Hello From An Old Friend

I recieved a lovely e-mail with pictures from the new owner of my old MK3 VR6 conversion. Since owning the car, he's made changes to Recaro SRD seats, DTM cup mirrors and Keskin deep dish wheels.

Far too often second owners become very neglectful of beautiful project cars. It's very nice to see that he's taken the car to the next level. The car is looking very nice. Great job Kevin!

Sideskirts Delayed...

I recieved a telephone call today from RD Motorsports informing me that my eagerly awaited painted sideskirts would be delayed until the end of the week. The total cost for painting: $120 CAN!

I should have pictures of the installed side skirts by the end of this upcoming weekend.

Taking A Brake: Double Trouble

Tonight's adventures began with another visit my buddy Darren with his MK4 Turbo'ed VR6. Our objective was to finally complete the installation for his 13 inch RPI Wilwood front brake kit.

During last evening's installation, an unexpected situation occurred when an important brake line fitting sheered apart. At the time, we decided to temporarily bypass the fitting as Darren needed to drive the car to work the next day. Without it, the brake line will become overstressed when turning sharply and sheer apart from the caliper. Tonight's primary objective was simple: replace the temporary fitting bypass.

Darren informed us that he had spent most of today pricing out the part. He became quickly frustrated as he was quoted $37.00 CAN from Ron's Parts Inc for an item that should cost no more than a few dollars. With no success in finding a lower price, he purchased a new set of brake lines with the fittings built into them from Momentum Motorparts for $70.00 CAN.

Once completing the installation, we turned to our second task of replacing Johnny's rear rotors and brake pads.



While working on his car, I noticed heavy scratches and oxidation in his paint. When asked when he last clay-barred or waxed. He replied, "Clay bar? What is clay-barring?" I immediately stopped in my tracks and got out my Mothers Clay-Bar Kit and some Meguires Cleaner Wax. I used his hood as a demostration. After 15 minutes of elbow grease, I had waxed 1/2 of his hood with and the other 1/2 without claybarring. The finish result was obvious. The side without clay-bar appeared just as bright and glossy, but felt rough like sandpaper. The side which I applied the clay-bar felt silky smooth. I told him that clay-barring makes it a lot easier to apply and remove wax due to less friction/surface area from dirt embedded into the paint.

How Do You Stop 350+ horsepower?

After spending the afternoon gardening, my buddy Darren came over to install his newly acquired 'used' RPI 13-inch Wilwood front brake kit onto his HPA Turbocharged MK4 24V VR6. At first glance, I must say that I was impressed on how enormous the brake kit was. While many newbies do not appreciate the benefits of bigger brakes, Darren needed them to safely stop the 350+ horsepower monster.

Last week, Darren failed at his first attempt to install the brakes on his car. Midway of the installation, he discovered missing bolts from the kit. Tonight, Darren prayed that he would be graced with better luck in this second attempt.



As the night progressed, the installation did appear to be going smoothly without any complications. At approximately 9:45 pm, trouble occurred. An adapter fitting that joined the stainless steel brake lines to the caliper sheered apart. We figured that the previous owner of the kit had overtorqued the fitting, thus stressing it. The look of dismay was appeared on Darren's face. A few minutes of brainstorming followed. Finally... a solution, we discovered that the brake line could be threaded directly into the caliper thus bypassing the sheered fitting. The decision was made to continue the installation with the bypass solution. This would only be a temporary fix until acquiring a replacement fitting tomorrow.

With the brakes finally completed at 11:00 pm, the car was backed out the garage to test them. A tired looking Darren returned with a smiles on his face.

My First Garden Experience

My typical weekend would normally compose of hanging out with friends, working on my friend's cars or a day escape to Seattle for some cross border shopping. This weekend was a little different, I discovered gardening.

As I woken up by Dejan on Saturday morning, I noticed that the sun was shining brightly outside. Upon returning from my Audi test drive, I stopped off at a Canadian Tire to pick up a jerry can and some gas for my lawnmower. This was my first opportunity to use the mower since purchasing it last year.

