8bit's Mk1 Leon Cupra R. Scarlett - as in Johansson...

[8bit]

Well, not really but it got your attention didn't it?

Decided it was time to get my own RR thread on the go. Here's Scarlett, my late-2005 mk1 Leon Cupra R. Got her in February this year after driving about in a 1.2L Fiat Punto for the previous 18 months - my first car after passing my test at age 31. Late starter!

Fair jump up the ladder going from a N/A 1.2 to a 1.8 turbo too. The car still scares the crap out of me sometimes if I get really over-adventurous, have learned a fair bit of respect for it and for my limits...

These pics were taken after a good wash at my girlfriend's Dad's place at the weekend. I've been doing the two bucket method for the last while altho with being away with work and on holiday lately it was over a month since she was last washed so was a lot of elbow grease, even just for a good wash and dry. Didn't come up too badly tho but I'll need to get working with the Tardis and the clay bar next time. Some more pics...

Pics were all taken on my phone (HTC Desire), not the greatest quality so will try and get some better ones when I find some cool setting to use as a backdrop and borrow the g/f's camera. I'll get slagged off something rotten for it tho, she can't understand my obsession with the car!

Previous owner seemed to have a dislike of alloy wheels and of Brembo brakes. Getting the wheels refurbed and powdercoated in a few weeks and will take them off and get onto the brakes with the Tardis next time I get a chance to wash it.

While on this bit, I can recommend the Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas - much better grip and feedback than the Falken FK452s that were on there when I got the car.

The bay (and in fact the whole car) was totally OEM when I got her. Only done a couple of minor things so far but got some plans, as most do

Mods Done (updated 8th Dec 2011):

• Alpine iDA-X305 Head Unit (click for pic)
• Forge 007p Recirc Valve - now replaced with Forge 008 valve
• THS Performance Silicone TIP
• Jetex cone filter (click for pics)
  
• Jabbasport heatshield (clicky)
• Mk. IV Golf R32 front ARB
• N249 bypass and silicone hose replacements
• More silicone, N75 and DV hoses from Creation Motorsport
• Whiteline 24mm rear ARB
• ECS Dogbone Mount
• Awesome GTI red coilpacks
• Revo stage 1 linear remap - More info here

Coming Soon:

• Some more engine bay silicone hoses
• Sort out brakes

Hopefully Get Round To:

• THS FR3 engine and gearbox mounts
• Bigger downpipe and sports cat
• Possibly some wheel spacers
• Possibly some sort of FMIC

Other stuff:

• First rolling road session
• Alloys refurbed in titanium metallic (click for pics)
• Wheel alignment check, before adjustments

And if you really were disappointed cos you thought you were getting the real Scarlett Johansson then click here, here or here

 

[8bit]

Just a few more pics from a run tonight along Lower Deeside. Some great bits of road out that way

Should have closed the door for that last one...

 

[Willie]

Nice pictures Niall.

Looking well shiny, gimme a shout if you want to borrow my machine polisher and polishes

Can I suggest you fit the new tyres to the rear.
You should always have you best grip on the rear as understeer is easier to control than oversteer.

 

[8bit]

Cheers Willie Might take you up on the polisher, did get some bits an pieces for doing it by hand from Polished Bliss but reckon it'll take all day just to polish it by hand, never mind wash it beforehand...

Had heard that about tyres, the old Falkens on the front were pretty much shot but the rears still had about 6mm on them so figured they'd be ok and got the Vreds on the front as I was sick of the wheelskip if I even looked at the throttle pedal. Hoping to have funds to get another pair of Vreds before I get the wheels refurbed so will see if they can put the new ones on the rears then.

 

[Willie]

The Porter Cable is there for use whenever you want, sack doing it by hand, you'll never get the same results as with the polisher.

I never get the time to use it as often as I used to

 

[Cupra Luke]

V Nice

 

[8bit]

V Nice

Thanks! It is early days yet, got a few restoration type things I want to do (wheel refurbs, sort out some stone chips and scratches, replace tatty-looking badges etc) and a few mods but I've got all the fun of this stuff still to come.

