On 01/03/2021 at 22:56, VRS_White_Hatch said:

So come on then, spill the beans .... Do the Police chip 'em or what? 

My dad has an ex police white vrs estate think it was from Devonshire police, didn't feel as quick as my mk1 saloon and the Elegance estate 1.8t4x4 I'm driving at the moment seems quicker top end (i may just have a heavier foot and feel braver driving my own car) but even with him behind wheel it still don't feel like there's anything extra there. 

27 minutes ago, Sloe said:

My dad has an ex police white vrs estate think it was from Devonshire police, didn't feel as quick as my mk1 saloon and the Elegance estate 1.8t4x4 I'm driving at the moment seems quicker top end (i may just have a heavier foot and feel braver driving my own car) but even with him behind wheel it still don't feel like there's anything extra there. 

Nice to know another one is still on the road. Do you have any pics of it now or when it was in service? 

Edited 3 August, 20214 yr by a1topdog

1 hour ago, a1topdog said:

Nice to know another one is still on the road. Do you have any pics of it now or when it was in service? 

I can certainly take some for you when he's back for you mate, nothing left of it police wise just a lot of holes and trace of the police stickers on rear windows, wouldn't mind seeing it in its hay day, love  detail you've gone into on yours glad i found the post👍

Topdog maybe able to trace the car and find it’s previous life, he’s pretty good at it!

Finished off putting the interior back in. Fitting the original spec mag light torch and charger and the radio handset and cradle. Both mounted back in their original positions using the original mounting holes. 

And the original radio, a Cleartone CM9000.  This will not be operational, but I will try to wire it up just so it can be turned on to light up the display. 

 

Its not permanently fitted in these pics as I still need access to the wiring behind it. 

 

 

On 07/03/2021 at 18:52, a1topdog said:

...These runner covers give you an idea of the filth...

 

There's a joke there somewhere....sorry, couldn't resist! 

 

I'll get me coat...

 

On 07/03/2021 at 19:49, a1topdog said:

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.

Finally managed to track down some of the road marker crayons that caused this mess. That another piece ticked off the list. 

Progress is a bit slow as every job a start leads to another job, delaying the one I originally started. I just replaced  both petrol tank straps. One was really badly rusted. The other may have cleaned up, but they are not that dear to buy new so I just replaced them 

While replacing the exhaust I noticed the heat shields were loose. I removed these to repair then and noticed some light rust in a few spots where the underseal was peeling. (see what I mean about one job leading to another) So I sanded these back, zinc primed the bare metal and finished with a splash of stonechip. 

Edited 17 October, 20214 yr by a1topdog

Next was to address the loose heatshield.  They rot out around the steel fixings, leaving a hole bigger then the fixing, hence they rattle and drop down. Using a tip I picked up off YouTube I made a new fixing from an old Ali can. Works a treat. 

 

Edited 17 October, 20214 yr by a1topdog

The the heatshield fitting back into place ready for the replacement exhaust

I sold my Miltec as it was too loud and not in keeping with what I was doing with the car. I picked up a lightly used Euroflo front cat. It's not the one they list for a Mk1 vrs, but it came off one, so it does fit. I gave it a clean up and lick of vht paint using my tree spray booth 😁

 

 

Edited 17 October, 20214 yr by a1topdog

Also opted for a Euroflo mid section, but went for a new genuine back box as no-one makes a pattern one. Even though they were both new I gave them a lick of vht paint

 

 

 

I cleaned up and painted the exhaust center mount, and retapped the captive nut threads so I could fit new bolts. These are a pig to remove when the bracket is fitted, so made it easier with the bracket off the car. 

Got all new hardware to fit the exhaust. I'll fit a new front lambda while I'm at it as the car was still running one dated 2003, and these can be a pain to change in situ. Just a bit of preventative maintenance. 

 

The last job holding me up fitting the exhaust is a couple of snapped manifold studs. I'll have to drill and tap those, which will be fun due to the tight space. 

Spent some time today tackling some of the electrical gremlins.

 

First up. Was the outside temp sensor.  Looks like it received a coat of paint when the front bumper was painted as some point. I scraped the paint off the sensor, but it was still not reading right so I ordered a new one.

 

Next up was the drivers mirror not working. That was quickly traced to a broken wire in the loom where it passes through the large rubber grommet on the door. I soldered the wire together and mirror now working. 

 

Last up was the passenger side rear window not working. I could hear the motor clicking.  The connector on the module was good, no corrosion. I pulled back the rubber grommet on the door to check for broken wires, all looked good. Next I disconnected the loom at the b Post (that's a pig to do) so I could do some continuity tests.  I completely removed the rubber grommet and pulled the door loom to get better access, and hey preston a broken wire was found further down the loom, inside the door. This nearly had me beat, and I was happy for a bit of luck. I soldered the wire and window now working.   Makes a change to fix things on this car without having to spend any money!

Edited 24 October, 20214 yr by a1topdog

Nicely done. Be worth taking the whole loom out and going all over the wires and then protect it all with new tesa tape, to help stop the corrosion.

3 minutes ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

Nicely done. Be worth taking the whole loom out and going all over the wires and then protect it all with new tesa tape, to help stop the corrosion.

 

Yep, these is definitely a job I will do. At the moment I'm just trying to get the vag com codes below treble figures 😂

Ive been a bit quite with the updates, but I have been beavering away in the background. I'll get some update pics up asap. But I've had to evict the vrs from the garage as I had a new toy turn up.

 

very nice work and porka is pretty 

Trying to catch up with where I'm at.... 

 

Before I could fit the new exhaust, I had two broken manifold studs to deal with. Luckily access wasn't to bad. I got the broken studs out, tapped the threads and inserted genuine new studs. 

Found the usual problem of the secondary air pump rubber mounts broken. Genuine mounts are a ridiculous price, so I found some cheap alternatives, trimmed down the threads and fitted. I didn't bother to replace the rivets with bolts on the pump housing as it all looked ok.

 

The screen washer pump wasn't working. The factory one has two outlets, I assume one for the front washers and one for the rear. Yet I couldn't find the rear washer pipe in my engine bay, no idea why that would have been removed. I don't need the rear washer so I just used a replacement pump with one outlet.