About time for an introduction! (long, pics & vids)

[ghanda]

I've been here long enough and have just realised I haven't done a "I'm Gary and I'm a raving alcoholic" post, so here goes!

I'm 38, live in Reading, work in Telecom Sales.
I got into high-end car audio about 11 years ago which started my car-based hobbies.
My first competition car had so much kit in it that I decided to create a one-off body kit for it, almost as a security measure (!). With some help form the German tuning Company Reiger, "All-Bad" was created and even went to be displayed at the Essen Motor show:



So once I'd got that out of my system, I brand new shiny A4 company car beckoned, so modding was fairly limited. And it drove me nuts

My next company car in August 98 was one of the first Golf GTI 1.8T's in the UK. I still own this car and 6 years later, it's now pushing over 370bhp Click on the 'Shopping Trolley' link in my sig for the website.

As the Golf was spending more and more time off the road for development at AmD in Bicester and for some strange reason, I decided I quite liked Estates as my daily drivers, as long as they were slightly sporty.

First on the list was an E30 325i Touring. Didn't stay standard for long - re-map, Coil-overs and an LSD from an M3 saw to that



Then came my first Galant. A V6 Sport as a short-term (6 months) Company car



I fell in love with the looks, the refinement and the comfort...if only it had a little more poke.

3 days before it was to go back, I naturally put it on track. At Anglesey

Short Version (4Mb) click

Full version with impression of the Stig(8Mb) click



So, after that the Japanese bug had definitely bit. Despite a raft of BMW Company cars, I always ended up with an Estate as my own car. So my first Twin-Turbo 4WD estate was also known as a Leggy:



And was a great car till I blew it up coming back from Le Mans..but that's another story

For the last year I've been driving an old E32 735i purely as the most comfortable way to get to London 4 times a week. I got into this car because if you find a good one, they're unbeatable - of course, mine didn't stay standard for long (!) HID's, clear lights and electric rear headrest(!) to name but a few of the retro-fits:





They really are great cuisers...especially as I paid £1200 for mine, 20K faultless miles ago!

So that almost brings up to date. I'll be selling the Golf by the end of the year and replacing it with a VX220 Turbo as a plaything.
I recently split with my Fiancee and she had the hatchback, so as I was keeping my Dog, a Welsh Border Collie, I needed an Estate. And that's my excuse for buying the Legnum, and I'm sticking to it

I bought it off Daev Lee - a great guy and did a 10 hour round trip to Anglesey (happy memories!) to see it. It had a few interesting touches from Japan - namely a fujitsurbo (sp?) exhaust and decat and a chrome strip over the panel which normally says 'Legnum' and de-badged. I loved the way it drived, but I think it was the drive-by that clinched it

1000 miles in 2 weeks and I'm loving it.

Plans? Well I'm not going to post any pics just yet, but in 2 weeks of ownership, it so far had:
Facelift Bonnet, Bumper and Grill
Carbon centre trim
'Super' steering wheel and handbrake cover
Recaro Sport Evo front seats
Enkei 17's with brand new Pirelli Zero rubber
PDC with remote display
Carbon fibre rear Mitsu triangle
Alpine DVD sat-nav head unit with all the cabling run for the sound system
Origin B2 Hard wired (and its getting a carbon cover to match the centre console )

Next week:
Full brake upgrade
Full fluid service
"1.8 GDI" badge

Soon:
Suspension
Finish Stereo (incl. DAB and Digital TV)

Early next year:

Engine work (NOS?)
Complete re-spray...in a rather interesting colour

I must remember it's my daily driver, so a tad over 300bhp and I'll be happy.
Hope to bore you all soon with updates and pictures

Thanks for reading!

[Nick Mann]

A very good introduction. You've got me hooked to see what's coming next!

I look forward to perusing your members car section every few weeks.

[Kieran]

Gary's post has given me an idea...

Maybe we should all write a brief 'life story' other than the one line of text on the 'profile' page, so that we all know more about each other - it can be difficult to judge someone by their postings....

[Brunty]

Hi Gary - a proper intro deserves a proper welcome -

WELCOME

Hope the Leggie continues to impress you as much as it clearly has in the last couple of weeks. Look forward to the updates and further crazy vids



Steve

[ritch_w]

Gary's post has given me an idea...

Maybe we should all write a brief 'life story' other than the one line of text on the 'profile' page, so that we all know more about each other - it can be difficult to judge someone by their postings....

not a bad idea - but only in an area restricted to paid up members

[Kenneth]

LOL @ the 1.8 GDI badge!

[Dusk]

Ha Ha Ha, that video is crazy funny!
Esp the In-car "the goood-lifeee.." Music; suddenly switching to Prodigy:SMBU screwing it sideways... hillarious well done more vids plz