The car does still exist, but it's in a bad way (i run a '96 Fiesta these days).

I started breaking it but then found it wasn't qualified for the retention of the registration plate. The engine ended up in a Lupo, and a few months later i put the Lupo's engine in the Polo with a view to getting it road legal so i could remove the plate, but i never got around to finishing it.

With the plate stuck on the car, the car is stuck rotting on my drive, but i will try and find the time to have another crack at it over the next few months.

I can't get any pics of the underside atm, as it's half buried in bushes, but there are pics somewhere on here of the rear beam with the wheel off. I mention the Skoda ARB in the post, so it should come up in a search.

Well this moved on, recently.

Having removed the damaged rear quarter area i found horrendous rust of the rear structure.

The red one i bought in '03 was already rotten here, this wasn't but it's been sat in shaded bushes for one and half years, after knowing it was getting rusty in this area, i've only got myself to blame really. All things considered, with other rust and jacking damage, front floor pans in a bad way.. well it's over.

But it's not over for this topic - as i now have another '85 Coupe S

And thanks to revised laws recently, the DVLA have now allowed me to transfer my registration, so i don't have to bodge a bad car through an MoT to get my plate back.

Full service/accounts history, astounding condition with no rust at all, totally original, father & son owned since new (the son was older than me and a lovely bloke), always garaged, examples like this don't grow on trees.

Lessons have been learnt. In the 8.5 years i've had the blue one i have changed so many engines and gearboxes i couldn't possibly count them all. And all by jacking the car up. So for starters, i shall invest in a hoist and ramps.

But i know, and have, all the parts i want for this car. So once i've put my name on it, it should require nothing more than the usual regular maintenance.

And a major course of rust proofing!

Be following this one now Mikey. Didn't feel like interjecting previously having missed the whole build lol but it's a different car now so I should keep up!

Should be awesome if it was anything like last time. When you said less is more in the other thread could that have been maybe a hint of you going back to 8v like the ABD you once had? I have seen you rated it quite well in other threads.

Also anyone who's not colour blind should be able to clarify on the stripe colour haha. I cant tell but can just about make out the red on the top and bottom grille bars and it looks closer to that then black to me! Stripe looks cool anyway so hope you keep it too

John

Edited 11 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

ABD is a good shout, but i think staying with 16 valves is the way forward. With the late heads i have a lot of factory cam choices too, especially as i can use exhaust cams for inlets. The question is capacity and at the moment i'm drawn to 1400cc, possibly using the ARC 1.6 GTi block. I'll see.

You call it a stripe. That's not a stripe, this is a stripe!

Admittedly the Red Bull inspired flash was a bit daft, but i'm swaying with two ideas IF i go down the graphics route - either the factory MK1 Golf GTi side stripes like the blue one wore before the respray..

..or something more MK1 Fiesta Supersport inspired.

The coachline down the side looks factory but probably isn't, as it's all black and they were two-tone from factory. It had a replacement door skin back in the day, so it probably isn't original. It's not pickling my sandwich, anyway, even if i go for something conservative in the end, it's coming off.

Side protection is also in mind. I have the foam bodyside mouldings from the red breadvan but as with all the designs over the years, they're too low down to be of much use.

Just read this from the start. I've always been interested in your set up but never read this. Lots of ups and downs but great read

Connor

That's a good idea with the mk1 golf style stripe...would be cool if an 's' could be carved out the stripe or stenciled or 'polo s' at the rear of the golf gti stripe.

In performance vw there was a mk1 Jetta coupe that had something similar. Red body with a white stripe with Jetta in red on the stripe near the back wheel.

I'm crap at explaining things so none of that probably makes sense to you lol

Edited 12 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

McCann, on 12 Nov 2015 - 5:26 PM, said:

Just read this from the start. I've always been interested in your set up but never read this. Lots of ups and downs but great read

Connor

It's bizarre really, I've owned loads of cars during the time i've had this, repaired a lot, modified some, but they're never keepers. This is Luke some sort of pet and yet it's never mattered much. Never been for show or competition, it's just my little thing - more a stress ball than anything I think ha

wizardmanjm, on 12 Nov 2015 - 5:41 PM, said:

That's a good idea with the mk1 golf style stripe...would be cool if an 's' could be carved out the stripe or stenciled or 'polo s' at the rear of the golf gti stripe.

