My VX220 NA

[GFWilliams]

My last car was a Clio 197 F1 and while it was a very competent car I got rid of it for a few reasons, it was terrible on fuel and it was just a bit boring to drive (too easy). So I went and bought my brother's honda civic diesel from him to get a 50mpg daily car and set about searching for a fun car... My budget was sub £10k, I wanted rwd and something that was pretty quick. First thoughts were e46 M3, but running costs worried me a bit so decided I wanted something fairly lightweight. So that pretty much left Elise S1 and VX220 NA (didn't want a cat car). VX220 appealed a bit more for a few reasons (age, engine, roof basically)

So i bought it back in early August, here are a few pictures of the first few days having it... Had a great little drive where I took the Speedster out and my best mate took the vx. I love how they look together!



My daily civic on the grass...








Then started painting bits black...


Did the brakes




All the while enjoying driving it!






With the occasional trip out in the Speedster still


Then it was time for a Larini, best thing I've done to the car! Also had a tat short diffuser fitted while I was there


In between that I fitted coil overs and got it fully set up by Back on Track. It dialled out 90% of the understeer you feel and it just feels so much more competent!

Went for a drive with some supercars




Numberplate on


and at the weekend I went to VMax for a little play on track... to be honest I need a shorter more twisty track


Car has just been sorn for winter, so project now begins of taking the front clam off to replace the fan mountings on the radiator. I might replace the radiator with an uprated ali rad too while I've got it off. Will also have a really good clean around the battery etc to make the car look like new.

[GFWilliams]

So spent the last few weeks slowly replacing the radiator and cleaning up around it. It was a clam off job and thanks to a few stubborn bolts it took quite a while. Should be a lot quicker next time though (if ever needed) as I've used all new stainless bolts



Door had to come off to get to one of the awkward bolts to drill it out



Clam off!


Polished my engine while I was half way through as I needed a break from the front of the car!


Then the day of putting it all back together:


Shiny pro alloy radiator with zinc plated mounts to stop them from rusting (hopefully)


All done and clean:


Then it was time for a drive!

[GFWilliams]

_Batty_ said:

Lovely car.
Have you bothered uprating the heater at all? thats my job this winter. Clam off, heater, rad, new fog light bracket, brakes and bushes.
Where did you get your Larini? been tempted to do ours for ages.

The car came with an uprated heater which wasn't installed and I've been told that they're more trouble than they're worth. If it's too cold I'll just drive another car... Although tomorrow I'm taking the vx to the peak district

Got the Larini from elise-parts, worth every penny and the best thing I've done to the car! I do kind of wish it was a bit louder at times, maybe I'll add a decat/sports cat at some point...

[GFWilliams]

LargeD said:

I was put off the Fezzasus heater by some stories of it causing other issues, partly due to the excessive use of jubilee clips - the problem being there's not really any other alternatives and my heater pipe isn't actually connected to the heater box or cabin...

I heard they leak and get stuck on full hot. I'm happy to just put it away for winter and only get it out when I fancy... I understand the need for it if it were someones only car though

[GFWilliams]

Martin_M said:

Good job. Is the 911 yours too? Absolutely stunning car.

911 is dad's

[GFWilliams]

Roncee said:

Photographs are amazing. Can I ask what you use hardware wise and for post processing.

Thanks

Nikon D800, a range of lenses depending on my mood and Photoshop

Today I took the vx to the Cat & Fiddle for a shoot. 410 mile round trip and roughly 8 hours in the car through all sorts of weather and I love the vx even more at the end of the day than the beginning Heater was fine too and did quite a lot of the journey with the roof off...

[GFWilliams]

Replaced the rear brake discs and pads over the weekend and painted the wishbones and hubs with hammerite to stop any further rust (looks a lot better!). Will probably get it all powder coated at a later date


Today a Citroen DS3 arrived as a long term test car for a month which will be my daily driver instead of my civic (which is feeling a bit sorry for itself, will fix the issues and then maybe sell it)

[GFWilliams]

Update:

I took the lights apart and painted the insides black, getting rid of the silver light surrounds. Also got new lenses for the front lights which look much better









Also fitted carpets... mainly for the reason I kept slipping on the metal when getting in with wet shoes. Much nicer feel than I was expecting, makes the car feel more insulted



Last shot of is Silver:


Then wrap time... Matte Black

[GFWilliams]

LargeD said:

Can I ask where you got the carpet set from? I'm trying to make my turbo as winter friendly as possible...

fred666 on the vx forum sells them... Don't expect it to make it much warmer though!

[GFWilliams]

New wheels went on yesterday... It's getting closer to how I want it to look now



Changed a bit since I got it

[GFWilliams]

So I sold my Honda Civic and bought dad's Mercedes C350 CDI instead...

So now these are my options each time I go for a drive