Hey guys - I have just branched into Polo ownership after 6yrs of owning other Volkswagens. Basically I was looking for a sub £400 car to practice reversing round corners in - I'm training to become a driving instructor and all our other cars are either commercials, campers, in bits or LHD, meaning they were not suitable for me to practice in. After being tipped off by a friend, I went to look at a very late Mk3 Polo... I wasn't bothered about what it looked like, or what condition it was in, as long as it had a few months MOT and the clutch and steering were working fine.... after a brief test drive around the estate it was on, I handed over £220 and 'Foxy' as I'm named him, was mine!

Some added 'character'.... probably via someone's foot...

Bit crusy around the edges, but nothing major:

Limited Edition 'Fox' stripes interior:

Small but functional!

(I've fitted the missing pipe already).

So the first thing we did was improve on the dent in the boot....

Before:

After:

We also changed the air filter and spark plugs and he's running spot on now when we got him he felt like he was idling too low -a bit like you feel when you're really hungry - a bit wibbly! But change of sparks and he's idling absolutely perfectly

I also started on rerusting him! First up was the filler flap - the paint had started to come off and it had surface rust and just looked terrible!

A minute of so with the ankle grinder and sanding disk later:

A light skim of filler, sanded down:

Bit of primer:

And some Tornado Red:

Shibby! I shall fit it tomorrow when it's fully dried.

After fitting the plugs, I felt brave enough to have a peek at the sills... after seeing the crusty (although not holed, just bad surface rust) wings, I was expecting a patched mess, and probably needing a couple more for his next MOT.....

What a pleasant suprise! He's as solid as a rock! With no welding been done previously and needing none as far as I can see! There's some bubbly bits on the higher bits of the sills under the doors etc, but I gave them a good poke and there's no holes.

As for plans - he's staying pretty much standard I'm afraid! As I'm only planning on keeping him till August (when my instructing car arrives at the dealers), I can't do too much. Just gonna tidy him up a bit, and perhaps some clear front indicators....

looks like your pretty handy with the diy! would love to see someone restore one to factory contition as I've never seen a fox in good nick as most seem to get used and abused, what with them being the base model.

shame you cant do much to it as it could have lots of potential! the steels look ripe for banding

great stuff! i cant help but think you could have gotten a petrol cap ...in red...so easily! either on here or at a local yard for less than the cost of the paint nice little find though!

Yeah that Mk3 has a lot of potential, shame you're not keeping it for long.

Is that what you'll be instructing in, the car in your avatar?

Yeah I thought I'd probably be able to pick up a decent fuel flap for very little money - but where's the fun in that?

I'm quite sad that i can't keep the little fella for long as I'm getting quite fond of him! But already owning 7 others VWs and with another due in August, it just wouldn't be practical!

Yep I'm quite handy with cars - myself and my boyfriend have together restored a 1966 Split Screen camper and I'm just working on getting my 58 Beetle back on the road. I can weld, paint, do bodywork etc... not bad for a girl :p

And yes - the car in my avatar is what I hope to be teaching in. Not that exact car, but I've got a Beetle identical to it on order as soon as he lands he's gonna be all Herbie'd up! Will make a pretty cool teaching car methinks!

Lucy.

Thought I'd start on sanding the bubbles down on his front wing:

This is all very much the same - looks worse than it is:

As you can see, it's just bad surface rust. There's no holes, just lots of bubbles and paint chipping off. I'll get the flappy sanding disk on the angle grinder on it tomorrow - that'll sort it!

And took a pic of the fuel flap fitted:

Edited 3 June, 200818 yr by Shamrockez

You're doing a really good job of this! Keep up the good work, and lets see some pics of your other dubs!

Thanks

Here's the others - in no particular order:

Is that your range rover peeking out of the last pic too? lol

Nice little collection youv got there i dont know what it is but i love that beetle at the top :)

nice van too

lol no - the rangie belongs to my parents friend. That was in Australia when we picked up the Split to take back to their house before it was shipped over here.

The Beetle at the top is also from the land down under! She was built in 1958 and I bought her for just £160! Rust free too!

I didnt think it was lol,

Is the (top) beetle staying as it is or is there more plans for it?

Oh and i forgot to mention the learner herbie will be cool learners car

Good luck with the tests :)

looks like your doin a good job matey!

love the first 2 beetles!

and i reckon the learner herbie will be pretty funky

I didnt think it was lol,

Is the (top) beetle staying as it is or is there more plans for it?

Oh and i forgot to mention the learner herbie will be cool learners car

Good luck with the tests :)

Thank you :-D

She'll stay as she is for a few years - until I get bored of how she looks I expect. I like my cars shiny, so keepig her ratty is hard for me! But I must admit - it's lovely having a car you don't have to worry about scratching!

looks like your doin a good job matey!

love the first 2 beetles!

and i reckon the learner herbie will be pretty funky

cheers! :-D

Yeah it should be quite fun - he should stand out pretty well amongst the sea of Corsas and Fiestas that most people seem to use.

nice job on the fox!

wicked collection of cars too

Yeah i dont normally like the rat look, I'm more of a clean and shiny man myself but theres just something about that beetle hmm...

John

nice job on the fox!

wicked collection of cars too

Thanky!

Yeah i dont normally like the rat look, I'm more of a clean and shiny man myself but theres just something about that beetle hmm...

John

She has a lot of attitude I think - that's what I like about her anyway!

I've been busy again! thought I'd take the wheels off to give them a quick tidy up.

I've done one so far. As it was:

After attacking it with brake cleaner - looking better already!

Sanded and masked up, then cleaned with panel wipe:

And first coat of paint:

Nice little side project you've got going on there! Reminds me of my car (red breadvan fox!).

Loving the air cooled stuff

you air cooled whore!

some sweet rides!

loving that!

Welcome!

Christian

Edited 5 June, 200818 yr by chrispy

Nice little side project you've got going on there! Reminds me of my car (red breadvan fox!).

Loving the air cooled stuff

Cheers. Yeah I'm quite enjoying working on him! Cool, twin cars!

you air cooled whore!

some sweet rides!

loving that!

Welcome!

Christian

Thanks - got a bit of a VW obsession!

Added some laquer and took the masking off:

Then turned back to the front arch. A few undone bolts later and he looked like this:

With more room to work I attacked him with the angle grinder and flappy disk...

Then treated it:

Then found this :( undecided if I should try and weld a patch in or just get a new wing - they're only £27 so I might do that!

The rain clouds arrived so we quickly put him roughly back together and put the wheel back on - looks quite good!

those rear seats on the fox look well comfy...sorry it had to be said! :-D

Great thread

they're as comfortable as they look! After I took the pic, I couldn't resist getting in and having a sit!

So I've just been out and pulled the bumper and grill off again (I'm getting good at this!), then found all the bolts which hold the wing on and pulled that off too:

Gonna see if this will weld up, otherwise I'll get a new wing:

Looks like your getting busy here mate ..

You going for the whole new wing or going to weld a spot in ..

I think you would be best just going for the whole wing

Although colour matching it would be more difficult that just a small area.

I remember my old mk3 it started as a fox with the exact same interior / lack of interior as yours ..

Its suprising how cheap you can pick up a set of black doorcards and seats though

I managed to get a full interior inc parcel shelf for £50

Sprayed the headlining on my car black ..

Jobs a gooden ..

What are your plans for her then ?