Crazy Sharon - VR6 Sharan Carat Project

[Ryan Image 46]

First there was Polo Loco ( http://www.vr6oc.com/forum/topic/43233-polo-loco-harlequin-vr6-polo-saloon-drag-project/  )

Now there is Crazy Sharon!

 

Having sadly sold our beloved T5 camper as we are trying to get on the properly ladder, we found ourselves in need of a cheap car with MOT to get me to and from work, 6 miles from home, plus general usage, moving of bits and suitable for attending VW shows as we don’t want to stop doing them (I’ve been going since I was a kid so it’s a big part of my summer)

The original plan was for me to use the Polo, however with no heater the second there is moisture in the air it steams up and to be honest it’s no longer cut out for constant road use. I had looked at a moped but the thought of getting wet didn’t appeal to me, I have a full bike licence but have refrained from going back down the bike route for my own safety.

 

Searching thru eBay for a suitable car and I was looking at 1.4 Polos, a few 1.6 Boras and even a New Beetle, looking to add to the list of Volkswagen models I had owned. The budget was around 700ish and the vehicle needed to have as much MOT as possible. I thought Id put in VR6 to the search out of interest, Id previously picked up a 1996 3 Door Highline with MOT for £300 so I figured you never know (That car failed its MOT spectacularly when it did come round so it was moved on) and I was greeted by an advert for a Sharan VR6 Carat, manual gearbox, with a picture of the clocks as the main picture (see below). It had 137k on it, 12months ticket and a Buy It Now of 700 and Starting Bid of £500 but it was a 24hour auction. Long story short I took a risk on it from the few photos there were and put down a bid of £650 and left it be. I was at a wedding when it ended the next day and got a nice surprise when I had the congratulations email, it was mine.

 

 

This was on the Saturday, drove up to London on the Monday after work, picked it up and drove it back without too much of an issue. The air con didn’t work which I knew, the brake light switch was shagged and you had to slam on the brakes to get the lights to come on and a result of doing that was the drivers door thinking it was open and turning on all the interior lights and flashing up on the dash which was fun. Aside from that little bits like one of the headlamp washers being missing and one being screwed on, a broken centre dash vent, broken sunvisor and a broken armrest was about as bad as it got. The interior is really clean for a car with that mileage and the car as a whole doesn’t look or drive like a sub £700 banger.

 

It went face to face with the Loco, I have to introduce them slowly, I hear wild untamed VR’s are like Komodo Dragons and will attack on sight

 

 

Today I got out there and fixed some of the issues, the brake light switch was easy enough as it had slipped in too far, stripped it down, secured it and it now works perfectly. The Drivers door light was being caused by a faulty courtesy sensor triggering the lights, that’s been removed for now until I can get my hands on a new one. In the boot was a box that included a new dash vent, headlight washers and sunvisor so that was a really nice touch. Got them on and it tidied up the cabin that bit more.

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[Ryan Image 46]

Inside its got plenty of space for using as a camper for a night or two when at a show or racing with the VWDRC. Nice little features like a fully working luggage cover, spinning round front seats, cubby holes for storing bits, twin 12v sockets at the rear, removable armrests and even the original VW mud flaps. Aside from the headunit and the tow bar the car is exactly as it came out of the factory, not bad for an 18 year old car that you would have expected to be abused.

 

Looking thru the paperwork its had a fairly good life so far, 11 owners and 137k in 18 years isn’t too bad. Its been on personal plates twice and its had a fair bit done to it. Service book is only missing a couple and there are MOTs back to 2004!  In the last year its had leads, plugs, coil pack, battery, alternator and a few other bits I found a receipt for so fingers crossed it will be a good little runner.

 

Need to see about the air con as with a vehicle with so much glass I think it will be handy, could be the compressors gone or the pipes are leaking. A regas and test is worth it just to eliminate it. Aside from that the front fog lights don’t work and that’s about it. Need to get it in the air and see what’s underneath, thinking it may need a new exhaust section soon but little bits aren’t gonna worry me.

 

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[Daverse 175]

Looks tidy, but when does the turbo install happen?

[Ryan Image 46]

The more I drive it the more Id like to go to town on it! No sure that there's room for turboing it, could possibly squeeze a supercharger in!

When the exhaust needs renewing I'll remove the centre box I think, though just having the induction sound is awesome.

Had a little teething problem and its dropped a load of oil when parked on Friday when it was really hot. Found to be from a cracked oil pressure switch so I borrowed one off the Polo. Right arse of a job to do on a Sharan without taking the front off. Had to unbolt the whole filter housing and drop it out, no way of getting a 24mm socket or spanner in there. All seems good at the moment so hopefully that's sorted