tethered
 

I bought my 02 plate VTR late July 2009 with 70,000 miles on the clock, and it really was in a sorry state, probably something no one on this forum or with a bit of common sense would buy, it clearly had not been looked after, but I did for a mere £600. And here are the reasons why it was so cheap and what I have done to it!:

Just to summarise, all of the body kit has either been replaced/resprayed/dents removed. There has been several dents removed from the actual body, the largest was from the offside rear quater where it appeared to be subject to quite a large impact. The original interior was absolutely filthy, think about the dirtiest car you have ever seen, dirt, grime, moss (yes it was stood for over 6 months when I picked it up), the carpets were caked in mud! The exterior cleanliness wasn't any better. The car came with 2 worn out steel wheels. The engine bay was a disgrace and all other mechanical parts were in a similar condition. There was no MOT although it did have a full Citroen service history upto 2006.

Unfortunately I have no original photos to show you which is a shame because the difference to today is quite something (I didn't know people shared progress threads on here until it was too late! :(). I have however taken some photos of the original body work and other pieces to try explain the changes. So here are the images:

Original Rear Bumper, 3 seperate photos showing the damage:







The following photo shows the offside front bumper where 2 gashes once were, now resprayed:



The next photo shows you the offside indicator that I replaced as the old one was cracked and in a yellow colour!:



Chrome VTR badges added as the car came with none:



The old front grill, discoloured. Now replaced with a new one.



This is the old near side rear arch which was scratched to bits:



And another photo showing the old near side rear arch:



And a 3rd and final:



This beautiful photo shows the old offside front arch, lower attachment area:



And another photo showing the same old offside front arch:



The next photo shows you the offside rear arch where as I explained at the beginning of the thread something appears to have hit the side quite hard and caused a nice amount of damage!:



Another photo of the offside rear arch, this wasn't actually attached to the car when I got it as it was bent so much at the point where it joins the rear bumper:



A closer look at the same part (yes looks rather nasty!):



The following 2 photos are of the current offside skirt that i've yet to replace, hopefully picking a new one up sprayed this week!:





The next photo shows the tail gate where I had 2 golf ball sized dints removed:



This is the current state of the offside rear quater and drivers door, the huge dint has been removed, the body kit has been replaced and the drivers panel has been repaired. The black trim line had quite a big chunk out of it but the rest was fine so that has been superbly repaired and resprayed. All that remains is to have the scratches sorted out, which as i've been quoted by many body repair people will require the entire side painting so I'll have to save my pennies for that one :)



Here's a close up of the drivers door panel that was repaired:



This section of the roof between the door roof rack line had a huge dint in, it looked like someone had wacked it with an axe, it was about 3 inches long and 3-5mm deep at the worst point! Again it has been superbly filled in and resprayed and looks brand new.



This photo shows you a worn out weld on the spare wheel carrier that has now been re-welded!:



Here's a picture of one of the original 2 steelies that were on the front end!:



The original interior, complete with 2 cig burns of course. These show the interior after I spent around 6-8 hours cleaning the inside when I first got her home and eventually removed in replacement of 106 GTI leather.



Even the key fob was broken:



And then replaced:



Right, now that is all out of the way I will tell you about the mechanical work I have had done:

First of all, after I picked it up I drove over to Ricky-RPM in Barnsley for a full service, MOT etc. Just to note the car was misfiring due to a loose spark plug, the rear offside wheel wasn't totally straight due to a broken front strut, the brakes were some what dodgy and the clutch was a nightmare to operate. I managed to borrow a couple of spare wheels that had decent tread on as the front steelies that I got with it were far from legal.

At the cost of £480 I had the following done:

1. Front strut repaired
2. Rear offside wheel bearing replaced
3. New cambelt
4. Two new rear brake pads
5. All brakes services
6. Clutch adjusted
7. Rocker cover painted (photo below) - gasket replaced at the same time
8. MOT
9. Full service
10. Engine clearances checked
11. Misfire fixed with new spark plugs installed
12. A few other minor things I can't remember!

The new rocker cover:



A few days later and after a previous quick clean I gave her after I got her back from the garage I went out and bought myself a Maguires clay kit, tar remover, paint cleaner, polish, wax and back to black. My brother and I spent around 5 hours getting the body work looking gleaming (pictures will follow shortly :)).

