Old member returning after a prolonged absence due to health issues.

[Trist28]

Yes you certainly do/did! Kit also knows my temper, but mine is somewhat determined by my level of hunger..... I can become very angry if not fed! I seem to need about 4000+ calories a day, and can’t get above 10.5 stone! Anyway good to see some level headed posts mate. I had given up popping round because; well it was not often you were speaking much sense! I managed to sort out all refunds and orders here for you in 2019/2020 so no- one is out of pocket or waiting. There is a thread somewhere.

I’m still on the same number by the way so call sometime for a chat if you like.

And cheers for the Saloon BBS wheel, but I am afraid I want to keep the car.

I have a bad habit of smashing phones/laptops when they don't cooperate (Tristan will corroborate this)

[K Simmonds]

Posting from a desktop here (work PC).

Ahhh... The joy's of proper keyboard! I don't like touch screen's, they really piss me off, though perhaps I'll adapt when my right hand is better.

[Bowie69]

Posting from a desktop here (work PC).

[K Simmonds]

Thanks guy's, much appreciated.

The Forum seems to be somewhat quieter than it use to be, though it's good to see a lot of familiar users face are still here.

Still getting use to the new layout, I guess most you guys are using smart phones to post stuff these days? I've literally only in the past month gotten a smart phone, I went three years with no mobile at all which I have to say was bliss, while very useful they really are annoying IMO. But it seems these day one is required to have a mobile phone to do even the most basic things like banking, so I caved in a got Samsung A11 which while nothing special seems to do the job perfectly well. I even managed to list a turbo on eBay using it the other night, though it did make me very, very cross and I ended up redoing the listing on my laptop.

I have a bad habit of smashing phones/laptops when they don't cooperate (Tristan will corroborate this) so I'm going to stick using my phone as a phone (apart from the camera which I have to say is very handy) and anything else online I'll continue using my laptop for.

[s2driveruk]

Welcome back, sounds like you have been through the mill personally and it takes a lot to return and share personal struggles. Hope you are on the mend and look after yourself!

[anthonys2]

Good to see you back Kit. You’ve always helped me out in the past and I met you once on a Scotland blast in your RS2 stay safe mate

[K Simmonds]

Sounds to me like you need to get shot of a few cars tbh.... less headaches all round.

Yes.... Your absolutely correct. The Golf will be the first to go and I'll probably end up parting with the Corrado, though I'm not selling anything until it's fixed and on the road, unless someone offered me a really good amount for either as they stand... At the end of the day everything has a price. I'm very lucky and have enough space to keep all five off the road, secure and out of sight so I don't have to worry about taxing and insuring everything, once my workshop is finished I'll have space to dry store two cars as well as work on two others.

I have all the parts (and some) in stock ready to sort out the Golf and as I've said this really doesn't need much work and it all stuff I can do while recovering, nothing too heavy. I have a lot of the bit's required to fix the Corrado as well as I'd already picked up various spare panels and bumpers the right colour before crashing it and I have a fair bit left over from an early 16V I broke years ago.

I'm going to keep the three Audi's, the RS2 is a great investment as well as a fantastic car to drive. The 100 will make a good practical daily driver, it's very low mileage and in great condition, it really doesn't need a great deal of work to get it on the road. The C4 A6 will give me something to play with, I have a fully rebuilt/strengthened S2 bottom end and the gas flowed head from old S2 as well all the mechanical parts required to build a complete 20VT engine along with tons of spares and I've always wanted to build a high power I5, though this is certainly isn't high on my list of current priority's.

Right, time for hand/arm exercises....

[Tractor Dave]

"Dave's seen the building and has a good idea of how lucky I am"
A fine shed indeed

[Bowie69]

Sounds to me like you need to get shot of a few cars tbh.... less headaches all round.

[Audicted]

Good to have you back brother. Keep at it. We got you!

[LSG]

Nice to see you back on the forum Kit and on the road to recovery . warm regards Lynn

[K Simmonds]

I Guess should also update everybody on what car's I've still got and what I'm planning on doing with them, I banned myself from driving in 2019 before I hurt or God forbid killed someone so it's been along time since any of my cars have seen the road. I have legally driven a few times when working for a mate in 2020, as well my fathers cars/van when there hasn't been an excess of anything illegal in my blood, to be honest Alcohol and it's residual effects the next day have been the biggest issue in this regard. I'm now absolutely Teetotal, I've also completely given up smoking so once I've stabilised on my medication I will be able to return to the road, all be it with care! I don't have enough use of my hands/arms to drive safely at the moment anyway.

My RS2 is currently on 102K miles and looking a little sorry for itself, though really it just needs a good clean and the front bumper repairing after my neighbours revered into it, which is something of a touchy subject. The car is going to be carefully restored to a very high standard, I have 90% of the parts required stashed away and can get the paintwork done by the garage I work at on an off for a very reasonable rate if I do all the prep myself. I'm going to retain the MTM K26/7 380BHP conversion as it was sanctioned by Audi from new and even shows up on the service history, though somewhat frustratingly I don't have the paperwork from Brian Rickets who carried out the work, I do know it must have cost the original owner a fortune. It goes so much better than a stock example, even one with a decent remap isn't nearly as quick. The stock RS2 mapping does leave something to be desired, there really is no need for all the lag and an ADU engine fitted with a K24 7200 will happily cope with 370/80 BHP with good mapping and servicing and decent fuel. The K26/7 hybrid fitted to mine is huge in comparison to a stock unit yet even with that bolted on the power delivery is smoother than a standard car and it has way more torque and midrange as well as top end.

