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Project 'shafted' (Spec-C content) pic heavy!
Hi guys, I haven't posted much since joining your site as I've been going through quite a lot of rubbish caused by a particular dealer from Manchester (won't go into it on here as I've had enough of having to deal with him and his fanboys causing trouble and constantly lying).
Little intro to set the picture, I've been on the Scooby scene since I got my first Scoob in September 2002, I bought my first (and last) brand new car, a Bugeye WRX with a whole 4 miles on the clock and was chuffed to bits! Day I got it...... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...X52DYHback.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...X52DYHside.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...X52DYHopen.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...2DYHengine.jpg It stayed pretty standard except for a Forge dump valve (I'm an Essex boy and couldn't help it!) until the warranty ran out 3 years later. I spent the next 4.5 years messing around with it and making it the best car for my needs. I completed 90k miles in it which included various trackdays, a CATD training day at Milbrook (fantastic by the way) and a few trips to the Germany WRC, which included a couple of cheeky ring laps (would have been rude not too!). The only problems I ever had was blowing the 5-speed box up at around 40k and the turbo actuator getting stuck open and making me think the turbo had gone. It ended up looking like this.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...9_652216_n.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...82573_3374.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...e/P1020018.jpg After a fantastic 7.5 years with the car, I decided I fancied some more POWER and looked at my options, it became apparent that I needed a 6-speed box, hubs and bits, a 2nd hand STi8 engine to re-build and then all the ancillaries, turbo, heads, mapping etc.. or I could be really stupid and get a big loan for something newer and better out the box. The stupid option won! I originally looked for a blobeye Spec-C but as soon as I laid eyes on this, I knew I had to have it, after speaking to the dealer on numerous occasions, firing off lots of emails and PM's I viewed the car and all seemed well, 2 weeks later I drove back up to Manchester to PX my Bug and que BIG loan and BIGGER smiles.... Dealer pictures.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...k/DSC01594.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...k/DSC01596.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...k/DSC01600.jpg On the journey home from Manchester we had some lovely weather which caused the trip last 6.5hrs! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...8022010053.jpg Day after I got it home I gave it a good wash, polish, claybar and wax http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...c%20C/side.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...c%20C/back.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...%20C/front.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...20C/engine.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...20C/inside.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...%20C/side2.jpg Stupidly loud RCM Team Ice full exhaust http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...0C/exhaust.jpg And one very happy bunny!! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...pec%20C/me.jpg Ross |
The car took a while to get used too, for a start it had almost 100bhp more than my EcuTek'd Bugeye, it was also the first time I had used a 6-speed box and the 'funky' diff. I was originally scared of stacking it but once I got some confidence I really started to enjoy it!
After a while I got lucky (in my opinion) and found a 2nd hand set of RA wheels on Scoobynet with Yoko ADO7's with tonnes of tread left. I also stuck some mudflaps on for good measure.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...P1020497-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...P1020482-2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/P1020501.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/P1020485.jpg For the next 6 months and 5kmiles, all was well in Scoobyland, then it all went a bit sh1t really! Whilst cruising on the M25 on my way to Bruntingthorpe to attend the Asda charity day last year with the WR1OC, I got approximately 20 miles from home and had a massive loss of power and plumes of white smoke out the back of the car. Pulled over and couldn't see anything wrong, I natually thought a head gasket had gone (bearing in mind I bought the car with 11k miles on the clock and it now had 16k miles). Got it low loaded home and went to the Asda day with a mate and spent all weekend with the raving hump so got rather drunk! After the weekend I contacted RCM as the car had been serviced and modified by them for the previous owner. I was just after some advice, but when I explained what car it was, they instantly remembered it and told me the previous owner had loads of work done by them, got it mapped elsewhere, then it had blown up!!! He then got another engine put in by someone else (don't know who or what engine they used) and the car had loads of issues and never ran properly. The dealer which I had bought the car from had then bought it from the previous owner at a knock down price due to the engine issues and had 'fixed it' and sold it on! Obviously I was not very happy with this, the dealer had more than enough chances to tell me the history of the car, he had advertised and sold it as an immaculate and original 2006 Spec C with 11k miles on the clock! After contacting the dealer he told me that RCM were lying and it was only a £40 sensor, but during the same heated telephone conversation he then let slip that he had 'spent £2k replacing the pistons'!! So I now have a car which has been totally miss advertised and sold, I have no clue what state the engine is in, or even what engine is actually fitted to it! The dealer wanted to take the car to his mechanic in Manchester and said that if it was found to be his mechanic's fault, then he would pay for the repairs, but if it was my fault, then I would have to pay for it. I did not agree with this, if his mechanic had done something wrong then he would never admit to this and blame it on me no matter what the issue was! Plus if this was the same mechanic