I had spent a lot of time researching the internet for information about lawn care. I found numerous sources which encouraged homeowners to mulch their clippings as it is environmentally friendly. When mulching, the clippings a recirculated inside the cuitting deck. Once recut into fine piece, they are left in the grass behind you. When the clippings decompost, it act as a natural lawn fertilizer.

Several neighbours watched as I rolled out "Big Red" out from the garage. Her flawless paint reflected in the sunlight. Then, I checked her oil levels, primed the fuel... all systems go! I pulled the starter in eagerness... Vroooooom!



I was very impressed with it's 5.75 horsepower Briggs & Stratton rear wheel drive motor. The adjustable throttle allowed me to control the mower easily up the hill leading to my backyard.

A few hours later, I was left with the feeling of self-satisfaction. I never thought that gardening would be so enjoyable. The creative juices were beginning to flow as I have ideas on livening up my yard. I'll have to make a visit soon to Art Knapps and Amsterdam Nurseries to pick up a few shrubs and trees.

My Blind Date: An Audi S4 & Belgian Fries

Like every other typical weekend, a telephone call from a friend usually wakes me up in the morning. This time, it's my friend Dejan. "Rob... do you want to come downtown to test drive an Audi RS4? Let's go!"

It's 1:30 pm and I find myself driving to downtown Vancouver on the TransCanada Hwy. In the lead is Dejan in his 2004 MK4 Jetta GLI. He's racing through traffic, weaving cars as they were standing still.

My reason of not participating in this game of freeway tag...

1. I'm driving a MK4 TDI.

2. I'd like to see the birth of my first child.

After constant reminders, my wife's sensibility has finally sunk into my head. "Don't you do anything stupid... I don't want to become a widow and have a fatherless child." In everyway, I know she is right. I could not imagine being alone in my life and without her by my side.

Upon arriving to Clarkdale Motors in Vancouver, we were immediately greeted by our favorite Volkswagen saleman, Colin. He tells us that we would have to wiat as he was wrapping up a deal with some customers. While waiting, I noticed this puzzle made by Volkwagen in the waiting area. When did they begin using American V8 motors?



When Colin finally arrives, he informs us that the 2006 Audi RS4 was sold and unavailable to test. With this news, Dejan immediately begins to scan the car lot looking for another car. His eyes dart to an 2006 Audi S4 convertible. We were given the keys and away we went!

Our 45 minute test drive took us into the Kerrisdale district of Vancouver. We got ample stares from passing pedestrians and fellow drivers while playing with the retractable motorized roof.

After having driven an 2005 BMW M3, I felt the Audi seemed to lack in the department of engine power. We also agreed that the difference between this exterior and that of a stock A4 was minimal and more could have been done. Despite all this, I was impressed by music immitting from the V8 motor, the Quattro all wheel drive system and how well the interior was laid out.





We felt quite hungry on our drive home. We ended our day with a quick stop at Belgian Fries on Commercial Street in Vancouver for some food. Yum!

To The Paint Shop Batman!

It was time to send my newly acquired OEM VW Votex sideskirts to the paintshop after test fitting them to my car. Like a fat kid on cake, I gleefully placed them into the trunk of my car and quickly snuck them off to RD Motorsports for painting.

Although our good friend Raj (owner) was not there at the time of my arrival, I left the sideskirts with the painter. He told me that they would be ready for pick up sometime early next week (Tuesday). Not too shabby for cheap $100 weekend side job which includes paint and labour. $100 you may say... don't worry folks. I've seen his work and it's truly excellent quality.



Anyone noticed the Ferrari shell in the background? He's doing a complete tear down and rebuild. He's done many Ferrari's in the past and the end results are completely astonishing!

I also took some pictures of one of his newest rebuild project, a 2004 Dodge Viper SRT10 with a light side impact hit.





On my way home, I decided to stop by Denon Performance to see if my OEM 337 exhaust had arrived.



