I'll be calling them tomorrow to sort delivery, so that'll be back here on Friday or Monday hopefully.
Helix have also been in touch to say that my new clutch left their place this afternoon and should be with me tomorrow.
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A big green plastic box arrived at the office this morning, containing my Quaife-equipped gearbox. ;D
I wish it looked as exciting as it is. And yeah, isn't the Polo gearbox tiny!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/22042009001.jpg)
The boot's turning into a parts store. I've got a Helix clutch and Gaz suspension taking up residence at the moment.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/22042009002.jpg)
All good!
I'm going to take a chance on the standard driveshafts for now. If I snap one, I snap one. As soon as my bank balance recovers I'll be fitting an uprated driveshaft, it's a shame I missed the group buy but I can't afford one yet.
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cool, I'm looking forward to some feedback on those quaiffe diffs. As yet I don't think anyone has actually used one of them, certainly no one has posted anything on any forums about whether they are any good or not. I don't suppose you have pictures of the diff itself?
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Sadly no, it was fitted at their headquarters. I got the standard diff back in a plastic bag though!
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Looking good Alex (as much as gearboxes and clutches do, lol).
I can't believe the amount of people who went with the quaife group buy and it sounds like only one out of them is running it. He seemed to rate it though, looking forward to more feedback.
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It's my job to review stuff, so don't worry you'll get a lengthy road test out of this! :D
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VW2000 came out to collect the car earlier. Technically it's driveable but I don't fancy knackering the starter motor trying to hobble up to Peakirk.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1000734.jpg)
Gearbox and clutch are stashed in the boot. Hopefully everything will go well tomorrow!
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It's in! I can hardly believe it myself tbh, a long time coming!
I've had to work this evening, so it's not done loads of miles yet and I'd be lying if I said I'd been giving it beans. It's taking a bit of getting used to after two months of the Passat! But I've yet to snap a driveshaft, and it's had an enthusiastic driving session so that's a good sign. I hope!
So far I've yet to really push it and find out how the cornering ability has changed but from what I've noticed so far you can feel the diff gently pulling you around corners. It's completely unnoticeable under normal driving too, so no noises or heavy steering.
I'm taking the car to Stanford Hall tomorrow so it'll get a decent-ish run. I'll let you know how I get on!
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Been a good weekend, absolutely loving the car with the new diff. I'll do a fuller review when I've done more miles, I'm taking it back to Cardiff this weekend.
The car grips like, well, like a Polo normally doesn't. You can keep on the throttle coming through corners without lighting up the inside wheel, instead you can just feel it pull the car around. It's brilliant! I'm pushing progressively harder with it to see where the limits are but I'm already well past where it was before. Considering it's on shagged Spax suspension I'm really impressed, can't wait to get the Gaz coilies on!
Took the car to Stanford Hall yesterday, and Nick G took a pick of it on the way. :D
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/Nick4x4/DSC01025.jpg)
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I'd have kept an eye out for you if I'd have known you were going Alex. Was a good show, not been before but really enjoyed it. Managed to bag a NOS tailgate too!
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Yeah likewise! Didn't know many people were going! Bumped into Karl in the car park and saw Alex's G40 in the concourse but otherwise, didn't really see anyone I knew.
Good show though, despite the massive queue. I saw the tailgate you must've bought on one of the autojumble stands as well. :)
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hope you dont mind me asking mate but how much did the diff cost you and how much did they charge to fit it in the box?
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They don't usually fit them AFAIK, but it's a privilege of the job that I can get that done. The total cost was £828 including shipping and £585 (ex VAT) for the diff.
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ill be fitting my own then....
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Some pics from AMD :)
Old suspension being stripped
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1130194.jpg)
New Gaz coilovers ready to go on :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1130201.jpg)
Old vs new front strut - look how short the Gaz one is!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1130204.jpg)
Thankfully after the delays on Thursday, it rolled out of the AMD workshop yesterday with the 200 mile trip from Dartford to Cardiff as a test.
I got about 2 miles away before I pulled over and softened up the rear shocks, which had been set to about the same stiffness as the front. I'm guessing because there's no weight over the rear wheels, you don't need them that stiff, even on fairly soft springs. But I managed to get it just right in the first hit which was a pleasant surprise!
Drove the rest of the way back to Cardiff with a massive grin on my face. What a difference! Obviously it's removed a few squeaks and groans that the aged old stuff was suffering from, but what's really different is how it behaves over bumps and lumps on the motorway. Whereas the old kit used to tug at the steering wheel over uneven sections of tarmac, it seems a lot more stable now. And, because the front end is now sat slightly lower than the rear it feels like I'm getting less front end lift. Driving into a headwind it felt a lot more planted than it used to, really really stable.
Ride quality is slightly better than the old kit I reckon, but still stiff, and I can go softer if I want. And it's definitely tightened up the body roll it was starting to suffer from on the old stuff before.
AMD also changed my brakes - I'm now running EBC GreenStuff and USR discs. They're still running in, so I'll save judgement on them for now.
It's slightly lower front and rear, with a bigger drop at the front to get it all sat level and the back end has been leveled out after years of leaning onto the offside rear wheel. I can wind it down about another 30mm if I want, but I don't want to. Never really been the point of this car!
Here are a couple of quick pics of how it's sat now. It's filthy, and I couldn't be arsed to take it to a decent location. I'll take some decent pics when I get time. But these give you some idea!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1130652.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1130662.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1130664.jpg)
I might drop the back 10mm or so, I haven't decided yet. Just to get it a bit more level. I'll wait until it's settled first. I also need to get it back down to AMD for corner weighting at some point. It's been laser aligned but due to delays with the bearing there wasn't enough time to do everything.
Overall, very happy with this! The car's driving really, really well. But there is a niggle, as always. It sounds like the nearside CV joint is on its way out. I knew it was a bit tired, but I'm guessing the diff hasn't done it much good!
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Looking good. I would keep the ride height as it is, looks fine ! It might settle and I prefer them slightly lower on the front.
Make sure you get decent quality CV's to replace them.
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I'll probably get them from VW tbh, they're fairly well stressed on my car. Naff quality ones won't last long!
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Lovely stuff alex, what spring rates did you go for?
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Because my car was off the road I never got to specify rates, but Gaz supplied 275lbs at the front, 165lbs at the back. Works well too, the front isn't too stiff and the back isn't too soft.
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The G40 made a return to the show scene on the Max Power stand at the Modified Nationals today. I cleaned it twice this week, it was filthy and I missed bits the first time, then my mate Loz, a valeter, came up on Friday for the show to polish and wax it. Looks mint!
Wasn't sure whether people would like it, but it's had a steady stream of interest through the day, plenty of people taking pics of it too! Nice to see!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/polo1.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/polo2.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/polo3.jpg)
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Pic from GTI International last weekend, in the show n shine. I didn't win, but I didn't expect to :)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/3671493266_7d15c97a3a_b.jpg)
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Today is a happy day, my Stack gauges have arrived :)
Here we have four Pro-Control gauges, showing oil temp, oil pressure, boost and voltage. Voltage to be mounted in front of the gearstick (where my boost gauge is at the moment) and the rest will go where the head unit used to live.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/allfour.jpg)
These really are stunning quality, I can't wait to fit them!!! :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/boost.jpg)
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Very nice a bet they set you back a bit :)
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£550 for the four! :o
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Still got some tweaking to do to get them sat perfectly, but nearly there!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/stack1.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/stack2.jpg)
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looking good m8!
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Recorded this weeks ago, but only just off-loaded it from my camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j46nKn5xJI
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As you may know, I missed Saturday's rolling road day, but it was only half of my weekend's plans for the Polo.
After a year of new additions I've been itching to get the car out and find out how it deals with track driving. So I signed up for a Mazda on Track car control day, run regularly at Finmere Aerodrome near Silverstone, to get to grips with it somewhere out in the open.
I'm really impressed too. This year's additions have made such a massive difference to the way it drives. Wet or dry, the diff finds any grip there is and pulls the car out of the corner. Fan-bloody-tastic. Every G40 should have one :)
It found grip when the track was this shitty first thing, which was amazing. Pre-Quaife the car would've spun the inside wheel and slid forwards off the track. It'll still pull wide if you drive like a cock, but if you apply a bit of thought it's very capable.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/IMG_6385.jpg)
I wasn't pissing about through the corners, quite often pushing too hard to see where the limits of grip were. I need to work on my 'serious driving face' though! :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/IMG_6502.jpg)
End of the second straight, setting up for a tight hairpin left, looks good and stiff under braking...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/IMG_6547.jpg)
And one from the first course (shorter, tighter corners but slower)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/IMG_6815.jpg)
It's no faster in a straight line, of course, but I've tamed the power a lot since its last trip out on track. I reckon point to point it's a considerably faster machine now, which is pleasing!
Unfortunately I bottomed out coming through the exit of the fast track too quickly, hit a pothole and managed to snap my lambda probe in half. :o Strangely the car's running better now than it was before though, so it obviously wasn't right.
I'm feeling a little bitter about Saturday if I'm honest. I was keen to find out what power the car's putting out, it felt really strong all day on Friday. Instead I spent the day at home wishing I wasn't. I'd assumed our lousy expenses department had pulled their thumbs out of their arseholes recently, but I'm still waiting on the £125 which was meant to go into my account last Friday. Due to arrive this Friday now, which is two days after pay day. Yeah, thanks. :(
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Progress has been slow over the winter, the G40 hasn't left the garage since mid December partially due to laziness (it's blocked in with mess) and partially because my road was frozen up.
2010 is looking positive though. It's due to go into Perkins Automotive before the end of Feb for a fresh coat of paint and a bit of resto work which I've been putting off. There are a couple of blobs of rust coming through which won't get better with time, the smoothed aerial hole on the wing has dropped and one of the rear arches isn't sitting flush with the bodywork.
The rest of the work is tiny niggles, like the windscreen which was badly fitted after a rock smashed the old one and the rear window which is the only one which isn't green tinted glass. It's all stuff I've just ended up leaving, but it will get sorted this year.
I'm going to strip all the exterior trim this time and renew the b-pillar vinyls, and assuming I can find all the bits in my parents garage I'll fit the tilt/slide sunroof I've had for about 5 years!
I've also sorted myself out with a new set of wheels. Something tough but show-worthy. Got a while to wait for them though, they're not out yet. :)
If all goes to plan it'll resurface for an appearance on our stand at the Modified Nationals, then I'm planning to head out to a few more summer shows with it. I'm not out to build a show-winner, just a smart and usable fast road car with good paintwork. :)
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Just outa intrest I know you probably get a discount but how much where those gaz coilovers as I'm thinking if changing my h+r collies for some gaz as there adjustable dampening rnt they ??
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H&R coilies will be a lot better quality than Gaz ones! If you want some damping adjustment, then go for KW variant 2's.
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hmmm ill look into a set of them i thought gaz made some good quality kit?? i was just going to change the springs for somthing a little softer but i rung up h+r and they dont do different springs on them !!! can i just use some other make springs?
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I've been really impressed with the Gaz kit
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i know h+rs are more expensive but that doesnt mean there better does it?? i just saw the gaz ones have the adjustablity that i want and arn't as expensive as the kw variant two's in you expreince alex when you set the dampening to the softest setting whats the ride like ?? is its still quite stiff or does it loosen up quite alot ??
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I've never wound them down to fully soft, but I've got fairly stiff springs on mine anyway. I might go for 225lb 8in springs instead of the 275lb 7in ones I have at the moment.
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That's part of the reason for changing to gaz I can change my springs or can I use different make springs on my current h&r collies do you think?
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I dunno, I'd guess so?
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Put the car on the Max stand at Mod Nats last weekend - perks of the job :D
Shame my wheels hadn't arrived but a session of Dodo Juice did it wonders I reckon...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/nats2.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/nats1.jpg)
New rims should be here in a couple of weeks. Looks like they're not going to get here in time for DC :(
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Looks fantastic Alex- I think you'll regret getting rid... even if it is for a 5-pot soundtrack.
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The car's looking superb in those shots Alex, you must be well pleased. Very impressive spec on it too, I really like it.
Fook knows what that blue thing is next to yours but it looks shite.
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Fook knows what that blue thing is next to yours but it looks shite.
On which side? The blue bin or the blue bin? :D
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She's going nowhere :) Said five pot soundtrack turned out not to be such a good buy. It would've needed to replace the Passat which, while it's not the most interesting car, is a fantastic daily.
But it's about to leave my hands for a winter resto. It was meant to be going in last year but got held up by one of our other cars coming out. Now I'm just waiting for the new wheels so I can get them shot and in the mag, then it's off to Solihull for bodywork.
I'd say after GTI International it probably won't be back out until UD next year. Rust free and wearing a much better paint job.
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Drip, drip, drip, drip.
Slowest moving project in the history of mankind! :D
Well, there's now a space waiting in the bodyshop for the G40. But since my better half's trusty 206 expired a few weeks back I now have no car to use (she's stolen my Passat until she can find a replacement for the Pug).
So the Polo is now my daily again. Which isn't far from what I'd plan for this time of year. Except I'd have skipped the problems with the coil pack, which ended up being costly.
Wheels are still two weeks off as well. Hoping to get them on before the Polo Show, or I'll be in my tent sulking all weekend. :D
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The Polo had a minor service today, just an oil change before it goes into the bodyshop and a new exhaust rubber. Swung by the office on the way back and took this:
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs760.snc4/66019_10150284723825538_543845537_14916284_1760016_n.jpg)
Wheels aren't here yet but they're not far off. Had some pre-production pics a week ago, shots of them unpainted, but not sure whether to let everyone know what they are yet. :) If all goes to plan it'll be in the bodyshop as of two weeks today. Genuinely going to miss having it around over the winter, but it'll look factory fresh and (more importantly) be rust free by next year which is a happy trade off.
Does mean a winter with the Passat. Big, smooth, quiet but ultimately not a car that ever raises a pulse. Starting to fancy an MX-5 project for next year, but as Caroline's just picked up a Z4 that'd mean having three impractical (ish) cars in the house and no barge. :D
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Dropped the car off at Perkins Automotive for its winter refurb today - it'll be weird not having it around but it's for the best! I'll keep you all updated with pics of the progress.
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Long awaited update?
Some of you are probably wondering why I've not updated this for just over three months. I won't bore you with details, but as you probably know Max Power closed down in December. The announcement went out two weeks, to the day, after I dropped the car at Perkins and so we took the decision to leave it be until I knew where I was and what I was doing job wise.
New year, new start. I'm now freelance, writing for a wide range of mags (my first PVW feature is on the shelves at the moment) and so I've decided to get the project moving again. Unfortunately I don't have the internet at home (STILL) so I've tagged this update onto a little McDonald's WiFi leeching session. :)
Now some of you may be wondering why I'm refreshing my car. It's hardly a wreck.
Well, I've spent most of the last five years sorting the way it goes and handles. In the meantime, while I've hardly neglected the bodywork, it's become an old car. It'll be 20 in June! I had a quick respray back in 2004, which gave it a new lease of life, but as a cheap job the bodyshop masked around the windows, vinyl and bodykit instead of stripping it. That's fine, it didn't need much more than that at the time, but it's always bothered me that there are a few visible masking lines on the car.
But in the meantime it's spent time in a wet garage while I was getting press cars, picked up lots of stone chips and the paint has gone flat in a few areas. So it really wanted a tidy up.
