Bearing in mind I was a regular contributor to the Norfolk Group newsletter, I thought I'd give you an idea of the day to day modifying that the car received

Cossie Update – Part 2


One month on, and to be honest, I haven’t had that much time for the saff. You know what it’s like – crap weather, long evenings etc – all a bit depressing really. Having said that, some fairly major changes have taken place, and whilst they’ve been mostly cosmetic, I’m laying the groundwork for some major transformation.

So first up, the wheels. In last month’s instalment, I told you all that I had a set of 17s sitting at home ready to go on, so whilst in London this week, I thought I’d take them to be fitted with the old rubber boots! Size: 225/35/17. Why? Cos they’re nice and wide, with a low enough profile that the sidewall wont flex too much. They shouldn’t tramline either…….., which is nice! Make: hmmmm…. Interesting one this. People often have their own brand of tyre which they swear by, and I’m no different. Avon ZZ1s for a low performance car, cos they’re hard wearing, and I can get them sooo cheap! Goodyear Eagle F1s or Michelin Pilot Sport for a high performance car, cos they have fantastic grip, and come very well recommended.

Only problem at this point though, is that I can’t tell you what tyres are on the car, if any at all. You see, it’s Sunday evening, I’m sitting in front of this screen with a cup of coffee, and my wheels are sitting next to me still in their boxes. Why? Well I just haven’t had the time to sort them out. I never thought I’d say this, but it wasn’t really a priority. So tomorrow, I’m going to have my tyres fitted….. maybe…..probably….ah, you’ll see. So why the procrastination? Well, I jacked the car up at the beginning of this week, to find that the design of said wheel didn’t fit over the 2wd caliper, and that the studs would be too short. So I threw a temper (Charlie B style), and stuck em up for sale on the RS bb. Well, I had a rethink, and do actually like the wheel, so decided that a spacer and some longer studs were the order of the day. I can’t, however, write about how that went, cos I’m doing it tomorrow morning, and then coming back to Norwich in the afternoon…… so I’ll put that in next month.

I also managed to source that late spec dash I wanted from Pete at Ashfield Motorsport. Although Pete’s business is in Derby, my brother is at Uni. in Loughborough which isn’t all that far away, so he selflessly picked it up for me, with matching centre console, and A pillar trims. The dash itself was fairly easy to take out, since there were no hindrances such as airbags, or complex wiring looms. Whilst the dash was out, I decided it would be sensible to run the boost pipe for the ACT gauge, which was duly done in a few seconds, but more of that later. With the dash sitting in my parents’ kitchen, I made up a panel for the Rockford Fosgate EPX RDAT. This fabulous piece of technology is part of the stereo system, and in short, controls the sound for all the speakers that are soon to arrive in the car. I mounted this firmly in place of the clock and fuel/washer warning lights in the dash, and made up a piece to cover it, tidying up the installation. The top half of the dash was very easy to fit, just needing six or seven bolts to hold it in place. The only problem encountered was that a rod came off the heater controls, and was quite simply, a pain in the arse to fix. The bottom half of the dash was less than easy to put in, since it involved moving a couple of wiring looms and ECU-type things (technical term!), but it went in eventually.

The ACT gauge was put in where the dash illumination switch goes. Admittedly, not the most original of places, but it’s only temporary – I’ve got big plans for the instrument panel in the car. The ACT gauge is a piece of the proverbial to fit, especially when the dash is outJ, and I’m well pleased with it. More info about the ACTs I’m reading next month as I’ve hardly driven the car this week.

Unfortunately, that’s about it. Polybushes have arrived, and will join the pile of ‘things to be fitted to the car’ in my bedroom. The brakes have been put on hold till after Crimbo, which gives me plenty of time to get the money together. So priority for next month is a to get the car’s suspension completely sorted. This means all the polybushes will be fitted, and I’ll have to have a look at the steering rack, and all the gaiters on the car. Clutch has just started slippingL, so that could be up for replacement soon, but I must get the car to Harvey very soon. Group A headgasket is calling my name!

Richard Nathan.