Walesy

The various rados i've had have all (bar one maybe) been completely reliable. We're talking about 15 year old 'sports coupe's' here remember, a lot of these cars have had a tough life and are still around waaaay after the vast majority of other cars their age are. I've also always believed in prevention rather than cure, and that staying one step ahead of the game is the way to go - keeping the car maintained and looked after properly will mean that the car looks after you, replacing parts that are on their way out rather than waiting for them to go etc will mean that you dont get let down, also using quality parts rather than cheap ones makes a huge difference. Making sure you get a 'goodun' to begin with is half the battle! taking time to find a car that's been looked after by its previous owner/s can save a lot of headache in the long term. After a while of driving a car you can start to get a feel for how it should run and can then identify when parts are due for replacement a bit more easily :camp: You see loads of people complaining about how unreliable 'Corrados' are when in fact they've just bought a high mileage dog for £1k and are now tarring all rados with the same brush! :roll:

LC2U is Sherry Pearl Effect mate, pretty rare colour! :grin:

I use this stuff mate - http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/Stor ... 3godXAPCjA

Id say that if you're in the least bit interested in performance, buy a G60 (or VR6 if you have a bit more to spend on running costs) If you're looking for a awesome looking and handling, capable and enjoyable car to own but aren't interested in going particularly fast or are worried about MPG and running costs - go for an 8v. The performance difference between 8v and 16v in real terms is negligible, but the running costs of the 16v are far higher than the 8v. Neither are 'quick' cars but they're great cars to own - i've found that G60s are cheaper to run than 16v's which is why I diss-count them. Ultimately, you'd be best off driving each type and coming to your own conclusions, my observations come from owning and living with more than one of each flavour of rado and I personally MUCH prefer the 8v to the 16v.

Aye, given the choice between an 8v and a 16v i'd go for an 8v every time (having owned a few of each!)

Why not an 8v mate? (or G60?)

Yeah carpeting makes it feel so much better, and the insulation has obviously also made a big difference already with warmth and road noise! :smug: Cheers for the tip with the rooflights, i'll have a word with him about it and see what he says! I'm dropping the van at Vansport in Penzance tomorrow AM for it to have a tailgate window fitted, i've gone for a limo tint on the back so the storage is still safe.

Tbh mate it's not something I felt confident with doing by myself - IMO it's not something you should attempt unless you're completely confident that you know what you're doing, I think being a paranoid new Dad might add to that as the vision of burning the van to the ground with a dodgy connection was enough for me to pay for an expert! :lol: Luckily I had Simon from Individual Camper Conversions to give me a hand because he came down to let me view his interior units before deciding whether to buy or not, I can't recommend the fella enough if anyone on here in the S.West needs a hand with an install or wants a custom interior built - he's a nice guy and a perfectionist that won't finish a job unless it's done to his high standards! He can design/build any spec van to your requirements as well as being able to help with plumbing/electrics/lining/carpeting etc etc 8) I didn't get many pics because we didn't have time, and those that I did get are pretty crap but here they are anyway! Simon didn't leave my house until nearly 10pm last night as I decided to buy his interior units and he hung around to give me a hand getting them all together so pics weren't a priority! It'll be useful to have a few though just in case I forget how it went in and need to take it out again :lol: I chose to have 6 spotlights, which is a bit overkill but as they can be turned on/off individually I thought it best to have too many rather than too little! The roof panels popped out and Simon stuck the wiring in while I stuck insulation to the underside of the panels - I used stuff a bit like Dynamat which was fairly pricey but it's good to have it done :camp: As I said before, the guy I bought the van off told me it was insulated but when we took the panels off we found that it wasn't :confused: so I chucked a load of rockwool in Plug socket added I had to remove the arch boxes to be able to mount the rock 'n' roll bed, i'll be carpeting them at some point in the future but they're uncovered at the moment. First the rear platform was fitted which acts as a shelf but is also where the bottom end of the bed when the vans in sleep mode 8) Next the R&R bed is bolted to the rear arches and the front panel is fitted Then the 'buddy seat' is bolted to the floor Then the rear bunk/shelves are just bolted to the rear platform All that was left was for Mrs W to stick a couple of throws on the foam as a temporary fix, her mother's going to make us some curtains and pillow/foam covers but that wont be for a while so it's a case of making do for the moment :camp: And that's where the vans at for the moment. I'll be getting the kitchen units in the next few weeks, Simons making me a half bulkhead (piece of metal or ply that sits parallel to the back of the front seats and stops things from the back entering the cab when the vans moving) as I need a bulkhead to mount the kitchen units on. I've asked him to make me one in the same style as the rest of the units rather than have a plain one carpeted, which should be a nice little touch :camp: :lol: I cant wait to get it all finished as i've got the buz for it now its half done :) I also had a drive of Simons van which is lowered on 60mm CNC springs just like Joby's - I have to say I couldn't believe how decent the ride was, it makes driving the van soooo much better - it totally made my mind up that i'll be getting it done!

