skinnyman

As J.R said, it's great to see someone willing to look after a Mk1. I'll be following this thread with interest and am keen to see what you do with the car.

I had this once and it was just a blown fuse. Can't remember which one though......

I'll have a look tomorrow when there's some light. It might be that it's not connected to anything at the other end as the N249 bypass has been done and there's an R Tech CAI in place of the standard airbox. I'm finding that owning a car where some mods have been done is more confusing than starting with a standard car. If I'd started with a bog standard engine bay, at least I'd know what's been done and in what order.

To be honest, if I can manage it, you'll have no problems. I've seen what you've done on your cars and you are way more skilled than I am. As for benefits or difference, I'm not sure there'll be any. It might be quieter on startup as the pump was a bit noisy and when I had a look inside it wasn't spinning freely. I followed Bowders guide and it was pretty straightforward. As I mentioned there were a few minor niggles but a mixture of lateral thinking and knuckle scraping sorted things out. Also, once I had destroyed the pump, I had to carry on as there was no going back.

Here's a photo of the Creations Motorsport blanking plate, it wasn't as much as the Forge version but seems to be good quality. Don't do what I did though and drop the tiny o ring when trying to fit the plate. There was much swearing at that point but eventually I found the ring and fitted it correctly. Also, I had to pop to VW this morning for a temp sensor o ring. The one that came off yesterday must have been squashed out of shape over the last 18 years so didn't seal correctly. Coolant was weeping out from around the sensor when the car was up to temperature. A new o ring and clip seem to have sorted it out.

I've been busy deleting the SAI today. The previous owner did the N249 bypass and as a result there are some redundant hard pipes. I was going to remove them today but then realised a third pipe headed off round the rear of the engine and wondered what it was and where it went. Any ideas?

Today was spent deleting the SAI. It went well for the most part but there were a few stumbling blocks. I had to dismantle the pump to remove it as there wasn't enough room to wiggle it out in one piece. The top bolt holding the bracket on was a pain to get to as was removing the SAI combi valve - I hadn't realised there was a second 10mm bolt holding it in place at the back along with the hard pipes. Apart from that and losing about 2l of coolant it was reasonably straightforward. I ran out of daylight to take some final pics but did get one of the parts I removed.

I've been looking as it'd be neater than tape. Nobody will see it but that's not the point!

I found this on a random Audi forum so will give it a try when I start the job. I've ordered a resistor that Bowders used in his thread so will have to see how it goes. Strip the wire on the connector, and attach the 75Ohm resistor to it. Solder it on, and then tape it up nicely.

I’m after a bit of help and advice. I’ve had the car over a year and a half now. It runs extremely well but the SAI is annoying me on startup and a few of the original pipes in the engine bay are looking past their best. The breather pipe below is a prime example….. I want to remove the SAI and sort out the breather system and have looked at Bowders’ excellent guides on how to sort these out. SAI N249 and N112 Removal Breather System Simplification I know that a previous owner has done the N249 removal so at least that’s one out of the way. What I’m looking for is a bit of help on the resistors needed for the SAI delete. I have seen kits available like this Resistor Kit 3 Pieces but they seem quite expensive for what they are. Having said that, I like things to look neat and tidy and don’t mind paying a bit extra for convenience and simplicity. Does anyone know if these are available elsewhere? If not, I’d need some advice on how to sort the resistors out myself as it’s not something I’ve done before. I’ve got a blanking plate on the way, a replacement coolant sensor housing (the original looks a bit manky) and a crankcase breather hose for when the original disintegrates. Looking at Bowders’ guide for the breather system, I’ve figured out most things. I’m still a bit unsure though about the size of the tubing that goes from the evap to the throttle body, the tubing that goes from the manifold to the servo pipe and the size of the rubber caps for the vacuum ports on the manifold. I’m going to get all the bits I need in advance as the car’s my daily driver and if it’s off the road I can’t get to work. Is there anything else you know I’ll need before starting this quest so that I’m able to get it all done in a day? Thanks in advance. P.s I’ve put a couple of photos on of the engine bay as it stands today in case there’s something you can spot that I’m not aware of.

Looking forward to seeing the painted car.

This is an interesting thread & good to see someone else making an effort with their Mk1. As for the wheels, I've done the same as you in the past. The car looks better on the Avus rims but as you say, they're heavy. I once put some Audi 'fat fives' on my old Mk1 and they ruined the ride & handling. They looked good but after a few days I went back to the standard Spiders and the car felt so much better straight away. I've currently got a set of 18" OZ Ultraleggera on the car which strike a good balance between looks and weight. They're lighter than the standard Spider rims but they aren't cheap. I've also got a set of 17" Pro Race 1.2 in the garage and again, they're light but seeing as I bought them new, they cost me quite a bit when new tyres were added. I have a problem when it comes to wheels and have spent a fortune over the years on my cars trying to find the sweet spot between looks, weight and cost. Keep the posts coming.

