Caddy Down Unda' Build
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 2:23 am
Well, I'm doing a little bit (cosmetically) to this new (old) girl so I figure I'll kick off a build thread to keep track of everything.
So lets talk a little about what she is and the condition I got her in.
She's a 2007 1.9 TDI with the 6 speed DSG, 180,000K's on the clock. Low K's considering her age and not without her battle scars.
At a glance she doesn't look to bad, what I'd call a "20-footer" Looks great from 20 feet away but if you get close you can see all her little imperfections and blemishes.
I'm a professional car detailer and this was the vehicle I decided would best suit me for mobile work. The condition it's in is super important, I can't turn up to clients places in something that looks a bit ratty, so presentation is extremely important.
You can see in this one, a big nasty scratch under the rear window.
and in general there's a lot of blemishes on the body, most of these can be buffed out (It's what I do)
Here's a nice before and after, most of the blemishes you can see in the photos didn't stand up to an orbital and some cutting compound.
Overall, the condition was fair, but it was all fixable, she's booked in for a months time to get the right hand side scratch fixed, resprayed and the bumpers colour matched which I'm very excited about.
One of the first orders of business was modernising the outdated stereo, I opted to go with a nice Sony double din touch screen with Android Auto, now fitted with a reversing camera as well. God damn I love this thing.
Next step is getting the servicing up to date. Look at this disgusting cabin filter. It was so heavily blocked that the #4 fan speed setting had about the same power as the #2 setting. I couldn't believe the difference the panel filter made. If you haven't done yours. do it.
Now it's time for some shoes, I went with Starcorp 18x8 +45's wrapped in 225/40/18 Kuhmo Ecsta PS71's. These aren't a performance tyres by any means but they're a decent brand and I have to remember, I'm driving a van for work purposes and it'll never see a track day. I can feel some of the smaller bumps I couldn't before but I'm still very happy with the ride quality, road noise has dropped considerably and the looks is fantastic!
Next we have to address the interior. I don't like these seats and I just can't live with not having leather. So I went to a local wrecker and pulled some nice leather seats from an Audi A4. I'm not sure what it will take to make these fit the caddy seat base but I'm pretty handy when it comes to fabrication and know my way around a welder so I'll make it work one way or another.
When you open the back of the van this is what you are greeted to, exactly what the inside of every painted van looks like.
Nah... That's not good enough, I'm a detailer. It's upholstery time.
Now I have a lot of work ahead of me it's time to get going the to-do list currently looks like this:
- Transmision oil and filter service
- Engine oil and filter service
- Install new seats
- Upholster the rear
- Paint brake calipers
Stay tuned for more updates, possible list for the future includes:
- Eibach lowering kit
- Tune of some kind
So lets talk a little about what she is and the condition I got her in.
She's a 2007 1.9 TDI with the 6 speed DSG, 180,000K's on the clock. Low K's considering her age and not without her battle scars.
At a glance she doesn't look to bad, what I'd call a "20-footer" Looks great from 20 feet away but if you get close you can see all her little imperfections and blemishes.
I'm a professional car detailer and this was the vehicle I decided would best suit me for mobile work. The condition it's in is super important, I can't turn up to clients places in something that looks a bit ratty, so presentation is extremely important.
You can see in this one, a big nasty scratch under the rear window.
and in general there's a lot of blemishes on the body, most of these can be buffed out (It's what I do)
Here's a nice before and after, most of the blemishes you can see in the photos didn't stand up to an orbital and some cutting compound.
Overall, the condition was fair, but it was all fixable, she's booked in for a months time to get the right hand side scratch fixed, resprayed and the bumpers colour matched which I'm very excited about.
One of the first orders of business was modernising the outdated stereo, I opted to go with a nice Sony double din touch screen with Android Auto, now fitted with a reversing camera as well. God damn I love this thing.
Next step is getting the servicing up to date. Look at this disgusting cabin filter. It was so heavily blocked that the #4 fan speed setting had about the same power as the #2 setting. I couldn't believe the difference the panel filter made. If you haven't done yours. do it.
Now it's time for some shoes, I went with Starcorp 18x8 +45's wrapped in 225/40/18 Kuhmo Ecsta PS71's. These aren't a performance tyres by any means but they're a decent brand and I have to remember, I'm driving a van for work purposes and it'll never see a track day. I can feel some of the smaller bumps I couldn't before but I'm still very happy with the ride quality, road noise has dropped considerably and the looks is fantastic!
Next we have to address the interior. I don't like these seats and I just can't live with not having leather. So I went to a local wrecker and pulled some nice leather seats from an Audi A4. I'm not sure what it will take to make these fit the caddy seat base but I'm pretty handy when it comes to fabrication and know my way around a welder so I'll make it work one way or another.
When you open the back of the van this is what you are greeted to, exactly what the inside of every painted van looks like.
Nah... That's not good enough, I'm a detailer. It's upholstery time.
Now I have a lot of work ahead of me it's time to get going the to-do list currently looks like this:
- Transmision oil and filter service
- Engine oil and filter service
- Install new seats
- Upholster the rear
- Paint brake calipers
Stay tuned for more updates, possible list for the future includes:
- Eibach lowering kit
- Tune of some kind
