Tonedef's Classic Green VR

[tonedef 8]

After a year in the garage I finally got the VR back on the road last weekend.

[ben16v 0]

nice stance!

 

any more details?

[tonedef 8]

Well, at first it was only going to be a wheel refurb and maybe tidy up a few car park scars on the bumpers. But then I fired up the motor one day and noticed a rattle (I'd not heard it run in maybe 18 months as I'd been out of the country) so decided to do the cam chains and tensioners.

 

While the engine was in bits I saw a Passat VR6 climatronic set up for sale on here so I bought it and threw that in, it was a decision made very quickly and turned into quite a major challenge.

 

The head gasket didn't seal the first time so I had to pull the head off and get it skimmed, should have had it done the first time really, not to worry!

 

Tidied up a couple of other bits while it was on axle stands in the garage and then got it back on the road last weekend. Apart from koni coilovers, goodridge brake lines and the climatronic it's pretty standard, I've owned it for over six years now and can't really bare to part I guess although I have an S3 which is my daily driver, my wife uses the VR.

 

Today I ordered a VT front mount as the rad had to be moved back to get the condenser in so the inlet manifold is way too close to the fan. And I'd like a VSR or maybe a Schrick inlet if I come across one some time, no other plans so far.

[tonedef 8]

This was today on my drive, I'd like to claim the 993 but it belongs to a mate. He's a complete mechanical numpty so I have to do all his stuff too!

[ben16v 0]

SWEET!!!

 

your drive looks ace..... one day!!!

[chubbybrown 0]

I think your a good mate to have;

always good for a mechanic on road test saga 8)

[tonedef 8]

I had a break from engineering a few years ago and spent two years building GrpN rally cars for Ralliart, the drive looked really good when I had David Higgins' Evo 8 MR parked on it 8)

[_Monkey 0]

Bloody hell! :shock:

 

You're pretty handy with the spanners then!!! :lol:

 

Sweet car buy the way :wink:

[VAG-hag 0]

what ben16v said!

[tonedef 8]

Next job was Schrick, it was a bit of a nightmare as there's not a deal of room under the bonnet any more with all the other stuff I've had to squeeze in there.

[tonedef 8]

I've added Inpro headlights too since then but need to get some pictures when I fly home on leave in a few weeks, after that is I fit these that arrived today:

[Goldie 2]

So you managed to get the Recaros Tony, good work bet your well chuffed...

[tonedef 8]

Well chuffed Michael, they must be one of a handful of pairs of grey leather recaros in the country so I'm :D :D :D

Need a bit of attention before they go in the car but Ange has already been looking for a bit of spare leather to cut off to get a colour match for the refurb kit. That'll be my first job when I fly back in on the 9th October. Can't wait, I was on the phone to her earlier today and she was sat in one in the garage saying how much better than the standard ones they feel!

[Goldie 2]

They are superb seats although i dont think they are as supportive as standard. A retrimmed set to match my rear bench is on the (very long) list..

[tonedef 8]

....although i dont think they are as supportive as standard....

They want to be, the standard ones break my back anything over about half an hour!

[DIGGER B 0]

Well chuffed Michael, they must be one of a handful of pairs of grey leather recaros in the country so I'm :D :D :D

Need a bit of attention before they go in the car but Ange has already been looking for a bit of spare leather to cut off to get a colour match for the refurb kit. That'll be my first job when I fly back in on the 9th October. Can't wait, I was on the phone to her earlier today and she was sat in one in the garage saying how much better than the standard ones they feel!

Hi tony glad to see them recaro in your garage and out of mine :lol: i agree those standard seats r soooo back breaking , just fitted my porsche turbo seats in my vr they r sooo comfortable :D

[tonedef 8]

Got the recaros in last night, well some time this morning when I'd done.

 

Impressed with the refurb, they look quite a bit lighter on the photos but much closer in daylight, of course it'll take a few years for them to develop a bit of patina! But compared with standard, are they comfy or what???

[tonedef 8]

Just bolted a couple of my new wheels on for a quick check before they go for refurb. Always had a thing for Borbet Cs, about time I bought some :D

[tonedef 8]

Is it really six and a half years since I updated my gallery? On top of that, the last MOT it had was in Jan 2008 with 124K miles on the clock and it now has 130K so I've managed to reduce the yearly average a fair bit in that time.

 

Yesterday I finally got it out of the garage again for the first time since about September 2008. In that time it has mainly sat on axle stands under a cover doing nothing with an occasional burst of activity. We have gone to OBD2, rebuilt everything under the car with shot blasting and powder coating for good measure, all new bushes, bearings etc have been added. Front brakes are 288s now, rears are standard, something I should tackle soon with Mk4 callipers. There's a new steering rack in there although I'm not yet convinced it's a good one, time will tell. It needed a new fuel pump to convince it to start after a service and rattled like a bag of spanners when it first fired up but that's understandable as it hadn't run in a couple of years. I've ditched the Passat a/c condenser in favour of one from a Mk4 Golf, it fits much better than it's predecessor, just need to get new a/c pipes made as the two ends of the system are from different VW generations

 

I also sold a few bits, gone are the InPro angel eyes, Borbet C's and Schrick manifold, the 268 cams remain although I've yet to drive any further than the end of the drive with OBD2 to see how they feel together.

 

From a distance it still looks quite tidy and shines up well with some polish. Close up though is a different story, worst bits are below, scuttle, tailgate, the usual suspects. The bottom corners of the wings are a little scruffy too as is the front of the driver's side sill. So this afternoon it's going to the body shop for a full glass out paint job, no time limit, it comes back when it's finished. In the meantime the interior is sat in the spare bedroom ready to go to MJ Interiors in Shipley for a re-trim.

 

Hopefully this time next year we'll be back on the road, updates to follow once the bodywork starts.

 

 

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[Harrier 1]

Look forward to seeing progress, sounds like it's going to be a goodun when it's done.

[Jim 1]

Only just realised it was you I talked to for a good amount of time at Stanford Hall this weekend, in the concours area. Good to put a face to a name and look forward to seeing your car after the paint job :)

[tonedef 8]

Only just realised it was you I talked to for a good amount of time at Stanford Hall this weekend, in the concours area. Good to put a face to a name and look forward to seeing your car after the paint job :)

 

I only realised who you were just before we went our separate ways.

 

Remember the musing about sinking the centre brake light into the tailgate so it sits flush? Well I spoke to the guy doing the bodywork today and he's up to the challenge so we'll see if he can't make something a bit original. I tend to work away through the week but plan to try and get regular Saturday photos of progress from the body shop, must try to keep my gallery more up to date! Not booking a place yet but plan to make the stand at Stanford Hall next year.

[Jim 1]

Excellent - I look forward to seeing what he comes up with :) Will keep an eye out for updates!

[tonedef 8]

Once again it has been an age between updates, almost two years this time during which my car has sat in the corner of the paint shop. Suddenly there's action and it's coming home next weekend

 

 

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[tonedef 8]

Close to finished, almost ten years after taking it off the road. Runs, drives, stops, just needs some seats and we'll be going for an MOT!

 

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