Tim_W's Progress Thread, Maximising My Mk1 VTR (Updated: 26/01/09 Samco Coolant Hose)

[Tim_W]

Hey,

I think it is about time I made a progress thread because I have done quite a bit to the car to warrant one now. Most of you will already know a bit about me, so its time to properly introduce my partner in crime (not litterally :d ) and the story behind how we came to meet .

As you might know already i put off driving for a while, as soon as i passed my test i took a break. After a year of running into town to catch the bus home from work i finally decided enough was enough, i had to get myself a car. I was sick and tired with public transport and decided to finally part with the cash i had been saving up. It was on the same afternoon that i saw a green VTR on a garage forcourt. I fell in love with this sporty looking Saxo straight away, it was the type of car i was looking for. Infact i had put VTR's to the back of my mind having really liked them in the past. There was only one problem though and that was the colour, it just wasnt my cup of tea. I fancied something red or black but finding one was going to be a difficult task (or so i thought).
I went on the internet and started digging around for VTR's for sale in the West Mids and struck gold. Tucked away on a car search website, three pictures down was a red VTR, 'MY' VTR. This WAS my car, i knew straight away when i saw it that this car was going to be mine, it had to be. A bonus for me was that the previous owner had already had it lowered. The thing that surprised the me most was that it was for sale at a 'local' main dealer, that was a bonus in my book because i knew it should be 'straight'. Then the price hit me, for an 'S' reg it was pretty steep and then i saw the mileage !! That was it for me, in a blind panick i phoned them up straight away and the first thing they said when i asked about the car was that the price was indeed a reflection of the mileage, i had kind of guessed that !! I was assured that it had been HPI checked and all the MOT certificates confirmed the mileage as just under 20'000 !! The fine tooth comb had also been run over it and i was assured that it would come with 1 years manufacturers warranty, 6 months tax and a full MOT.
As you probably guessed i was straight over there like a shot to put my deposit down, i worried all the way over there that it would be gone, but i should have known that not many people would usually go looking for a Saxo VTR at a Skoda dealer . Obviously i fallen in love with the car, love at first sight so to speak and now it was there in all its glory, right in front of me. I haggled a bit (as you do) and brought it straight away. There were a few little pieces that needed replacing which they also promised to do.

Here is a picture from the dealers website, this is where it all started.

[Tim_W]

It was not long after I had the car that I found my way here in fact I think I arrived here a few days before I picked it up. The first thing to go was the radio ariel and like most people on here I chose the shorter Peugeot one. I honestly don’t know what Citroen was thinking of when they chose that design. One of the main things that irritated me from the off was the petrol cap. The previous owner had screwed a cheap looking rally style fuel cap cover straight to the original fuel cap. I couldn’t stand it and after driving around with it for about a month I decided i needed a simple solution to replace it. I had a look around and decided to buy a Sparco rally style fuel cap. I gather not many people are big fans of these but it had to be done, it was the lesser of two evils and without the sticker it doesn’t look too bad. It was either that or refurbishing the standard cap, which would mean filling all the holes in and re-spraying It (plenty of time for that in the future).

[Tim_W]

The modifying bug had really taken hold by now and I was hooked. I had a set plan in mind and that was to replace the entire exhaust system (the foundations of any future mods). I had already got the back box and centre section what I needed now was a manifold. I read through the articles on here and looked at the advantages and disadvantages of the different systems 4-2-1 or 4-1. As the VTR’s torque appears to be lower down I decided to go for a Supersprint 4-2-1. The stainless steel and superior build quality of Supersprint won me over in the end.
This only left the cat, which would be sitting there on its own between some nice new kit. So what to do about the cat ? I was never a big fan of taking the cat off until I looked at all the other options. I could have just replaced the standard cat or fitted a race cat but the latter’s cost didn’t justify the performance gains. I wanted something to complement the gains provided by the manifold and in the end I realised the better option for performance was to take the cat out of the equation and fit a de-cat. Seeing as I already had a Magnex system I decided to go with Magnex for the de-cat aswell. All I had to do now was to go and pester Citroen for the parts to fit it (new studs, bolt’s, gaskets, exhaust clamp and fitting kit).

This brings me up to date for now. I waited over 6 weeks for the manifold to turn up but it was worth the wait when it finally arrived (this week). I finally got to put it all together yesterday and it was a good job I test fitted everything first. Needless to say there were a couple of teething problems but it went together like a dream in the end. The picture of the manifold was taken after it had a good thrashing last night to make sure everything was fitted properly

[Tim_W]

Here are a few random pictures.

[Saxy1]

looking good

[Payney]

Looks a minter mate, don't change nothing on it.

[Wayne]

great progress thread love the colour of the your saxo.

[jaybiss]

Looks awesome Tim, really nice example

Whats the exhaust note like now?

Im loving the mark 1's at the minute, bonnet raisers and it will look mean

[Berg]

looks awesome m8

[Tim_W]

Originally Posted by Saxy1

looking good

Originally Posted by AnthonyVTR

Looks a minter mate, don't change nothing on it.

Originally Posted by saxoboy07

great progress thread love the colour of the your saxo.

Originally Posted by Berg

looks awesome m8

Cheers for the comments lads, they are really appreciated .

Tim

[frankie]

looks sweet get some boonet raisers and shell look sweet.

look for a mk1 vtr/s to make lethal track weapon.

[Tim_W]

Originally Posted by jaybiss

Looks awesome Tim, really nice example

Whats the exhaust note like now?

Im loving the mark 1's at the minute, bonnet raisers and it will look mean

Cheers Mate

The exhaust note is still quite subtle but when its opened up you can hear the difference. At tick over it rumbles away quite nicely but when its opened up it increases to a roar. I will have to get a recording of the sound somehow because its hard to describe :d

Tim

[stoney_182]

looks amazing, perfect mods

[bullit]

Originally Posted by AnthonyVTR

Looks a minter mate, don't change nothing on it.

was gonna say the same. proper minter

[Badgersport]

Nice story Tim! Loving the new exhaust set up, i will pop by sometime this week and take a look. Keep up the good work!

p.s this car is a true minter!

Ste

[Steve]

nice looking motor car

[k2thecsaxo]

looks stunning that mate really good looking sax, like the exhaust setup you go buddy nice one

[Tim_W]

Originally Posted by stoney_182

looks amazing, perfect mods

Originally Posted by bullit

was gonna say the same. proper minter

Originally Posted by Steve_VTS

nice looking motor car

Originally Posted by k2thecsaxo

looks stunning that mate really good looking sax, like the exhaust setup you go buddy nice one

Thank you very much indeed for the feedback lads. I have a few more ideas in mind so hopefully there will be some more updates soon. I think everything is going to start to come together now the exhaust is done.

Tim

[Tim_W]

Originally Posted by vts_swedge

Nice story Tim! Loving the new exhaust set up, i will pop by sometime this week and take a look. Keep up the good work!

p.s this car is a true minter!

Ste

Cheers for the feedback mate, feel free to pop around to have a look . I have a few questions i need to ask you about the next phase of the project .

Tim

[mallboy]

the car looks very nice mate, love the mods done to it - im still keeping an eye out for your car

keep up the good work