I purchased my Octavia (the first new car I've owned) at the end of February 2014. My original spec was a candy white station wagon (or, estate, as it's called elsewhere) with 18" anthracite alloys, black pack and kessey keyless entry. It was going to take something like 8 months for that to arrive here in NZ and there was one on its way here on a ship somewhere between Europe and Panama which was the same but a liftback with Canton audio instead of the keyless entry and only one month's wait. After looking at the boot space on a demo model (it's massive in the liftback!!) I decided that would do nicely and signed up for it.

 

I don't really have the money to throw at massive mods nor the inclination to change the outward appearance of the car in too drastic a fashion so, combined with a three year warranty I don't want to void, there's not going to be much going on in this project journal but what small changes I make I want to keep a record of.

 

So, here goes.

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by damianpeterson

 

Here's the car on the day I picked it up. I realise that a lot of people here have waited many months for their car to arrive but my month wait felt like an eternity. I must have read the manual twice and spent a lot of time tracking the ship, watching web cams around the port area, etc. This process has made me realise that there is pleasure in not being able to have things whenever you want.

 

I drove it up to the top of Mt Eden on the day I picked it up. Nervous the whole way that I was going to get side-swiped or something stupid. A lovely sunny February day in Auckland.

 

The first 'mod' I did was to remove any reference to the dealership. Numerous stickers and the number plate surrounds. I paid for the car, why should they have their name on it?

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by damianpeterson

Very nice! Good to see another NZ forum member too!

 

At first I was impressed with the sound generator but it quickly wore off. Nice boxer burble but I'd rather have the true engine noise. So I pulled the rubber strip off the sill area under the bonnet, pulled out a couple of clips, found the connector to the sound generator and wrapped it in cling film and cable-tied it to the metalwork. The RS has a lovely sound of its own with a faint whistle when the turbo kicks in.

Very nice! Good to see another NZ forum member too!

 

Thanks man. I've been following your project thread for about a year now. Awesome car mate.

 

Took the car out to a track day at Hampton Downs in June of last year with a couple of friends (the specced up Toyota AE86 and the '72 Datsun 240z -- check out the Datsun's build thread... both great cars). The RS wasn't an embarrassment (it's pretty snappy stock) but I did feel a bit out of place with all the effort people had put into their cars. But it was an awesome day out. Once again nervous as hell I was going to write it off with no insurance cover but everyone there was pretty sensible and I only had one near off which had me chewing the buttons off my seat.

 

After that track day it felt like the car was breathing easier. It felt like it was on form. I'll definitely do it again at some stage.

 

If you haven't removed your number plate when you clean your car you haven't really cleaned your car.

 

You can get pretty confident at reversing with the parking sensors. This was when I decided that I might be getting a bit too confident.

 

Early morning start for a 1600km wedding anniversary road trip

 

 

 

Cape Palliser lighthouse. The RS is a great long distance driver.

 

 

 

1600km worth of bugs who's lives were brutally ended on the front of my car.

 

 

 

Once again, if you haven't removed your number plate when you clean your car you haven't really cleaned your car.

 

Rotated and cleaned the wheels after about 10 months / 12,000km. Tread is looking pretty good. I'd heard that the Conti's can be a bit soft.

 

Finally got around to debadging it this weekend. I used a hair dryer and dental floss and cleaned up with acetone. I've since heard that acetone is pretty harsh but that two part paint is pretty robust too. I cleaned it off with soapy water and then a bit of instant detailer. 

 

You can use the letters to make up, "AVACADOS", "VODKA TSI" and "A VAST ****". Oh the fun.

 

*edit: apparently the shortened term for Richard isn't allowed. My apologies*

Edited 2 February, 201511 yr by damianpeterson

Tonight I tried matt black plasti dip on my front and rear badges.

 

 

You mask around the area leaving room for a good-sized overspray that can later be peeled off.

 

 

Lots of light coats with 10-20 minutes drying time in between.

 

 

Remove the masking and the surrounding area peels off really easily. This shot is of the back. I accidentally peeled a bit off the silver on the front and so re-masked it to give it a bit of a touch up...

 

 

...Not such a smart idea. I'll have another go at the front tomorrow. Good thing is it's easy to peel off when you make a mistake.

 

 

The back looks pretty good. I'm not sure it looks better than the chrome and black of the original badge on my candi white car however. I'll reassess in the morning light.

Here's the view from the rear. Lettering debadged with black plastidipped logo and vrs.

 

Very smart and looks lovey in white! New Zealand is a very beautiful place, I must visit!

Very smart and looks lovey in white! New Zealand is a very beautiful place, I must visit!

 

Thanks! You should

vodka tsi....lol

 

looks lovely