OK, and so it starts again...
My SQS synchro gearbox is now paid for and will shortly be on order once I'm able to send them my Peloquin diff so they can build the box up and ship it to me ready to fit as-is, like Bill did with his dog box.
The Cupra is now over at a friend's house who helped do a large majority of all the actual spanner work last time we had it all apart and tonight he began stripping bits off in preparation to remove the engine from the car completely.
Not a great pic but here she is on a mate's trailer arriving late at night at my friend's house, ready for the next installment of go-faster toys. As I'd lost 3rd gear round Castle Combe I didn't want to risk driving it in case I ended up losing the lot. With bits of metal rattling around in the bottom of the box and a severe blowing exhaust manifold it's not the nicest sounding car to move anywhere at the minute.
Taking the engine out completely will allow easier access to the gearbox and also gives me the chance to sort a few things all in one go while the engine is out, namely easier access to remove the turbo to send off for more hybrid work (K03-2283), the manifold for porting by Bill and the head to swap out for a large port from an AGU/AEB engine with new exhaust guides and valve stem seals so I can rest assured this is all covered.
If temptation gets the better of me I may also end up tarting a few things up while we're at it
While talks are ongoing with CR regarding the K04 2283 hybrids I am holding fire before sending my turbo away so I can be more confident I won't run into any of the surging issues experienced by a couple of members. See
this thread for full details and latest updates regarding this.
My trusty technician Dale will be posting updates and developments in my thread as and when he takes more things apart so watch this space
As an aside, temptation also went ahead and got the better of me last weekend when I ended up buying this little bad boy as a new daily driver:
In the few miles I've covered already I have to say it's one of the most fun cars I've ever driven with plenty of smiles per gallon. It absolutely loves to be thrashed and laps up the bends like a go kart on rails, phenomenal handling with such a sharp, precise turn in. You can just easily feel exactly what it's doing at any given time while it urges to go round each bend just a little bit faster than you'd first anticipated. A great little hot hatch that will undoubtedly be seeing some track abuse in the not too distant future