Yeah the ex-AA T4 vans have air bags on the rear suspension so they could raise the back when towing - air ride is something i've considered but again the expense is off-putting. The bra is off already, was the first thing I did! :camp:

Yeah i've heard its really quick and easy! I'm still not sure about it though, it doesn't seem right to drop such a heavy vehicle on cheap springs? I may go for a weitec shock/spring kit or something but it'll have to wait unfortunately - i'm bloody skint after buying the units/bed etc! I'll put some pics up later of the electric install - the lights/socket/leisure battery/inverter/split charge are nearly in :) I was a bit pissed off to find that the van wasn't insulated in the rear when I took the panels off though despite the guy I bought it off telling me it was! :mad2:

Is your car completely standard mate?

They're RS4's aren't they mate? Are they 18s?

I just got back from having my windows tinted, it makes such a difference, looks awesome 8) I've just booked it in for monday to have the window put in the tailgate too. Whats the ride like on the springs compared to standard then mate? I can't make my mind up whether to do it or not - I had a drive of a 1.9td that was dropped and it was MUCH more harsh than mine :( but it looks SO much better! :lol:

Nice one mate, it's looking sweet - How much is it dropped by? Those side bars make them look a bit lower 8) Those wheels look great on it! Just needs the bumper/mirrors colour coded now :lol: I've spent the day cleaning the inside of mine, and i'm off to have the side windows tinted tomorrow - then hopefully i'll get the spotlights in and the split charge sorted on the weekend :) My total spend is looking like it'll be around the £7k mark which isn't too bad considering what you get for the money!

Its a rug doctor but it has an attachment, it seems to be working really well. The roof lining above the cab area is grey - which has gone a tinge of yellow (which wasn't noticeable until I started cleaning it!) - you can literally see the difference in colour before/after cleaning! So I assume it must be working! It's also made the seats come up like new :) I suppose I should be doing a really in depth thread including millions of high res '50/50' pics etc but I cant be fecked :lol: If this doesn't get rid of the smell i'll be finding out about 'flogging' etc - but for £20 this is worthwhile anyway to know it's all been cleaned properly, and i'm going to use it on my audi when i've done the van because i'll be selling it soon so im getting me £20 worth :)

I tried the bicarb, and it didn't work! :( I've rented a 'rug doctor' today so we'll see if that works!

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40014&hilit=+RS

GradeAfailure's aqua blue used to have Rs' as far as I can remember, might be worth looking it up

:eek: - looks pretty shiney to me mate!

They dont rust in general, only on the tailgate - none of the MK3's i've had have had a spot of rust anywhere.

Is it red and in Yorkshire?

As someone above said, the only thing wrong with them is that they're not really GTI's - other than that they're really good cars, nice and solid and cheap to run - the 8v engines just go on and on, for the money they go for nowadays they're a really good daily driver. I'll be looking at getting one for my missus when she goes back to work in a few months.

Errrr, Why not? :shrug:

True :awesome: (use the search! :eek:)

Yeah, that's another thing i'm going to have to sort out at a later date, you wouldn't believe how much money this is all costing - it's more like doing a house renovation than modding a car :lol: - buying sockets, lighting, sinks , plumbing etc! Obviously having a gas heater will be dangerous without proper ventilation and I expect electric heaters will zap too much power - i'm going to sort out a 240v hook up so I can plug the van in at campsites but I expect most of the time i'll have to rely on my leisure battery so need to make sure whatever heating I choose wont kill the battery! I've ordered £250 worth of bits for the electrics this morning - i've gone for 6 spotlights that can be turned on individually, and a strip light for each side of the van - it sounds like a lot of lights (which it is!) but I want the ability to have it as dim/light in there as possible and also need to be able to have it dark at the back of the van where Jay (my son) will kip and light in the front/sitting area for me and Mrs W. I've also ordered a double 3 pin socket and a split charge system so the leisure battery will charge from the alternator :awesome: