Another S3 owner back again - Cactus Green!

[Els]

After selling my Imola Yellow S3 years back I've always wanted another.

I'd been keeping an eye out for a bit of a project car for a while and bagged this one off eBay (completely blind!).

A bit of info on the car:

2001
122k
Cactus Green (I didn't realise Cactus was available in facelift cars?)
Black leather
Bose
Factory tow bar
RNS-E retrofitted
Standard engine but rebuilt a few years back

The previous owner had it for 15 years and mechanically the car seems pretty decent, the bodywork however is a different story.

It's suffering from some bad corrosion in the usual spots - Roof rails both sides, boot lid plinth and behind the numberplate. Also the clearcoat has failed so a new boot is needed before any paintwork can happen.

I have a long list of things that need doing, some of which are already done:

New boot lid and sort all the paintwork mentioned above.
De-wiper
Replace EGT sensor (any point going used or just bite the bullet?)
80mm TIP (purchased)
New lower grille (purchased)
Remove the awful window tints (side windows now done)
Fix passenger window (more on that in another post!)
Replace parcel shelf clips
New drivers side door card (broken clips)
Aluminium mirrors, these are getting hard to find now.
Engine cover screws
Wheel refurb and decent tyres

You get the idea, lots to do!

Here's a photo of its only good angle, I'll upload some more if theres enough interest.

 

[Ian W]

Welcome back! Looks a nice one, they are all becoming projects at the age they are now but they're worth it

 

[Els]

Wait till you see the photos of the back

 

[thegoal007]

I remember seeing a green one like yours years ago. It was sparkling and did not fail to impress.
In fact I would go as far as to say probably the best colour I've seen...in the sunlight

 

[Els]

It’s a pearlescent colour I think so it does come up very well, after the respray more so!

So this weekend I tackled the faulty passenger window, disassembly is straight forward enough however the glass smashed after I used a bit too much force to get the old clip out

Found a new door subframe complete with glass so I’ll get that fitted and be more careful next time!

One thing I wanted to check is EGT sensor issues. My EGT sensor is showing implausible signal (G235). Fuel consumption doesn’t seem impacted but feels a bit down on power. Drives well enough with no spluttering/hesitation though.

Dodgy EGT sound about right?

 

[Els]

Big update here!

All the rust and lacquer peel has now been dealt with, some outstanding work by my local paint shop, here are some before and afters:

Everything on the list has now been done bar the EGT and wheels. Next big things will be a cam belt change, suspension refresh, working bluetooth for the RNS-E, custom remap and maybe an exhaust.

I'm actually really happy with how the car is now, I have a few interior bits including the peeling door cards to keep me busy with.

Here's some more photos and one showing how metallic the paint is after a polish.

 

[hawesy25]

Colour looks amazing


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[Ian W]

Wow, that colour is lovely. Reminds me of my purple one, could be mistaken for black in certain lights but when the sun hits that pearl there is no mistaking it is something special.

Do you have a green 911 as well? I'm sure I follow you on Instagram.

 

[Els]

Thanks - yep that’s me.

 

[sy119199]

That looks great

 

[WilseyS3]

Very nice! never seen that cour in the flesh before

 

[thegoal007]

Yep, just to repeat myself awesome looking colour on the S3. The only thing I would say to others is that you may think it looks good in pictures, but in real life it looks a whole lot more amazing. I can't quite get the picture of a green S3 I saw about 10 yeas ago(!) in the gleaming sunshine out of my mind. It's that impressive!

 

[frimmersp]

Nice work, looks great! Where did you get the Aluminium mirrors in end?

 

[Els]

Thanks - I got them off the S3 Facebook group.

 

[frimmersp]

Thanks - I got them off the S3 Facebook group.

Ah right - nice one - deffo looks the part!

 

[Els]

Well the ownership on this may be a little short lived - I'm in need of a larger car for family purposes.

I'd like to try and keep hold of it given the spec - but in terms of values, what do we think? Will come with a fresh MOT and cambelt/service.

 

[Ian W]

Shame it needs to go but I would be looking at strong money for it, reasonable low miles for the age and condition looks fantastic.

 

[Els]

Well if anyone knows of someone in the market for one - let me know!

 

[thegoal007]

The previous owner had it for 3 years and you, i guess about 4 months? you have a quickly growing family...
selling it so quick..really?

 

[Els]

I’ve had it 9 months and the previous owner had it in his family for 15 years

Like I said, not desperate to sell it but my new car is due tomorrow so I’ll get it in the neck for taking up too much space!

 

[S3AMJ]

How much are you looking for it? Anymore pictures, etc.


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[Els]

I was thinking £5,750 - I’ll get some photos up over the next few days.

 

[Ian W]

Seems well priced, nice tidy ones are few and far between IMO

 

[thegoal007]

So the roof was repaired and resprayed and a new bootlid was replaced and resprayed. Did you end up respraying the whole car?

 

[Els]

Just blended in up to the doors - thanks to a very skilled paint shop you’d be hard pushed to tell! Still need to grab some photos

 

[thegoal007]

I am now expert, but having got Audi to replace/repair/paint one side of the roof rail due to rust (fully paid by Audi) I thought it was a really good job many many years ago - i could see nothing and I was looking very carefully at all angles. I recently took it to a local firm with very good feedback to get a quote to to do the other side of the roof rail as it's only just started to show rust and he immediately could see where it was previously blended in - having remarked his jobs never turn out like that - you would not be able to see them.

 

[thegoal007]

I am now expert, but having got Audi to replace/repair/paint one side of the roof rail due to rust (fully paid by Audi) I thought it was a really good job many many years ago - i could see nothing and I was looking very carefully at all angles. I recently took it to a local firm with very good feedback to get a quote to to do the other side of the roof rail as it's only just started to show rust and he immediately could see where it was previously blended in - having remarked his jobs never turn out like that - you would not be able to see them.

I could need glasses!