@Willie, did a double take there when you said Porter Cable - my surname is Porter, I was like "how did you know that, don't remember telling anyone on here that yet!" Might take you up on that, can't say I was hugely enthusiastic when Clarke at PB described the hand-polishing to me...

 

[Willie]

Thanks! It is early days yet, got a few restoration type things I want to do (wheel refurbs, sort out some stone chips and scratches, replace tatty-looking badges etc) and a few mods but I've got all the fun of this stuff still to come.

@Willie, did a double take there when you said Porter Cable - my surname is Porter, I was like "how did you know that, don't remember telling anyone on here that yet!" Might take you up on that, can't say I was hugely enthusiastic when Clarke at PB described the hand-polishing to me...

I'll give you a shout when I'm back and see if we can buff one of your panels for you and show you that hand jobs have their place and time
Not on a cars bodywork though, lol

 

[drka-drka]

Car looks very clean mate, like it

Will have to see what your 007p is like as i might get one some point

 

[Willie]

Car looks very clean mate, like it

Will have to see what your 007p is like as i might get one some point

The 007p is the only DV to use on our engines

 

[drka-drka]

Yeah iv had a read and research on all the bumff thats on here.

Iv heard about how it will cause problems and so on. but im not gonna buy one just yet

 

[Willie]

Yeah iv had a read and research on all the bumff thats on here.

Iv heard about how it will cause problems and so on. but im not gonna buy one just yet

The 007p will cause you NO problems, its the Split R that has caused some issues before.

 

[drka-drka]

sorry think u miss understood my message, was meaning my split R DV that is said to cause problems so on.

 

[8bit]

Car looks very clean mate, like it

Will have to see what your 007p is like as i might get one some point

Cheers mate The photos don't show the tar spots tho or the swirls, need to get all that sorted but since I live in a flat and have no external tap for a hose and can't run an extension from the 3rd floor to use a mains-powered hoover or polisher I have to wash it at my g/f's Dad's place. Neither he or my other half are car people so I get the mick taken out of me when I'm trying to work on it. I told her if we buy a house it has to have a driveway and an external tap

I'll give you a shout when I'm back and see if we can buff one of your panels for you and show you that hand jobs have their place and time
Not on a cars bodywork though, lol

Amen to that mate

 

[wayne lcr]

another red lcr to the club nice and shiney as well

 

[8bit]

another red lcr to the club nice and shiney as well

Aye, it's a funny car for colours - there's a black one on my street as well, I reckon it looks slightly better from the front but I prefer the red from the back and sides. Didn't like the red in the photo on the garage's website but loved it when I saw it for real


UPDATE - when I washed it last weekend I quickly reversed the Forge DV to see what the difference in noises was like. Can certainly hear the turbo a little better and if coming off-throttle sharply at high revs the DV itself sounds more like the classic dump valve sound (not sure if that's a good thing or not yet!) but there's also another sound. It's a whine, lower than the turbo whine and it seems to rise and fall directly with throttle position. Wondered if maybe it's the actuator, or the throttle body. Pick up and response seems slightly better with the valve reversed but might just be that the ambient air temps have been a little lower this past week.

I guess it'll be louder yet if I go to an open cone filter but I'm not sure about those, I've read on here that you can lose some low-end performance and I don't really want that. I bought a spare airbox to do the smoothed-and-drilled mod on, might drill out the lower section and put that on today and see how it sounds and feels.

Also booked car in to get alloys refurbed and powdercoated in a couple of weeks. At the moment I'm leaning towards anthracite or titanium colour but likely to change my mind a few times before then

 

[stezo2k]

Almost as sexy as Scarlett herself nice car

 

[Steely]

great car, just get that engine bay dressed up and clean and you've got a stunner,

lc/lcr are modern classics, like a lot of quick cars, one hell of a lot of them are getting written off as they're comming down in price and nutters get behind the wheels of them,

sierra cosworths, they were everywhere once, then theres only a handful of decent ones about now, cupra r's will go the same way to be honest,

 

[Willie]

A needed addition

 

[Steely]

nice front splitter