that had already worked on it, then there was something wrong with his work. I also didn't want him to take the car to Manchester because then he would have all my cash AND the car, I maybe silly but I'm not stupid! I nominated a Subaru specialist near me and after a lot of protesting he agreed he could do a full engineers report on the engine. The engine was taken out of the car and on a visual inspection it was found that 1. Split in inlet pipe next to turbo 2. Broken and bodged brown and black engine loom plugs 3. Speaker used for intake temperature sensor 4. NGK5 spark plugs in cylinders 2 & 4 5. NGK7 spark plugs in cylinders 1 & 3 6. Compression test showed no compression in cylinder 2 7. Scope shows scoring on wall of cylinder 2 8. Wrong crank pulley The dealer then agreed that the specialist could take the engine apart for pictures and a full report. During this time the specialist had a family member pass away and after 5 weeks, the engine was still sitting on his stand in the workshop. The dealer was kept up to date with the issues. I finally decided to take the engine elsewhere and with the agreement of the dealer I collected it from the first specialist and drove it straight to the agreed second specialist. Upon stripping the engine, these are the pictures I took... Wrong screw for dip stick http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Wrongscrew.jpg Wrong crank pulley http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...rankpulley.jpg Running rich http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nningrich2.jpg Speaker wire on charge temp sensor http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ringsensor.jpg Brown loom plug http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...enloomplug.jpg Black loom plug http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nloomplug2.jpg Cylinder 2 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ownpiston3.jpg Sump pickup with metal parts http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...noilpickup.jpg Sump full of metal (crap picture) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...etalinsump.jpg Leaking headers http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ingheaders.jpg Damaged gudgeon pin stopping piston from being removed http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...udgeonpin3.jpg Cylinder 2 damage http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...dcylinder2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...edcylinder.jpg Every single bearing scoured http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...bearings12.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...dbearings9.jpg Cracked ringlan http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...edringland.jpg Piston 2 - no surprise! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ownpiston5.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ownpiston4.jpg |
Lovely looking car - will be brilliant when rebuilt (correctly). Theres a few good builders that people on here have used so if you need any info/contacts let us know, as for the dealer - (3 letters starting in P ending in M by any chance) - good luck getting them to sort it but only settle for cash/payment for the work to be done elsewhere!
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After the full report with pictures (there are many more) was sent to the dealer, he immediately said that I had ragged it to death and ran it low on oil, which is total rubbish. I have maintained my Bugeye myself and thats the last thing I would ever do!
He then went back and forth offering me second hand engines and then a brand new crated one, but all these offers rapidily dissapeared. He then said I had taken a different engine to the second specialist than was originally in the car when sold - again, total rubbish. The first specialist had not taken any details or pictures of the engine which I had specifically requested so I had no proof to show it was the same engine that came with the car. The dealer continued to mess me around so I threatened court action which he seemed to be scared about. After getting advice from my solicitor and after he had spoken to the dealer and sent him a letter to which the dealer did not bother replying too, I was advised that I needed a witness statement from the first specialist to show he had taken the engine out and it was the same engine I took to the 2nd specialist. I never got anything from the first specialist so had no evidence to produce. This meant that I was pretty well stuck, even though the first invoice from the original specialist pointed out the exact same issues the 2nd specialist had found before spliting the engine! Basically, the dealer had totally shafted me and the first specialist had a big part to play in this! So what do I do now?? I could put a second hand engine in the car and hope it never fails, or I could save up and get a new engine built. After a few months saving I gave the go ahead for a fully forged 2.1 engine to be built using Lateral components. Wiesco over sized pistons New 2.5 crank Fully honed and chemically cleaned block ACL race bearings ARP studs Lateral H-beam rods Fully rebuilt, re-shimmed, skimmed heads New oil pump etc... During the engine build I done a few small bits myself such as.... DEI wrapped headers, up pipe and down pipe http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...C/IMAG0127.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...C/IMAG0123.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...C/IMAG0126.jpg Painted the tow hook http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...C/IMAG0128.jpg Crackle blacked the header tank and spent a lot of time cleaning parts such as the sump, and engine bay (technically I didn't actually do this myself) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...C/IMAG0134.jpg |
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Got it in one!!!! Thanks for the advice, it's already been built and I'm currently running it in. Apologies if this is a bit (very) long winded, first time I've done a project thread and I know everyone likes pictures :doubleup: |
Can tell who the dealer is from the first pic
I remember following you on the MSOC tunnel run last year with the team ice on, have a video somewhere, it was the one when Tiny was in the RS Can't believe how bad the bodge job was on the engine, hope you get it all sorted soon |
Holy ****.