This is a good read and I'm interested to see what's next.

interesting. I'll be checking in to see how this develops as it's good to see someone's project from start to finish. Are you doing the work yourself?

Bugger.

Thanks. Since posting it's bedded in nicely now and the sound is spot on. There's a decent burble, a few pops on the overrun, a great sound through the rev range and yet it's quiet enough for everyday use. Happy days!

Just a quick update. The car already had a decent enough exhaust system on when I got it. The trouble is, the backbox was massive and knocked against the NSR spring. This was really annoying and my OCD couldn't handle it any longer. I took the car to my local exhaust specialist who's worked on a few of my cars beforehand. He replaced the exhaust from the cat back as it's a 200CEL cat anyway and here's the new system. As you can see, there's a twin exit tip, a much smaller back box and there's no more knocking against the rear suspension. The car sounds a lot better now and seems to spool up more freely than before. I was thinking that there might be an issue with the rear O2 sensor as my fuel consumption has increased considerably, but then the Mrs pointed out I was probably just enjoying myself a bit too much..... I could have lived with the old system in theory, but I'm glad I haven't and now I can move onto other things that need doing.

This looks like a cracking car now. I follow Darkside on Youtube and am always impressed with how they approach things. I'm not really into diesels but am amazed what they can get out of an engine and despite the power, the economy can be just as impressive. Your figures make my 300lbft of torque look positively weedy in comparison!

Nothing much to report other than I gave the car a going over with the rotary polisher. In reality the rear bumper and bonnet could do with a respray but overall the paint is in pretty good condition for its age. The trouble is that I have yet to find a local paint shop whose work I rate enough to give my money to. We had a decent chap round here once but he gave it up as he didn't make any money due to being a perfectionist.

That's normal as far as I'm aware. I had a new windscreen in April and both the original that came out and the replacement had the same gaps. As for taping over the hole, mine was missing the plastic plugs on both sides until I bought a second hand replacement & water wasn't getting in.

Just a quick update. A recent road trip from Scarborough to Edinburgh & back proved why I like the Mk1 so much. It took us up there with zero fuss, through some terrible weather (high winds, standing water) and trundled back through the bank holiday traffic (very hot weather & stop start a lot of the time) and it didn't miss a beat. We stayed in a nice part of town and despite being over 17 years old I reckon it held its own against some of the locals' cars & still looked good. I even managed to get there and back on one tank with an average of 38.7mpg, which is pretty good for a Stage 2 car so all in all, I'm a happy Mk1 owner. edit : We covered nearly 420 miles there and back with over eleven hours of driving and I didn't see one other Mk1 vRS. I spotted a few Mk2 FL and a whole host of Mk3s, but it appears that the Mk1 is not as common as it used to be.

I had a MK2 vRS estate for three years and it was a great car. I spent a lot of time & effort maintaining and modifying it and overall it was a cracking family barge. It never let us down and took us on some European road trips without any fuss at all - but I never loved the car as much as my Mk1. I respected the car for its capabilities and for how reliable it was but there was something missing, hence making the return to a Mk1.

I did just that after an eight year gap. It was the only car I truly regretted selling so when this one came up at the right time, I didn't hesitate to go and get it. I found myself mumbling at certain points when he made small errors but overall it was a very positive review. I am amazed though when people drive a standard car and say it's quick. I remember my first ever drive of a vRS back in 2006 and I was very underwhelmed. I had just sold a 200sx S14 and the Octavia felt very pedestrian but I knew it had potential & bought one of the last new ones for £12500. Bit of a bargain seeing as a second hand one was £11.5k at the time.

I did the same job and was surprised as to how much muck had managed to bet behind the plastic. According to Colin Chapman's theory, your car should be a tad quicker now too!

Good advice. Decent photos and a well written advert make all the difference and it's definitely worked for me in the past. I usually take the car to a decent location for photos as well as taking a few cleaning products just in case the car gets dirty on the way. I'm biased but I genuinely think the MK1 vRS is very underrated and should be worth more than it currently is. As numbers drop and well looked after cars become rarer, people in the know will appreciate them but to most people, it's just an old Skoda. When people ask me what I drive I usually say 'Just a 17 year old Skoda' and that's usually the end of the conversation. If they are into cars they might ask further but it's amazing how many people ask if it's a diesel. If they ask that I move the conversation onto something else. It's very rare anyone knows what the Mk1 vRS is and that number is reduced by how many people appreciate it. If you write a good advert, describe it accurately and if it's a decent car you might get over the £1500 mark.👍