The Leningrad Cowboy

Nice. If mine starts flashing away again, I'll check the contacts. I can unbate my breath now - lucky you sorted it out quickly!

Sweeeeet motor, and I like your style (car and verbal!). Also, check out the cool reg - isn't that the name of the CCCA magazine? How do you really cope with the winters up there? I'm guessing you have a nice, warm garage and an F150 to slide about in?

I have to say, I'd not really thought about this before, but it looks pretty good.

I'm not sure this is the same issue. If the light comes on when you accelerate, then I think it's the warning. Otherwise, sounds like something electrical. I had this once (and coincidently I thought I noticed it again today), but the garage said they changed the pads and it went away. Previous wisdom suggested that no Corrados have brake pad sensors, though (perhaps because they are notoriously unreliable?). Not sure about the brake fluid level, though. If this is true, it'd be good to know. That would make it equivalent to the coolant light / level indicator. I await with bated breath.

Crikey, I'm in Cotham too, although I've not seen your car around. Keep your eye out for a grubby blackberry C! I've had work done at PC Motors in Horfield / Bishopston (9424746) on both my Jetta and Corrado, and they are pretty good - they've started to remember me now as well, which makes me feel more comfortable. One of the chaps who works there has got a Vento VR6, although I'll let you read into that what you will! Luccombe Garages are just round the corner by the Shakespeare pub just off Redland Road, so if close helps, they're close. I've only taken my car there once to check the suspension and sort the tracking out after a ding, and although they couldn't spot any damage (and didn't charge me), they couldn't do the tracking there themselves - they sent me to a garage on Eastfield Road at the bottom of Cotham Brow, but I never went there. Friends of mine with aircooled cars rave about them (including the Kharmann Ghia of Stealth Rolling Road fame), though. I guess just take your pick and see how you get on, although if it's a tricky job (chains, cams?) then Grant might be a safer bet. Hope to help.... (HTH)

Yeah, good point. Having only Speedlines (bent ones at that!) and manky little brakes, I didn't consider that!

I'm not sure having big brakes will help - either the ABs saves you and you can steer, or you lock up and slide, and I'm not convinced the ABS on the C is that great. I've certainly avoided using it over the winter (ABS pump needs replacing as well), and I still managed a proper alloy folding / tyre ripping slide into the kerb!

Crikey. He looked like he was hiding behind the tree in the first place, but then decided it wouldn't be enough to stop the car! The tree hardly bloody noticed, though! Saying that, if it hadn't hit it quite so square, it may have spun round and still hit him. Shame he didn't have his camera ready - that would've made a classic snap! Edit: it actually looks like he had his phone out ready to take a picture, and then he didn't!

Just topped 118k (1.1.94 VR6).

mine got a wheel change in the pissing rain because neither I nor the garage noticed that my little pre-Stealth RR kiss with the curb took a massive chunk out of the tyre. Tut, tut, tut...

Hilarious. Just the sort of conversation you don't mind leaving, quick sharp! Friend of mine from Seattle who was over at Crimbo gave many compliments to the C. She said she 'only dreamed' of having one when she was younger. The chap in the barbers wouldn't stop talking about his Calibra (2l red top) when I divulged I had a C (I don't normally like talking at the barbers, and today I remembered why!). He did at least say that he was bored with his Calibra after four months, although he was convinced it was a top car. My dad commented that it must be nice having a car that you really like, that doesn't cost all that much to buy, so you can't lose too much in depreciation. I hadn't thought of it like that before, but then he probably doesn't realise the size of the repair bills! He's still worrying about fixing the bumper on his Leon 20VT, which he bought after I had an Ibiza Cupra. I bet he buys a C next!

Fortunately not, I was able to stand well clear. I guess that would have completed the day!

When at college, I was driving me and my girlfriend and a mate back from her brother's uni in her Skoda Estelle 135. Foolishly, she said that her brother'd got it up to 95mph, so of course I had to take up the challenge. On a downhill stretch, I saw the needle reach 94.5 before a sudden lack of power (OK, it's all relative). I looked in the rear-view mirror, and a massive cloud of steam was following us down the motorway. The head gasket had gone. Fortunately, someone had AA, and ten hours later we ended up back at her parents' place. Her old man said to me 'I'm not being funny, but normally when the head gasket goes, it's because you were giving it a bit of welly. How fast were you going?' I said '70 to 75mph'. He when nuts. Thank god I didn't tell him the truth! This was on the embarassing moment thread: But the big C sometimes has some central locking issues - the pins sometimes get sucked down and need to be unscrewed from the inside - neither the remote locking nor key locking work. Only way in is through the boot. On one occasion, I had this problem at a car wash (I know, I know, I'm a lazy git). Trouble is, the machine was broken, so I had to go and get another code from the geezer in the shop to get it started after the initial jet wash. I entered the code, and then tried to get back in the car, but as detailed before, I couldn't. In the mean time, the sprayers all started, and in front of two or three others waiting by this time (and general petrol station traffic) I first panicked, trying to get in, but then had to give up and watch the car be washed from the outside. And then climb in through the boot to unlock it. Brilliant.

Yep. Specially at the mo - prices seem to be rock bottom.

Shirley not! Hi, sorry about the crap joke, but it probably won't be my last ever... :oops:

Ooooohhh, an imposter! A sheep in wolf's clothing! :wink: But (personally speaking) I can understand why you want the change!

But Jim, they're from the East coast, so actually have a bit of sense! Oh, and if you know how to host it (it's not very big), there's a little vid of Tempest's driver's seatbelt doing its stuff on the Osnabruck / Karmann CD I gave you. I think Paul is in the seat, and you can hear most of our shocked comments on the comedy value! I think the Germans were particularly humoured by it.

Shout out of thanks to bigpantsbaby. I don't understand his username :scratch: , but he sold me an ABS pump for decent price, and it arrived pretty rapid packed in polystyrene - nice. Thanks mate. All I've got to do now is fit the bugger!

The opposite, really: a friend of mine in Texas has a silly sized turbo in his MX5 and it has a 'run-on' facility, so after extinguishing the ignition, it runs the engine for a few minutes to ensure the turbo gets time to cool down! A few giggles when people think you've left your engine running when leaving it in the car park!

Grey / silver (it was raining!) L reg C parking outside the shops at the double roundasbout in Southmead this evening about 5.30pm.

Wow, didn't know you had to do this these days. 35 from 35, though. Most of them were pretty common sense. I admit I had an (educated) guess at the 60mph stopping distance, though!

I have to say, although the general wiping is now excellent, the coverage I get from mine still isn't great - the tip of the passenger side doesn't touch the screen at any point, and the driver's side could wipe more consistently up closer to the pillar. Still, a lot better than the standard crap!

If they don't work, I guess check the (Lupo wiper) thread (for part numbers) and take back the wrong bits? At least you can do that with VAG, rather than poxy eBay (OK, I don't have ETKA!). I paid about the ton mark three or four months ago. They didn't give a discount then, even though I asked about eight times. But last week they gave me 8% - go figure!

Lovely VR, mate. Apart from the colour (mine's blackberry), that's what I would love mine to end up looking like. Specilally like the fact that you've kept the Speedlines on it - they look great. Edit: just noticed you've taken them off in the last shot - bugger!

Good spot mate. Four stud, though...