Right then... a bit of history on my road to being a dub addict.
In 2003 after I blew up the engine on my poor little 1litre fiesta I was given a 1988 Mk2 1.8 8v Golf Gti.
I'd not been on the road long at the time and probably wouldn't have bought a VW due the the insurance etc. but to have one given.... that's a different matter
Anyway, the car was multi-tone spray can white, quite badly rusted in parts (boot floor was pretty much missing) and since she had been sat in a damp garage for nearly 2 years the seats were green molded and the battery was knackered.
First things first were to get the car cleaned up so that I could actually sit on the seats to drive her home. Suprisingly the seats came up quite well and a new battery later she started first time so away I went.
Long story short was that there's no such thing as a free meal, log book comes through to find that the car had a good 13 previous owners, many of which were from the local estate so she'd definately been abused. No matter since I was given the car I decided to pump cash into it. Got everything mechanically sorted, got my seats leatherered, windows tinted etc. but last year she finally gave up on me. Fuse box and all electrics were buggered and having put so much money in it already and although it saddened me I had to call it a day. There was no point in pumping yet more money into her knowing the history.
So... end of the dub life?
.... I don't think so.
I decided that since I had put a lot of money into getting the seats leathered and a few other bits that I had bought for the car I was going to go out and buy another mk2. Found quite a nice example a couple of weeks later and managed to get the garage down from £850 to £700 and so the plans begin.
Last weekend I purchased new wishbones and SuperFlex poly bushes which were pressed in for me yesterday and have ordered vibratechnics rear mounts and a solid front engine mount which will be fitted at the end of this month (first child birth permitting).
I don't have any pictures as of yet but here's a brief outline of my plans for her:
1) Sort out handling, poly bushes, new wishbones, neuspeed ARB, front top strut brace, vibratechnics rear mounts, solid front mount and not sure which make but coilovers are definately in the pipeline.
2) Ensure that the engine and electrics are running sweetly, replacing standard equipment for aftermarket/uprated items where possible.
3) Complete my interior. So far I have had my seats trimmed in leather by MJ Interiors who are just around the corner from my place, a nice black leather with white stitching and white embroidered VW logo on the fronts. I want the door cards padding out and finished in a mixture of black/cream leather.
4) The FINAL project piece.... the Car PC. Once I have sorted out the drive and the luxury interior it's time to bring in the tech. Being a computer programmer and having my first born due in just over a week I want to build and install myself a CarPC. This is to include a large touch screen in the dash with a dvd slot underneather and screens in the headrests for the little'un. Everything else is going to be in the boot, PC with wireless networking, gps nav software and my own custom interface hooked directly into the amps to control the subs/speakers. BIG project but don't expect it to be anywhere near complete until early next year.
I'll get some pictures of her when it's not raining/snowing and keep you all updated on any progress I make.
Cheers
Ian
