Advice Regarding Recent Purchased Tuned 1.9gti

[Guest bernieslaven]

Hi,

 

Like the title states, I've just bought my new Pug (number 3), and am generally very pleased with it. Graphite Grey with a tasteful body kit, koni front shocks and bilstein rear, all brand new, lowered all round, super chip tuned - check the ad for a quick view, then i`ll get to the point in my post;

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

 

The ad clearly says fsh, but when i arrived after a 200 mile journey i was given an envelope with receipts, the earliest being a new battery in March 2003. Every other receipt was from 2005 onwards and covered as follows;

 

Washer Pump, K16 Lubrication Pipe, FR TR CON ARM-LH, 2 x Tie Rod Ends, (Another!) New Battery, Alternator, Starter Motor, Windscreen, Gearshift Lin.

 

As can be seen, not a full service history, and nothing confirming the potential mechanical status pf the engine. On the plus side I do have 5 years consecutive MoT's but the mileage quoted in the first one (Aug 2001 - Aug 2002) says +2923 rather than the rest which corroborate the current vehicle mileage.

 

The car looked better in reality than it did in the ad, and the test drive was enough. A powerflow S/S exhaust was making the most beautiful note out of the back end, and she pulls like a dream. More interesting was when i popped up the bonnet to find a red powder coated rocker cover, with the inscription RAY WEST - THRUXTON and a number engraved onto the engine block.

 

A little "Googling" found Wests Tuning, and this guy is well known for his race prepping of cars. I know i must be showing my novice status at not knowing who this fella was, but more intrigue was to follow as apparently the car used to be employed as the lead/pace car at Thruxton hence the low mileage (69k - G Reg).

 

So i guess the point in my post has been to describe as much of the car as possible in the hope of some good advice, what to look for and how to check for potential engine problems. The lack of service history means i dont know whether the cam belt or timing belt has been changed. Oil pressure seems fine, as does the engine temp, but the car runs heavy on the petrol (190 miles = full tank).

Elsewhere what i`ve found so far is I can't get the fan to work and the horn sounds terribly muted, and can barely hear it in the car. this may well be simply an acoustic problem, (i.e.horn mouth mounted/facing wrong way), so i can fix that, but nevertheless it may be symptomatic of other faults i should be looking for.

 

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated!

 

Cheers