a1topdog

Believe it or not this is my replacement carpet 😂 It was local and cheap and better then the original in my car.

Swapped out the handbrake cable guides for a good used set. Luckily the cables looked to have been replaced fairly recently so pulled out no problems. In a earlier photo I posed a pic showing the the rib on the guides infront of the support bracket inside the car. This was not correct. (I think photo was from a golf). After checking a photo that deanvrs posted I could see the rib sits behind the support, as per my second photo.

Next job on the list is to try and bring some life to the paintwork. As you would expect for a car with this one's history and mileage (162k) it's seem plenty of abuse and paint. In the initial pictures I posted it looks clean, but it's not. Here are some pics after I washed it. Plenty of ground in grime. Time to get out the claybar and cutting compound.

I'm suspecting it will be a woodway/Whelen as all the other equipment is. The controls were the woodway Optilink, which I have also managed to source. I just need to get hold of someone who was in the police workshops when this car was in service. Im speaking with a few officers to see if they can help. Hopefully they can also confirm where the control board was mounted. I'm suspecting it was where the CD unit would go, but that space looks a bit small.

I also managed to track down the roof light bar, exactly as originally fitted. It's a Whelen Edge 9000 with front stobe lights and rear red halogen lights. I intend to have this full functioning.

I think the pollen filter was due a change 🤢🤮 I replaced with a genuine one that I sourced cheaper than an aftermarket one from ECP, but noticed it was made by Mann.

While the arch liners were out I discovered what I think is the mounting point for the siren. I don't believe these two holes in the front n/s chassis leg are factory can anyone confirm?) , also there is a spare white wire cut into the cars horns while would make me think the went to the siren

Still plodding on with the cleaning jobs. Removed the front wheel arch liners to clean out all the muck that builds up at the bottom of the wings

The online parts catalogue shows there are two internal mechanisms, a plastic one and a metal one. Mine was metal and they are about £40 new. I double checked the part number on my actual mechanism and found they are the same as the MK2 Octavia, so I got a used one off eBay for £11.50 delivered. I was happy with that. Finally got it all back together and another job ticked off the list.

With the cable removed half of the internal mechanism dropped into the door. Somehow it had managed to snap in half. So that was the cause of my problem. You are supposed to be able to slide the outter handle backwards to remove it. I just couldn't do it. As the internal mechanism was broken anyway I just got the Dremel out and cut the metal mechanism. I later realised that the hangle has to be on the closed position to allow it to slide back. These photos show where I had to cut and also the broken mechanism next to its good replacement

One of the many little jobs to sort on the car was the drivers door handle. Sometimes it wouldn't spring back into the closed position. I decided to take the whole handle mechanism out to investigate. The door glass has to be removed first so that you can remove the inside part of the handle mechanism. Next I popped off the two grommets in the side of the door to get to the screws olding in the door lock and retaining ring. These do not need to be remove completely, just wound back a bit. With the lock removed pull the handle open and make a note of the cable position and pop it off.

Picture of the cars calibrated Speedo, only found fitted on the police cars.

Just for reference this is what the cable guides should look like

Another mystery was the glovebox. It's covered in what looks like yellow paint. I was going to change it, but then one of the officers informed me that it was caused by the yellow road marker crayon/ chalk that they use when investigating a road incident. So I will leave it as part of the cars history.

I'm busy researching the cars police history and have been liaising with some officers who remember these from new. They have been invaluable in advising me what equipment it was fitted with. An example of this was a mag light and charger in the passenger footwell. I have found the original mounting point and sourced the correct light and charger.

Carpet shot, heal pad worn out, so will source a better example. Cant believe how heavy the underlay is, it must weight 20kgs

As if I didn't have enough to do I discovered the handbrake cable guides have been butchered, leaving rough edges and snagging the cables. I'll have to change both guides.

Looking cleaner. Luckily the floors not rusty

Damp underlay

These runner covers give you an idea of the filth. I always use a bit of gaffer tape to remove the plastic bungs over the screws

Started the interior decontamination today. Seats out and scrubbed, then removed the carpet and underlay as damp. I will look for replacements so didnt bother cleaning them. The seats not in great condition, but I will look at getting them repaired later. I have a better steering wheel so will swap it, but look at the dirt on the old one 🤮 Some before shots

I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. I can't check my cars ECU as it had already been remapped by a previous owner.

I think that is why so many VRS get scrapped. Imagine if you had a lovely example, but it's only worth £2k MOT says you need tyres and brakes all round, an exhaust section, and just for good measure the cambelt and water pump are due. The cost of that lot could easily far outweigh the value of the car especially if you cant do any of the work yourself. Obviously in this example most parts are available aftermarket, so you could save there, and that's even more reason why i don't see why genuine parts are so much more expensive. Sometimes easily 4-5 times the price of aftermarket.

Agree , it's VAG policy. Even with the likes of TPS the discounts vary wildly by car model. I had a B7 RS4 and the trade discount varied between 0 and 5pct if I was lucky. They knew clients would have to pay it