The next thing I did was replaced the interior with 106 GTI leather, I'm yet to replace the door cards though but will be doing very soon! I also bought new mats, wipers and bulbs:





I then replaced this original CD player with a new Sony one:





Now here are the photos of the car in full in it's present condition. It's not actually that clean here as I've just driven around 30 miles home on the motorway but I have been dying to get this thread up!:



Note 4 alloys now, getting hold of 4 mint VTS ones soon though ;)





Rear, with new bumper:



Engine bay, no modifications yet but it's looking pretty clean to say the least, still work to be done to get it looking mint though!:

The following are being fitted on Monday the 17th of August:

Lower Strut Brace:



Upper Strut Brace:



Quick-Shift and new gear linkages:



I'm also having her lowered at the same time, probably 45/50mm but havn't decided yet, photo's will follow surely no doubt!

Well that's it so far, let me know what you think? I've only had her 3 weeks up till now (as of 16th of August) but the transformation has been enjoyable to say the least. The question that remains now is, what next?

That damage is shocking, i could never let a car get like that!

Looks like you have spent a lot of time getting it sorted, much better now.

I like the sound of your plans too, doing any engine mods?

I know it was pretty bad to be honest, it looks near perfect apart from those few remaining scratches on the offside rear quater, will get that done when i've the money.

My plan is to wait till I get some insurance money back from an accident I had a year ago plus some other compensation from when I was beaten up. Then i'll uprate all the brakes and suspension (if I havn't already done so!) along with a thottle bodies 16v engine or maybe a super-chared one, I want this baby to be quick that's all I know. I'll be doing other bits until I get that major cash injection, but my main priority is getting it looking mint.

looking gd, keep it up:)

Keep up the good work mate.

error!! reuploading pics.

Got some new photos chaps taken 18th August 2009, here's what's been done if you can't already tell

1. Lowered - 50mm lowering springs at the front and 45mm off the back
2. Lower strut brace (upper being fitted this week! )
3. Quick shift and new gear linkages
4. Spare wheel carrier re-welded (spare is now in place rather than the boot!)
5. VTS wheels
6. Thoroughly cleaned

Next up is replacement VT kit parts coming next Saturday and up-rated brakes when I can afford them!

Photos:











Let me know what you think!?

V.nice mate, nice too see pretty dedicated to having a nice car!
(Wish i had the pacience to do that!)

Keep it up :D!

Cheers dude, it's getting there! Still wish I had some original pics though! Was a shocker!

Excellent work mate, looks loads better!! Just need some fresh plain plates.

nice mate you clearly put alot of effort in to this car. i should follow in your footprints tho as my car has a few scratches n a dent in the rear quarter :(

but keep up the good work mate :y:

Ben, you mean ones without the Citroen writing and red border? If so never thought of that! Good idea ;) How much do they go for?

nice progress, looks so much better now. I agree with Ben, plain plates would set it off. We sell plates at 5.99 each, so probs about that price in Halfords or wherever make them in your area :)

good work mate

Just a few updates on the car chaps.

Upper and lower strut braces fitted. Also removed sound deadening from bonnet, boot and rear door cards - cleaned areas whilst I was at it! ;). Will be removing all the rest next weekend hopefully to save some more weight! Spare wheel has been removed, just need to get the carrier off at some point when I can get the car lifted enough to unhook it!





Decided to de-rust underneath the boot as it was looking a little sorry.





After much hard work with the ol' wire wool:





Then next I decided to paint my brake callipers red! Though will be uprating them properly when I've some real money ;)

looking good :y: plans?

I really want to put Brembos on next, then more than likely uprated suspension and mounts. I definately want to increase my handling capabilities before doing any engine work! Just got to decide what feel I want and choose the right products so i'll probably be posting for a little advise when the time comes (when I have the cash basically!)

alot better ey :P wellcone for the work put into it :y:

Cheers rowza, nothing beats working on your car when the sun is shining, occasionaly enjoying a coffee and a cig :D

Hope this week is nice as I've got plans! I got soaked last weekend =(

Looks like you done some good work on this mate. I like it :y:

Hi lads i have recently bought a saxo vtr 52 plate and i am struggling to find where the tank is where i would put the engine coolant and water ? there is a good few there but none are clear so i am just asking for some advice ? when you look at the car head on under the bonnet there is one at the top right that i think it is but i am not completely sure ? any ideas ?

thanks

Done a few more things to the car.

1. 106 GTI engine conversion - photo's to come!
2. Removed all sound proofing (except stuff behind the dash)
3. De-wipered rear
4. Painted battery and ECU plates matt black as they were rusty as hell.
5. Removed spare wheel
6. Total weight removal at 23kg

Here's some photos:

Here's my old engine out, not got photo's of the new one yet but willl soon:



Half way through stripping interior out when checking for rust and removing sound deadening, I didn't take any more photo's as I forgot when I got too involved!



Here's me weighing the sound deading on some scales, came to 6kg!



Removed spare wheel and weighed, 15kg!



Battery and ECU plates removed:







And after painting:





After hacksawing my wiper arm off:





The end result:



And weighing the gear in on the scales, another 2kg!