Yesterday, I started the process of stripping the car. Now, before anyone comments, yes it is filthy. It's been sat inside a bodyshop overnight for the last 3 months, wheeled in and out to make room for customers' cars. Hence the mud and the dust.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto01.jpg)
The easiest place to start was removing the plastic trim. I've had the arches off before, back in 2001 when I lowered the car on its original Spax kit, but the rub strips and sill trims were still as they left the factory. So I spent yesterday afternoon carefully removing these, they need to go back on afterwards. And the relief is, all four arches have only light surface rust (coming from the rivet holes). A chunk of paint came off with the front passenger side arch but that's it. Bear in mind this is the original, untouched, 20 year old paint underneath.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto02.jpg) (http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto03.jpg)
The bit I was really dreading was the sill trims but it's the same story under there, all solid. A big relief, as I've seen a few Polos rotting badly here.
The area behind the filler neck is solid (despite the compost I found back there) and the bottom of the doors haven't gone either. The worst bit of rust I've uncovered so far is this, under the trim on the passenger side rear quarter, and there's some more in the boot on the suspension turret. I'm assured both are an easy fix though.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto05.jpg)
Removing traces of trim tape and the stuff I used to bond the arches on took most of yesterday afternoon so that's all I've got to report. I'm back next week for the next step - removing the windows, door handles and the rest of the trim. It's pretty much all bolt-off stuff from here, so no more gunk to remove.
The windscreen will be interesting. My A pillars were solid until I had my windscreen replaced, but they've since bubbled up. The seal is FULL of sealant (which actually stops it working properly) so we're going to cut it out and fit a new one. The rubber seals which go along the bottom of the door windows will be replaced too, as they're a bit shitty.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto04.jpg)
More next week!
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I'll be following this with interest. It'll be superb with a 'proper' respray as it's a great spec car already.
Good luck with it Alex.
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Thanks mate!
I'm really looking forward to getting it back here finished. All the delays have meant instead of collecting it in the next week or two read for UD it'll probably be ready in March sometime now. The Perkins guys have been great, so understanding and haven't taxed me for storage or rushed me to make a decision. It'll look awesome when it's done, just a shame I'm not getting my wheels now :-(
Might paint the Speedlines black for this year. They're ok but will look tired next to fresh bodywork.
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Just been on the Perkins site looking for some old build pics for a car of there's I'm trying to get featured. Found some stuff to show you!
Finish wise, imagine that rich grey but painted by one of the country's best bodyshops. They're quite well known for modified stuff but they're also in the classics game. As an example, here's one of the cars they painted before:
(http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/19/l_7fe2d9e630ab4f51b6a48b5e8adf727c.jpg)
This is one they're working on now - the wing isn't bolted on at the bottom in this picture. It's a 1969 Porsche 911E Targa top. Full resto job.
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1366.snc4/163804_10150106906228478_569323477_7483252_4266590_n.jpg)
And another - this was indoors at the NEC Classic Car Show:
(http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs480.ash2/75345_498352053477_569323477_7174942_6922076_n.jpg)
I can't wait to get it back looking better than new! :) I've got a tub of Celeste Dettaglio wax waiting for it too...
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More progress today, though it'll look like I've done close to naff all.
First steps were getting a good idea of how good/bad the underside of the car is. So we pushed it outside and jet washed under the arches, behind the bumper and as much of the dirty bits as we could get to. Pushed it back in, up on the ramp and blow dried it with high pressure air to see where the rust-proofing was peeling off.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/172927_10150389802140538_543845537_16801117_1257306_o.jpg)
I had no idea the underside of my car was white until this morning!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/171394_10150389803555538_543845537_16801135_4343386_o.jpg)
Rust proofing is still pretty good, a few flakey bits but they'll be easy to clean up and re-cover. I'll be getting it all undersealed again next winter (budget doesn't stretch that far at the moment).
Rear valance is surprisingly solid too.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto08.jpg)
With that done, I got back to cleaning up the bodywork. The trim tape came off easily enough with a fudge wheel, but the bits I've removed and attached again (arches) had some stubborn stickaflex stuff to remove. Smelled awful when it was coming off.
I also had a go at the remains of the rivets that used to hold the sill trim and arches on. And, while I had the sander out, I decided to see what that spot of rust on the rear quarter looks like. It could be worse, but it's gone through in a couple of small spots. An easy repair, I'm told. Made me a bit sad when I saw them though. :(
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto10.jpg)
Most of the afternoon was lost to the fudge wheel unfortunately, so the windows are still in. I found some interesting history under the passenger side door handle though. Someone tried breaking in outside my parents' house about ten years ago. You can still see the screwdriver mark.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto09.jpg)
So, this is how it looks now. Bumper, gutter trim, indicators and door handles came off today. I'm removing the windows, badges, headlights and front bumper on Thursday.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto07.jpg)
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More progress today (a day late, I know)
But not a lot of pics. Sorry.
First step was removing the windows and stripping the vinyl from the b pillars.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto12.jpg)
The windscreen seal was knackered. I had the screen replaced on my insurance a few years back and the company who did the job made a real hash of it. The first screen leaked, badly, so they took it back off me and squirted silicone inside the seal. Made a real mess all over the screen and the paintwork too, so I made a scene in front of their other customers and got another screen out of it. But the seal was still full of crap, which blocked all the drain holes along the bottom of the screen. So I decided it wasn't worth salvaging and cut it out.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto11.jpg)
This unveiled a bit of surface rust all along the bottom of the screen, and these two blobs which I already knew about. Getting bad, but not holes (yet).
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto13.jpg)
I spent the rest of the afternoon stripping the tailgate of its last few bits, then removed the rear lights. Looks like this now...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto14.jpg)
While the windows were out I removed the door cards in the back to see what it's like in there. Apart from the spots in the last post, it's solid as a rock in there. But the breather hose from the fuel tank is very crusty. I'm going to seal that up (as advised) to keep the inner wing waterproof. I'll vacuum the crap out of there too.
I'm heading back to Perkins on Monday, to remove the front bumper and headlights, strip the remaining vinyl and tidy the shell ready for prep, primer and paint. So from here on in, things will start to look better (rather than worse!).
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Alex I really do love this car - cant wait to see it back on the road! I think its my favourite G in the country and the fact it was originally a GT is no shame on this example!
We will have to go to Ashby Folville when its done and its sunny.
Some pics of it here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antsphoto/3748696029/in/photostream/
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Thanks :)
And yeah I'd be well up for that - I'm keen to get it out as much as possible this year! Should be back with me in March, though I reckon it'll just miss UD unfortunately. Only because I'm doing a lot of the stripping and re-fitting of trim/windows etc. I reckon it'll be painted in the next fortnight, there's not much bodywork restoration to do. A collection of rust spots to rub down to bare metal, a couple of holes to fill, then it'll be primed, painted and ready for me to rebuild.
I'm dreading finding out how much a new window seal will cost. It's one of those annoying parts that will probably be a small fortune. :(
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I don't reckon it'll be that much. I paid around £70 for a screen from VAG 3 years ago, so can't see a seal being silly money!
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I bought one last year, I can't remember it being that much.
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I've set my limit at £20. Above that and I'll start to class it as a rip off.
The whole windscreen seal saga annoys the hell out of me. The people who fitted my replacement made such a hash of it, and then had the cheek to say it was leaking because it's an old car. FFS, it never leaked before. Bah!
It'll be nice to have one that isn't wrinkled because of all the gunk inside.
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Monday turned into Tuesday, I had a meeting yesterday so didn't make it up to see the car.
Today was a short day, but productive. It's now as stripped as it needs to be, ready for the bodywork to start.
Took out the headlights and the grille, then removed the front bumper. The bumper iron is filthy but it's not too haggered so I'm going to leave it where it is for now.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto17.jpg)
Since my last visit the guys had been around the car picking out dents and tiny rust spots to sort out. Marked here in masking tape, and there are a handful more on the other side. You can see in this pic I've finished removing the b pillar vinyl too. Baby smooth paintwork underneath.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto16.jpg)
Dropped the headlining and took the aerial off, then stood back to admire the bare bodywork. Here she is among the other projects at the Perkins workshop. Quite a mix!!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto15.jpg)
I've also got a fresh windscreen seal, a brand new one. There are a few packages on their way here over the next few days, and a few more to pick up from the local VW parts department tomorrow. :)
More pics later this week, but they won't be mine. I can't get back up until early next week, but Perky and Adam will be taking photos as they go along so I'll keep you informed.
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Alex, are you still searching for a windscreen seal?
I found this one on ebay, it's brand new!
http://cgi.ebay.de/Dichtung-Frontscheibe-VW-Polo-86c-G40-GT-/160517840846?pt=Autoteile_Zubeh%C3%B6r&hash=item255f9bdfce
greetings
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Only minor updates today. I'm up to my eyeballs in work, which has stopped me getting back over to the bodyshop.
Parts collection mostly. First up, a trip to Kettering VW to collect these - it's the trim for the driver's side seat mechanism and all the rivets I need to put the arches and sill trims back on. OE FTW.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto18.jpg)
Of course, OE doesn't always come up trumps. So I got Dan at Volkswagen Stickers (volkswagenstickers.co.uk) to make me a full set of factory vinyl warning stickers for the car. They're exact replicas of the originals, most of which are pretty haggered now. All in the details!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto19.jpg)
You may have spotted I'm not renewing the vinyl that goes inside the number plate tub. I'm not sure whether to bother so I'm leaving it. I think it makes the biggest difference on lighter coloured cars anyway. You can just make it out in this picture:
(http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/images/front_picture_library_UK/dir_747/car_photo_373963_25.jpg)
The tube the stickers came in made the postie blush too :lol:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/f9da7843.jpg)
Aiming to head over for bodywork prep late this week or early next. Probably the latter, but I'll keep you posted.
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hahaha dan is a comedian!
deffo renew the rear plate vinyl dude, would look a bit incomplete, especially if its badged up as a G. i know what you maen about them being far more noticable on the lighter coloured cars, but it seems a shame to be oem about the lil bits from vw for inside and then leave that.
awesome progress tho, know what its like being snowed under with work, looking forward to seeing this with fresh paint, i remember parking next to it at the CP RR day back in 2007
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It's not had one since I tore the factory one out just after buying it.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/00-03-01.jpg)
It was peeling around the edges anyway, so I did the rest.
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Spent a few hours at the workshop earlier, so I've got another quick update tonight.
The car hasn't changed much in the last couple of weeks, it's waiting on the 914 in the last pic before we can really get the bodywork moving. But I've been too busy to get across anyway.
Today I popped in to finish cleaning the glue off the trim, and while I was at it I cleaned up the tailgate. The last time I had the car painted, it looks like they masked around the number plate. The paint was coming off with the fudge wheel in a few places.
You can also see that the old 'Coupe' badge which I removed years ago took a layer of lacquer with it. I think it was glued on. :(
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto18-1.jpg)
But flaky paint isn't the big worry today. I've been dreading tackling the spot of rust in the boot, for fears that it would turn into a large spot of rust. Well, my car now has a thumb sized hole in the wheel well. :(
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto19-1.jpg)
It's not good, by any means, but it can be cured. It looks like water's got into the seam and rotted it from the inside, but luckily it's only eaten through one layer of metal. This should be an easy thing to plate, and Perky says it won't even be visible when it's finished, painted and sealed up. It's not as bad as I was expecting it to be.
I'm back at the unit on Tuesday next week to start the bodywork. I'll have lots of pics then.
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Back in Cardiff for the weekend so thought I'd finally collect the bits for my tilt/slide sunroof conversion. They've been sat in my parents' garage for just over five years (since the CG40 RR day 2005!) waiting for the next time the car was painted. The time is now...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/84546aa1-1.jpg)
As you can see, I got halfway through trimming the interior panel just after I bought it. I'll do the rest on Monday.
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Lots of lessons learned today. Firstly, don't let working on your car get in the way of work, or you end up being behind with everything. Secondly, a Polo sunroof only just fits in the boot of a Z4. It's quite a wide piece of metal.
Thirdly, you can iron headlining! Who knew? The iron stinks of oil vapour now though (the headlining was being stored in a box with the G40 boost return pipes - thanks Mum).
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop02.jpg)
Just as well really, if you look at the last picture it's been screwed up for a while. Tolerant though my parents are, they don't take quite the same car with bits of my car as I do.
The main part of the sunroof panel was partially trimmed anyway, so I decided to start today with an experiment on the smaller piece. My Dad reckoned I was using the wrong glue before, so advised trying carpet tape. Well having had a real ballache with the other panel, this was a breeze. I had the insert done in about 20 minutes, with all of the fabric edges (out of sight anyway) covered up with black duck tape. It's actually neater than it was originally.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop03.jpg)
Then I got to work on the outer piece. The hard bit had already been done here, so all I had to do was trim the bits I didn't need and tape the flaps down on the inside.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop04.jpg)
You may be looking at these and thinking they're creased. They are, slightly. Both panels got bent while being stored, but when they're pushed flat the creases disappear so when it's fitted they won't show.
And last but not least, a UPS van turned up first thing with my Polo Performance Parts rear strut brace. This will be painted body colour before it goes on the car.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop01.jpg)
I'm going to Perkins Automotive tomorrow morning to trial fit everything and start on the bodywork, so expect a nice big update!
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Lovely build, keep up the great work!
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Mixed week so far.
Spent Tuesday afternoon at Perkins Automotive trying to fit the tilt/slide conversion. What a NIGHTMARE.
On the original one you just screw the runners down, rest the roof on top and fix it in place. The new one has to be assembled off the car and slides into the roof whole, tilted upwards. Then you have to wind it flat to adjust it. Get it wrong and it jams, then the cables all pop out of the runners and you have to take it back off.
So it turned into a waste of a day. I put the standard one back in for now, mainly to keep all the screws together, and the bodywork hasn't progressed because I was in the way. No pictures, as the car hasn't changed.
But it's not all bad news. On Monday night I put a bid in on a set of wheels, and I lost. Why's that good news? Well the winner was a timewaster, so the seller offered me the wheels for my maximum bid. And they were in West London, not far from Windsor where I've been working today.
So I picked them up this evening. Gotta love having a Passat as a daily - all four laid flat, with room for my luggage too.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop05.jpg)
They're Watanabe RS-8 split rims. 14x6.5 and, from what I can tell, ET35 (though the seller said he thought they were ET25, so I may be measuring wrong), and they weigh only 5kg per corner which is pretty damned light! They'd just come out of storage, hence the dust.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop06.jpg)
The previous owner had them refurbished and it's not a bad job, but I'm not into the black centres. They'll either be sprayed silver or grey (to match the bodywork) before they go on the car. What do you reckon?
I'm swaying towards grey, mainly because the dishes have been painted silver and aren't polished. If I paint the centres silver there's a chance they won't match, and if they do match it could look cheap. I don't have the cash to have them polished this year.
They're doubly cool for me because they're a present from my fiancee. Love her!
More next week. Got a busy run up to the weekend, and then there's Ultimate Dubs.
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Yesterday marked 11 years since I first collected the car. It's subtle, but it's come such a long way since!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/00-03-02.jpg)
Popped into Perkins again this afternoon as I was passing and had my wheels in the boot. Would've been rude not to try them on!
They fit over the brake calipers up front, bolts inside the rim don't catch. I know some people have had issues with wheels clearing the calipers on the 256mm setup.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop07.jpg)
Fitment up front - poking slightly with the car jacked up, should be about perfect when it's on the ground.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop08.jpg)
The rear is still tucked under. I'm going to see what it looks like with the tyres on before I decide what to do here.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop10.jpg)
I'm actually starting to like the black centres...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop09.jpg)
Short and sweet today, I was only there an hour or so. Can't wait to get the car back!
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Another day at Perkins Automotive today, and some progress to report!
For me, personally, not a massively productive session though. I decided to have another go at fitting the tilt/slide sunroof, this time following the guide in the Audi Coupe Haynes manual I borrowed from big_burt last weekend.
