Lowering tweaks

Finally, a free morning to get the rear shocks changed for something a little stiffer, drop the rear a couple of notches on the hangers, and then adjust the front coils to suit.

There's just a small matter of re-centering the rear wheels and we're done. Here's the results:

Much better I'm sure you'll agree.

Big thanks must go to the talented JC at JC Motors for taking his time to get that 'just right' stance.

Wheels and tyres are on!

The long Winter-wait is at an end; the Helios are finally on.

Tyres were sourced from Camskill - great value for money on brand-name tyres, good stock availability and cheap, quick delivery makes these my first choice every time for buying tyres.

Money saved here has meant we can jump up a level, quality-wise; spec'ing a set of four Falken FK452 in 235/35/19 to perfectly match the 19x8.5 wheels without any impractical stretch of the previously fitted wheels. These also have little effect on the speedo being within 2% of the same rolling diameter as the stock 15" steels.

But who to fit them? Our local tyre-fitting shop don't seem to like us walking in with our tyres - there's no money to be made for them - so after some inquiries and a word-of-mouth recommendation, we got in touch with Stuart at Unique Tyres.

Stuart turned up in his kitted-out Merc Sprinter, fitted a brand new head to his fitting machine and had the four wheels built-up and balanced in no time. For the total sum of £60, a cup of tea and plenty of v-dub chat, the wheels were then checked and mounted in a matter of minutes.

Visually, the front needs to come back down a bit - maybe the back a touch too. It's also apparent that the rear wheels are pulling forwards in the arch; common for modern lowered Volkswagens with a beam rear-end. Hopefully a quick trip to see JC at JC Motors should rectify these.

I'm absolutely over-the-moon with the way the Helios wheels have transformed the look of the Caddy. They keep that whole 'factory' OEM look - and the rarity-factor of not seeing many sets about appeals in a world of endless BBS replicas and cheap Supermarket alloys.
In particular, I like the way the centre-cap matches the centre of the steering wheel - the way VW would have done it if they were building a Caddy without budget constraints:

So there we have it; just a few more lows and a tweak of the stance and we're almost there! Time to turn my focus back to the interior...

Wheels for 2012

Here's another teaser for next year's wheels:

A set of four 19" VW Helios, shipped from Germany, stripped, blasted, powder coated, top coat, clear coat and baked to look as good as a new set. Combined with a fresh set of centre caps - you'll understand why I'm looking forward to next Spring!

Christmas arrives early...

Just a small hint to the wheel choice for next year...

Exterior: to-do list

Having had a fairly miserable day wrestling with the two large ply panels from the back of the van (unscrew, lift them out, trim a bit, screw them in, out again, trim a bit, repeat, repeat, repeat...) I thought I'd cheer myself with a spot of Photoshop-modding.

With the Bentley wheels now sold I'm currently in discussions with a chap from the Caddy2k forum who has several sets of VW Helios wheels being refurbished. One of these sets now has my name on them!

The Helios was an optional-extra on Volkswagen's luxury Phaeton range. So as you can imagine, they're pretty hard to come by. You could walk into your local dealership and order a set. Better still you could go to your local TPS and price a set up. This would currently cost you over two and a half grand!!!

Anyway, back to the Photoshopping:

Click for bigger version

The 19's immediately look more at home (and less like an exaggerated Hot-Wheels toy) than the 20" Bentleys. Being from the Volkswagen family sits well with me; I'm a big fan of the OEM+ look or in other words 'what VW would have done if they could dip into the parts bin regardless of cost'.

Black headlights from a Touran R-line help set the Caddy off from being just another van - these are a straight swap too; no messing, trimming or fudging required.

Wind deflectors - just because I like them - will probably look for a slimline set from Heko.

Sliding door rail cover - I'll be looking to get one of the excellent kits from Reflex Auto Design - as these come painted I might also treat myself to the Sportline rear spoiler at the same time.

Finally, I'll be looking into reinstating the fins that have been cut away from the lower part of the front bumper. Initially I'll be looking to source a secondhand bumper off eBay and chopping it up. If that doesn't work I might push the boat out and fit a Touran front end.

Oh, and there's another part in the post - a little something for under the bonnet - will keep you posted when fitted...

Winter mode pt.2

Here's the van; raised ride height and repainted steel wheels. Not quite the head-turner it once was. 

I appear to have un-pimped my ride!

Winter mode

The transformation for Winter is complete:

On go the steel wheels and up goes the ride-height. The acid-test; will it get up the parent's driveway?

Only just, but yes. Certainly better than before when we had no hope of getting up the driveway for a Sunday dinner!

One downside (although I'm thankful we spotted it) is one of the rear V-Maxx shocks has let go. It's shock-absorbing properties are still okay, but the top mount has all but fallen apart, not good.

