The break-in also damaged the headliner,so a trim shop was enlisted to fit a suede headliner. They also covered the pillars, removing the seatbelts since Sparco race seats and harnesses were fitted.
The headliner repairs were more difficult because Mike had already fitted a rollcage into the rear of the car. Since he wanted a racecar theme, this, combined with Sparco seats and accessories, seemed to fit the bill.
Next on the list was a new set of wheels: "I'd never had expensive wheels before, but I'd put so much into the car, I decided to do it properly and bought the Kinesis on an impulse. The bodyshop wasn't keen to paint my existing wheels black, so I went out and ordered these," Mike explained.
Since he was working on a masterplan, Mike knew he intended to fit big brakes. So, he forwarded a template from StopTech to Kinesis, who built the wheels to fit. When they duly arrived, Mike fitted his $5800 wheels and tires, but had yet to purchase the brakes. After experiencing a squeaking noise on his maiden voyage, he stopped to investigate and discovered the stock brakes had gouged a groove into the wheels. Fortunately, the arrival of the 14" StopTech rotors and four-piston calipers resolved the issue. He was able to fully enjoy extra braking power and the staggered 19" rims.
During the early stages of the project, Mike bolted most available parts to his 1.8T, but this was only while he saved for what he really wanted - an ATP big turbo kit. With enough money in his pocket, he went for broke and bought the ultimate stage 4 kit with GT30 turbo. He also purchased the front-mount and RMR intake at Waterfest prior to fitting the turbo kit.
Armed with all these parts, Mike and Kevin spent about a month piecing it all together on spare evenings. To make matters worse, Mike decided to delete items such as the washer fluid reservoir, coolant reservoir, crank case breather and some emissions equipment. It was fairly straightforward with Kevin's help, but the process took time finding the necessary pipes and clamps to bypass these components.
A couple of months ago, the car was dynoed and put down a very respectable 348hp and 315 lb/ft at the wheels on 24psi. "I was very pleased, but I intend to do new rods in winter '08 because I've heard these are the next weak point," Mike said.
With power comes consequences: Mike has broken one of his uprated axles and the blow-off valve. Fortunately, the axle is being replaced free of charge, but it's taking its toll on the owner's enthusiasm. "I was going to go after more power, but all it's good for is breaking stuff. Right now it just spins through first and second gears, so what's the point?"
So, he's progressed to working on a new project - an '83 Rabbit. It previously belonged to his friend Cliff Moniz, and has a motor built by Kevin for a previous Rabbit project that had been totaled.
Mike also owns an Audi A4 1.8T Avant, which he plans to mildly modify while retaining its daily driver status. Plus, he's dabbling with his girlfriend Tiffany's A6.
Having just walked away from New England Dust Off (see p.86) with first place in the Mk4 class, he's hoping to also win big at this year's Waterfest. If you're there, you can see how well he did.