The Haynes method is much easier. Instead of building it off the car then slotting it into the roof, you fit the guide rails with the trim panel, hinge and drip tray in place then bolt the metal panel to them. I spent another two hours getting it all in, and it tilts properly but won't slide. Unfortunately while trying to get it to work last week I managed to bend all of the cables out of shape and as soon as it sticks the whole lot just jams.
Enough is enough. I'm sick of it. I don't want to end up with a sunroof jammed open, and ordering another set of cables will delay the already delayed bodywork restoration so I've stripped it all out. If someone fancies buying it off me, it'll be going cheap and includes a retrimmed trim panel (in the proper black and grey headlining) but you'll need to either change the cables or bend the existing ones back into shape. PM me if you're interested.
So, after three hours I'd put the original sliding roof back in, albeit without the panel itself. That's being prepped for paint.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto26.jpg)
Today hasn't been a write-off though, Adam's started on the rest of the bodywork. Beginning with removing the arch liners, which uncovered stash of mud and sand behind the driver's side wing big enough to fill a plant pot!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto20.jpg)
Adam then started attacking the rust with a sander...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto21.jpg)
Back to solid metal.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto23.jpg)
This uncovered what should have been a plate welded into the wing aerial hole. Turns out it was filled with a conker-sized blob of fibreglass. Nice.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto22.jpg)
More grinding on the tailgate, sorting one of the badge holes and the metal around the number plate lights. You can see my car's latest stablemate in the background, another forced induction hot hatch from about 20 years ago. It's got quite a bit more rot than mine, I'm amazed it's still in one piece! I haven't seen one in the metal for ages!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto24.jpg)
The a pillar is now rust free too. The one halfway up the pillar turned out to be worse than the one in the corner, it has two pin-sized rust holes to fix.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto25.jpg)
Work is continuing through the week, Adam's going to weld up the wing aerial hole tomorrow and block the dents in the swage line. The boot is being sorted soon too, then it'll go into primer early next week. I can't get back until early next week, but I'll be getting updates via picture message so I'll post the latest photos on here when I get them.
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I've not been able to get back up, but Adam's been taking pics over the last couple of days. It's come on loads!
Boot hole is welded up, needs tidying up, sealing and painting of course...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto27.jpg)
The dents have been removed from the bodywork, and then all of the uneven patches been blocked to make sure it's smooth.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto28.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto29.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto30.jpg)
Some of these I didn't even remember being there before, which shows how thorough they're being! It's gonna look awesome!
Wing aerial hole is now welded up, not filled with fibreglass, and has been given a rust treatment to stop the tinworm getting in again.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto31.jpg)
The a pillar has been treated too:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto32.jpg)
As has the bad patch on the passenger side rear quarter. The holes are being sorted in the next couple of days.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto35.jpg)
And all of the arches.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto33.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto34.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto36.jpg)
Should be getting its first coat of primer early next week. I can't wait to see!
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A minor update today. While I was at Goodwood on Thursday, I had a parcel turn up and went to collect it on Friday. Dan managed to stitch me up again collecting this from the embarrassed looking guy at the Post Office. :D
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop12.jpg)
'Tracey' was actually the black vinyl for the number plate tub. I removed mine years ago, never bothered to put it back on. These usually have holes for the numberplate screws, but I don't need them. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop11.jpg)
Then I decided to show my hard-working daily some love yesterday. Well, with good weather and no G40 to tidy up it would've been rude not to, right? ;D
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/passat2011f.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/passat2011r.jpg)
Hopefully I'll be posting primer pics in the next couple of days!
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Today being my birthday, I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day than heading over to Perkins to check up on the latest progress.
Since I last visited they've finished the 914 and done all the welding on the MG Maestro, but the Polo had progressed too with all the rust holes patched up and given a skim of filler then block sanded. When I turned up this morning, Adam was busy in the booth finishing up the masking for its first layer of primer.
(Sorry for the slightly distorted and not very well cropped pics, it's a small spray booth so I couldn't get very far from the car)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto37.jpg)
All done and ready for the repairs to be primered. Check out my brown wheels!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto38.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto39.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto40.jpg)
With its first layer of primer I'm starting to get a glimpse of how perfect the bodywork will look when it's done. I can't wait!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto41.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto42.jpg)
Scan back to the first part of the bodyshop work and you'll see the arches were rusty, they're not now!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto43.jpg)
That large patch of tinworm on the rear quarter panel is fixed too.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto44.jpg)
And the rust spots around the windscreen are history. :D
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto45.jpg)
The next step is checking for pinholes, filling them, priming again, rubbing the entire body down then it's ready for paint!
It's not looking likely that it'll be ready for Early Edition though. I've said to let the paint harden for a week before it's flatted and polished, which makes sense having waited this long. There are about two days of work involved in putting it all back together and cleaning it properly, and I'd rather not rush it despite how desperate I am to have it back home!
More updates as and when!
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Today's pleasing picture message from Ad at Perkins:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2622b3a0.jpg)
Being painted tomorrow! :-)
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This is proving to be a MAJOR work distraction...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/9f4a9df5.jpg)
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Productivity fail (I'm trying to write, but this is distracting me) but my god paint job win...
Base coat:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/8b993071.jpg)
Clear coat:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/f7b5a82c.jpg)
I'm up to my eyeballs in work, but I think I'm going to take a break tomorrow morning to go and lick it.
Literally speechless with excitement! (http://www.smileystar.com/emoticons/msn-smiley-emoticons/dance-smiley.gif)
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Decided to pop up to Perkins to have a look at the car this morning.
I'll say this, pics don't do it justice!
The paint's been beautifully well applied, and even in its booth-fresh state it's got a much deeper shine than it had before. That's what you get from three coats of lacquer! :)
Which makes it all the more exciting when I say, the following pictures are of the finish as it came out of the spray gun. Before it sees the road again it's being flatted with 1500 and then 2000 grit sand paper, then polished up to a glass-like shine.
That said, I could roll up to a show with it as it is and still turn heads. Imagine how good it'll look when it's finished! (http://forums.tentonhammer.com/lotrosource_images/smilies/wub.gif)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop13.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop14.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop15.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop17.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop18.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/restop20.jpg)
And a before/after comparison:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto05.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto46.jpg)
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looks flawless pal , so jelous!
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that's going to look sweet when finished!
i've been rebuilding mine and will go to paint shop after.
alex, how did you remove windscreen and rear side windows? how hard is to remove the rubber without damage?
cheers
andré
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They both come out the same way. You need to unhook one corner of the window by lifting the flap of the inside edge of the seal over the window frame, then work around the window carefully peeling it out. Don't forget to support it from the outside or it'll just drop out and smash :D
I'd start with the rear windows though, windscreens are more prone to breaking.
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Simply stunning!
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That finish looks extreeeeeeeemely shiny. Looking good! I'd be chuffed if mine had that finish! How much does it all cost if you don't mind me asking? Or have you got a bargain through work? ;)
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No bargains through work now - all that finished with Max.
I could tell you how much it cost, but I'd have to kill you afterwards. :)
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Awesome Job! :o
Here, in Bulgaria all this manipulation include paint cost 300-600 euro's!
The difference comes with colors!
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No bargains through work now - all that finished with Max.
I could tell you how much it cost, but I'd have to kill you afterwards. :)
Tell him!
ereeiz - remember to tell us the cost before Alex kills you ;)
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I appear to have used my Photobucket bandwidth with the fresh paint pics - so the latest ones are being hosted through Facebook.
Dropped in to see the car this lunchtime, as I was in the area. Adam's been hard at work for three days flatting and polishing the paintwork, and while I thought it was shiny before I hadn't seen even a quarter of its potential.
Not all of it has been done yet, and annoyingly I didn't have my tripod with me so the pics are a bit cack. Plus tbh you can't get any idea of just how shiny it is until you see it in the metal. It's going to look awesome!
This is the bonnet. And Ad says it's not finished yet! :o
(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/207144_10150544167440538_543845537_17767469_7744949_n.jpg)
The roof. Done, but dusty.
(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/217485_10150544168775538_543845537_17767480_6585606_n.jpg)
(http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/217187_10150544170060538_543845537_17767498_1618307_n.jpg)
The passenger side door...
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/208475_10150544176615538_543845537_17767594_2352896_n.jpg)
And the passenger side. Ad was still going over the quarter panel as I left.
(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/207533_10150544178975538_543845537_17767622_5475665_n.jpg)
It'll be fully polished by the end of the weekend, then it can start being put back together! 8)
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looks shit. ;) i'd get a refund.
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Thank god for royal weddings - today meant I got a full day with the car and I've got LOADS done.
I actually got a bit carried away, and forgot to take any pics until the end of the day.
But, today's completed tasks:
- Speedlines swapped for my old 15s (borrowed from my mate who bought them off me 18 months ago) while I wait for new tyres for the Watanabes
- tailgate badges fitted
- tailgate tub vinyl trim fitted, with grab handle, lock and number plate lights
- rear wiper mechanism fitted
- rear lights fitted
- b pillar trims fitted
- doors assembled with windows, door cards, door handles, seals and alarm sensors
- side repeaters fitted
- roof gutter trims fitted
- inner arch liners fitted
Pics say a thousand words. The car was really dusty, so don't view these as an indication of the paintwork. It's had four days of being flatted and polished, trust me it needs to be seen in the metal!
But it's starting to look like a car again!
The slam panel hasn't been painted yet, so no point fitting the front bumper, headlights or grille yet. But you can see the front edge of the arch liner. It's pretty close to the wheel!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto54.jpg)
Last time I had these wheels on the car, it was sitting a little higher. I still think they suit the car, but there's no way these will fit under the arches now. Satin b-pillar trim looks awesome against the dense pearl paintwork.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto53.jpg)
Paper windscreen makes it look like I've got tints!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto52.jpg)
I'm going to wind the driver's side up about half an inch to level the ride height. I'm glad I decided to refit the vinyl around the number plate, it really suits the car! Undecided whether I'll put the Supercharged badge back on, I'm quite tempted to leave it off.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto55.jpg)
Still a decent list of tasks to do:
- paint and refit sunroof panel
- paint inside the boot
- paint slam panel
- paint and fit rear strut brace
- fit rear quarter windows and windscreen
- fit windscreen wipers
- fit sill and arch trims, and side rubbing strips
- fit front and rear bumpers
- another session of flatting and polishing
- underseal everywhere!
- fit tyres to new wheels, and swap them over
A lot of that is due to happen this week, I'll be fitting up the last of the trim next weekend hopefully and then collecting it the week after if all goes to plan. Can't wait now!
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Took advantage of being back in Cardiff for the weekend today - some awesome scrap yards around here! Spotted this morning - a Scirocco Scala, a (stripped bare) red Porsche 924 and a white Porsche 944. I've yet to live anywhere that's so easy going when it comes to walking around and trying to find parts, or that has so many properly old cars.
And, while I didn't find what I was looking for, I did find this:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/ac45e900.jpg)
It's the leather steering wheel from a Corrado VR6. I had one on my car years ago, and took it off when the leather at the top started to wear through. Cost me a LOT more than I paid for this, and this one is in better condition. I'll probably run it this year, get the other one retrimmed when I can afford it, then swap them over and sell this one.
And the Speedlines are clean(er) and ready for their new owner to collect on Monday.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/f313096b.jpg)
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Hectic week this week, finishing with a busy day at the workshop. My new tyres have arrived, and they're now fitted to the Watanabes. They look great! I may have to paint those valve caps black though.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/wheelsbuilt.jpg)
Progress since last time includes the sunroof and strut brace being painted. How good does that look!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/greystrutbrace.jpg)
The big task today was getting the trim re-fitted. It's a puzzle that starts with the sill extensions, then the arch extensions, then finally the rub strips on the doors and rear quarter panels. One corner at a time I swapped the 15s for the Watanabes, and riveted/Tiger Sealed the arches in place. I can't get over how much lower and wider it looks.
Unfortunately the car was right over in the corner of the workshop, so excuse the not so great pictures.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto57.jpg)
They fill the arches better than the Speedlines, I think. Paint looks great even when it's covered in dust!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/resto56.jpg)
Rear arches are both fitted too, so only the rubbing strips left.
Got a few bits to order in. I've decided to fit a genuine aerial, if it's not too expensive. I also need to get some new wheel bolts, as mine are pretty gash. The boot and slam panel are being painted this week, and with that done I can put the rest of it back together.
Next time I go up to the workshop, two weeks today, I should be coming back with a car! 8)
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It's been a while - but I've finally had a chance to get back up and work on the car today.
With a free weekend, the last before it's due to be unveiled at DC11, I wasn't messing about. Today needed to be really productive, and it has been!
First step was refitting the rear bumper, a small job but one I couldn't do with the trim off. I also had a new beesting aerial waiting, so that went on too, and the headlining was clipped back in place. You'll also see my Polo Performance Parts strut brace, which is wedged in place here.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/32b04901.jpg)
Door cards were next on the list - complete with the seat belt holders. Yes, I've got a lot of cleaning to do!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/c29f168d.jpg)
Then, off with the wheels so I could drop the rear beam and get that strut brace bolted in. Adam did the drilling - I hate putting holes through my car!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/6d6cfb77.jpg)
And before I left, I managed to get the rear quarter windows in, too.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/9599176d.jpg)
Left to do: windscreen, headlights/grille, rear number plate and sunroof.
Should be coming home tomorrow, barring any unforseen mechanical complications. :)
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It's back on my drive! 8)
Had a frantic afternoon finishing the last bits of the rebuild. The sunroof went back in without too many dramas, though it took a while to get it sitting right, and after topping up the charge on the battery the car purred back into life.
It needs a new battery and we didn't get time to clean the interior properly but otherwise it's looking really bloody good. I'm going to spend this week tying up those last loose ends.
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Felt good opening the door this morning to see this:
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/254491_10150618912080538_543845537_18599743_1438818_n.jpg)
I've made a start on the finishing touches too - ordered the last four wheel bolts, a few bolts that were rusty and needed replacing and the bits of windscreen wiper I'm missing. I seem to have mislaid them while I was dismantling the car.
Gave it a quick clean earlier to wash the dust off, hoping to get some wax on there tomorrow, then I'll redo it next week and put some trim detailer on to bring the plastics back to life. Then I'll take some decent pics for you to check out :)
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The interior is back in, and it's now clean of dust, mud and splatters of cutting compound.
(http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/260595_10150630584630538_543845537_18742356_3404140_n.jpg)
I've also fitted all of those clips and bits I bought... bar the wiper stuff. Steve Morris is hooking me up with those this week. The last bit of the jigsaw!
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Sat in my office at home and I hear a G40 outside.
Doorbell rings and I'm right - on the doorstep is Steve Morris, and he's dropped by to drop off the missing wiper grommets. The final missing piece for the resto, and I've got it!
To put this into perspective, Nottingham to Kettering is a 96 mile round trip. Bloody legendary, I really can't thank him enough! 8)
Shows there are some bloody amazing people in this scene!
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Shows there are some bloody amazing people in this scene!
Completely agree :)
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After a muddly couple of weeks tying up the last loose ends, today I finally had a chance to get back up to Eastcote Customs (Perkins) to tie up that last 1%.
We ran out of time when I picked it up, so I drove it away unwaxed and in need of one last mop. Today, that was my mission.
That's not to say it was looking bad after two weeks of being rained on!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/df0ea2fb.jpg)
Got in early, thought this was a nice pic :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/010e5687.jpg)
It's interesting what you don't notice until the rest of the car is immaculate. The boot has been used to carry all sorts (including the engine, gearbox etc) and with that nice shiny strut brace in there it was looking a bit scabby.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/ea8bb834.jpg)
So I trimmed the suspension turrets in acoustic carpet. It's not perfect, but it's much better.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/d97c4d50.jpg)
Spent the rest of the afternoon waxing the paint, then giving the bumpers a blow-over with a heat gun to revive the colour. The result?
