The stalemate of a project car

Hello people, how are we all? Hope you're having an entertaining week. If not, then this post might make you feel a bit better, so keep reading.

As with all projects and plans, there are things that can happen that are out of our control or just make progress slower than we hoped. This is normal though, right? Well in today's world it may not seem it. We are bombarded with all these incredible projects being built with a seemingly unlimited budget and done on a rather quick turn around. On the surface this may not seem to be a problem or cause one. However I can confidently say that it makes people set an unrealistic target for themselves with what they have going on in their own life.

Now this may not be a problem you have, but it's the struggle of many people all around the world and not just people into cars. Whether you're building your latest PC all the way to building your own house, there will be aspirations that add to the whole process. Sometimes these can be unrealistic but don't seem it to us at the time.

For example, the S3 recently caught a flat tyre, having to get this sorted threw a spanner in the works to a few plans. It meant I had to spend the money on two new tyres when I could of spent that money on some new coilpacks. Things like this are all too common, and for someone who is paid monthly, I now need to wait for the next payday to see if I can spend some money on the S3 or not. On top of that, we have Christmas right around the corner too, so present buying is in full swing. 

There are so many things that as an individual building a car, we just seem to forget with the excitement of getting a new project to work on. I am fully subjected to this and it commonly brings me back to earth pretty hard, and that s**t hurts.

So if you are about to embark on a new project, or undergoing one right now. Don't let the "influencers" fool you with the quick turn around of a build. The slow and steady progress that you make yourself and the things you learn along the way is much better. Remember that when you hit one of these walls and have to spend the money on something other than your car, whether it be an unexpected issue, rent, bills or whatever you gotta pay for. I have faith that you will eventually finish what you started and be more proud than ever that you made it what it is even with all the bumps along the way. 

As with all Up To Fun posts, enjoy the ride, we're not on it forever.

E.

Some little changes...

 Right then, apologies for the delay on this one. These changes happened a few weeks ago however I kept forgetting to take a picture of one of them. Better late than never though, some small changes were made recently to help tidy up the S3 a little bit and just bring it a little bit into the future. 

So the first change, always a controversial one. A rear wiper delete. I know what some of you will be thinking, why do you need to get rid of the rear wiper? Personally, I think it just has a cleaner look to the rear end. What about when it gets dirty? Luckily I can always give the car a quick clean so it's never too much of a bother. Oh and not forgetting the rear wiper which was on the car when I bought it, wasn't even working anyway.

So after a bit of a fight with the stubborn boot trim pieces, the rear wiper was fitted and had the exact outcome that I wanted.

Next up, something to help bring the S3 up to date with the newer Audi vehicles we see, puddle light projectors. Now these are something I have always loved since I first saw them, so I knew I had to sort some for the S3. Initial research I was looking for a genuine set, however as you'd probably expect, they were expensive, like really expensive. So speaking to a friend who retrofitted a set to his Golf, he sent me a link to a store that sells them for much cheaper, but another issue, they were out of stock and had no plan to restock.

Eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and do something I would probably tell a friend is a bad idea. I ordered a set off AliExpress. I could hear your sigh as you read that. But as long as the 'S3' was in English and not Chinese we'd be good right? The wait for them to be delivered was worth it, they look amazing and just give the S3 a bit more of a premium feel, plus they looked just how I imagined, which s always a positive.

What's next then? Well MOT time is coming up and I want to make sure it will pass with flying colours. I'm gonna be doing a few pre-MOT checks and making sure there are no glaringly obvious problems that will cause a fail. I have also got the coil packs and spark plugs to sort soon to keep the momentum of the maintenance going forward.

Until then though, enjoy the ride.

E.

Spruce Up

What's good, hope you're having a good week! Just wanted to drop a quick post to make anyone reading the blog aware of the recent changes and some upcoming ones.

The blog design has been refreshed, and hopefully, it's for the better. I will leave it as is for now. However, if you think any tweaks or improvements would look good, just comment on this post, and I will see what I can do.

