seanl82

I have subframe envy right now. :salute:

Stop bloody hoarding all the good stuff you!

Now on eBay starting at 6k. Still a really well described ad too. http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/161256766631?nav=SEARCH

Fair play. Mine was in a terrible state when bought it too, but with a bit of time and effort, you will end up with a very respectable car. :thumbleft:

I have 17s, and so do many. Look great but does make the ride quite harsh. On a standard suspension setup though I think it'll look a bit strange with large wheels and such a high stance.

Considering they're only about £25 from the dealer, I'd just buy one from there for peace of mind, rather than risk some of this dodgy stuff that'll save you ten quid.

Cracking work Chris. I'll have a good couple of days on mine next weekend. It's a pain in the arse trying to squeeze a bit of work in over a lunch break. Gotta start clearing up as soon as you begin! I'm not anywhere near the level you're at, but hopefully have something that looks reasonable. I can really appreciate the amount of time and effort you've put into this though from where I am. Well done mate and keep the pics coming! :thumbleft:

Relays can be had from VW for around a tenner, or less if you search around mate. Relays, filter, and ignition switch are all pretty cheap so worth eliminating first before having to fork out for a new pump!

It's true though mate. I'm pretty sure that as the dealership was the first registered keeper, and it did 80k in less than four years of their ownership, they probably used it as their pool car. They obviously wanted a bit of a jump on the general public though, as it was registered at the end of Jan 95.

Congrats on a happy outcome! Glad it's all getting sorted and you'll be back on the road in her before long. :thumbleft:

Pretty sure MINE is actually that! Except it doesn't even have a sprayed grille anymore!

Only perk of having a puppy that wakes you up at 5:30 howling! :censored:

Interested in these! PM on the way.

Why am I not surprised by what Corsa drivers do.

Sounds like your heater matrix has given up the ghost mate. Either that or you have quite a leak into the cabin somewhere, and the stale water is causing the condensation and smell.

Arc at old Roy Walker there, "say what you see!" :lol:

Not looking to sell on the BMC are you Jim?

Welcome Chris. Great forum here with lots of useful info. Have a look in the Wiki section for model specific common problems etc. There are a few decent ones in the sale section still up for grabs at good prices too! Hope you find the right one for you, and keep us posted. :thumbleft:

This is the proper stuff I believe Mic. Used for sealing chain covers too. http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/171015704173?nav=SEARCH

Haha, that thought was in my head when writing it actually! You either need to do detailing by profession or be a plasterer to be ok! What Leopan says is correct too. At a minimum, give it a good clay. I de-tar and decontam (metal fallout) along with claying before I break out the machine. It's starting to get expensive isn't it! Don't worry about dedicated clay lube though, I use demonshine diluted 1:1 which will last ages and works perfectly well.

I did that first time round tbf. It comes with research and a bit of experience though, let the pad do the cutting, not your weight behind it. It's too much pressure and incorrect masking of shuts that destroy pads. Read the guide on Detailing World a few times, and watch a couple of vids on youtube and you'll be fine Rob. Rotary machines have a bad rep as they can be damaging if used incorrectly, but by being cautious, will produce unrivalled results.

That would do a pretty darn good job mate! :thumbleft: As I said, glazes are filler heavy, so you could add a coat of that in between polish and wax to hide anything not removed by the polish if you wanna go balls out. I don't envy you doing the t4 though, that's gonna be hard work! Prepare for aching arms! That's the only downside to a budget machine. Heavier, slightly noisier, and a shorter cable. But for a tenth of the price of a top of the range festool, it'll give just as good results.

Depends what level of cutting is required mate. Yellow is a medium cut polish, so will remove the vast majority of swirls and small scratches, and the blue is a finishing polish which will remove any machine induced holograms, buffer trails, and light scratches and swirls. It gives awsome depth of shine, and is Incredibly easy to work too as it doesn't dust up. Only downside is that as its a finishing polish, it needs a little more working in for harder paint types. (VAG as it happens!) It's a little more expensive than rivals, but these are mostly only available in 1L bottles though so by volume, work out much cheaper in the end. You could use ultrafina after the ultrafine plus, but it's not entirely necessary as the medium cut will give a decent level of refinement as it is. When using heavy compounds though, refining using a finishing polish is a must! I'm sure you've seen some very expensive resprays looking very flat and marred, well that's because of crap finishing by machine buffing using G3 which is as said, a heavy cut compound. Oh and yes, all the polish does is cut the paint back, or if it's a glaze, fill the scratches/swirls to mask them. A sealant or wax is a must afterward, or it won't last five minutes. I'm not one for concourse £250 waxes! So I use either finiskare p1000, or Collinite 476s which give a very good depth of shine, but best of all longevity. All for about £25 too! Using your QD is good during maintenance washes (weekly washes) to top up the wax layer and keep it effective.

I'd suggest the 3m range Rob. Pad colours correspond with the bottle lid, so it's nice and simple to follow and give great results. It's too easy to get caught up with tons of different pads for tons of different applications, backing plates, compounds/polishes/glazes yada yada and it can become overwhelming. Yellow ultrafine plus with yellow pad, and blue ultrafina with blue pad are all you'll need for excellent results. I use a budget but very capable silverline silver storm machine, and seal your paintwork after with a decent wax. (The AG HD is very good but a bit pricey imo). Best of luck with whatever you decide mate.

He's not been on here since December fellas. Gone all Jap now so doesn't have time for us anymore.