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/52442d2e.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/ce2a2c8c.jpg)
And with that pic, I'm done. One fresh looking G40 - ready for DC tomorrow!
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Took the G40 to DC11 today - and for the first time in 11 years I came home with a trophy! :o
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/255751_10150637432915538_543845537_18817039_4568847_n.jpg)
I'm amazed! Stopped off on the way home to take some pics. It's been a long old journey, this. I'm so happy to finally have something to show for 11 years of patient modifying. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1180653.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1180655.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1180671.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1180707.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1180716.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/P1180731.jpg)
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Well done mate - doing us all proud.
Think I might get the old red bumper strip on mine - looks class.
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Proper camera FTW
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/3178dab4.jpg)
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Absolutely stunning result Alex. Maximum win here, surely one of the best condition useable G40's out there?
What is it like under the bonnet Alex, is it detailed at all?
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The engine bay isn't bad actually. I had the bonnet up at almost every show over the last couple of years, but that's because the paint was a bit flat.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4853152049_1515b47065_b.jpg)
It's the same now, but it's quite dusty under there. Won't take long to rectify that though!
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Nice one Alex, looking forward to having a poke round it at BVF.
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Thanks :)
I'm camping with you guys all weekend. Can't wait!
Going to be a bit hectic though. I'm at Goodwood on Thursday night, and Festival of Speed as a VIP with Ford on Friday during the day. There's no point going to the show via Kettering to collect the car, so I'm taking the Polo to Goodwood and heading up on Friday evening, probably a little over dressed for camping.
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Great to see the car looking so good alex!
Those strut covers look like a good job, my old blue mk3 had some genuine vw ones if i remember correctly. Also had a cover over the boot lip (Where the lock pin is) which was a nice touch.
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As far as I know, you can't get genuine covers for the shock towers. I've got the little bits of carpet that cover the back of the lights, they're genuine, but I don't think any cars had the shock towers covered.
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You are right, i was mistaken, i could have sworn my old polo had them but found a pic which shows she didn't! ah well. A nice little mod there! :)
saw the car at inters, looks ace alex!
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Saw this at gti international on the weekend looked pretty nice.
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Hmm. Just realised I haven't updated this in a while.
DC kicked off three weeks solid of shows - I went to GTI International a week later, and the interior got so hot that my glasses steamed up when I reached inside to grab some water.
(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/261654_10150300253784369_569974368_9284226_432696_n.jpg)
Then the following week I had booked to go to BVF, but got invited to go to Goodwood Festival of Speed with Ford on the Friday so I went down in the Polo. We stopped off in Hook, Hants overnight to drive a few cars from Ford's heritage fleet, which was epic. Drove the last Capri ever made - a 280 Brooklands - which was a thug. I also got a chance to try a 1912 Model T.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/model-t.jpg)
Got up early the next day for a blast down some country lanes to Goodwood. The road to get in was a bit dusty to say the least!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/d55bd97b.jpg)
Finished up at Goodwood at about 5.45, drove up to Hook to drop my mate off at his car and check my e-mails in the hotel internet lounge, then hot-footed it up to Malvern with a quick Subway stop en route. Pitched my tent at about half ten.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/Young_Un/DSC02161.jpg)
Epic weekend, 437 miles travelled without any issues and it's driving brilliantly. :)
Didn't do a great job of waxing it at BVF mind, there are a few thick patches of wax on the roof. One to sort out pre Polo Show!
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I'd originally planned to hit Action (camping Friday and Saturday) and Edition this weekend, but work plans (albeit a trip to Korea, which is very cool) scuppered that. Popped into Edition yesterday though (I had a few people I needed to talk to), and got snapped by Si Gray, shooting for Acclr8. Love these :)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/319139_10150759473200538_543845537_20178523_1516978_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/304919_10150759472995538_543845537_20178518_3569867_n.jpg)
I'm getting married in three weeks, and with work commitments this is the end of the show season for me. Time for a major service, charger rebuild and some winter tweaks to start :)
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Look awesome mate! Paint and wheels are mega
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Confession time. Look at it:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/th_pologarage.jpg) (http://"http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/pologarage.jpg")
Hardly moved since E38 - wants a service, covered in household dust (no car should ever be covered in household dust) and with the Korea trip, Frankfurt IAA, marriage/honeymoon and having a commute it's not really suited to (68 miles on the crowded A1) it's been a bit of an ornament recently. Sad times.
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Bit of a catch-up!
I usually take whatever press car I've got that week to a launch - but a few weeks back I had a Renault driving day near Lutterworth so decided to take the G40 for a change. This happened to be after a night where I had two press cars, and because of our annoying one in, one out driveway the Polo got a night out on the road.
Oh yeah, because of our crappy one in, one out driveway, I left it out overnight the day before (parked where the Cayenne is in this pic):
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/376485_10150940273090538_543845537_21350919_7615708_n.jpg)
Cayenne was collected first thing, and the Porsche delivery driver was loving the G40. Gotta be flattered when someone who spends their life collecting Porsches takes a shine to your 20 year old Polo :)
Later that day, it ended up as pretty much the only car in the car park that didn't have press fleet plates on. And I thought it looked cool reflecting the trees, so I took a pic:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/390448_10150947941735538_543845537_21380843_733824144_n.jpg)
Got a chance to give the Megane 265 Trophy a razz, and excellent though it is, this one's still my favourite.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/382233_10150945237000538_543845537_21369484_1706593567_n.jpg)
Seriously - best hot hatch you can buy right now. This one's a Raider, special edition job, but the 200 Cup (no frills) is the one to have. Back seats out, cage in, yellow harnesses for the Recaros, ditch the crappy steering wheel and go enjoy it. Love it.
Then today I took it to kent - what a drive! Weather was pretty awful - hit patchy snow, sun reflecting off the soaking wet motorway and dealt with shite London driving standards too.
Got to the destination - only 100 miles - and the car had gone from near immaculate to this! (thanks to Rich @ Polo Driver for the pic!)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/399595_10151031109090538_543845537_21658096_512904545_n.jpg)
Drove brilliantly though, so much so that I took the long route home to put some more miles on it. Not ideal conditions with the roads being so greasy (even with the diff) but nice cold dry air makes for decent G-smiles. I nearly ran out of fuel on the way back though - whoops!
Taking it back to Cardiff after Christmas for a service, then up to the bodyshop after New Year. Then a charger rebuild in January. Busy times!
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Stunning example. 8)
Why does it need to go to the bodyshop in the new year Alex?
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Last few finishing touches - couple of spots want undersealing on the underside, got to get the spoiler for the sunroof in and working (it keeps jamming on the arms, then the back lifts, I'm shitting myself about scratching the paint!) and the guys want to give the bonnet another mop. Not that it isn't immaculate as it is (click below for full size)...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/th_IMG_3273.jpg) (http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/?action=view¤t=IMG_3273.jpg)
As it's going to be off the road for a few weeks while I sort the charger, it makes sense if i can kill two birds with one stone then enjoy it for the rest of the year! :)
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It's been a busy weekend!
Took the car to Eastcote Customs yesterday, whipped the charger off and left the rest of it with them. This meant getting a train in my workshop clothes, with a grubby and heavy box on my lap. As you do. It also meant paying £28 and £11 for a taxi for a three hour journey, recovering the distance I covered in 50 minutes in the G40. Cars 1, public transport 0.
Then today I took the charger up to Pete Mirfin's place near(ish) Sheffield for the rebuild. Always unnerving taking a charger apart but it seems to be in good shape:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/charger01.jpg)
Pete had a stock charger lying around, which gave me the opportunity to compare my Full Blend one to a G40 as VW intended. There's a lot of metal missing from mine - notice how much thinner the outlet vanes are, and how much has gone from the inlet (at the top).
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/charger02.jpg)
Already looking forward to getting a shiny and fully serviced G40 back. :)
More news as and when...
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So... I've been missing the car this weekend as I've not been doing much and the weather's been nice. Perfect weekend to go for a drive, but no G40 to go in. Ho hum.
Anyway, I'm thinking about wheels.
Not changing them, so much as altering them.
They've had a rebuild and refurb recently which is great, as it meant I could stick them on the car last year without feeling grumpy about kerb marks and so on against fresh paint. However, I don't really like the black centres, and I'm not so keen on the silver lips either, even though they've been done pretty well.
So the lips are getting either polished or chromed after UD. Question is what do you lot think about centre colours?
Silver?
(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb311/tc_racing/parts/CIMG0736.jpg)
Gold?
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4065/rs8jpg.jpg)
Grey?
(http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/2531/4541/6327270164_large.jpg)
Or am I wasting my time and should just get something else?
Just wondering what you think, that's all...
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They look good as they are for me mate.
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Er something else for me Alex. Sorry! Would look good on some Compo's. :-)
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Hehe, see I quite like the controversy. :D
You selling a set Sam? ;)
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Ha ha no not yet. In all fairness I'm not sure what to suggest to replace the ones you have. I know you want to do a bit of track work with it and its not just a show queen so don't want daft offsets or anything. These would be nice though....
(http://i54.tinypic.com/2yxgqip.jpg)
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So tonight I've mainly been... driving.
I got in an hour ago from picking up the new wheels:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/f0e6f582.jpg)
Made a slight detour on my commute home from St Albans to Kettering - um, to Hayling Island. Not an awful drive but pretty full on after my usual 68 mile commute to work and a full day in the office including a meeting in London.
Hope these ones fit! My record with Revolutions is poor!
Taking them to Eastcote Customs tomorrow with an aim of coming home with the Watanabes and these tyres. Fingers crossed!
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(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/b27f7477.jpg)
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Busy day!
Decided I wanted to get these fitted ASAP so I'd have the Watanabes ready to sell. So loaded up and set off for Eastcote Customs.
Got there and did a quick test fit just to make sure they clear the brakes and aren't a daft offset. Check, and check. Turns out they're also hubcentric which makes my life easier.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/b27f7477.jpg)
Then I put the car on axle stands, loaded up both sets of wheels and headed to Wheelmania to get the tyres swapped into the Revos. Thank god for practical long-termers!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/812a1922.jpg)
It's filthy and sandwiched into the corner of the workshop but I think it looks great on these!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/fd71c2f9.jpg)
Meanwhile my 508 got snowed on. And FINALLY my Michelin Alpin winter tyres got some use!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/0727a4fe.jpg)
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They look mint. What's the rim size and offset?
You done proper distance to get them wheels. I bought my Gartrac G6 Escort from Havant and trailered that to my work shop in Hatfield. It rained all day and the van would not pull much more than 55mph :(
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They're 14x6 ET35 I believe. Worked the latter out from measurements the previous owner gave me. They're in really good condition bar a little corrosion on one which has lifted the paint a bit.
Need to shift the Watanabes now :)
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So. Productive week.
In the cafuffle of getting the wheels up for sale and so on, I did forget to pose a question to the detail-loving Mk3 owners on here.
My driver's side door handle has snapped.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/pieceofshithandle.jpg)
The bit that's broken off is the piece that screws onto the inside of the door shut. A bit annoying as it's the second time this has happened to me.
Now it's not a genuine part, but I'm weighing up whether or not to invest in the real deal. This one lasted five years which is pretty poor, the last one thinking on it, was exactly the same (02-07) before it broke off.
Non-genuine door handles are dirt cheap on fleabay and I've heard bad things about the OE stuff breaking as well. Should I bite the bullet and buy VAG or pay less and accept it probably won't last? The only real annoyance other than it chipping into my beer money is the faff of swapping the Golf flipper for the Polo one. Fiddly and I always catch my fingers in the bloody pliers. :(
Anyone had this happen to a genuine handle?
In other news, I've had some eBay success and bought what appear to be Revolution centre caps in the right size. The seller probably had me down as a time-waster, asking loads of random measurements, but they weren't cheap so I wanted to make sure they'd fit. I've bought cone-shaped ones with the twin Revolution flags. Ummed and ahhed about Schmidt ones, then decided against it.
Also... Pete's sent me some pictures of my freshly refurbished (but as yet unpainted) G40 charger. Happy times!
And, last but not least, look what's joined the staff projects in PVW starting this month:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/c19e67d9.jpg)
There's a full double pager in this month - but you'll have to pick up a copy if you want to see ;)
Very flattered to have been asked! :)
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just get a second hand handle!!! same as golfs etc non gen stuff uses monkey metal a lot of the time
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I might have a spare one somewhere Alex. Can bang it in with your charger when it gets sent back if you want. I'll have a look tomorrow for you.
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I wasn't sure if it was a common problem with the real ones - if so buying second hand will land me with the same problems. Just checking :-)
And yeah Sam that'd be great! But I need delocked remember!
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I've been shopping today.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/c4cd2db2.jpg)
Hoping these will provide a solution to my heavily corroded wheel bolts. There's every chance they won't look right but they cost 30p each so for £4.80 I figured they're worth a try. That's actually cheaper than eBay...
Door handle is sorted too. Decided against scrap stuff, bough mine from GSF. £5.52 with my discount card.
OE rear door handles are £38.99 each. Forget that!
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Yeah sorry Alex I forgot to let you know, I found a handle but a passenger side one so no use to you.
Cheap solution for the bolts if they work.
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i do prefer the older school plain covers... but good solution.
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What a day!
8.30am start (don't do that often on a Saturday) and a drive over to Solihull in my press Astra. Collect Royal Mail slip, drive into Solihull to the collection office.
Nothing matched up. Box addressed to Alex Grunt at Eastcote Customs, slip said Alex Grunt at US Customs (!) and my ID said Alex Grant from Cardiff. Luckily it was enough to get me my charger back.
Phew.
Cue careful refitting:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/cf13013f.jpg)
All went in fine, started up and ran with no worrying noises. Got back in the Astra, took it home to Kettering (55mins)
Now the fun bit. Train journey back - £27, and two and a half hours of being too hot, uncomfortable and wedged into the eorld's tiniest seat. I'm 5'9" - who are these meant to fit?!?
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/ebb98ad8.jpg)
Just to add the cherry on top, someone stumbled into my carriage and threw up all over the place. Hate trains. Hate trains. Hate trains.
Rest of the evening has gone well though. Relaxed off boost drive most of the way to Telford, now holed up in a hotel about 20mins away conscious that I've not cleaned the car at all!
Looks great on its new wheels though. Better pics to come.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/643fddea.jpg)
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It made it to UD with no mishaps, and hardly used any fuel due to running in the charger at under 3,000rpm. Happy times!
Stopped off and got a few pics of it on the way home. Rushed a bit because the battery light on my camera was flashing red, but they give you some idea. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-1.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-2.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-3.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-4.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-5.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-6.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012-7.jpg)
These look brilliant, I think. Really glad I bought them, despite the arseache involved!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g402012w.jpg)
Not sure about the black Volkswagen bolt covers, so left them off. The bolts stick out a long way so they look massive, they need to be fitted to wheels with recessed bolts like my old Adikt 15s. They'd have looked awesome on those!
Anyway, hope you like! Today is my 12th anniversary with the car. I remember being the excited 16 year old taking this pic on my non-digital point and shoot camera. Time flies!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/00-03-02.jpg)
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Minor update - the charger's run in.
