Get in, dine out...

What better way to liven-up a boring Wednesday - rather than drive straight home from work and become hypnotised by Celebrity Masterchef, why not find a local beauty-spot, cook some food, eat and chill-out:

The meal consisted of fresh gnocchi, a tangy tomato sauce, bread and salad. With a cheeky chocolate mousse for pud. For those that haven't spotted the location its the Cow & Calf above Ilkley.

I can see this becoming a regular occurrence...

Show report: VW Festival 2010

There's nothing like a bit of sunshine to make a show just a little bit special. Good cars, good friends and a healthy dose of sunshine all combined to make 2010's VW Festival at Harewood House probably the best one yet. Rumours are abound that next year's show will feature camping from Friday evening (the standard UK show format). Nothing is confirmed yet but it would make for a fantastic weekend away.

I was lucky enough to perch the van on the end of a friend's trade plot and seemed to have a regular stream of admirers and enquirers all day long. I took a few pics (not many) and uploaded them to Flickr here.

Stereo install - stage two

After finally stringing two clear weekends together I've managed to finish the wiring install to the rest of the stereo setup. The old T3 was all about big bass and very little in the way of refined listening pleasure (so much bass that Mrs. Stone174 used to feel a bit queezy), so the new install had to be a little different.

Everything has been toned down to quite mild levels and as such, the sound quality is massively improved. The system consists of the head unit; a Kenwood DDX-5024, as explained in this previous post. Hooked up to the standard VW front speakers and tweeters, then linked though the back to a Kenwood KAC-8404 600w amplifier.

This four channel amp then drives two KFC-X693 6x9 3-way speakers through two dedicated channels and runs the slimline KFC-WPS1000F subwoofer bridged across the other two channels.

All these items (except the head unit) were purchased from JustKenwood.co.uk

Using the sound balance provided through the head unit it is possible to fill both the cab and rear of the van with sound at just the right level - there's loads of top-end coming from the VW tweeters in the dash which is now balanced out with just enough punchy bass from the sub.

Because the wiring sits in and around the under-seat storage, I have used electrical trunking cut to length to route the cabling - this minimises the risk of unplugging something whilst lifting items in and out:

It may not be the wildest stereo setup in the world but it is more than capable of drowning out hours of motorway noise on long journeys. As well as plenty of entertainment when parked up at shows and campsites.

Happy Flapping!

Another small detail on the list of must-haves were a set of mudflaps:

Click pic for bigger version

On a practical level they're handy for keeping some dirt and road tar off the sides of the van and (hopefully) will keep some of the dirt from accumulating on the rear screen (no rear wiper).
On a visual level they have seem to lower the body lines slightly giving the van a more 'squat' appearance.

They're direct from Volkswagen and quality feels good in both the mudflap and the brackets. Ideal for the wet summer we seem to be having!

Just a warning...

I think the van might be trying to tell us something - on Friday it didn't want to go to Ikea after work - result!

It did this by flashing the glow plug warning light at us.

A quick glance in the handbook shows that this warning code suggests we should proceed directly to our nearest qualified VW technician. No good when they're all closed!

So instead of a trip to the Swedish flat-pack emporium, we cruised carefully home fearing the worst. In this case 'the worst' could be anything from a faulty brake-light switch to a dying turbo. So that's anywhere between a £5 part and £1,000 repair bill.

First thing Saturday morning saw a quick trip to Aire Valley Workshop, our local independent VW specialist, who quickly diagnosed the fault - brake-light switch - phew! But you should never ignore your warning lights...

So we've got one on order and will be fitting it next weekend. Along with a replacement for the faulty rear number plate lamp and a full set of VW mudflaps.

And we made it to Ikea on Sunday morning - joy!