Yandards

I've had a couple of shafts from them for my previous daily driver A3's - quality is ok and had no issues with them in terms of fitment. One of them was a solid shaft instead of a hollow tube so was heavier but still managed to cope with the torque from the 170bhp diesel ok.

Unfortunately there is little information available on tweaking the 9A as nobody really seems to bother - it was only introduced as a way to meet the emissions requirements post 1992 (ironic at the moment!). ABF side however is a very different World, there has been much speculation that the ABF unit was de-tuned by VW to ensure a suitable gap between the 16v Golf GTi and the 2.8 VR. This has been backed up by real World ECU remapping of ABF which seem to consistently produce around 150 BHP and a sizeable increase in torque through the rev range too. Can you get the same from a 9A? Possibly but the ECU management on the 9A is much cruder by comparison and you may not get the same results.

Don't bother with an 'off the shelf' chip for a G60, the ECU is too crude to manage some generic tweaking and as its does not adapt to varying engine wear etc as well as the VR does it can frequently lead to issues. If you consider that G60 performance and throttle response varies to a noticeable degree both throughout the year due to the temperature then you see what I am getting at. Best bet is to find someone that can provide a custom MAP for the car post modifications to get the best from it - otherwise you will never see the full potential.

That's a load of piffle, UK wise there are around 2000 VRs still registered with the DVLA which is where the 'how many left' website get their data from.

Good to see some progress again John.

Very true, in fact if you know who the original manufacturer that VW used then you can always get that part - recently changed the rear beam compensator, ATE made item, £70 delivered, it was only missing the VAG stamp and part number.

No its not. The non return valve operates at a higher pressure. As for availability, once again because of the way VW UK have decided not to distribute VW Classic parts range an item that is available from VW in Germany and the US direct from the dealer cannot be obtained in the same way in the UK. So you can still buy 'new' G60 genuine oil filters from VW Heritage, sit down though as they are cheap. I have bought a couple recently direct from Germany and they look ok.

Water temp should stay pretty stable on a well functioning 16v engine even in traffic, I used to see very little movement on the water temp gauge. Oil wise it usually sat below 90 deg C until I gave it some beans and would then never drop below the mid 90s after - this demonstrates the way the Corrado engine bay suffers from heat soak and how it can't get rid of it after. You should not really be seeing more than 110 deg C oil temp in a well functioning valve but it won't do any harm.

Done and duplicate ad deleted. :)

Holy crapola Batman. I really do wonder about the shallow end of the gene pool somedays. Hopefully that blue tac backup will be enough..

It was bound to happen at some point especially given the number of cheap breakers over the last 5 years, not many for sale at all now so its the usual classic car price curve. The wheeler dealers episode will see a surge in interest and a subsequent rise in prices depending on how much it actually sells for. As time goes on Kips VR will look more and more like a bargin!

Looks like rain all day Sunday so defo no from me on the Jape car show although I may hit Blenheim on Monday if the weather is good.

I'd go with dash out, its not that much extra stuff to remove and it means you can refit the matrix without nipping any of the foam seals.

It's all good progress and really great to see you actually putting the time in to get it right as opposed to almost right.

Looks good in the photos but that is not a Recaro interior.. Work wise 5k is not too far off the mark plus you can expect to barter it down a bit based on the format of the show if you arrive with cash. 2-3k will get you a VR in similar condition and as it has had paint work sorted, set of refurbed speedline with tyres (£500), new clutch plus master and slave cylinder (£200) suspension bits and plenty more then I suspect you would be up to that figure without any labour. Plus it has an ultra rare tilt and slide sunroof in working condition!

Or if its an early MFA (ie non VR) you can go into diagnostic MFA mode and get the MFA vac reading displayed.

If you are going to do any of the rubber bits on the front end do them all at them same time to ensure an even wear process. Cars always feel better after changing just one type of bush but that one then wears out much faster as it is taking up the wear in the other bushes. It's a larger single expense but you won't be changing bushes every few years this way.

Nice, always loved these, such a icon.

Hallo, So just to clarify you have the clutch pipe that is part flexi and part solid with the 2/3 coils in it where it attaches to the clutch slave cylinder remanufactured, this is originally part number 357 721 465A. To make life a bit easier this is used on all RHD cars up to chassis number 50-N-035000 so any 16v cars would also benefit. Volksworld, the solid pipe you are talking about that runs from the clutch master to the flexi pipe is part number 536 721 477 A, this is a larger diameter pipe than the standard brakeline but is also not available from classic parts; I can see this being a useful new part too if the correct type of pipe can be sourced (the VW green stuff).

Used to have the AFR gauge in my old G60 - good bit of kit and well made. Quite retro in terms of the LEDs etc but then that suits the car really, not sure if the double gauges may be a bit too busy. Only issue in getting some made will be dash blanks - not sure if you can still get them.

Yes they are, not sure of the part number off the top of my head.

No to the Heritage item, its for rear bumpers only and they mount in a different way. Sadly the bracket assembly is the part you need not available new anymore from the dealers or VW classic parts so the best bet would be a breakers yard. Please note the brackets are handed, assuming you are only after the front right one as per the photo then you need part no 535 807 194.

Could be a few things, as you have already identified most of these bits sit on 'X' contact power line in the relay box and have power removed from them when the start position is selected on the ignition by the relay at position 4 on the relay box. To rule out an X contact relay fault check to see if the rear window heater works as that is another 'X' contact controlled item. The fresh air blower is powered through plug 'Q' on the back of the relay plate - this also provides power to the glove box light worth looking to see if that illuminates. Sunroof and rear wipe receive power through relay at position 2 on the relay plate, this may be a separate relay failure to confuse you. So if the rear window heater does not work I would be looking at an 'X' contact wiring issue, get the fusebox out of its housing and have a good look at the plugs to ensure seated - make sure all the plugs are locked in place and retained by the slider on the back on the fusebox too.

I can see the pictures ok, also Sean is on the money with the fault identification too.

Nice to see a nugget in the wild still - not sure about the cup holder though :)