Europa Blue VX220 Turbo

[coldel]

I had a stunning red Celica GT-Four, it took me on a road trip to Scotland and across Europe, I thought we would be together forever but I got an itch. The itch led to some internet investigation, which led to writing a car advert, you know, just in case. Then one day I just put it into the Pistonheads classifieds and 4 weeks later it was being driven to Ireland by a very happy new owner I was quite sad, it was a beautiful car, and never let me down. But I kept my eyes on the prize, I wanted another VX220.

I had a stunning red low mileage VX220 NA a few years back that I regretted selling, each drive in it, even just to the shops, was an epic event. So I started the hunt for another with cash burning a hole in my pocket. I was aiming for another NA, then suddenly, a post appeared on the facepack owners group, Turbo for sale, 3 hours away on the train (relatively close given the few that are for sale!) - so off I went. The drive home could have been better, I took warm clothes, gloves, hat etc. was determined to drive it back topless but the relentless hail stones last weekend put paid to that idea

So am now the very happy owner of a VX220 turbo, a few mods (Chris Tullet exhaust, 111r Suspension, Compomotive wheels, Remap) make it a very quick car - for the money not much else on the road gets near it.

I plan to work first on the interior, I want to rework it to be a bit more unique, re-upholster the seats and doors. Carpet the interior etc. New head unit and speakers already sat in my living room ready to go in and replace the factory kit that is still in there.

[HumanSteamroller]

Nice, I think the colour of the body and the wheels really look good together. Enjoy.

[coldel]

Thanks, the wheels look a lot better in the flesh than on camera, they can look a little lost on the pictures but up close and personal they look really good!

[Broccers]

Like

How much do these go for now? I had one on loan in 2004 for 24 hours - think they were 23k new. Great cars

[coldel]

Turbos go for between £12k up to £22k depending on mileage. Market is pretty volatile as there are only a handful for sale at any one time, so if a few owners put the price up, thats the price they go for.

[falkster]

Great looking car!! I remember having a huge bruise after trying to get out of one around 2007 when I was looking at buying one as a daily.

[coldel]

There are special moves to get in and out, it kind of means either falling in backside first then lurching out and usually ending up on the floor!

[SiT]

Stunning car, great colour and best wheels on a VX by far! I had an NA a few years back and can highly recommend the carpeting kit, made it feel totally different inside and helped a little in the winter!

What you thinking reupholster wise? Seen a few people follow the Porsche lead and colour code the transmission tunnel which always looks nice along with a bit of alcantara in there.

Keep the updates coming and enjoy!!!! Two friends of mine have just bought VX’s; 1 NA 1 VXT so very tempting to jump in another.......

Si

[coldel]

SiT said:

Stunning car, great colour and best wheels on a VX by far! I had an NA a few years back and can highly recommend the carpeting kit, made it feel totally different inside and helped a little in the winter!

What you thinking reupholster wise? Seen a few people follow the Porsche lead and colour code the transmission tunnel which always looks nice along with a bit of alcantara in there.

Keep the updates coming and enjoy!!!! Two friends of mine have just bought VX’s; 1 NA 1 VXT so very tempting to jump in another.......

Si

Thanks Si, yes couldn't believe how good the car was when I saw it. Very happy. Chap that did the carpeting kit on the forum stopped making them I think so will need to do a home made job myself. Re-upholster wise, some sort of padded back and seat in black with cross stitching in blue I think? The transmission tunnel has a leather bonded cover on it, might just leave that for now. The dash already has alcantara on it which is nice to the touch and makes the inside a little more hospitable!

And as per your last comment, go on, you know you want to...!

[.Adam.]

Looking forward to seeing what you do to this, although it will be a bit sad knowing it's not mine anymore!

Dave the Trimmer always seems to come recommended over on .org if you are looking for someone to do the retrimming work.

Edited by .Adam. on Saturday 23 March 12:09

[NelPo]

Hi coldel - saw your post on my thread on .org.

Car looks great, hope you're enjoying ownership. Had the top off mine for the first time at the weekend.

I have elise parts toe links to fit them I'm planning on doing a few track days this year. Sounds like you have your work cut out with an interior update. I'm going to live with mine feeling as luxurious as a bean can for the foreseeable future.

[coldel]

NelPo said:

Hi coldel - saw your post on my thread on .org.

Car looks great, hope you're enjoying ownership. Had the top off mine for the first time at the weekend.

I have elise parts toe links to fit them I'm planning on doing a few track days this year. Sounds like you have your work cut out with an interior update. I'm going to live with mine feeling as luxurious as a bean can for the foreseeable future.