Denon is not exactly the typical custom speedshop from Hollywood movies. It's always been more of a salvage yard which appears like a natural disaster swept through it. Despite the appearance of total disorganization, you'd be surprised on all the little treasures one can find here. Definately a great place for OEM and aftermarket VW parts.

I was immediately greeted by my favorite and colourful shop mechanic Jerek. Unfortunately he gave me some bad news that the private seller backed out of the deal as he wanted an ridiculious $400 CAN for a used setup. I told him that for $100-150 more, Uncle Ron (the owner of Denon Performance) would be able to order me a brand new one from the factory. I've decided to opt for a new one. The order was placed. I am really keeping my fingers crossed that it will arrive before the DCI BBQ and Spring Meet in Seattle on April 8 and 9th.

Did Somebody Say Barbeque?

I was just sent the information tonight from my fellow Dubglomerate (DCI) members confirming the date of this year's annual spring barbeque. The date has been set for April 8, 2006 at the Five Mile Lake Park in Auburn, Washington. I am absolutely excited as this event is always well attended and traditionally kicks off the VW show season.

Each year, a specially select a group of skilled Wolkswagen owners are chosen from the Pacific Northwest. This group has become known to the VW scene as the Elitist Group which strives to maintain a safe, however spirited experience when travelling together to various VW events.

Since the creation of this group, we have proudly kept a clean record which is free of vehicle accidents or personal injuries. For this reason, I believe that it is imparitive that we only invite drivers who are demostrate driver responsiblity, awareness that personal and public safety is first priority, ability to identify awareness of their personal driving skills and vehicle's limitations, while attempting to avoid unneccesary encounters with the police.

Unfortunately the picture below from last year's DCI BBQ doesn't really help.



Over the past years, many outside groups have become quick to acuse our drivers to be unsafe and reckless. I oppose these views as many of those who make these accusations have never been out with us. Unfortunately, due to "glory rumours and tall-tale stories" of our past drives, I have received many inappropriate requests for invitations to join our group. For this year, I made the decision not to add new drivers to the group.



For this year, I will be sporting my MK4 Golf TDI for the first time. Unfortunately, I will be limited in power. But then again, it may be a good thing as it'll keep me from getting any speeding tickets. I'll post a summary/photos following the event! See you all there!

Audi R10 Wins at Sebring!

Congratulations to Audi Motorsports for winning the LeMans at Sebring, USA this past weekend!



Unfortunately, I was unable to watch their inaugural race on Speedvision due to a trip to Seattle for the 2006 Bio-Diesel Forum. During the forum, the Audi R10 was the hottest topic of conversation. Many individuals were already predicting that if Audi continues to dominate this season, they may face restrictions to the R10 in effort to even out the competition field.



Personally, I think that it's not Audi's fault for engineering such a beautiful race vehicle with a diesel powerplant. Imagine if Audi ever decided to use bio-diesel in the R10 and kept winning? That would be the biggest slap in the face to their competitors.

I just hope that the other drivers didn't inhale get too much carbon into their lungs. Hahaha...

CG-Locks - It's the newest trend!

Since acquiring my MK4 Golf TDI, I've upgraded to KW coilovers and added a beefy rear sway bar in an effort to make my car feel more like my old MK3 VR6. Even with all the small upgrades, I still miss the superglued feeling in my old adjustable race seats and the harnesses.



I first took note of the CG-Lock system from a good buddy Alexi during his time working for HPA Motorsports. Upon his return from the 2006 SEMA Show, I noticed a metal clip which was attached to his stock seat belt. I was blown away once I was explained how it was able to reproduce the racing harness feel. After a few test drives with the CG-Lock device, I quickly became a believer.



As I was surfing the internet today, I noticed that another good friend (Stargazer) had ordered one and was very happy with the CG-Lock product. I'll have to order one for myself tomorrow.

Barges, Boats & Seals Oh My!

The sound of a telephone ringing kicked off my adventure this morning. It was my friend Darren West. He is a 25 year old friend who is a marine mechanic, employed at a local boat repair shop at Reed Point Marina, Port Moody.