This is what happens when buying cars, especially modified by the previous owner; can you be sure what you're letting yourself in for? We test drove the van with it full of tools and thus forgave the odd clonk - in hindsight this was a mistake. It wasn't until driving around with an empty van that you begin to hear noises out of the ordinary. I'm annoyed, but it can be rectified with a fresh pair of shocks - I might even upgrade to better quality KW items.

Winter Wheel Weekend

So back to the progress update; on go a few coats of Ford (yes, sorry) Graphite Grey. There wasn't many VW greys to choose from in the rattle-can section of Halfords, I went with this because it seemed to have a little bit of a blue hue to it - from what you can tell by the colour swatch on the lid!

Then on to lacquer. If I wasn't feeling a bit spaced-out from the paint fumes before now, this would be the real dizzying part of the process!

After the lacquer I then put a heater on in the garage for an hour or so, Whether this makes a blind bit of difference or not, I'm not sure. But subconsciously I hope it helps the lacquer to harden and with a bit of luck protect the paint through Winter.


Finally, I rolled the wheels outside this morning to admire my work.

Good enough for now, and at around £10 per wheel, there's no complaints.

Winter steels

I've always been one for swapping my alloys for the original steel wheels at the end of a season; salty UK roads don't do any favours for pricey alloys.
So I was really happy that when buying the Caddy that it came with the original wheels. One down-side was a mis-match of tyre profiles - 2x 195/65/15 and 2x 195/70/15. Not ideal.

Knowing that I can move the wrong tyres on, an order was placed with Camskill (probably the prices for tyres anywhere on the internet) for two replacements of the correct 195/65/15.

So now we're on to prep; hours of sanding, smoothing and masking. I would ideally have done this with tyres removed but I'm up against a deadline to get the wheels swapped.

More time taken at prep should result in a better result further down the line. Then, after one last clean, on with the primer.

With barely a dribble or run in sight. I've laid it on fairly thick; first a white etch primer, then a good couple of layers of matt grey primer. Images of the final colour and lacquer coats will be posted tomorrow.

Wheels & Tyres for sale - now sold

Having had the van for less than a week, you may think I'm slightly mad for wanting to sell the Bentley alloys so soon. With Winter approaching and the van being used daily, I'll be swapping back to the steel wheels and starting the hunt for an 18" or 19" replacement for next year.

So here's what is on offer:
A set of four Bentley 20" wheels (part number RT253) as fitted to the GT and Flying Spur manufactured as a one-piece aluminium wheel by Ronal.
Centre caps are included in the sale.
Stud pattern is 5x112 and ET (offset) is 41. Rim width is 9J.
This makes them suitable for many VW, Audi, Mercedes (and Bentley!) applications.
Tyres are Falken 225/30ZR20 and have been fitted in the fashionable 'stretched' style.

Update: One of the tyres is badly worn around it's inner edge and will definitely need replacing. The other three have loads of life on them.

The cost to replace one of these wheels from Bentley is £475 (without centre cap).

Some pics with the asking price below (click for bigger pics):

Given the 'just less than perfect' condition of the wheels I'd like £1600 for the wheels and tyres.

These have now sold - thanks for looking.

Day one

So, where to start? This is day one of Caddy ownership and it's still the honeymoon period. Driven home, washed, cleaned, tidied, cleaned again, found all the stonechips and scratches you never manage to see when on a test-drive. Found a few little faults to put right...

But most of all, I've enjoyed turning-heads. A few pics before we go any further I think:

So what have we bought? At first glance it appears to be a clean, honest, low mileage, two year old Caddy. I was keen to find a TDI having heard less than complementary things about the SDI. I didn't want white and didn't want a high-miler. Searching seemed to take forever for a van to fit the requirements. This one was bang-on budget so I shook hands at some speed.

'But it's already modified' I hear you saying. When you cost up the sourcing of a Touran bumper, colour-coding, lowering, alloys, seats etc. you realise the sum of all these elements goes beyond your total budget. So this is my starting point. It may be somebody else's creation but I plan to take it to another level.

So what are the plans? Without giving the game away too soon; one of the first jobs will be to remove the 20" Bentley Flying Spur alloys. On will go the original 15" steel wheels that also came with the van. The ride height will be adjusted to a more commuting-friendly drop, probably around 40 or 50mm from standard. New alloys at 18" or 19" will then be sourced for a little more comfort and a little less 'on-edge' pothole-dodging.

The tinted headlights will be swapped for originals (or maybe a little upgrade here). The front bumper may eventually be swapped for a smooth Touran version and the interior (currently ply-lined) will be receiving some attention.

Right then, off we go, this is going to be quite a challenge!