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Finally picked up the Golf and got it home but not without major dramas.
I had it transported from Brisbane to Sydney with Patricks who did a great job. Dropped off Monday, delivered to their depot and ready to be picked up Wednesday. Because they aren't open on Saturdays (the only chance I had of picking it up) I rang Matt at Camden GTI on Thursday to get it for me and park it at his workshop which is only a couple of k's down the road. Matt rings me up late Thursday to say he has the car at his workshop, it's really rough to drive and it has no number plates! Fook!!! This car is supposed to have 4 months rego, that's one of the reasons I bought it!
Quick call to Jason in Brissie to check what's going on. Yes it's registered but he took the plates off so no-one can drive it, get into trouble and he gets the fine. He's going to post me the plates after I reassured him (and emailed a letter saying it's all my responsibility now).
I also had to pick up a Passat from Sydney the same day. The Passat is unregistered but I thought I could get a temp permit to drive it to Braidwood (300 k's) so I arranged a couple of mates to go up and get both cars. Then 1 mate couldn't make it and the other one had a prior commitment up until 2pm so we would have to leave late. Also to get a temp permit for the Passat ment it would have to be inspected by a pink slip mechanic and I knew it wouldn't pass (4 bald tyres and an engine oil leak) so I borrowed a mates trailer and we left at 2:30 yesterday (Saturday).
When we got to Campbelltown it was well after Matt's closing time but he left the Golf parked at the pub with the keys hidden so I fitted my temp numberplate on the back and took it for a drive. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting. The suspension wasn't too bumpy but when you turned the steering there was a loud scraping noise, like the backing plates were rubbing on the rims. At least in a straight line it's much quieter.
Here's it at the servo at Campbelltown with the Passat in the background.
I drove it 80 k's to Pheasants Nest and we swapped drivers so my mate could see why I bought a MK2. Later on when we were supposed to swap back he said he's happy to keep driving the Golf and when we got back to Braidwood at 1 am he had a big grin and wanted to know where could he get one for himself.
So now I've got to find out where the noise at the front end is coming from, get the radio working and fix the droning in the exhaust (happens at 100 kph which is exactly where I do all my driving). The drivers door is hard to open and the window doesn't wind down. There's a dozen little noises I have to track down but it is amazing to drive!
The suspension is hard without being excessively so. The performance is so-so but picks up around 3000 rpm so it's got a hot cam and I know a euro downpipe will make a big difference. I've got a rear sway bar to fit but may not need it - there's almost no body roll when you try to push the car.
This is going to be my daily so by next weekend it will have another 800 k's on the clock and I'll be able to tell you exactly what problems it has and what was done to fix them but for now I have a smile that can't we washed off and am looking forward to going to work tomorrow!
Cheers
Paul
PS Thanks Matt for helping out - much appreciated and I hope the beers go down well.
I had it transported from Brisbane to Sydney with Patricks who did a great job. Dropped off Monday, delivered to their depot and ready to be picked up Wednesday. Because they aren't open on Saturdays (the only chance I had of picking it up) I rang Matt at Camden GTI on Thursday to get it for me and park it at his workshop which is only a couple of k's down the road. Matt rings me up late Thursday to say he has the car at his workshop, it's really rough to drive and it has no number plates! Fook!!! This car is supposed to have 4 months rego, that's one of the reasons I bought it!
Quick call to Jason in Brissie to check what's going on. Yes it's registered but he took the plates off so no-one can drive it, get into trouble and he gets the fine. He's going to post me the plates after I reassured him (and emailed a letter saying it's all my responsibility now).
I also had to pick up a Passat from Sydney the same day. The Passat is unregistered but I thought I could get a temp permit to drive it to Braidwood (300 k's) so I arranged a couple of mates to go up and get both cars. Then 1 mate couldn't make it and the other one had a prior commitment up until 2pm so we would have to leave late. Also to get a temp permit for the Passat ment it would have to be inspected by a pink slip mechanic and I knew it wouldn't pass (4 bald tyres and an engine oil leak) so I borrowed a mates trailer and we left at 2:30 yesterday (Saturday).
When we got to Campbelltown it was well after Matt's closing time but he left the Golf parked at the pub with the keys hidden so I fitted my temp numberplate on the back and took it for a drive. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting. The suspension wasn't too bumpy but when you turned the steering there was a loud scraping noise, like the backing plates were rubbing on the rims. At least in a straight line it's much quieter.
Here's it at the servo at Campbelltown with the Passat in the background.
I drove it 80 k's to Pheasants Nest and we swapped drivers so my mate could see why I bought a MK2. Later on when we were supposed to swap back he said he's happy to keep driving the Golf and when we got back to Braidwood at 1 am he had a big grin and wanted to know where could he get one for himself.
So now I've got to find out where the noise at the front end is coming from, get the radio working and fix the droning in the exhaust (happens at 100 kph which is exactly where I do all my driving). The drivers door is hard to open and the window doesn't wind down. There's a dozen little noises I have to track down but it is amazing to drive!
The suspension is hard without being excessively so. The performance is so-so but picks up around 3000 rpm so it's got a hot cam and I know a euro downpipe will make a big difference. I've got a rear sway bar to fit but may not need it - there's almost no body roll when you try to push the car.
This is going to be my daily so by next weekend it will have another 800 k's on the clock and I'll be able to tell you exactly what problems it has and what was done to fix them but for now I have a smile that can't we washed off and am looking forward to going to work tomorrow!
Cheers
Paul
PS Thanks Matt for helping out - much appreciated and I hope the beers go down well.
they managed to keep it a secret for half a year, while they were rebuilding it. A big garage and a decent car cover helped.
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