In performance vw there was a mk1 Jetta coupe that had something similar. Red body with a white stripe with Jetta in red on the stripe near the back wheel.

I'm crap at explaining things so none of that probably makes sense to you lol

Funny you say that, I've done a drawing of the S badge inlaid in the stripe, but it needs doing professionally really. I'm more bothered about getting textured stuff for the stripe though, been having trouble finding some.

I would like to see your s that you attempted. I wouldn't mind a golf gti stripe on the breadvan and when the gt engine is in I can do a GT stencil on it [emoji4]

Taking it you will have the whole car swapped over in ten minutes given your experience [emoji6]

Someone's done a breadvan, think it was black with silver stripes and ATS Classics (coulda been gold stripes), looked sick.

The problem with the S is it's just a bit random, there's no pedigree, it's likely to look tacky. It currently has the early POLO embellished mouldings and I don't like them either so i'm thinking stripes alone will do.

I used the Polo Selecta programme and Windows paint to design the Red Bull flash and i'll do a few designs for the white one, and go with one.

I probably will have the transformation done relatively quick, as it's not gonna be too much of a transformation.. and I know what needs doing. That said, i'm not in a hurry, and will no doubt regularly pause for new parts and servicing of items.

Shame about the rust mate. Must be bad for you to decide its game over. dont suppose you want to sell some bits? Pm me if so!

I wouldn't be surprised if the paint shade is off, i always thought mine was darker, but it was made to the colour code so it shouldn't be. I actually have the best part of a litre left somewhere..

I don't have room to store stuff but naturally i wanna keep what spares i can. What'll happen is i'll have too many and i'll have to get rid of stuff. Doors and interior are obvious ones but i'll see once i can't move in my flat...

nah its not panels I'm after bud, need glass and a decent set of bumpers mainly!

I have a pair of bumpers Eric. Pm me if you're interested

I'm gonna want spare glass.. It'll be a few weeks before i remove the glass. When i do i won't advertise it but if you're in need i could sort you out.

i'm so sad reading this, we never did have a comet blue reunion!

i had my last respray from german paint, but like you always thought it was a shade too dark but perhaps the faded old paint was just too familiar!, going to see if there is a very slightly lighter shade this time round to make Bluey more Bluey.

Mine was really just the floorpan that was rusty from a shunt years ago, and i've had to have a new end bit of sill welded in on the drivers side as there was a hole on the bottom edge, thankfully i don't think it has gone further. i'll have to make sure i do a thorough rust proofing though when i get him home. My other one has gone on the rear jacking points but i don't think thats to the extent of yours, like you i knew it was rusty but just ignored it not thinking i would still have it all this time later!

I agree though my front jacking points are all bendy as well, i think its only been possible to straighten the drivers side, but i won't be doing any more jacking on them if i can help it!

Good luck with the new project anyway, its just a shame its not comet blue!!!

I've considered a respray.. but thought better of it.

White really suits this little car, in a Rallye kinda way, and it's been blue for 8.5yrs so it's a change for me (bearing in mind it was red for the first few years). It may be the broom that's had seven handles and twelve heads but it's still my MK2..! Lol

I was slack with the turn-outs - one Edition38, one PoloShow and two Aldon RR days.. i didn't give much of a chance to get it into a group photo and now.. i'm on the white team.. switchin like a pro footballer..

I like a white Coupe. I bought one for some summer fun and I thought it looked great. Had white BMW bottle tops to match

I like E30 bottle tops, I'd roll them if only I didn't have to clean them!

I don't plan to lose the steelies but they're not ideal. They're heavy even for steels, and not the prettiest wheels. I'll give them a fresh coat and keep an eye out.