In a cheerful tone of voice, he stated that he remembered my unique interest in visiting the old McDonald's Restaurant Barge via boat. My answer was an automatic response as I quickly hung up the phone, dashed to my car while calling friends to cancel anything planned for this morning.

Upon arriving at the marina, Darren greeted me from a slow approaching work boat. The boat we were taking on our little adventure was nothing grand. It was an old fibreglass boat with a simple outboat motor which was less than 3-4 meters long. Darren informed me that the boat was primarily used for shore runs for shallow ports or quick runs to other marinas to pick up customer's boats.




As we embarked on our high seas adventure, I became immediately appreciative of the beautiful shoreline with the magestic backdrop of the North Shore Mountains. We spotted a seal swimming along our boat in the water nearby. For a person who spends little to no time on boats, the time spent on the water was absolutely amazing and extremely relaxing. It was an absolute utopia.



Our trip to the McBarge took us approximately 10 minutes to complete. As we got closer and closer, it became more apparent that the McBarge was not how I remembered it during the Worlds Fair in 1986. The old restaurant appeared like something out of a creepy pirate movie. It sat neglected, abandonned and moored approximately 50 meters off the shoreline. There was no identifying markings that this had been a McDonald's restaurant.



Over the years, the Mcbarge has been visited by countless teenagers via dingy to partake in drug use, partying or with intentions to vandalize the old restaurant. Deep inside me, I felt a sinking sadness to see an old childhood landmark in such an awful state.

Darren informed me that during it's final tug to this storage site, parts of the McBarge had broken away in the open waters and left the restaurant unsafe for any future use. "The McBarge costed McDonald's millions to build. It was never intended to sea worthy and moved from the old Expo site. The structure goes deeper than the water line... there was so much equipment in the old restaurant that there is a second floor under the surface level."




I noticed that many of the windows had been either broken by tossed rocks or graffitied. A chainlinked fence had been placed around the entire McBarge to prevent people from boarding the restaurant. I was able to catch a few glimpses inside through passing windows. To my surprise, the interior appeared in prestine condition, with undamaged light fixtures, seats, and hardwood flooring which were trendy in the mid 1980's. Rumours had once circulated that the old restaurant was sold and to be refitted into a casino/restaurant.




After spending several minutes circling the McBarge, we said our farwells and departed back to the Reed Point Marina.

We closed off the adventure with a tour of Darren's workplace, a customer's 2.2 million dollar yaught and a research project which housed three seals. I was most excited druing the visit with the seals. This was my first time ever to have gotten up close and personal with these animals. I was astonished by their sheer size and friendliness.

The 2006 Bio-Diesel Forum - Seattle

This was my first opportunity to participate with the TDI Club's drive to Seattle, Washington for the 2006 Bio-Diesel Forum/Convention. I was able to finally put my TDI Golf using biodiesel to the test in some high speed highway driving with my tuner box on maximum settings. I experienced no difference in power, or any motor hestitation. During the trip, my car consumed between 1/8th to 1/4 tank of bio-diesel return to Seattle.



Our eventful day began with the usual 8:15 am meet up with the local members near the Pacific Truck Crossing in Surrey, British Columbia. With the usual minor delays at the border, we managed to arrive in Seattle at approximately 11:30 am. We had initially planned an ETA of 10:30-11:00 am, but was delayed with several unplanned pitstops at a McDonald's and Arby's Restaurant in Bellingham. During our stop at Arby's, one of the members became aware that he had lost his oil cap during the drive. Fortunately, he managed to find a replacement at the local Shuck's Auto Supplies and re-joined the group at the Bio-Diesel Forum.



Upon arriving, I was very surprised on how many TDI vehicles/owners had shown up to support this event. I had a great time meeting new members from as far away as Oregon State. The forum was very informative with gained knowledge about bio-diesel, it's refining processes, and various uses.



I was also unaware that there were judges grading the cars in attendance. As I was taking pictures of some of the unique VW's, I was honoured with the "Best VW Golf Award" at the forum.