Another change is the imagery for the posts, I really enjoyed the outcome of the recent post and just thought it looked like a bit more effort was put in (click here if you haven't seen.) The whole look was a little more refined but not too over the top in my opinion, and after today's blog design changes, it looks even better. So with that, I will continue the style of imagery going into the future posts. 

As always, enjoy the ride,

E.

Something to be proud of

 So I wasn't too sure what to title this post, but I thought I would just go ahead and type it out and see what fits best later on down the line. Oh, also, you'll also notice the edits to the photos, with this kind of post I wanted to add a little bit of character and I will probs do the same for future posts too.

This post is a bit different from what's been posted already however, it never hurts to try something new. With that said, I introduce to you, my girl's 2016 Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Now this wasn't the original car she had in mind to replace the VW Polo she was driving about previously, the plan was to get an M140i. However, after seeing Jeremy Clarkson lose control of it on that one episode of Top Gear, she quickly changed her mind and decided a Golf GTI was the better car for her. A decision I happily embraced. So after a few weeks of looking for a nice spec, we came across the GTI she ended up buying.

The viewing and whole buying process was entertaining, to say the least. Firstly, we thought we were going to look at a 5-door, but clearly, it was a 3-door. The wheels were to be re-diamond cut, but only a few days before collection, they told us they had to be painted instead as they had been refurbed before. Looking on the bright side though, the VW dealer we bought it from made a pretty big mistake. They priced the car on being a 5-door, non-performance pack, and base spec GTI. So this meant we got a big saving in comparison to what the car actually valued at.

After all the faff of the buying stage, she finally got to fully experience the car, and boy did she enjoy it. From proving to her Dad that she could drive just like he could, to showing me that same skill she clearly had handed down to her. I was super proud to see her get the car she wanted, yes there were some rather large speedbumps along the way but she stuck it out and got an amazing car. Some might even say it's the perfect spec too, being a 3-door variant paired with the DSG gearbox and Performance Pack. It also has park assist, something she is yet to use. And of course heated front seats for the lovely UK weather.

The first port of call not too long after purchasing, it went and had an aftermarket immobiliser fitted. Luckily it's never had to serve its purpose but just in case it's nice to have. Shortly after that, the rear wiper was removed in place of a Kill all Wipers delete kit and some paddle shifter extensions were fitted too. Nothing too in-depth, but starting small is the best place to start.

Although a wiper delete and paddle shifters aren't difficult, my girl did them herself, and apart from slicing her finger open when taking the wiper off, she did pretty well to keep on going and finish the job. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto got coded in to help bring it up to speed in terms of tech and just adds a nice feature when the time comes to sell.

Next up for the Golf is a little bit more noise, whether that comes in the form of an intake or exhaust we don't know yet. But for now, the Golf serves as a perfectly good daily that is reliable and can still be thrashed without the worry of something going wrong.

I will probably put an update out down the line on the Golf, and we'll see how much it has changed and if things go to plan or not.

So getting to the end of the post, I feel there's only one title I can give it. Something to be proud of. Because that's what it is, and it's not just the car either. My girl has been through a lot and worked super hard to get this car. Not to mention the work to keep it running exactly as it should. Taking pride in the way it looks and putting a bit of her own personality into it too. All in all, you probably wouldn't expect the car to be owned by a girl and she's had her fair share of people saying it's 'daddy's car'. It honestly couldn't be any more different from her Dad's car. But that doesn't stop her from enjoying it and it certainly doesn't make her want to get rid of the car either. If anything it fuels the fire that she wants to give those people the middle finger by owning a car like this.

As always, I like to impart a bit of knowledge and advice at the end of my posts. With that said, to any girl reading this, or anyone for that matter. Being into cars isn't a guy's thing. It's for everyone. Whether you're the girl who listens to Sabrina Carpenter on repeat and loves a trip to Starbucks. Or maybe you don't have anyone to share the enjoyment with. Sometimes all someone needs is a little push in the right direction to spark the love for everything automotive. I know myself the car scene can be a daunting place, in amongst all the hate and know-it-alls, there are pockets of good people doing good things. So no matter your background you can build something for yourself and have your own thing to be proud of. Just go out there and do it for you.