I had an invite to a Friday night VW launch in Marlow, which is a 170 mile round trip from my place in Kettering. Would've been rude not to take the Polo, really, and it seemed a pretty appropriate way to put the remaining 140 miles on the rebuild. :)
We were there to drive this, in its many guises. Cute car, still LOVE those wheels. My Mum's now definitely buying one, so will get comparison shots when she picks hers up. Didn't get a chance yesterday.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/429168_10151365464420538_543845537_22920711_1331832889_n.jpg)
Looks REALLY high in this picture, it is quite a tall car though.
Took this out too. Drove it at the launch in 2.0 turbo Sport spec, wanted to try it with the little 1.2 TSI and 1.4 twin-charged engines. I think it suits the 1.2 with 105PS. Beetle shouldn't be a sporty car, it should be basic. Goes well though, and love the way they've made the wheels look like the old steelies!
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/422769_10151360518270538_543845537_22895510_428091740_n.jpg)
Highlight for me though (sorry VW) was getting 25 minutes buzzing around Marlow in this:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/423721_10151360374145538_543845537_22894988_1938175165_n.jpg)
A pretty famous car, only ever owned by Volkswagen, and with just 2,600 miles on the clock. Slow but solid and the brakes were an experience! Such a cool car to drive around in.
After a few G smiles for the last 30 miles or so, the G40 is all tucked up in the garage for a few days, as I'm off travelling about with Renault. Got a Volvo V60 T6 AWD to play with this week, arriving Wednesday. I like fast Volvos. :D
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Quick update...
Couldn't believe my luck yesterday. Got the car out of the garage for its spring clean (it got a quick once over at UD as it had just come out of the bodyshop) and despite hovering black clouds the whole time the weather didn't turn on me. Gave me a chance to wash, dry, quick detail and wax (with Dodo Juice Pro - which I've never used before - it goes on so well!) then pop it back under cover for lunch before it rained.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/PoloSat21-1.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/PoloSat21-2.jpg)
That's this week's press car reflected in the boot. :)
Quick once over with the Dyson inside, dust off the dash, back indoors overnight ready for an early ish start.
Spent the day at Spring Fest, as some of you know. Dumped the car in the show and shine after a quick wipe down.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/Poloatspringfest1.jpg)
Walked about, watched a G40 blow up on the strip (fairly serious too) and then came back to drop the bonnet. Always worth getting pics while it's clean.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/Poloatspringfest2.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/Poloatspringfest3.jpg)
Weather held until I got home, then it lashed down. It went from sun, to hail, to thunder and lightning, then a downpour, then sun again within ten minutes of parking up. Crazy weather.
Token beadage shot:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/g40-beading.jpg)
Got a week of commuting in the Polo ahead of me. The B goes back to Mercedes tomorrow morning, and I've left it a few days before the next one comes in so I can give the G40 a bit of a run. It's not really doing the miles these days. Lazy git. :lol:
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Looking awesome! Will be made up if Perky gets my paint the same as yours.
Whose G40 blew up?
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Cheers!
It wasn't one I recognised. Black one, stripped bare on a set of Mattigs.
This one:
(http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k585/nige8021/Spring%20Fest%20Santa%20Pod%2022%20April%202012/DSC_0117.jpg)
Got a few feet off the line and white smoke was pouring out of the exhaust. But it wasn't just a head gasket, it stunk of oil too. Overheard people saying it had no oil or coolant in it when they parked up, and the last I saw it was being towed off by another G.
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Instagram snapshot from the office. I like it. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/fromoffice.jpg)
It's a 136-mile round trip to get to work, so I don't take it often. The A1 was totally clear on the way back though, which made the commute home good fun. :)
Got this as a random snapshot yesterday, too.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/flyoverbb.jpg)
Retweeted by BBC Newsnight. Go me!
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Today's been pretty epic, perfect G40 weather this morning and a 30-mile country lane commute down to Millbrook Proving Ground near Bedford. Then a trip back, not flat out or anything, just purring along with the windows down listening to the whirr of the G-Lader.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/polo-smmt.jpg)
Unfortunately not everything is as attached to my car as I am. Got home, took the above pic, then got my bag out of the boot and spotted something that was missing:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/smmtplate.jpg)
Time for some fresh plates. I'm thinking of going back to the old style font, as you can still get them made up:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/01-10-02.jpg)
But I'm not that arsed, and the weather's too nice not to use the car, so I can see myself grabbing another Halfords plate and get the car legal again ASAP. :)
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Where can you get the old style plates from?
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there's a place i've got details for, which does both rounded and square size old fonts.
he'll also reproduce the dealer graphics on it if you have something you can scan... this for about £30.
for £50 he'll do you a matching dealer rear window sticker and tax disc holder.
i think he's called passion restoration products (does a lot of ford stuff - and them boys are picky!)
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Beaten to it - what he said ^^
(Pete brought the company to my attention in the first place)
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Got a few feet off the line and white smoke was pouring out of the exhaust. But it wasn't just a head gasket, it stunk of oil too. Overheard people saying it had no oil or coolant in it when they parked up, and the last I saw it was being towed off by another G.
Saw this while it was parked up with the bonnet up and a hole bunch of guys taking a look. They were talking about disconnecting the charger and running it home without it so to me, that suggested they blew the charger. Thats what they said anyway. ???
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My 'birth certificate' for the Polo arrived today, interesting stuff!
Not posting it on here as it's got my VIN on it. But details as follows:
Model: 803 5J2, VW Polo Coupé GT, five-speed
Engine: 3F, 75 DIN-PS / 55 kW, 1.3 litre
Colour: L 94 K Pearl Grey Metallic, Material slate black slate
Built on: 14 January 1991
Left factory on: 15 January 1991
Country of destination: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Options: X2B Country Settlement Great Britain
3FB Tilt/Slide Sunroof
8V1 Cigarette Lighter
Interesting bits here (used to be a GT in case you didn't know) is the destination country (assume it's due to shipping the car from there?) and build date. It wasn't registered until June so it sat around for a while.
Also, tilt/slide sunroof?!? I guess it's a single code for all metal sunroofs.
This is based on the manufacturing slip from the factory.
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Sounds interesting Alex, where do you get the details from?
I managed to get a print out from a dealer with some details on it but nothing like that.
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It's from Wolfsburg, I ordered it while I was out there.
You give them your VIN, cough up a not insignificant fifty Euros and they dig out the original manufacturing slip from the production line with all the data on it. Then they make a nice certificate and print it on watermarked, hologrammed paper and send it anywhere in the world.
You can order them online though:
http://automuseum.volkswagen.de/index.php?id=12&L=1
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Had a quick check of my Zertifikat today, just in case you're interested to see what you get for your cashmonies:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/zertifikat2.jpg)
Those of you who I'm friends with on Facebook will also have seen me boring my friends list silly with talk of number plate replacements.
Having re-introduced some originality with the rebuild last year, I decided to go for the old style plates. But I made the mistake of ordering them on eBay, from a seller listing them as show plates because they're the old font. Fine for mine, I thought, because it's a pre-2001 car, so perfectly legal to have that old slightly wider font.
Trouble is, yes they're the old font, but they're also the wrong size. Basically they'd have been illegal even before 2001, when the old font was for sale from your local Halfords. I know it's being picky but if I'm going to the effort of having the right plates on the car, then they need to be the right plates.
Anyway, I've decided to put this down to experience and not use them. The eBay seller isn't interested. Had a dig about in my parents' garage while I was home in Cardiff for the bank holiday weekend and found not only my old pre-2001 rear plate, but the dealer-marked plate the car came with too.
Here they are with the new one I ordered this week, so you can see what a picky bastard I'm being. They just won't look right.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/threerears.jpg)
I've got the old pre-2001 front plate too. But it's not much use thanks to an incident while overtaking a gritter about nine years ago:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/smashedplate.jpg)
Umming and aching about whether to get a matching pre-2001 front plate, or a matching GB-striped rear now I have the V5 up here to go and order one. But at least I can get the car legal again now.
Bored yet? :D
In other news, Club Polo track day is approaching in August and I'm hoping to be there but I want to get it corner-weighted first. With a house move to deal with in the meantime (we've not found the new place yet) it's going to be a busy couple of months.
Oh yeah, and Mum's new car arrived this weekend. It's a Move up! with the Bluemotion Technology package, and an upgrade to the "Waffle" wheels. It's also very much a spiritual successor to the G-plate Tornado Red Polo CL breadie we had when I was a kid, which was written off my a stolen car.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/mum-up.jpg)
She's had a 206 Quiksilver with the CC wheels, spoiler, arches and mesh grille for the last ten years, but this is such a huge upgrade! She loves it :) (older members might recognise the road from my old pics of the Polo too...)
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I take it all back - got no reply to my email to the eBay seller last week, but I've got to the office this morning and look what was waiting for me:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/eadafb67.jpg)
I wasn't expecting that! But very happy.
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I love your attention to detail Alex. Very nice. I had to get new plates and I opted for a plain (non GB front) but a GB back so I dont need to put a sticker on when I go to Europe but the front remains clean. :)
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Wow i was looking at your pics this morning and it got me thinking that looks like my GTs plate...
I have a Red GT at the moment with H665 ERP as its plate! Its in no where near as good condition as yours tho but its currently having my G40 engine fitted for the summer :)
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Have you got any pics mate? I'd be interested to see :D
I've already seen my number plate neighbour haha!
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/27085_495130260537_3498013_n.jpg)
Yours will probably be the same as mine - made in January 1991 and registered later on, as a pre-reg? I reckon the manufacturing dates will be near identical.
Where was it sold originally? PM me if you want.
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Booked in for corner weighting at AmD on the 6th July. :-)
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does that mean you have a month to go back to your pre-wedding weight which is the normal Alex weight?
McD's ahoy!
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Ha! I'm well over my wedding weight. Laxatives ahoy more like it!
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(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/pre2001.jpg)
A small change for June. But I'm pleased with these :)
Strange squeak, about once per second, from somewhere at the back of the engine bay though. Increases with engine speed. Could do with taking it for a drive to see if it goes away, I'm sure it's nothing serious.
July plans - corner-weighting, new cam belt because it's getting old, and then Club Polo track day first weekend of August.
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So, yesterday I got invited to an unusual event that I wasn't expecting. Volkswagen Group UK Logistics, which deals with the movement of parts around the UK and Ireland, was celebrating ten years at its building on the Birch Coppice business park near Tamworth with an event for its employees. They needed a group of Volkswagen Group vehicles to display, standard and modded, and asked me to come along which was pretty cool.
Excuse the quality of the pics, my camera's packed in so I'm stuck with an iPhone and that's it :(
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/dordon1.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/dordon2.jpg)
These were taken before most people arrived, was a really interesting day out too. The scale of the warehouse is staggering, there's enough space to park 9,600 Golfs inside and most of it is a few storeys high with parts, stacked on huge shelving units like this one:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/6cd1751b.jpg)
I'll bet there are some really amazing parts hidden away in those racks. Spotted what I'm sure were a few pre-94 Polo fuel tanks in a crate as we were walking through. Incredible place!
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So, I spent the weekend at Inters. First time I've done the whole weekend, including camping, since 2003 at Bentwaters.
I tend to bung the car in the show and shine at Inters, never really expect to pick anything up but it's free to enter and beats leaving the car in the car park. Much handier for nipping back to get stuff out of the boot too.
Gave it a quick wipe down with a wet micro fibre, topped up on bumper black, left it as is.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/polointers2012.jpg)
And... this happened. Staggered. The Show and Shine was quiet yesterday to be fair, but against what I'd say was a very high standard of cars in my class this was the last thing I was expecting. If you're reading this, and you voted for me, then BIG LOVE back. Made my day!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/polointerstrophy.jpg)
Camped over on the edge of the campsite. A good mix of Dubs :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/interscampsite.jpg)
Got soaked earlier, and didn't get a chance to do the handling course as I wanted. But I'll be booking my place on the CP track day tonight, so I'll get to abuse my tyres there instead. Good times!
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Busy couple of weeks ahead.
Off to AmD next Wednesday for corner-weighting - original booking got cancelled because the guy was off sick. I'll be interested to see just how squiffy the corner weights are at the moment! :D
Then I'm moving from Kettering to Cardiff the Tuesday/Wednesday after that, and taking the car up to Autotuning and Alarms near Pontypridd (same place that's worked on the car since about 2001) for a few odd jobs before the track day.
Namely:
- replace the ancient self-adjusting clutch cable fitted at Polo Show two years ago because mine snapped
- replace the sticky starter motor, as it's getting annoying now
- front wheel bearing is just starting to rumble. It's got hundreds of miles left, but Lincolnshire and back from Cardiff with a track day in the middle is too far to risky to leave it.
- and, to be on the safe side, I'm getting the cam belt done.
Token picture from last week. Just because:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/380719_4133460065056_410200397_n.jpg)
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Today has been an interesting day!
I took the car down to West Thurrock for corner-weighting this morning, arriving at 8.30am to give the guys at AmD Tuning plenty of time to sort out its all-to-cock weight distribution.
Polos are designed as left hand drive cars, so most of the weight is on the right hand side. Add in the driver and, well, not good. So I'd scheduled a day off work to let them tinker with it, expecting this to be a mammoth task.
Put the car on the scales and... well it's not as bad as I thought:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/cornerweights.jpg)
Total weight, with a half tank of fuel (just under) and no driver (so kerb weight) is 828.5kg. At 150bhp, that gives the car a power to weight ratio of 181bhp per tonne. To put that into perspective, it's roughly the same as the SEAT Leon Cupra R and Scirocco R. Not bad for a 1.3...
But what's more impressive is the way that weight is distributed. The following are figures with a ballast on board that weighs as much as me.
62% (front) 38% (rear) - about right for a FWD car
54% (offside) 46% (nearside) - time for me to go on a diet...
Diagonals:
Front right to rear left : 50.9%
Front left to rear right : 49.1%
I guess the fuel tank and driver are mounted far enough back that some of the weight is carried by the opposite diagonal measurement. The main seat mounting points are just in front of the shut line for the door, and the fuel tank is behind that.
Basically it's about cock on. Very surprised, and very happy too!
Shame I now have a cracked windscreen to sort, though. Stone flicked up off a car on the M11. I think it can be resin filled, but we shall see. If it can't, then I'll leave it until after Blyton to fix.
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get a bucket of sand for passenger side and you're ready to go!
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(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/blyton1.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/blyton3.jpg)
Good fun, yesterday.
The car's great around a track - I'm less so. Mix of inexperience and fear. :D
But...
The n/s CV joint has sprayed grease all over the inside of my wheel arch, and was making a quiet knocking noise on the track. Drove it 230 miles home and it wasn't acting up unless I was pushing it through a roundabout, it's the side that gets the most frequent abuse on the road with the diff. Non-genuine fitted, hasn't lasted, so genuine VAG going on very shortly.
I developed a boost leak late in the afternoon, so I'm only getting 0.5 bar of boost at full throttle and feels fairly blunt as a result. It seems to be the charger-intercooler hose that's leaking. I tightened the jubilee clips this morning, got a few seconds of full boost and then it started hissing at full throttle again. So at least it's not the charger, it seems.
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Quick update. Boost leak and oil leak were easy fixes, CV joint is now a genuine item. Car's happy again, so I took it up to Porsche at Silverstone for their YouDrive@Porsche day.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/AD8EBDFC-4881-4BC8-A06E-C56459CAAF5E-5311-000005A8A360B4BB.jpg)
Did a session of high and low grip surfaces in the new 911 in the morning, then took mine out on the skid pan and ice hill in the afternoon. It's moving in the pic, so the iPhone has distorted the car:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/7B4E9C7E-6EEF-44EC-955A-96698482C0D8-5311-000005A89D890605.jpg)
That's the skid pan, you drive over a kick plate at increasing speeds, and it has a hydraulic ram which kicks the back end into a skid which you have to control. Turns out mine's piss easy to bring back into line on that, and I got up the ice hill every time, even when I was giving the handbrake a yank to make it more challenging. But when you're the only front wheel drive car in a line of five Porsches and a Pontiac Firebird, it really ought to be that way.