Hope all goes well from now on in Simon |
Thanks guys!
The Team Ice was just bloody stupid in my opinion, it's now got a full Miltek system so I can stop perferating my ear drums and hopefully (finally) take it on track. The car blew up last August and due to all the 'issues' has only been back on the road for around 4 weeks now. I'm having real trouble getting to like it again as all it's ever brought me is hassle, but in actual fact it's nothing to do with the car, it's all to do with the scum dealer who ruined it. I had planned on doing a lot more whilst it was off the road such as having a few bits powder coated and made to look pretty, but to be honest I had real trouble building up the enthusiasm just to open the garage door, let alone do anything to it! Everytime I mention anything on Scoobynet, it gets deleted rather quickly and I had major second thoughts about posting anything on here as I don't know if showing everyone how bad it was, is a good idea or not. But then I can't make the history of the car any worse and I'm sure this will probably get 'adjusted' or deleted at some point due to all his fanboys seeing it. I've gone past caring now, got the car I've always wanted, but after all this ****, I really don't know if I'll ever gel with it and keep wishing I just kept my old Bugeye and modded it. |
Mate that is terrible, the more of these cowboy dealers that get shut down the better!! Glad to see that you made the best of it though
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That is ****ing shocking stuff mate, I always thought the guy in Manchester was a complete ****head, one of the members on here nearly bought something from him a while back, I am glad that all fell through looking at the **** you have had to put up with.
I just hope that you can get back to the point where you love your scooby again. The only good thing is it's a blank canvas from here, so you can build something bespoke from the floor up. Good luck with it all fella :ok: |
Don't think your find any of the modding team changing any thing on your posts mate and you won't find any fanboys on here
I nearly lost interest with my car after a well known companies 2.1 let go after less than 2000 miles, but in the end after thinking about and what it could be after rebuilding it, its giving me the passion to continue |
Great write up. Can't believe the state of the engine! Glad it's all getting sorted now - bodywork looks mint so it must be a very nice car again now...
