April 2003 (03) - 47,000 miles approx - HPI clear |
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Sadly, after almost 9 years of ownership it is time to part company with Knobby! The car is spending more and more time sitting in the garage and I have therefore decided, regrettably, to put her (him?) up for sale. HistoryI purchased the car new from Crownhill Vauxhall, Milton Keynes on 22 April 2003 for cash. It came with the following factory options:
There is a fully documented Service History. The car has been fully maintained first by Vauxhall VX220 specialists at Crownhill Vauxhall, thence TMS, Courtenay Sport and most recently by Steve Guglielmi at Scared Stifff. Top quality fluids have been used. All receipts and invoices are available. The car has been steadily modified over the years. All modifications have been professionally carried out by AMD, Plans, TMS, Courtenay Sport or Scared Stifff as appropriate at that time. The TD wheels are the TMS VX220 specials and do not require spigot rings or wobbly bolts to fit and will clear TMS (or similar) big brake kits. Again, all receipts and invoices are available. The Nitron Shocks have been re-sprung by Steve Guglielmi at Scared Stifff to 300F/350R and re-valved by Nitron to give a more compliant ride on the road whilst still leaving more than enough adjustment for the track. Scared Stifff also carried out a full suspension refresh including powder coating wishbones in March 2010. The car has Hangar 111 Reverie Exige-alike seats, Schroth race harnesses and harness bar installed by Scared Stifff. The original 3-point seat belt is retained. Modification list (all fully documented):
Together with the original brochures and a pile of magazine articles, I still have the original parts available:
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Other than the usual rattles and the odd leak, the only
negative aspects of ownership have been:
1. In early 2007 I drove into the rear of a Volkswagen Passat whose
driver slammed on his brakes for no reason, joining a roundabout. There
was the usual front end damage requiring new front clam, crash box,
radiator and headlight. The work was carried out by Thorney Motorsport
under my insurance. The car was absolutely not categorised and there
have been no recurrent issues.
2. I had two noisy rev counters replaced under warranty in the first 2
years of ownership. The Service Booklet has been annotated with the
mileage readings when the work was done as, on each occasion, the
odometer re-set to zero. The current mileage reading of 35000 approx
is 10934 miles less than the total true mileage. The service
information below indicates the true situation. The car has still only done a true
total of less than 47000 miles.
3. The car has only let me down once when xx months after the
supercharger was installed it attempted to break free from the engine! A
batch of bad studs and the absence of a supporting brace were to blame.
Fortunately no damage was done.
Remedial work was carried out by Courtenay Sport under warranty. Again, no
recurrent issues, neither have I ever had the problems of belts
shredding or snapping that
some other owners have had.
4. Most recently I have had a leak from the charge-cooler laminova core seals. Repairs have just been completed
mid-Jan
2012.
5. The rear o/s Nitron will be rebuilt with the
next service as the rebound adjuster sometime sticks. I also need to
bond the rear heat shield back on (again).
Service History
| Purchased | 22 Apr 2003 | 0 | Crownhill Vauxhall, Milton Keynes |
| Serviced | 7 Apr 2004 | 5318 | Crownhill |
| 15 Apr 2005 | 11251 | Crownhill | |
| 23 Mar 2006 | 15846 | Thorney Motorsport | |
| 11 April 2007 | 24862 | Thorney Motorsport | |
| 20 Mar 2008 | 28397 | Courtenay | |
| 4 Apr 2009 | 33439 | Courtenay | |
| 18 Mar 2010 | 38104 | Guglielmi | |
| 4 Mar 2011 | 43049 | Guglielmi |
The car will be serviced and MOT'd (MOT due 3 March) by Guglielmi in early February prior to sale and will be ready to go for the season ahead.