In a world of violence and unrest Carl Taylor's sweet Mk3 comes to smooth and soothe.

Recently, the modified VW scene has gone mad. People have got the impression it takes mega bucks to build a full-on feature car these days. Well, Gerrards Cross lad, Carl Taylor, is here to show you otherwise. Yes, amazingly even this stunning Mk3 was built on a tight budget. Okay, it wasn't cheap, but you could certainly get change out of a 4Motion.
Now there are nice cars and there are very nice cars, but very few border on perfection. This is one that does. Feature cars are funny things. People spend vast amounts of money and time building them for others to then analyse and judge the results. But there's always something, some small part that, even on the nicest feature car, you'd probably do slightly differently. The modified Veedub scene is certainly a competitive place at the best of times and things are getting tougher by the day.
One company which continues to dominate and cause controversy across the whole scene is Premier. The firm's produced some stunning machines over the last few years which have totally conquered the show scene and there's hardly a month goes by when you don't see one of its cars in a modified mag. So what's the formula and how's it done?
It certainly doesn't appear to be rocket science. Steve Denton and his team of merry men have just got good taste, believe in keeping things simple and can slap on a coat of paint smoother than a baby's bottom. Oh, and they're all total Dubheads, which is an added bonus.

This year, however, with Gti International fast approaching, it seemed the guys weren't too bothered about building their own car. People in the past have got all anal about Premier's domination and the chaps were just fed up with the politics. Instead, they focused on one of their customer's cars and the results are absolutely stunning. So, who was the lucky punter to receive the full works? As it turned out, our old mate Carl Taylor was top of the list. He'd been bugging the guys for some time after buying a Mk3 Highline from Steve back in March 2000.
Carl's no stranger to PVW. We featured his low-rider Corrado in PVW 3/00 but, as it didn't make the cover back then, the guy decided to go full bore with his next attempt. "I had to go one better," he confessed. And in Premier, he was certainly heading in the right direction. As it turns out, with his brief, and Premier's magic touch the inevitable has happened.
Straight from the start, Carl knew a full strip down and makeover was needed but, as it was gonna be a while before Premier could fit him in (it's always choc-a-bloc), he decided to get things rolling with a wheel and suspension change. The car was actually taxed in August 2000, but although Carl was still running around in it, what started as a nice-looking car, slowly started falling to pieces.
This was down to Carl flogging all the best bits to fund the serious body makeover he had planned. The original wheels, leather trim and exhaust all went. At this stage, Carl lost interest and the car just sat on his drive. "I was gutted about not getting much when I sold the Corrado," he told us. That didn't stop him going all out with the Mk3, though. Quite a challenge too, as we all know that the Mk3 is no Prince Charming to begin with.
With new demos emerging fast and furiously from Premier, Carl soon gained more inspiration and set about his master plan. The original 17" BBS RK2s he'd sourced a while back were soon binned. "I decided every Mk3 has 17 or 18" wheels and wanted something different," he confessed.
To cut a very long story short, the car didn't go into Premier until the end of March this year. During the waiting period, Carl bought, modded and sold another Corrado and picked up a nice little run-around in Parm Panesan's Low Life Mk2 (PVW 12/97). Now running a Weber Alpha throttle bodies and a tuned 16v motor, this kept Carl's need for speed fed until he got the VR6 back. Anyway, it was pretty obvious the Mk3 wasn't gonna be the most practical car in the world.
The first things Carl actually bought for his project were the ultra-rare, mega expensive Projektzwo door mirrors (£275 a pair). It was around this time Carl had a meeting with Steve and Bill of Premier to work out exactly which way the car was going to go. It was decided to keep things as smooth and as simple as possible. And with such a radical theme, the wheel choice and paint colour had to match.
Over the years, Premier has established itself as a one of, if not, the top VW paintshops in the UK. It has also created its own style along the way which we've seen a lot of recently. You might be refreshed to know though, with Carl's input there're not a wing vent or BBS rim in sight. There is, however, a serious amount of wizardry gone into those smooth lines. Simple is often the most-time consuming route, s every line has been flushed and every imperfection removed from the body. The whole gang managed to turn the car round in a little over six weeks. Steve and Gerry Dunne were responsible for preparation, while Dave Loraine and Rob Guy did the glory boy bit.
Starting at the sharp end, Steve's extended the bonnet removed the washer jets (which are now housed in the scuttle panel) and de-badged the grille. The front and rear bumpers are a plastic welder's paradise - up front everything from the plate recess to the lenses has been erased, and even the unsightly waste line has been removed. Hella Mk4 headlights have been used, which feature integrated indicators and clear driving lights. Moving around the car you'll notice (or possibly not) that the arch trims have been removed, along with the side moulding and original handles.
Following that, the metal arches were then pulled out and smoothed, the remaining holes left by the side mouldings were filled flushed and A4 handles grafted into place. A6 items were an option, but they didn't go with the flush look Carl was trying to achieve. The most-time consuming part, according to Dave was certainly the lead welding of the side moulding recess. The preparation has to be spot on, as it's such a large area of steel, once the final coat of paint goes on, if it's not right, you'll see any imperfection.