Interesting to get a feel for how the car behaves though!
Loving this car at the moment, it just feels really well sorted. Obviously not the quickest G40 in the world but still HUGE fun to drive and it'll hang onto the tarmac longer than my nerves will let me. So plenty more track days to come.
MOT next, and a clean, I think. Amusing to see it gets dirtier with each pic since the Polo Show. :)
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Interesting read, looks really mean in that first picture outside the Porsche building
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No new mods, just new pics. I bought a DSLR last weekend, and spent a while cleaning it earlier, so thought I'd get used to the camera settings by taking photos of a subject I'm familiar with shooting. :)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-01.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-02.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-03.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-04.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-05.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-06.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/2012-07.jpg)
And I've left this one a bit larger. Went to the Heritage Motor Centre earlier to meet up with a group of motoring journalists and PRs. The one rule was you weren't allowed to turn up in a press car. Made for an interesting car park!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/th_DSC_0057.jpg) (http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/?action=view¤t=DSC_0057.jpg)
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looking realy good in those photos paint work looks immaculate!!!
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always love the colour and condition of your car alex!
i keep a close eye on instagram also! lol
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Hehe, Instagram is a random collection of bits but glad someone's checking it :)
Thanks guys! 8)
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Looks ace, colour is perfect! On the group meet photo the G looks so small!
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It's pretty rare to find a car that's dwarfed by a Mk3 Polo. But...
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/185034_10152130314540538_1967226305_n.jpg)
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Mini update.
It's occurred to me that I haven't introduced you lot to my long-termer. This is owned by SEAT UK, and I've got it on long-term test, going back in May next year. So think of this as my daily drive:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/ibiza-front.jpg)
I like it. It's got the 1.2 TSI under the bonnet - 1.2 with a turbocharger - so it's livelier to drive than the factory figures suggest. I picked the spec, hence the FR trim and larger wheels, and I've fitted the TomTom nav upgrade, cruise control and USB iPod connection to make it really useful. This gets to do most of the hard work these days, and it's averaging around 42-46mpg (depending on how I drive it) using Shell V-Power which it seems to like.
Because it's the estate version it's also massive in the back. Four cases? No sweat.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/ibiza-cases.jpg)
The Polo is getting short-ish outings at the moment to keep it ticking over but it's still being stored on the lawn at my inlaws while we sort out a mortgage. I think the new screen has kerbed the leak, which is good, and there are two tubs of calcium chloride crystals inside to absorb the moisture while it's laid up. Fun and games. Winter mode? Here's mine...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/winter2012polo.jpg)
Aiming to get it professionally Waxoyled next year, and add a wideband Stack AFRM to my bank of gauges, probably worked into the right hand speaker grille. Not sure yet.
Naturally, I'll keep you all posted. :thumbsup:
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Interesting feature on MSN Cars this afternoon:
http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/cars-motoring-journalists-drive-1
:)
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Small updates.
We're about two weeks from completing on our house, so the Polo hopefully is only a couple of weeks from being garaged again. I'm already planning a bit of a refresh for the interior and engine bay. Just a few bits that I want to tidy up.
So, low mileage seats. They've been in storage for about eight years, so they're quite dusty, but the fabric is immaculate.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/newseats.jpg)
These are going in this weekend, and mine will go up for sale afterwards. Anyone after some really good condition Scirocco GTII seats? The only flaw is a small patch (1cm square) of missing vinyl on the driver's side door card and the seat base has gone a bit bobbly. I'll post pics when I've removed them.
My carpet has blim burns on it, so I'm replacing that when I've got a garage, and the driver's side door card has gone a bit saggy so I'll probably replace the whole set (so the fading is the same on all of them). One of my Corrado VR6 steering wheels will go in too. The plan is to take most of the interior out, hunt for rust, treat it, and replace anything knackered while it's in bits. :thumbsup:
In other news, I've got an automatic up! this week. It looks tiny on its own, but it dwarfs the Polo:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/upg40.jpg)
It's taller and wider, but the Polo is a few inches longer. I'll get a better pic tomorrow, when it's light, assuming both cars aren't covered in snow.
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Well, this is annoying:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/0EC9A8A7-48BF-4F5E-8A8C-622E7B846625-1713-0000018C5660BF4A.jpg)
Driver's side door handle flipper. It's only been on there a year, you can tell by how little paint has chipped off (and if you look for my delocked door handle guide from Feb 2012)
It's the third non genuine door handle to break within five years. Enough is enough, I've ordered a genuine handle and footed a £42 bill. At £10 per time for play-doh non genuine rubbish it shouldn't take long to recoup the difference.
I'm on a bit of a renewing spree with this car at the moment. We should complete on our mortgage on Thursday so I'll have a garage again, which means I'll be able to crack on with a few jobs on the car.
New door cards picked up from G40jon last week:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/BF7FF0F3-A833-476A-9F8F-E79405E11C88-1938-0000018E90771A2D.jpg)
The list is growing:
- new door handle on the driver's side
- replace inner air seals on the a pillars
- remove seats and clean thoroughly
- remove and replace front, and maybe rear, carpets
- remove door cards, seal fuel tank breather hose hole
- fit VR6 steering wheel
- renew door membranes
- replace/rewire passenger side lock solenoid
- re-attach rear wing rubbing strip
- clean it all!
Car looks like this at the moment:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/42427062-154B-4F1F-9B3C-C014F7AA523C-1713-0000018C750193DD.jpg)
Mechanically it's sound but it looks a bit tired due to being rained on constantly for six months.
Pics as and when.
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Normality restored. Picked up our house keys on Thursday, G40 has been garaged since Friday.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/garagedg40.jpg)
Time allowing I'll be stripping the interior this week to clean it out and check for rust. There's loads of room in the garage, I can open both doors and walk all the way around it.
And, in other news:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/B598A333-BCBF-4DC0-935F-FC8F2C8940C6-692-000000EF35CDD09C.jpg)
Making a gauge pod for it in the next couple of weeks.
All for now.
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Gauge pod has arrived. I'm going to chop a hole in the speaker grille and mount it on a piece of plastic where the speaker used to be. Not worked it out yet.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/B95492D1-BB0F-4E31-AC9C-CF6B420145AF-1718-0000011C00B16F5D.jpg)
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The pod is too big. So it's going back, and I've got another one coming. A cheap one, but it's smaller than this.
Unable to fit the gauge, I've been working on the house today. But I got a sudden burst of enthusiasm earlier means I've spent a couple of hours starting on the interior. It all comes out so quickly!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/BEE1A610-4C77-4A1A-A7BA-3C8F679DD6E7-4186-000003D985702F83.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/AA388B0E-9F6B-4B7F-BBA3-9876A626F04D-4186-000003D634AC5316.jpg)
I'm quite looking forward to driving it like this. It won't be staying stripped though, I'm getting new carpet and renewing the sound deadening material while I'm at it.
Thankfully despite being soaking wet and fairly grim under there, it's not rusty. I'm taking it up to Ponty for a service and checkup next week, to see how solid it is underneath. With the fabric out they'll be able to get at everything easily.
I think I might need a new fuel tank. Not so good. Just a hunch.
Door cards coming out one evening this week. Easy job that.
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So this morning I had a few errands to run, thought I'd take the Polo for a drive. The interior is very definitely going back in but for now it's a giggle driving it around like this:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/3514_10152536459355538_1477704522_n.jpg)
Massive G-smiles!
It's booked in for a service and to have the wiring put in for the wideband on Tuesday, and a quick stop-off at Longlife Exhausts on Monday to get the nut welded in for the second lambda into the downpipe.
The floorpan seems to be solid on first inspection but my driver's side sound deadening didn't hold up to much vacuuming. Sucked a load of dust out of the passenger side footwell but ended up with half the driver's side insulation in my Dyson. Whoops! While the interior is out and it's in for a service I'll be getting any rusty bits fixed in the garage.
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The car's been held up by a few delayed parts, rear beam bushes to be precise. Hopefully picking it up later this week, as I'm away Tuesday-Thursday.
So tonight, I spent a while reviving my new carpets ready for it to come back.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/53313708-cafd-4957-9602-6545cc1d0ad1.jpg)
They've come out well, I think. Good and fluffy. I've given them a wash with AutoGlym interior cleaner for the bore stubborn bits.
My old ones have seen better days.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/29642f2f-260a-4bdb-a5f3-9f19bedbc7ff.jpg)
They were a bit grim when I bought them, a few fag burns and tears, and while I've had them they've spent a few years living next to building sites which has taken its toll. However, they're not awful, so I've put them up out of the way in case I ever need them again.
Sorry a slightly dull update. The interesting bits are happening out of sight at the moment - my gauges are all in and wired up, I've got a proper G40 rocker cover gasket, it's freshly serviced and there are some polyurethane rear bushes going in this week. But I've been in France most of the last few weeks so I've said not to rush it because I don't have time to pick it up anyway. :D
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(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-1.jpg)
It's home. Updates to follow.
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To fill in the gaps from earlier, it's now got:
- a Stack wideband lambda gauge, which is a bit lovely. I've got it in the centre console where the voltmeter used to be, not sure where to re-house the voltmeter though.
- PPP nylon rear beam bushes, which my mechanic warned might be quite firm. But having spent a bit of time driving around today they don't seem bad at all, and the car feels a little tighter than it did before which is good. I've not really thrashed it yet, the tank had old fuel inside which I want to use up.
- fresh service parts, the usual
- treated tank straps - stainless ones on the way, possibly
All the gauges are plumbed in now - the oil temperature gauge has been disconnected for about three years - and the wiring has been thoroughly tidied up. The old Duostyling air fuel gauge has been taken out.
I've also had new alarm switches for the door shuts. The old ones had given up the ghost.
And a couple of bits of surface rust treated - thankfully it seems the fuel tank is fine. Good news!
If the weather holds I'll give it a wash tomorrow and start re-fitting the interior.
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What have you got your oil temp gauge set to, for when its warm and when its too hot?
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That's a good question - it's four years since I set it up. I know it's 100°C when it turns red, and I think it's 70 or 80 when it goes from blue to green.
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Cheers, will give mine a play with when its in.
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Well, the weather has been appalling today so I've not bothered cleaning it yet. I have made some in-roads into rebuilding it though.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0766.jpg)
Step one is getting the interior re-fitted, as fun as it's been driving it around in this state.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0752.jpg)
Something new:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/da821373-191e-4e35-97eb-f86dde8b598a.jpg)
Door cards aren't in great nick to be honest, they never have been. So they were the first things to disappear:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0755.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0756.jpg)
As you can see, the membranes underneath are in a fairly awful condition. If you've been around long enough, you'll have heard me whinge about the state of my alarm installation. It was the first thing I had done to the car which I regretted on the grounds that it was so poorly done. I wound up with a footwell full of water the winter afterwards, took the door cards off and discovered they'd hacked the membranes apart only to do an apologetic job of putting them back together - a few strips of electrical tape. They'd dropped into the window mechanism, revealing holes drilled in the door which hadn't been painted to protect them, and some interesting plier-based butchery to get the solenoids in.
I repaired them 12 years ago, the duck tape had lasted well but I'm out to do it properly this time so I binned the lot. The passenger side is probably alright to save, if I Tiger Seal it onto the door and patch up the tears. I've also used a bit of Kurust on the crusty bits, then painted them in satin black Hammerite.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0757.jpg)
New carpets - they'll need fluffing up after being cleaned. Easily done. Note the state of the driver's side membrane, I think that's beyond saving.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0761.jpg)
Old plates were starting to separate after a year, so I've got some new pre-2001 plates for it.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0764.jpg)
Added extra, I've got a Stop Motion app on my iPhone and I've been waiting for an opportunity to try it out properly. So I propped it up in the garage and let it record. http://youtu.be/K7H_BxyQGig
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Chipping away at it. Phone camera pics this time, sorry.
New steering wheel - from a Corrado VR6. I've got two of these, and the other one was on the car for a couple of years, but I took it off when the leather went really manky. This one turned up on a Mk3 Golf in a scrap yard, I paid almost nothing for it. A fraction of what I paid at Inters 2003 for the other one. Just lucky, I guess.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/d09325bb-6996-412d-a503-ffedf6b0b688.jpg)
The leather is quite dull but it's still smooth. As it owes me nothing I thought I'd try something out. Found some Lord Sheraton leather balsam in Sainsbury's for a couple of quid, did a bit of Googling and it seems a few people have tried it.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/b958baa9-29ca-48fd-88dc-c4dfc000e983.jpg)
To my surprise, it came out looking alright.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/65a7c2cd-f363-4c6f-b6ed-1c634edf6175.jpg)
The light was fading but you can see from this that the gloss has come back. It's not polish, so the leather isn't slippery, but it's soft and clean now. If it lasts, great. If not, I'll put the plastic Polo one back on.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/dd0519e1-30d7-4e81-ab51-e93cc23eb225.jpg)
In the garage, I've managed to get the passenger side door membrane back in place. Scroll back up to see the before pics.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/46199259-106c-4327-b10e-f8f312f68b50.jpg)
Sadly the driver's side one really is going to be a replacement job, rather than a patch-up. The bits I've glued back into place on the passenger side are still attached to the door on the driver's side. Whoever fitted the alarm thought it would be a good idea to cut the membrane. I guess it saved them a few minutes, which is all they cared about. Nice to know.
Otherwise, the rear backrest is in, I've bolted the strips down along the bottom of the doors which hold the carpet in place and the seatbelts are bolted in again.
More tomorrow, hopefully.
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Pictures speak a thousand words, so there are two here:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0768.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0770.jpg)
A collection of Polo, Golf, Scirocco and Corrado parts. Today's work:
- repaired the tears in the passenger side door membrane, gave it a wipe-over with anti-bacterial/anti-mould wipes just to be on the safe side
- re-fitted the passenger side door card
- removed the sagging a-pillar seals and fitted them the right way around ::) using proper refit tape
- swapped the Polo steering wheel for my refurbished Corrado VR6 wheel
- cleaned the gear gaiter, slipped it back over the freshly painted gearstick and popped the Mk2 Golf gearknob back on top
- put the boot side carpets back in, easy job
- re-fitted the passenger seat
Tomorrow I'm planning to spend the evening repairing the driver's side door membrane, then I'll put the door card and seat back in on that side and it's ready to roll! Well, roll out of the garage and have a wash.
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Just got in from the garage. A quick job turned into a bit of a project.
I bought some damp proofing sheet from B&Q earlier, and predictably I've spent this evening sorting out the driver's side door membrane. Having decided to make a repair piece, I got cocky and started again. Stripped off the old membrane, pieced it together over a the new sheet of plastic and drew around it.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/970676_10152805669255538_959173684_n.jpg)
Ended up with this:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/947198_10152805670470538_1960980209_n.jpg)
Half way through fitting it. It's not the prettiest repair job but it's much better than what was there before. I carefully peeled the three dimensional bits off the old membrane and they're glued back on then sealed up with duck tape to be safe.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/e860a267-efa3-4187-ba12-8294295ede36.jpg)
Driver's seat is back in, too. Just need to screw the door card back into place and I'll wheel it out for a clean tomorrow.
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Last stage of the process today!
The tedious bit:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-13.jpg)
Washed, dried, clay barred, waxed and the laborious job of making the bumpers and body kit black rather than silver. I do a big clean like this about once a year, it lays the foundations for not being so thorough during the summer. This year's was hardcore though, as it spent the winter parked on grass.