Hello! Well ordered the carpet from Fred on .org which arrives this weekend with any luck. Changed the speakers and head unit and will try install handsfree kit that may work with the roof on lol. Contacted a couple of local upholsterers to start looking at designs for door cards, sills and seats.

I dont expect it to be like sat in a rolls royce but I want people to look in and see an inviting cabin rather than a metal box lol

I wont be tracking my car but may well do some of the work like toe links just in case at some point (I am hoping they wont fail in normal on road driving!).

[NelPo]

From what I've read, it seems like the toe links are worth doing just for peace of mind. Pretty much all of the failed ones I've seen posted about online are from heavy track use with R888s or similar. I'm not going to fit sticky rubber to mine for track days but as my car is relatively high mileage (75k) I thought it was worth doing anyway. Also the elise parts kit is nice and shiny.

I'd be interested to see what yours looks like with some interior upgrades and if the road noise is reduced at all. I didn't think mine was too bad until I was out with my girlfriend and had to resort to shouting to hear each other on the dual carriageway!

[coldel]

NelPo said:

From what I've read, it seems like the toe links are worth doing just for peace of mind. Pretty much all of the failed ones I've seen posted about online are from heavy track use with R888s or similar. I'm not going to fit sticky rubber to mine for track days but as my car is relatively high mileage (75k) I thought it was worth doing anyway. Also the elise parts kit is nice and shiny.

I'd be interested to see what yours looks like with some interior upgrades and if the road noise is reduced at all. I didn't think mine was too bad until I was out with my girlfriend and had to resort to shouting to hear each other on the dual carriageway!

Did you get a garage to do the toe links? How much work is involved? I have no problem spending money on good maintenance like this even if I don't track the car. I heard Spitfires are better than the Elise Parts ones?

Edited by coldel on Thursday 28th March 11:38

[Torquey]

Nice car and lovely wheels.

I'm sure Turbo's were Coral Blue and NA's Europa blue though.

[coldel]

Torquey said:

Nice car and lovely wheels.

I'm sure Turbo's were Coral Blue and NA's Europa blue though.

It's Europa Blue paint code 2KU, Turbos came in both options, NA only came in Europa Blue. To be honest both colours are pearlescent and I spend a lot of time polishing/detailing etc. so it comes up a lovely shade of blue

[.Adam.]

I was told this was quite rare, being a Turbo in Europa, apparently most Turbos are Coral.

Edited by .Adam. on Thursday 28th March 14:30

[Zoobeef]

My old turbo was Europa. Theres plenty of them around.

[NelPo]

coldel said:

Did you get a garage to do the toe links? How much work is involved? I have no problem spending money on good maintenance like this even if I don't track the car. I heard Spitfires are better than the Elise Parts ones?

Edited by coldel on Thursday 28th March 11:38

Haven't done the links yet. There is a guide knocking about somewhere - doesn't look too hard if you're relatively experienced. Main issue is getting the rear toe reset after you've done it. I've read that putting a bit more camber on the front helps it handle a bit more neutral so I'll take it an alignment place to do rear toe + front camber at some point.

I have also heard Spitfire's kit is stronger, mostly from the manufacturer themselves as they have a strong forum presence. Everyone's situation is different, and it's very hard to make an informed judgement on which kit to get just by reading up on them, but this was my thought process on getting the Elise Parts one (I'm not an expert so feel free to take a big pinch of salt with everything below):

With only road or light track use, the overwhelming majority of VX220s have had no issues with rear toe links. I have only seen one or two who say their links failed on the road (obviously a lot of them may not have not been posted publicly but we can assume the number is pretty low). There are plenty of cars with decent mileage (like mine) on original links with no problem. A lot of people simply replace their toe links with OEM and keep going with no problems. Therefore, I would say for a car that will be predominantly on the road, on standard Potenzas, the Elise Sport kit would be more than adequate.

[coldel]

Well, wasn't the best summer to be owning one of these, but made the best of it when the sun did come out!

So didnt risk putting the car in for any work in case I missed a bit of sun, did tinker a little adding a nice start button sticker but also adding a custom carbon expansion tank cover to stop the tank cracking



As I hit the end of September an opportunity came up to do something with the interior, here it is and it looks a bit erm, well not for me:



Seats, mats and footrest out and started cleaning the floor paneling etc. found various items under there including a National Trust booklet from 2014 along with various coins that had been rattling about



Seats and door cards were sent off to a talented chap with a needle and thread in Cheshire (pics to follow soon), but whilst those were away installed a carpet set and new gear and brake gaiters.



I think had to get a bit creative with a stanley blade to refit the foot rest and OEM mats



and that is how it currently stands, seats and door cards returning in their new guise Friday...