Round the back the filler pick-up has been relocated to the rear panel (keeping the sides clean and simple), the aerial has been removed from the roof along with the hatch spoiler. All the badges, lock and rear wiper have also been erased with the plate recess narrowed and flushed. "The clear rear lights were fitted instead of smoked to brighten the rear up a bit, " Carl told us. Not that the paint isn't interesting enough as it is. The magic mix is a Standox colour called Catalunya Splash and was actually Carl's original choice before changing his mind halfway through. Luckily, his second choice of paint was actually stolen from the suppliers and on ordering another batch, he reverted back to the original colour (yeah, it confused us too). Carl claims it flips five different colours and we managed to pick up the majority of them in our photo shoot. It's certainly a tricky colour to capture though, and only really looks the part in full-on sunlight.
The final choice of wheel was decided upon nearing the end of the project. Carl couldn't praise Schmidt enough for its quick response in supply the phat little split-rims, and also for its advice on the fitment side. Inspired from our very own Project Buzz Box, the TH-Line alloys measure a hefty 8.5x15" up front and a whopping 9.5x15" out back. How the guys quite managed to slip them under the ridiculously low shell we'll never know. It might have something to do with them rolling the arches out and smoothing the crease … they make it sound so easy!
There are low cars and then there are Carl's cars. His last ride, the Corrado was so slammed the new owner smashed its chin spoiler off within a week of owning it. The Mk3, with its heavy VR6 motor is crazy low. We spent the best part of 20 minutes simply getting the car into our studio, using planks of wood to raise it over the smallest of bumps. With Carl's renowned driving style, it surely can't be long before disaster strikes, but at least he isn't afraid to use the thing.
While everybody was busy with the body, Bill Loraine sent all the engine parts off the be polished, he ordered a set of one-off cams from Piper and modified the Supersprint back box which now sports Remus tailpipes taken from a Mk4 Unit. According to Carl, Remus don't do a similar set-up for the Mk3.
Carl's spent a small fortune brightening up the insides too. Only Yellow Colour Concept seats, door cards and carpets could challenge the lairy paint for centre stage. Then there's a custom alloy cage (polished) and stainless rear decking also polished for maximum impact. The rear panels were sent to Junior at MJ Interiors to be modified and have any rear seatbelt holes removed. Carl's such a perfectionist that he even had the rooflining painted black as the original white item wasn't working (apparently, the Mk3 never came with black). The relocated fuel line is even a work of art which is rooted through one of the beautifully sculpted rear turrets. These were inspired by Premier's 'chrome' car which dominated last years show scene.
Once Carl decided the car was going to be more of a show car than a race car, he ditched the race theme and focused on cleaning the interior up. A colour - coded dash, with blue-luminated Premier dials, is also a one-off creation set-off by a minute 300mm Momo top power wheel and Kenwood TV tuner. "I always wanted a TV so this was the car to fit one in," he said. The unit is backed up by a substantial mix of Rockford Hardware which kicks some serious ass in the bare cabin.
Final touches include new glass and window tints carried out by Bishops Gate Autotint in Watford, and the infamous YOB number plates which finish the car a treat.
Carl and Premier have come up with what is, in our view, the best-looking Dub around. Your views may differ. In fact, we're sure they will but you can't take it away from the guy. What he's done, he's done good. Can it be improved on? Probably. In fact Carl's still got a few tricks up his sleeve. Apparently, polished centres and caps are on their way over from Schimdt and a turbo kit is also in the pipeline. Whatever happens, Carl plans to keep the car a while and has certainly put the Mk3 on the map as a decent base for a modified ride. Beats the hell out of stealing a Nova Merit and ram-raiding a Dixons…so we've heard!

Dub Details

Engine: 2.8 VR6 with custom Piper cams. Pipercross Vector induction kit, polished inlet manifold and cam cover, colour-coded detailing, polished bonnet lifters, Supersprint stainless system with cat bypass and Remus tailpipes from Mk4 backbox.

Chassis: Schimdt TH-Line split rims, 8.5x15" with ET5 and spacer (front), 9x15" with ET15 (rear), 195/45 front and 215/40 (rear) Dunlop SP9000 tyres. Avo coilovers, Eibach upper strut brace, drilled and grooved discs all round.

Outside: painted Standox Catalunya Splash. Mk4 Hella headlights with clear side lights incorporated, extended bonnet with washer jets removed and re-located to Scuttle. Lenses, plate recess and air ducts removed from front bumper, complete section and chin spoiler smoothed and painted, single wiper conversion, side repeaters removed and holes flushed. Projektzwo door mirrors, side mouldings removed, wheel arches pulled out and flushed, side recess filled and flushed, side skirts totally smoothed, Audi A4 rear handles fitted, filler flap removed and aero item relocated to rear panel, clear rear clusters, aerial removed from tailgate, swage lines smoothed, recess narrowed. Bumper totally smoothed and colour-coded, tinted glass fitted.

Inside: full Yellow Colour Concept leather trim comprising seats, door cards and mats. Premier dials which illuminate blue, shortened gear stick, Mk4 Golf chrome door handles, 300mm Momo Top Power steering wheel, custom polished roll-cage, rear floor panel, side sections and strut brace, rear turrets and boot sections smoothed, alloy fuel pipe, rooflining painted black, colour-coded dash sections.

Ice: Kenwood KVC-1000 monitor/head unit, Rockford EQ under glovebox, 5" mids in front doors, tweeters in dash, Power 800 amp under rear panel, 15" Kicker Solar Baric sub, Optima Battery.
Shout: Thanks to Steve, Bill, Gerry, Dave and Glen at Premier (01604 604004), MJ Interiors, (01274 533370), Mobile World (020 8570 9999), Bishops Gate Autotint (01923 711562)