My 1992 C4 100 2.8 Avant quattro is going to be given a full mechanical overhaul (I've already done the clutch) and used as my daily driver, it's currently stuck over the pit in my workshop covered in dust as I was in the process of rebuilding the front suspension prior to damaging myself. Why is the front suspension so horrid to overhaul on these cars? It's a complete nightmare compared to a B3/4 platform car! Got a late spec full leather interior partially fitted, complete with all the walnut trim bits which I'm now old enough to officially like. Also got a cruise control set up for it.

My 1997 C4 30V quattro Saloon suffered a minor front end bump in 2017 and has been off the road since, I have all the parts required to fix it as I purchased a cheap 2.6 FWD example the same colour to use as a donner car. Not 100% sure what I'm going to do with this, the 30V motor is okay, but I have pretty much everything required to build up a monster I5 20VT engine apart from wiring and engine management and I kinda feel this would be a good home for it. Effectively making my own S6, even the the battery is under the rear seat already on this model. The shell and wings are also totally rot free so it's a really good solid car to start with.

I've also got a high spec 1989 LHD Corrado G60 which before I stuck it through a hedge was pretty much mint, I'm the first UK owner and it's only done 70K miles, I was going break it, however I've assed the damage with a sober head and I can fix it for not a great deal of outlay financially, just a lot of my time which is something I'm going to have plenty of. So my current thought is to fix it and either sell it or if I can afford to keep it as prefer driving LHD cars and I know it's history inside out.

Finally I have a Five door 1992 Golf 8V GTi which someone spent a huge amount on converting to full G60 spec using parts from a original German G60 MK2 as opposed to most the UK conversions one see's cobbled together with Corrado parts. It's totally rot free, and I could have it running and on the road in less than a week if I wasn't currently broken myself. Need's a new Cambelt and a bit of a sort out under the bonnet and both fuel pumps have totally seized from being stood, an issue I've dealt with before on a 16V MK2, I even have two new pumps ready to go. Otherwise it's in great shape. This has to be repaired and sold to fund my other projects.

Also got mountains of parts to shift on eBay, though I'm currently (quite rightly) on the naughty step on there after my 2020 mental breakdown caused absolute havoc on my account and I can only list 25 items a month currently. To be honest I'd struggle with packing anything heavier than a turbo at the moment so this is fine with me. I don't expect to be able to sell things on here again yet after what happened, though if anybody still wants a part they had to accept a refund for I'll still have it and will send it out for the cost of postage and if your happy you can pay me when it arrives, I'd even cover the postage myself but I'm not exactly rich at the moment given I can't work and won't be able to for the foreseeable future. Of course people are always welcome to collect stuff should they still want it.

[vonbeck]

Sorry to hear of your troubles matey it sound like you've been through the mill a few times. Glad to see your making steady progress both mentally and physically , it will be a slow process and hopefully all in the right direction .
Good to see you back on here too

[K Simmonds]

Thanks for all the positive responses chaps, it really means a lot to me . As you all know I basically used to live on here but I felt highly ashamed and embarrassed by letting down so many members with parts, as well as some of the totally crazy ramblings I sent folk, that on top of my mental struggles it's taken me a long time to pluck up the courage to make a fresh start. I may as well be honest as we're all adults here but I really have been my own worst enemy at times...

Before I smashed myself to bit's a couple of months back my Father and I had been in the process of finishing off my new workshop, which is now very, very nearly complete, though obviously I've not been able to help at all since the start of September. To be honest I hadn't really been much use all year due my mental issues so in a way it's been easier on my poor old Dad to not have to deal with me loosing it over sod all just about everyday. Though he is in his 70's and not in the best of health himself so progress is steady to say the least. The sparky is coming this week to finish the wiring and fit various sockets and lights and once he's done it's just a matter of finishing constructing the shelving down one side and deciding on what lift I'm going to install. I'm not going to post any pic's until it's finished but Dave's seen the building and has a good idea of how lucky I am.

I also have to accept I'm now in my mid 40's so I don't heal like I did when I was 20 or even 30 years old, it's going to be a long time before my right wrist and hand is fully functional and I have to be mega careful of my left elbow which has finally stopped making crunching noises whenever I move it. Even if I wasn't physically damaged the med's I'm on preclude me from driving for the time being, the pharmacist raised his eyebrows when he saw what they've put me on. Though I have to say even if what I'm taking should in theory drop an elephant I'm feeling better mentally than I have in probably 20 years, I sleep six to eight hours a night, get up early, exercise, I walk at least two miles a day on top of loads of self physiotherapy on my arms/hands. I read some pretty heavy going historical literature, play chess online (which I'm getting pretty good at) and even do a lot house work which I was terrible at before, I have the hoover out pretty much everyday now.

[simons2]

Good to have you back , may your recovery continue apace