New toy on route in next week (06 5.7 variant)
Discussion
Thought I'd pop my head in the door and say hello, after having owned every model of Astra including my current pairing of a Coupe Turbo (running 254bhp) and a Mk5 Sportshatch CDTI150 tuned to 209.8bhp/338lb/ft I've taken the plunge and both of these are being surgically removed from my driveway to make way for my new purchase - a 6 month old (Mar 06) 5.7 v8 Monaro which should hopefully be on my doorstep here in Northern Ireland within the next week - if not I'll be taking a flight over to England to lift it in person and drive it home 
I feel like a 3 year old at the moment on the lead up to xmas, I've been lucky to have driven both the pre-facelift VXR and post-facelift and loved them both to bits, and have been keeping my ear to the ground for a clean one for the best part of a year now (but those twin snouts on the bonnet won me over in the end).
From what I can see here, I've well over 250 pages of reading to be done, the car for the first couple of months will be staying standard (cough cough, I'll remind myself of that many a time in the next year no doubt)...not too many of these beasties in Ireland at the moment so hopefully I'll see some of you other owners at some stage next year as my 2nd job see's me covering the BTCC season (photographer/journalist) and I'm sure the car will be coming with me to some of next years events (the remaining 2 of the 2006 season are already booked as fly-drives or I would bring it over earlier).
Anyway, just thought I'd wave and say hello before I end up asking questions that more than likely have been round the mill a few times already but I'm too blind to find myself
I feel like a 3 year old at the moment on the lead up to xmas, I've been lucky to have driven both the pre-facelift VXR and post-facelift and loved them both to bits, and have been keeping my ear to the ground for a clean one for the best part of a year now (but those twin snouts on the bonnet won me over in the end).
From what I can see here, I've well over 250 pages of reading to be done, the car for the first couple of months will be staying standard (cough cough, I'll remind myself of that many a time in the next year no doubt)...not too many of these beasties in Ireland at the moment so hopefully I'll see some of you other owners at some stage next year as my 2nd job see's me covering the BTCC season (photographer/journalist) and I'm sure the car will be coming with me to some of next years events (the remaining 2 of the 2006 season are already booked as fly-drives or I would bring it over earlier).
Anyway, just thought I'd wave and say hello before I end up asking questions that more than likely have been round the mill a few times already but I'm too blind to find myself
Good to see you made a step in the right direction with your new "beastie"
Owning one is like been a little kid with your hand in the cookie jar. Grin fron ear to ear
Next time your at BTCC make yourself known to Lance and Kerrie at Juststuf. (my housemates) They are at all events looking atfer Gavin Smith, James Pickford (not racing this year) aswell as doing things like VXR - Holiday Inn sponsership. Quite often looking for photographers for motorsport events.
Owning one is like been a little kid with your hand in the cookie jar. Grin fron ear to ear
Next time your at BTCC make yourself known to Lance and Kerrie at Juststuf. (my housemates) They are at all events looking atfer Gavin Smith, James Pickford (not racing this year) aswell as doing things like VXR - Holiday Inn sponsership. Quite often looking for photographers for motorsport events.
I may actually have bumped into them without knowing at Knockhill then as Fast & Modified mag in Scotland (one of those I do photography/editorial for) were chatting to someone in the hospitality area there about me doing a feature on Gavin at one of the final two rounds (did a 5 page spread on Gordon Shedden prior to round 8 at Knockhill).
Oh the fun, with it having been well over a month since I last took the wheel of a Monaro I was getting very very impatient for it to arrive, but hell yeah has it been worth the wait...picked it up at 2pm yesterday afternoon and by midnight the petrol light was on again with only 160 miles on the trip...but I've not been able to take the smile off my face for that whole 160 miles.
Best bit though was leaving the house today to head to work, opening the garage door to be greeted by that pair of nostrils and then the rumble as it fires itself into life. End of the road has about 15-20 workmen all laying pipes and as I came rumbling up to the junction the lot of them just stood and stared...something I'm starting to get used to and of course I'll be found smiling back at all times
The old cars (astra coupe turbo and mk5 astra hatch) used to fit into the garage with plenty of room to spare, I've max 2-3 inches clearance when adding the distance at the back to the wall and the front to the door, so there's now a nice big black paint mark on the wall to line the passenger mirror up with so that the back end doesn't get any unwanted modifications carried out.
Great fun to drive, still can't believe I finally have what I've been after for the last year or so, and once the demo runs with the friends are out the way it'll be time to see what sort of mileage she'll return when driven normally.
Best bit though was leaving the house today to head to work, opening the garage door to be greeted by that pair of nostrils and then the rumble as it fires itself into life. End of the road has about 15-20 workmen all laying pipes and as I came rumbling up to the junction the lot of them just stood and stared...something I'm starting to get used to and of course I'll be found smiling back at all times
The old cars (astra coupe turbo and mk5 astra hatch) used to fit into the garage with plenty of room to spare, I've max 2-3 inches clearance when adding the distance at the back to the wall and the front to the door, so there's now a nice big black paint mark on the wall to line the passenger mirror up with so that the back end doesn't get any unwanted modifications carried out.
Great fun to drive, still can't believe I finally have what I've been after for the last year or so, and once the demo runs with the friends are out the way it'll be time to see what sort of mileage she'll return when driven normally.
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