The finished item:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-11.jpg)
The interior:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-10.jpg)
Then I cleared the garage of all the crap I've been storing in Kettering and at my parents' house, sorting my spares into boxes and putting everything on shelves. The Polo's now tucked up, I'm going for beers. :-)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-14.jpg)
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So, today I've been reacquainting myself with the G40 by taking it out for a run to blow the cobwebs out a bit. Finally! The weather was too good not to.
Like most good G40 days, it all started with a tank of V-Power. And a coffee.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/d4c699a0-22d6-4b76-a84c-e232f0bc8cc4.jpg)
I've had a hectic week (more about that later) so the G40 hadn't done much since I got home last Sunday. This meant it was still clean, and with Bristol Volksfest about half an hour away it felt like a good opportunity to pop out and make the most of the elbow grease I'd put in. Chucked it in the Show n Shine, ended up among a group of early Polos, which was cool:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/f0427740-a476-4a20-bd5e-1d809a92c1e8.jpg)
Sneaked out while the results were being given out, to beat the rush, and went to have a look at the roads which weave under and over the Severn crossings, then hit the M48/M4 and dropped down to Ogmore Beach near Bridgend to go for a walk.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/a8804771-ede6-4a0d-9af8-39d4f0f6a917.jpg)
Then darted back down the old roads into Cardiff, arriving at the inlaws' house in time for a Sunday roast. The car's feeling great, which means it's due for some trips to St Albans (office) through the summer as it really hasn't done enough miles over the last few months. I also need to pick a track day to take it on, as that was really good fun last year, and I'm planning to do the hill climb at the Retro Rides Gathering in August.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/04bdd616-381f-4d82-9c91-99ec5daa2b37.jpg)
Happy.
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Managed to charge my camera battery, so...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-25.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-27.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-26.jpg)
...new pics.
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Im loving those gauges in the head unit slot, look awesome!
How did you fit them in like that? Did they come with the mounts to face it towards you?
Many thanks, i plan on doing the same
Taylor
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So an old couple in a Corsa didn't notice I'd stopped earlier.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-29.jpg)
Gauge pod came from eBay mate, was only meant to be temporary but it works so it's stayed.
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So an old couple in a Corsa didn't notice I'd stopped earlier.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-29.jpg)
Gauge pod came from eBay mate, was only meant to be temporary but it works so it's stayed.
oh wtf! i seriously hate people that cant drive it enrages me!
how can you not realize someone has stopped!?! what a load of crap, shit excuse for they wernt paying attention, too busy being old and dying
shame mate, just after a fresh respray, if someone hits my G i would probably loose the plot and hit the roof!!
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Shame, you have one the mintist G's around
Will you get it repaired under insurance..
or do it yourself?
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I have the third party's details so it'll be an insurance job.
Here's a slightly better pic of the damage:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-30.jpg)
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Does this mean you can finally get that tinted rear screen? ;)
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Maybe.
Tailgates seem to be the same price regardless of the glass they come with, so it seems a bit of a waste if I don't.
Shame I'm gonna lose that Hybrid sticker. It's a bit of a memento from my Max days.
The car hasn't moved in over a week now. It's also shed its front number plate in protest.
I'm getting a bit sick of buying sticky pads that don't work, so I might get some slim surrounds for it. The pads you can buy at Halfords used to be brilliant, I had the same set on for years. Recently though, a short spell of hot weather means I'm losing number plates.
Would Press Office surrounds be cool, or a bit gash?
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/dub-1.jpg)
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I'd say that was pretty cool.
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I use extra strength Velcro and it works really well. Plus you can remove the plate easily for cleaning.
However if you can get couple of number plate holders like in the picture I would have a pair off you. Been trying to find a source for blank ones but having no luck and I want to get a sticker made up for them!
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I have a contact for blank ones, as it happens.
Worth a group buy?
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pictures really do say a thousand words, i love what you've done with this, alot of care and attention to detail, very tidy car inside and good looking outside, good man :)
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It's been a while, so time to fill in some gaps.
The assessor came out to look at the G40 a few days after the accident. Spent ages looking around it, photographing trophies and magazine articles and leafing through my three folders of service history. Value came back at £4,000, specifically mentioning that I wanted to repair it with second hand genuine parts and that I didn't want it written off. This was successful, and I was given the green light to get it repaired.
So... it's going up to Eastcote Customs on Saturday.
This lot is in the garage, waiting to go:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/q71/s720x720/1005222_10153028924835538_1908988724_n.jpg)
And the tailgate turned up at the bodyshop earlier (thanks Tav). It's already Pearl Grey, just needs painting to match the rest of the bodywork.
Assuming there are no snags, I should get the car back a week on Saturday. Huge thanks to Brentacre for sorting this out quickly, and giving me a first-name point of contact throughout. Having had a run-in with a non-specialist insurer (don't judge a policy by the cost of the premium!) it's refreshing to deal with an insurance company whic a) gives a fuck about customer service and b) knows what they're talking about.
Now for the boring bit.
Going through this has reminded me how vital it is to be 100% up to date with your paperwork. And I am, I should make that clear.
This was a non-fault accident, but:
- My car was photographed IN DETAIL by the assessor - because all mods are declared it's been valued properly
- My driving licence has been checked to make sure I've not got any undeclared points, my address is current and my licence is up to date
- I've had to report the accident to my broker AND my insurer. Legally you have to report all accidents to the latter regardless of blame or whether you're claiming off them.
Consider it a word of warning. No matter how carefully you drive, it only takes a non-fault bump like this to blow the covers off anything you've been hiding, then you're on your own. It's not worth it.
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haha thats funny, awesome all your stuff is sorted. but it couldnt be any more opposite at work, we deal with insurance engineers all the time at work (working in a bodyshop)
and to be frank, they couldnt give a fuck! sometimes they dont even look at the car or even check tyre depths! then repair the car with non genuine bits!
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One battered Polo, deposited at Eastcote Customs to be repaired.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-33.jpg)
I got bored during the week and started stripping it.
It felt great on the drive up, despite looking a bit sorry for itself. Kinda regretting abandoning it in the garage since the bump now.
Making my way home via public transport at the moment. If all goes to plan, I'll be collecting it next Saturday, in time for a session at Rockingham on the 22nd. The tailgate was already in the booth being prepped, due to be painted on Monday.
Picked up the latest PVW on the way back. No escaping that car!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-32.jpg)
Looking forward to collecting it now! :-)
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Hope Adam's welding has improved!
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Give it a week and I'll be able to tell you.
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haha thats funny, awesome all your stuff is sorted. but it couldnt be any more opposite at work, we deal with insurance engineers all the time at work (working in a bodyshop)
and to be frank, they couldnt give a fuck! sometimes they dont even look at the car or even check tyre depths! then repair the car with non genuine bits!
I've encountered that attitude too, but both times my car's been hit I've had my paperwork checked.
My (now) wife's old 206 had a massive front end whack on the M1 about ten years ago and the bodyshop (an insurance approved one) charged £4,000 to repair it. The repair took six months, long enough for the tax to run out on her courtesy car, because they were waiting for new parts to turn up. By the time we flogged it on three years ago the light blue paint was flaking off in several places, showing that electric blue colour underneath.
I'm not entirely sure what they were doing for six months. It'd be great to say you get what you pay for but that's not always the case, and it's certainly never worth assuming that a big glossy premises with free coffee on offer will do the best job. I've found it's usually the opposite.
That said... I've also found out recently that people's experiences with the same company can differ wildly.
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I seriously couldnt agree more!! With everything you just said lol!
i will say about waiting for a long time for parts. Weve got a 5 series sat in the workshop at the moment, its been there for around 6 months waiting for a part, a new suspension turret.
Because of this the car has to stay inside as it has no engine and gets in everyones way so just sits in the corner neglected
which is a shame, all because we are waiting for a part
Just read your article in pvw, really good! The only reason i bought it lol, im fed up with reading about golfs. If you wrote more about the polo and they had a few polo features id hounestly buy it :)
good write up :D
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Glad you enjoyed it :)
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Hard work is done:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-38.jpg)
On track for Saturday! \:D/
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Woah! That was fast!
Glad shes all back nicely repaired :D
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Yeah it's been turned around pretty damned quickly. There's some finishing to do and it needs to go back together but the tough bits are done.
It helped getting the tailgate sent up beforehand though.
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(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-40.jpg)
It's home 8)
That bumper is going to need a thorough going over but it's looking good!
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Cracking job! you must be pleased! looks like she was never hit :)
:D
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Yeah, I'm really pleased with it. Relieved this is over with, too.
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So, yesterday I got a chance to take the G40 around Rockingham, as part of the Guild of Motoring Writers 'Big Day Out' event. Essentially it was a track day where journalists, bloggers and writers could take their own cars out on track, do a spot of networking and drive some new models the manufacturers had brought along.
I had only ever driven Rockingham in the dry beforehand, in Honda press cars about four years ago, and that was huge fun. But at the briefing we were warned that the infield section of the track is incredibly slippery when it's wet. They weren't kidding. We'd had rainfall overnight and the track was covered in water, so everyone was slipping around even on the sighting lap.
With that in mind, I left it for about half an hour or so just to let some dry lines form then took the car out for some slow-ish laps. Baby steps, we were told, is the best way to learn the layout. I could get traction, which still surprises me given how awful it was in the wet before the Quaife went in, but the back end was twitching a bit for the first session.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-45.jpg)
The track got gradually drier through the morning, and my confidence picked up, as did my speeds on the banked section, though with plenty of water either side I decided against going flat out and kept the speed down to a comfortable 90mph before braking earlier than I normally would into the first two turns. The inside of the sharpest turns, the racing line, was a like driving on ice.
Pic by PoloDriver.com - love it!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-41.jpg)
My fifth (I think) and last run before lunch was pretty brilliant, going around the track following the dry lines and finally making use of the supercharger. Then sadly I hit a snag.
Not a big snag, but a snag.
The rubber ball had come off the top of the 'shift finger' - the bit which connects the gear linkage between the gearbox and the gearstick, which meant I couldn't get any gears. Luckily it happened in the pitlane.
This completely blindsided me. It's not something I'd ever even considered would wear out, but after 186,000 miles it was cracked, crumbling and I'm amazed it survived a morning on track. Although it's a £10 part, it's not something dealers keep in stock. I bodged a repair job on what was left of mine (gaffer tape and superglue) and with a 150 mile drive home I decided against chancing any more laps in my car.
Not a huge sacrifice, because several manufacturers had brought cars to drive. I ticked this off the bucket list, finally, and still want one:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-44.jpg)
Kia had brought one of the 'reasonably priced' Cee'ds so I took that out for a few laps, which was good fun. It had done 300 miles by the end of the day, which is over 150 hard laps of Rockingham's BTCC layout, and it didn't miss a beat. Speaks volumes for Korean build quality!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-47.jpg)
I also had a chance to get a few pax laps in, including a rapid VX220 Turbo, an Evo FQ400 and several with a mate in his MX-5, which was hilarious. Armfuls of opposite lock on almost every corner, made me want something with rear wheel drive.
As a bonus, my car was voted 'car which best captured the spirit of the day' and I won this, which I was really chuffed with!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-42.jpg)
Then I got a stroke of luck - I'd contacted Mark (aka Big Burt) to see if he had a spare part to get me home, as I knew he was local. He didn't, but he put me onto Pete (StinkyPete) who did, and offered to sort the car out on his drive so I could get home. LIFE SAVERS, the pair of them. Plus I got a chance to have a look around Pete's monster space framed breadvan, which is even more awesome in the metal than pics could ever convey!
Ironically, my repair job had turned the crumbling remains of the rubber ball into a rock solid block of glue and gaffer tape which had latched on so tightly it was able to support the metal bit underneath. I reckon it would've lasted the afternoon, wasn't worth chancing though.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-43.jpg)
I had a great drive home with the car repaired, it felt really strong, and it's made me a bit more philosophical about things. I'd started the day confessing to Jon that tracking my car makes me nervous, in case I bin it, but I came away feeling entirely different. It'll always be cheaper to take a chance that the G40 will break or get bent than it will to run a second car just in case, I don't tend to take chances anyway and it's plenty quick enough for me to enjoy hooning it about.
Actually, it's a shame not to track it, but I'll be a bit more thorough with pre-flight checks next time around. I can think of more expensive ways to learn that lesson.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null-46.jpg)
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Sounds like a cool ass day that mate. Love the bodge job though! Is there anything gaffa tape cant sort out?!
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I reckon there are very few things you can't bodge with some gaffer tape. :D
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Sadly so far I've not had any pics turn up of my car going around Rockingham, but on Sunday I cleaned it and went to a local Volkswagen meet, then took the long route home. Gentle driving, just enjoying being back behind the wheel really.
So have some photos of it looking shiny and sat still instead:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/9605219039_300fac9f49_o.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/9600153365_57abf2db8a_o.jpg)
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Updates are thin on the ground this month. I've had a silly month with deadlines and the Frankfurt Motor Show, so the Polo hasn't changed much. Flew through its MOT (as it should've done) at the start of the month and has done a few local miles since but not much.
I have modified my garage, though:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null_zps829dadb7.jpg)
It's a charging point for an electric car, just in time for this to arrive:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null_zpsdc2a8473.jpg)
My new long-termer, a Vauxhall Ampera. It's electric for 40-50 miles, then it has a petrol engine which works primarily as a generator to keep the battery topped up. It replaced the Civic I've had for six months, and this one goes back in March.
I like it. The white makes it quite a head-turner, and it's surprisingly quick. Comfortable and very stable at high speeds, too, though it's about 1,700kg (!) due to the battery, which means it's prone to squealing its tyres and feels a little heavy if it's driven with much gusto.
They're a fairly unlikely pairing, mind:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null_zps886755e9.jpg)
That said, so is my car's semi-permanent stablemate. Caroline's Z4. I'd hazard a guess most would assume that it's mine, and that it's the quicker of the two... :D
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/null_zps88dc3896.jpg)
It's not going to be around for long, though. We're having a baby next March, so the Z4 is making way for something with five doors and room for a child seat. Not sure what yet, though. Exciting times!
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Haven't updated this in a while, but I guess I haven't had much call to!
My car now has its PPP exhaust fitted. And very nice it is too!
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/q71/s720x720/1489030_10153656786970538_1783863589_n.jpg)
If you're wondering, the branded boost hose will be rotated back around to hide the writing and I'm aware that the red silicone hose at the top is looking out of place, and that the cold air feed needs to be replaced too. Time!
I've had new exhaust hangers made up to replace the Polo ones, and it's been shifted around to get as much clearance as possible. I don't catch the centre box getting into the garage any more, haha!
Subtle tailpipe at the back:
(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q86/s720x720/1495544_10153623217235538_1112753550_n.jpg)
I've not had a chance to drive it in anger since it came back, so I can't vouch for power gains yet but the fit and quality is amazing. Highly recommended!
(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/q73/s720x720/1510948_10153645098705538_1153541708_n.jpg)
The rest of the driveway is due for a change. Ampera goes back to Vauxhall in March, and the Z4 is now up for sale for an off-season price as we've just bought a Kia Sportage as a family carrier. Anyone interested in a Beemer for the summer?
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/q72/s720x720/1507929_10153656904375538_780640693_n.jpg)
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Forgot to post a pic of the manifold pre-fitment. :)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/q77/s720x720/1381573_10153262291670538_340565092_n.jpg)
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Shame they don't stay that colour ;D
Subframe next? ;)
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Already hunting freelance work to pay for it!
Next PVW update will be the exhaust. ;-)
Baby purchases are going to slow things down this year though.
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I like tarnished stainless, too. Looks used. :-)
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Baby purchases are going to slow things down this year though.
