I became the fourth owner of this car two years ago when  decided that I should stop driving a three box saloon.

£500 later and it was mine.  When I got it it had 158, 000 on the clock, had total service history for the first hundred thousand (Hell, I know what mpg it got each tank) and was standard.

These photos were taken 6 months on (Sep 2000), by which time I had made a couple of mods. 

First were the headlights (a guy reversed into me and cracked one) so the twins went on, the same car provided its Recaros.  Next a set of GTE wheels went on with Yoko A520s which improved its cornering. 

When the exhaust died a PMC replacement went on and improved the sound no end (as did the 4.5” speakers in the doors and the VDO Dayton 8”s on the rear shelf running off a Kenwood head unit).

I ran it for 18 months/30k miles like this with no more changes.  By this point it was beginning to get a little tatty (rust on the rear arches and the front jacking points etc.).

Then in March 2002 a ‘friend’ drove into, and folded, the driver’s door (how exactly do you not see a large red car parked 2ft from you?).  My version of retaliation was to get the car properly sorted. 

With the bodywork smoothed and repainted; the car lowered on Bilsteins, plus some custom built Compomotive MO 16”s, rear discs, Exclusive interior and some serious-ish ICE. the car’s now just waiting for me to find a decent 16v unit to drop in, (the current engine having done comfortably over 200k).