Oh and for those who have seen my quick tip for tidying up rear of back seats, this is photo which shows. Got them back to new condition using black shoe polish!

nice work on the scales :D

awesome progress!

Very nice some good work there looks lovely now!. u should be proud :D .x.

does the lower strut brace catch on speed bumps m8?

looks like its come alongway sinceyou got it, turned it around in ni time atall buudy, top stuff, how much did it cost to have the vts lump to be fitted then? get a g max suspension kit on it next its good gear for the price you can get a set for around 220 quid all in i think on ebay, did you use any rust killing stuff on the underside, i did my underside over this summer loads better isnt it when its done, wot you doing with the vtr lump , wots the millage on it?:y:

Thank's the comments everyone :y: I'll have to get some more recent pictures up as I've just replaced a few more bits of the VT kit with newly resprayed ones that were done in a proper body shop and I've done another big clean, it really looks smart now - Autoglym bumper care for the win on all the black bits!

I ordered some Maxtorq Group N brake disks and Mintex 1144 pads last week so I will be fitting them when they arrive along with bleeding the whole brake system. I've booked my first track day at Oulton Park on the 13th of November so will be going there to see what the car feels like on track.

After that (probably next year now), I will be uprating my suspension, probably go for Bilstein B8's dampers with some decent sports lowering springs. Then I'm going to do all my breathing mods (my brother had this engine running at 140bhp with an Ecosse induction kit, Raceland manifold, de-cat and stainless steel exhaust) upgrade all my engine mounts, maybe have my gearbox refurbed and then once all that is done get some PH3 cams, port and polish then a remap. I'm hoping to get it upto around 160-165bhp with that.

It doesn't hit normal speed bumps that are the width of the road, but these small squares ones do unless you ride over them with either side of the car. If you try and go over them with wheels either side then it does bottom out :)

It cost me £350 to have the engine installed (the engine was £250 from my brother - so I know it's been very well looked after), that included a matching manifold and ECU as I didn't have one myself. Yes I've used some decent rust killer than my Dad gave me, I've checked the underneath since and it's still looking good, I also checked all the interior when I stripped it out but there was no rust to be found :y:. I'd love to do the engine bay as I can see a few minor spots, but I don't have the tools or knowledge to take it all out yet :P

My VTR engine is currently up for sale in the for sale section on here and on ebay with the clutch but minus manifold/cat, link is here:

http://www.saxperience.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=259552

liking this a lot mate, nice to see such dedication :y:

Now i've been bothered to get some batterys for my camera I've took a few more photos for you guys to have a look at:

1. Engine bay photos - since 16v conversion and a good clean!
2. GTI door cards finally fitted!
3. New exterior photos since I've had the last few bits of the VT kit put on (that was 2 arches and the skirt on the drivers side).
4. Got my Maxtorq Group N disks and Mintex 1144 pads today, ready for when I go on track, will be installing them at weekend.

Also ordered some original VTS door badges and I've got some chrome front indicator lights which remove the slighty amber tinge when they aren't on! Also got some plain number plates as the original ones have annoying writing and red border around them!

the vts wheels really set it off. lovely car

Fitted my brakes on Saturday with my brother. Maxtorq Group N Disks and Mintex 1144 pads all round. I have them bedded in now and they are performing much better than the OE setup.

I was going to go for the compact disc setup to save a bit of weight but common sense prevailed.

1000 times better man!!

really impressed with all your work and progress!!!!!

nice mate

A few minor adjustments ;)

1. New Citroen rocker cover badge to replace the Peugeot one.
2. New plain number plates - old ones had a red Citroen border that I didn't like!
3. Replaced battery support bracket as the old one was a right mess and looked crap in engine bay.

I'm also on the look out for a decent 2nd hand induction kit if anyone has one, I've tried fitting the VTS airbox setup (now I have all the parts) but the power steering fluid reservoir is in the way of the piping so it won't fit! Ho humm... this engine was running with the Ecosse induction kit in the previous car but if anyone has a similar 2nd hand decent kit i'll be interested :)

good bit of progress mate ,how much the conversion cost ya ?

amazing prgress from the start. a totaly differet car, serious credid deserved here! Good choce on the rocker cover badge lol :y:

The engine cost me £250 which was out of my brothers 106 GTI so I know it has been looked after :y:

The installation cost me £350, that included a new ECU and manifold as I didn't supply one :) Still after a 3 plug engine bay loom from a late 106 GTI/VTS though as it isn't running 100% at the moment. Keeps cutting out at low revs when out of gear, manifold pressure sensor is basically wrong on it.

im sure you'll get her running sweet ,considering a vts conversion my self but need to get the rear lowered first lol