What kind of babies are you buying? :P
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Shit! Cat's out of the bag!
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Be interested to hear your opinion on way car drives with 4branch, especially as you've done it alone so to speak.
I imagine it'd behave a bit like a GT inlet manifold, fractionally less low down torque and more power higher up in rev range...??
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Just been out to turn the engine over as it hasn't been anywhere for a couple of weeks. So I now stink of exhaust fumes a bit.
However, I also have a video (you'll need decent speakers to get the low notes - for some reason cameras like to amplify injector noise)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knomz_HH9F0
And a tripod-assisted photo with the branded boost hose rotated out of sight:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_1554.jpg)
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So, predictably my project thread has been a bit quiet of late. Life changing new addition to the family etc.
It hasn't completely stopped me using the Polo, but it does make things more difficult. I don't trust the car park at the hotel in Hatfield so it's not going to work, and I tend to swap cars at the office anyway. On the weekends I get Jenson to look after, which is brilliant, but it's also a good way to sink a weekend into doing nothing else. The Polo isn't child seat friendly, so we can't all go out in it, so as much as I'm still getting track time in at work (Bedford in an M235i the most recent example) my own car isn't doing many miles.
Imagine my joy, then, when this weekend presented an entire afternoon of sunshine. I wheeled the car out for a clean, quickly realised my mistake, coiled the hose up and took it out for a drive.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DE36AF43-7E8F-4BB1-BCEE-E6192C3B699C.jpg)
I nearly headed for Brecon but changed my mind. Drove up the A470 to get everything nice and warm, then turned around at Merthyr and took the old road back down south.
Interesting to note that the new exhaust doesn't seem to be as vulnerable as the old one, which is useful.
Otherwise it feels spot on, a nice reminder that I've got something fun in the garage which I can use to let off some steam. Trouble is, it's done. I don't have much left to do, and I'm hankering after another project. Something I can take my time building. I still want an old BMW.
I did get some time in this last week though, a 1959 Vauxhall Velox, which has put a Fifties car on my wish list. Not something I expected to be saying about a slow, heavy thing like this.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/86551875-9C85-4FDE-8DCA-7F7183518CAE.jpg)
For now though, our newest driveway resident is absolutely brilliant. I will be getting this filthy as soon as possible, but in the meantime it's a thoroughly fantastic family car and - I think - a real looker too.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/951B559C-EFF9-4018-B388-D4B9A782BDA5.jpg)
Sorry it's a slightly muddly update. I could bore you with baby pics but... I won't.
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Small updates this week (and next). I've reached the point where, to be honest, there's not much left to do.
It's just had a service, and it turns out the oil temperature gauge is correct, and the thermostat is behaving properly on the oil cooler. Sadly this means the 13 row, 235mm oil cooler (lifted from the PSD website) I have at the moment is about twice the size it really needs to be, so for the time being it's part covered and I'm seeing normal oil temperatures on the gauge. Smaller matrix is coming next week.
I've also decided to take the plunge and fit some softer front springs. Gaz supplied 275lb, 7-inch springs with my coilovers, based on me saying I had plans to take it on track days. It's not back breaking but I'm going to follow the crowd and use 225lb, 8-inch springs to take the edge off the bumpiness. Another job for next week!
Then it's down to wiring stuff. I love the Stack gauges, but they're too bright at night. So I'm fitting an additional dimmer to turn the brightness down separately to the rest of the dashboard instruments. My headlights, meanwhile, are dangerously bad without the uprated wiring loom. So that'll go back on next week, once I can trace the fault with the dipped beam part of the loom.
Otherwise, pretty bloody happy with how the car has turned out. I still want a subframe, but that'll require some more freelance work to earn the cash to pay for it. The rest is just fine tuning.
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Alex, were have you placed the oil temp sensor and what temps do you see???
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I've had it in the sump, but decided it was too vulnerable. So it's now in the head.
In both cases, 60°C was the norm on a motorway run.
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Sweet... I have plugged the sender in the sump bolt too and I see the same temp values like you do.
Before the oil cooler installation i could see temps up to 110 C at light load in motorway...
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I'm halving the size of the matrix to see what happens. I'm pretty sure it'd get too hot without one, but what I have is definitely too big. Is yours a 235mm 13 row too?
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Yes Alex, I'm having the same cooler with yours combined with a c20let thermostatic adapter. I came in a conclusion that it is to big too, even for me where I leave in a warmer country.
I am really curious what temps does a 10 row cooler gets...
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Interesting thing, fate.
If I'm honest, it's been a bit of a struggle getting much proper time behind the wheel of the Polo this last year. It was too low for Caroline to get in and out of when she was heavily pregnant, and our car seat doesn't fit into it, so the weekend drives have become a bit complicated as I have to go on my own. During the week I tend to use work cars because I try to combine swaps with trips to the office - it gives me time behind the wheel to write a review.
But how's this for a sign?
I had a call last week from a press office which was due to send me a car on Monday. Bad news, the car had been stacked and wasn't going to be repaired in time. It just so happens that the last seven days have been pretty full on, too, with a trip to Liverpool on Monday and Tuesday, and a weekend in Llandudno. My options: take my long-term Renault ZOE and charge five times each way, or take the Polo and take the direct route through Wales. Easy choice, really.
Monday gave me an opportunity to catch up with this, which is a story in itself:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/00000000-0000-0000-0000-00000000044D.jpg)
Unfortunately that did mean a detour to Cirencester, and in turn meant taking the M5/M6 to Liverpool which scuppered my first day of driving. But after about six hours crawling through roadworks in three lanes of heavy traffic, I touched down at the Titanic hotel (which is really nice, and has loads of fascinating stuff throughout, but is kinda morbid too) at about 6pm.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/IMG_4326.jpg)
The real reason for being in Liverpool was a long trip across North Wales in the (sort of) new Corsa, with its new three-cylinder 1.0-litre turbo engine.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/00000000-0000-0000-0000-00000000044E.jpg)
The trip up the M6 had cemented the idea that a run through Wales on the way home was a smart move. It was. Admittedly the run to Oswestry was pretty crap, albeit scenic, but the A483 down to Newtown was much quieter. Summer is definitely over, though, as it got dark far earlier than I was expecting it to!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/32958210-BEBA-4378-8202-AF4813FDD9C6.jpg)
I had half expected to encounter some sort of problem that hadn't reared its head earlier in the year but the car felt great. No glare from the gauges, headlights that work and suspension that's functioning as suspension should do. Very happy. And, as it's a work trip (the car is insured for work use) I get to claim the fuel back.
Saturday was a slightly different trip, at least it was from Builth Wells. Google Maps throws up two viable possibilities - either going across to the M5 and M6 or going straight up most of the A470 with some detours. With no need to divert to Cirencester I was able to get a full cross-country run in typical four-seasons-in-one-day Welsh road trip style, getting into Llandudno at around midday having changed into a business suit in a lay-by about 20 minutes beforehand, and just in time to make the trip across to Porthdinllaen Lifestation in the Suzuki that was waiting for me at the hotel.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0780.jpg)
Then today I've been catching up on a few cars I haven't driven. Including this which - seriously - is a lot more fun than it deserves to be. If I had the space and the cash for a second insurance policy, I'd be pretty tempted by an early one as a cheap winter toy.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_0807.jpg)
Followed by a route home that's been every bit as incredible as the route north.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/EA55F2FC-55EE-4909-960C-A0F4623740BD.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/503F4F81-5B1B-4A6D-8E89-04CDBAF77AE3.jpg)
After a shit year last year with the accident, a winter of hardly using it and a summer of occasional trips on my own, an 850-mile week in the G40 has been pretty epic. No problems, no worries, no careless OAPs in Corsas to ruin it. I might have to treat the car to a wash next weekend though.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/C7C3A31D-25C2-4649-BD09-406B2E023B34.jpg)
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Looks awesome Alex, good to see it getting used!
What was the corsa like to drive? what sort of power output do they have with them new engines?
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It's much better than the old one, which is quite an achievement considering the structure is the same underneath. I drove with the chassis engineer from Opel in the passenger seat and he was talking me through all the changes - there's nothing shared between the two cars. That's not to say it's a set of radically re-engineered parts, but it's a huge set of small changes that add up to a big difference.
The 1.0 turbo is available with either 90 or 115bhp, it's a sweet little engine a bit like Ford's EcoBoost. I reckon the Fiesta is still a better drive, though. Ripe for tuning, both of them.
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Well, I haven't uploaded this in a while. I guess because I've reached an odd point in the build where it's sort of done, and I'm just tying up loose ends. This doesn't make for very interesting reading, though.
Since I last put a post up, it's had a few new bits. It turned out my old oilstat was sticking, so that's been replaced. I've also had a new clutch (I've gone back to standard), with a new rear engine mount, and replaced the wideband lambda probe which snuffed it on the way to North Wales last autumn. On a more annoying note, it picked up a melon-sized dent late last year while it was in the garage. Removing the dent has been a massive pain in the arse, but it's now done - and thankfully without requiring paint.
D'you know what? I don't feel the need to do much else to this now. It's pretty complete:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/63283988-AEED-498F-9F98-FCAF64389110.jpg)
Genuinely very happy with how it's turned out. I definitely prefer the feel of a standard clutch and it's not struggling with the power - the Helix was always overkill in that department - and it's a very driveable car. Good solid power without smoking the front wheels, squeal-free cornering, reassuringly positive brakes and steering, comfortable seats, and the softer springs I fitted last year have really made a big difference. It's taken the edge off the ride quality without blunting the handling, basically it feels like the suspension can actually do what it's designed for, and I don't get any bonging noises when I'm manoeuvring into parking spaces.
When I started tinkering with it, years ago, I wanted to end up with a car which fits together like it came out of the factory like that, and that's where it is now. More power, more noise, more lows, they'd all ruin that.
The trouble is, driving this car is a solitary experience. Our car seat is ISOFIX only. So the miles I do are either just aimless driving, or for work. I've insured it for business use, which means I've been able to stand out like a sore thumb at press launches with the oldest car in the car park. It does seem to go down well with other journalists though.
This week I even had the chance to take it on a Volkswagen event, for the new Sharan. So it spent a day in the car park at the InFlite terminal at Stansted Airport - ordinarily home to the ground transport of people rich enough to get shuttled around on their own private jet. Hehe!
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/8A5E8025-EA59-4F20-92E2-2167FFD78759.jpg)
Volkswagen also won the 'cool as shit press kit' award for this solid aluminium memory stick:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/8BA047EE-7A18-44C8-873E-3C031E004BBB.jpg)
Other than that, to be honest my most memorable drives this year have been in cars I doubt anyone else on here really cares about. This was very cool:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/E3FA23CE-BA4B-422C-976D-C75E793296D3.jpg)
And I'll be driving a Polo GTI next week, which I'm really looking forward to. Generation gap performance Polo pictures to come, I'm sure.
I've also booked it in for something next Friday, which I never thought I'd do. But I'll explain all next week.
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Driving the new Polo GTI - so it would've been rude not to do this:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/54E72ECE-8393-4903-BD19-BB17A71E239A.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/7AE03279-0EB3-4485-9792-FF219FBB5A61.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/CFF2FE7F-7A0F-4FA9-9112-6A9EB5BB2A36.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/24CD5363-691D-45C1-A05D-482111769000.jpg)
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Rocking ambers for the first time since 2001. Wasn't sure at first, but they're growing on me...
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/RRG15/rrg02.jpg)
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I put ambers back on mine a while ago. I've left em on, I like them.
How was RR?
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After a quiet winter, what better a way to blow out all of the cobwebs than a track day?
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_5986.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_6023.jpg)
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/DSC_6539.jpg)
I spent Thursday at Castle Combe, at a bring-your-own-car track day for motoring journalists, and man it's made me remember why I love this stupid little car. The weather wasn't ideal for the first few laps - on a fast track with hardly any run-off, that's an interesting way to learn the layout - but it dried up late morning and I got some hot laps in that afternoon which were amazing.
Interesting seeing how it fared since I downgraded the spec slightly too. Oil temperatures weren't too scary without the oil cooler - 95°C was the highest I saw - the clutch (now a standard one) didn't struggle, and I prefer the slight bit of roll I get on the front end with the soft springs. If anything, it seems to have made it grip better than it did before, you can really throw it into a corner and it just pulls itself out of the other side.
Mine wasn't the only G40 there, either:
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q290/AlexGrantUK/F98E15F3-8297-40E5-9104-F8167F0B045D.jpg)
Must use this car more often...
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Well, it's been a while. Figured I'd drop in and say hi.
The Polo is still here, obviously. Well, technically it's not as it's stashed in my parents' garage at the moment because we're having work done on the driveway and my garage is full of builders' tools. But I still have it. And, since my last update, I'm now a Dad of three. Because who needs sleep, and hobbies?
What's new? It's got boost return hoses for the first time:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1876/30813859488_74028539cb_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/NWV5Ts)42543B6D-86F5-4389-AE01-E8BD29146981 (https://flic.kr/p/NWV5Ts) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
This turned into a bit of a 'mare as I had most, but not all, of the required pipework and was missing the non-return valve that goes into the crankcase breather. Those weren't cheap to get hold of, but not too difficult to source via VW Heritage. And they're 100% worth every penny because I don't think it's ever run better than it does at the moment. I miss the hiss it made when changing gear, but it's smoother and seems quicker than it ever has.
Ultimately that's the second most exciting thing fitted this year because... my eldest is no longer in ISOFIX seats. So he can go out in it with me, if I strap his booster into the passenger seat. This thing was my first car back when I was 17, it feels weird being a greying mid-30s Dad, taking my school-age son out in it. But he loves it.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1954/44896863811_141f81a94a_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2bpoaqP)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2bpoaqP) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
So much, in fact, that he seems to think it's his. He'll be signing up on here before I know it:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1846/42874420920_4d3f727e87_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/28jEBBN)A9B29D8E-FE89-438C-AF13-3F9963E83569 (https://flic.kr/p/28jEBBN) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
We've been to a couple of car meets in it this summer. It needs a proper polish and wax, but I don't know when I'll get the time to do that. Maybe when the kids leave home...
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1967/29960424177_b866e21dd4_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/MDv1ix)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/MDv1ix) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
Just as well he does like it, as we've outgrown our family car (the Renault), which throws up the need to convoy:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1968/29960321657_853c58f338_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/MDutPX)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/MDutPX) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
Thankfully, though, I've been able to get my hands on this as a daily. It's a beast - 184bhp, 2.0 TDI with a DSG box and pretty much all the options. Not a bad steer, either:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1889/30813859998_fdabfac1f9_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/NWV63f)5EBB691D-C1BB-46D1-AEAB-A0B50CB9D7D4 (https://flic.kr/p/NWV63f) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
This is better, though. Kept my car company for a few days. Good fun:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1879/42874421560_a9024a9584_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/28jEBNQ)4E43956F-1771-4F29-A2AC-CB16F899E7D3 (https://flic.kr/p/28jEBNQ) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1886/30813860398_53c92ad0f7_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/NWV6a9)B2A3AE38-CD33-489B-BB8A-FE630FE6DB9E (https://flic.kr/p/NWV6a9) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
Up GTI was good fun as well. Not quite a complete hot hatch, but a giggle nonetheless.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1934/44846775092_cafb8c859d_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2bjXrNd)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2bjXrNd) by alexgrantuk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/80606508@N07/), on Flickr
Not much else to report, really. It's just a good all-round day-to-day performance car. Quick, fairly frugal when you want, decent on a long journey, and becoming really quite unusual on the road. It gets quite a lot of attention these days, I guess because you just don't see them around. New tyres next...
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Hi Alex, nice to hear from you again. Polo is looking great!