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Look at it this way. What you have ended up with is probably better than a standard spec c. You now have a brand new custom built engine, in a stonking looking car ( I would say that!). At some point, we all end up having a rebuild in the quest for reliable power, now you have it. Keep hold of it and enjoy it is what I say.:drive:
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crikey you have been through it all....keep going, the result will be worth it:drive:
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If you look through my build you can see ive had issues with engine builders. It makes you loose your interest in what should be your pride & joy. As you said though its not the car being unreliable. You need to bring that spec c to the Ring with us in a couple of weeks & give it a good spanking. Once it's made you smile you will get your enthusiasm back. :drive:
By the way fan boy's are not allowed!!! Errr whats a fan boy? :?::roll: |
Gutting to hear of your problems but as most have said, stick with it, you have a well sorted car now:ok: just needs to grow on you, which may be a while with what you've been through with it:( only way to get attached is to drive them:drive: enjoy it:ok:
How scarey to think that a certain someone was very close to purchasing an S204 from them:shock: and had also spoken with them about importing a couple of RA R's too:shock::shock: As with everything, theres always two sides to every story but with reading your post, I know theres two people who are even more happy with the alternative routes they have taken:ok: |
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Thanks for the comments guys, to be honest I was a bit worried that this wouldn't go down too well but you have all made me feel a lot more positive about it so thankyou, much appreciated!! :worthy:
I've really had enough of fanboys, and he seems to have quite a few bum lickers too! The car should be pretty good once it's all done, it will just take a while for me to get my confidence back with it, at the moment I'm worried about every tiny little noise and am driving it like a complete fanny incase it goes wrong. I work nights so will update the new bits asap, I've now fitted a KS3, carbon gauge pod and been having fun and games (fight) with a Setrab oil cooler. The original oil cooler was obviously full of engine bits so I got a good 2nd hand core from the engine builder which split after around 6 miles, although I did have a bracket welded onto it which was directly above the split, you live and learn! Got a 25row full kit with fire sleeve and a spacer plate so the pipes miss the headers (no oil modine on the Spec C's), will get some pictures during the week, it's all fitted now and seemed ok on the 150mile round trip to the London Motor Museum on Sunday with the MSOC. Thanks again for the feed back guys! PS - 53WRX FTW :yeah: |
Almost forgot, while all this was going on, I won a Pistonheads free trackday at Silverstone, almost told them to give it to someone else, but then a good mate of mine said 'why not take the Focus' which I thought was a really stupid idea.........
oops Pictures from the official photographer.... Silverstone, 23/01/11, Focus W537 http://www.capturedindigital.co.uk/s...ys/gallery.php A short video from a Mini Cooper, his passenger gives me a lovely comment at the end! lol http://www.youtube.com/user/MiniOneS.../0/WcidrFen4X8 Pictures my Dad took from Stowe http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../camera021.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../camera022.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../camera023.jpg Was pretty greasey, no ABS (a good thing in my book) I had Goodyear Efficiancy tyres on the back, Dunlop Sports on the front, was in the slowest car of the day, did I enjoy it?? Too bloody right I did, sliding round almost every corner, over took a few cars which I had no right too, helped by driving a shed and having way too much commitment at times, used a whole tank of fuel in 147miles on track, normally get around 360!! Poor old shed did good :-P |
all i can say is c...s,keep smiling fella as you got a nice car there.also them silver wheels are spot on. :doubleup:
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Thanks Anger, I didn't realise people thought that way about him on here, should have posted up earlier. I bet that was gutting about the 2.1, sorry to hear about that, hope it all works out! I'm amazed mine lasted as long as it did in that condition, I've also noticed that I've never seen the engine light come up, not even when it blew up. Any tiny little thing and my Bug used to pop it on straight away so I'll have to look into that, wouldn't surprise me if the bulb has been taken out or the wire has been cut - another nice little surprise :brickwall: |
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Great write up Ross, get it up elsewhere. ;)
Does the CEL light come on when ignition turned on? |
Spec C 57 try newbies first mate & do your intro. Just so we know what your about :drive:
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"Can tell who the dealer is from the first pic"
Can somebody please pm me who it is, as it would be nice to know for future reference. Thanks in advance. |
Should have bought a Datsun!!!
And get that gayboy out your engine bay!!! |
Gutted to read the story so far, but hopefully you're at the turning point and you can fall back in love with the car again. It looks lovely, you just need the performance to match now! :doubleup:
I daresay that most of the posters on here would be glad to informed of a dodgy dealership rather than see it swept under the carpet or posts omitted. :nod: |
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Erm, yes i was that person.
Was as far as birmingham ready to look at the S204 the next day, and i called to say i was on way. Response was, oh sorry its just sold , some guy brought it overthe phone. A week later i got a call to say its for sale again. Thank fook it all went wrong for me, i had a lucky esdcape i guess. I actually was interested in the Spec c you brought. Really sorry to hear the crap you have had. The car looks very very nice. |
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You got off lightly! I've heard of a few stories about him now such as an Irish Spec C that was for sale for a very long time due to issues, then he bought it for cheap and made a bucket of cash from an unlucky buyer. Wish I knew all this last February :-( |
I definately think you should stick with is Ross.
You've got the car EXACTLY how it should be now, and if you sell it someone else will benefit from all the work and £££ you've put into it, and it'll be hard to find something as good as it is now. |
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