As always, enjoy the ride.

E.

My Car History | Part Four

So, part four already. Now this installment brings you up to date as of the time I'm typing this and includes a bit of an insight as to what the plans are for the car too. If you haven't already guessed this part is the S3.

So I have only owned the S3 for a few months at this point in time, however, this is a car I have always wanted to own and has been on my hit list for a long time. My older brother had an A3 8P which made me appreciate these way more, and at the same time, one used to drive past me whilst on my way to school. I was lucky enough to get this S3 for an absolute steal as it was set to go to a trade auction, being the low mileage example it was, I couldn't let that happen and snapped it up for myself.

To give a bit more detail about the car, it's a 2010 Audi S3 8P facelift with the CDL 2.0 TFSI. It's a 6-speed manual and 3-door variant, something that made this car perfect to me. It keeps things simple and you can just get in this thing and go. Now since I've only had the car for a few months at the time of typing, I haven't done some crazy build or any modifications at all. Unless you class a wiper delete a mod. Instead, for the initial steps of making this car mine, it has been maintenance and upkeep. All of which will be documented and posted in good time.

What are the plans for the future? For now, getting it running with a bit more power reliably. Along with the supporting mods like bigger brakes, better cooling, and better handling. I want to keep the OEM feel as to me this car already is perfection in terms of looks and I don't want to mess with it. There are a few bits of paintwork that need addressing as well as a couple of dents too, but for the age of the car, it has been well looked after by the previous owners.

As always, plans can change. So if they do, they will be posted here and I guess we will see if my plans remain or if they go in a completely different direction in the end.

So stay tuned for the upcoming content on the S3 as there is bound to be some coming shortly. 

As always, enjoy the ride,

E.

My Car History | Part Three

So if you read the last car history post, you'll know this one is gonna be a little different. There are a few cars I had for a short space of time which I just have to mention, most of these were to see me through times when the Cupra was under the knife in a garage or just off the road awaiting work to be done.

So, let's start with a guilty pleasure of mine. The Lupo/Arosa platform. These are such a cool car and my first one was a MK1 Seat Arosa, it certainly wasn't quick with the 1.0l engine but it just had an aura about it. It turned heads (probably for the wrong reason) and was just a fun car to be behind the wheel of. I only had this a short period and it held me over for a month or so, and in the end, I sold it straight back to the mate I bought it from.

Following the Arosa, I secured a Lupo I wish I never sold. This beauty was a 1.4 16v but the 100bhp version. A rare car these days and that's partly the reason I wish I never got rid, also the fact that fetch quite the price if you do manage to find one. Again this was a car to hold me over for a short period and it did just that. It was loud and obnoxious with a straight-through exhaust but before I could fix that, I ended up selling as I needed the money at the time. 

What came next, well not another Lupo/Arosa. Instead, a 9n Polo. I was expecting to own this for a bit longer than I did however it was a cool car for what it was and I enjoyed owning it and tidying it up. When I bought it, it was clearly neglected as the guy took it as a part ex for a car he was selling. It came modified, as most of my cars seem to do. With a silly loud exhaust, set of alloys and lowered on some eBay special coilovers, it made for a fun drive but with it only having 70bhp, it left a lot to be desired. I treated the car to a new set of headlights to replace the faded and broken ones, gave it some new fluids, and then not long after that, it was time to sell as I had made the next purchase.

With all of the above, it reinforced the fact you don't have to spend crazy money to have and enjoy a car. Sometimes the most fun you can have is in a sub £1,000 car that you don't have to worry too much about the bodywork and paint. As long as it turns over on the key and has fuel, you're good to go. I love to see these kinds of cars being enjoyed as it takes away from the super serious nature the car scene seems to have at the moment. When behind the wheel of your car, you should be smiling ear to ear and enjoying it. Unless of course, something is going wrong. But we all suffer that fate at some point, don't stress, been there, done that. 

I guess the moral of the story is to enjoy what you got, and don't worry about what other people got.

Remember, enjoy the ride,

E.