Yeah, they're 4x100 and 14". Looked nice

I've also looked at E21 steels. Honda steels of the same era look the same but are lighter, rarer too though. MK1 Polo steels look like MK1 Golf steels but the bolt seat isn't as deep so they don't clear my brakes. Otherwise yeah, i'm open to retro steels that'll give that basic sport look without having to use these thick Santana cups.

Well i haven't got far, but some people have enquired about the shell and i've got far enough to get some photos up on that.

Two years ago, when it last passed an MoT, it was solid. So how could it go so badly so quickly? Well it's been parked up in bushes by a canal. The front of the car was sticking out and got plenty of sunlight. There was always rust in the front panel, with cracked filler where i parked against a tree stump a while back. The passenger side of the car was always shaded, but exposed. This was solid but with crushed jacking points. The o/s was buried in the bushes, and was almost certainly always damp. This is now heavily reflected in the state of the car, and this is where lessons have been learnt.

This is how a shell ends up if you jack it up a hundred times.

The chassis leg is crushed where it meets the jacking platforms, and the floor is crushed in. It's like this both sides. This floor won't be much good in an accident. This car worked as a bit of a test mule whilst i tried lots of engines - now i have an engine i'm happy with for the new car, this won't be worked-on often, and when it is, i have access to a hoist.

The driver's side has a little extra rust. I put a white rag under the car to highlight the holes..

In this photo, what you're looking at is the captive nut and bolt which holds the rear axle to the chassis leg. Or what's left of it. Of course, the chassis leg isn't supposed to be open and displaying the bolt like that. Half the chassis leg was still on the floor when i pulled the car out. I might as well have parked it in acid.

Some will say it's repairable. Well yes, it is. But they can do it, i'm not.

The new car has a new parking place, one which gets sunlight most of the day, as it's out in the open. I intend to keep it for the foreseeable. If UV damage eats trim, i have spares for that.

I forgot how much work i've done over the years. In digging out the late model loom i modified for the early model back in 2007, i remembered i'd actually used the '88 dashboard too. So there's a lot to do, and it's taking longer than i'd hoped.

I need to go through all this and sort some of it. I want a stronger headlight loom with relays, wanna revise the fuel pump situation, immobiliser, properly splice in my chosen connector types where they're currently just added-onto the ends (various plugs being from different eras and manufacturers)..

I often try to tell people they make work for themselves and do things the hard way, when you don't always need to. This is the whole front suspension removed, complete with brakes and steering arms, entirely in one piece. By removing the castle nuts before jacking the car up, i didn't need a spring compressor either.

Although i took it all off in one piece, i will be dismantling it all to service the parts (that's why i didn't bother putting bags over the CV joints, as they're being stripped and washed anyway)..

As for the new car, well i haven't started on it yet. The engine bay is entirely original and it runs sweet, the fuel gauge hardly moved in the 55 mile journey home, either. But it's had long term oil leaks, mainly from the cam cover and distributor seals i think, the back/side of the engine and the gearbox are covered in what i can only describe as being akin to Bournville candle wax.

I haven't got anywhere to store an engine and i don't fancy cleaning it, so it'll have to go.

The engine bay is properly filthy, but all this should've worked to act as a protective layer for the shell. I'll clean the bay and bonnet, but i'm not gonna bother cleaning the floor.

I dare look at my floor but I will do it one day, mine has been jacked an awful lot too since it has been in my ownership. I have ramps but I don't like using them unless I have a person to tell me when to stop otherwise knowing me I'll go off the end and smash my sills in.

New car sounds to be pretty good. My fuel system may need sorting as consumption is very poor lol and what is that in the bay? Tin foil to stop condensation at the dizzy?

The points-type distributors got a plastic sleeve over them from factory. I'm not sure if this is the factory one or if it's been made afterwards, but though it's sealed to shape i suspect the latter, or it wouldn't be as clean.. I have this photo of Rachael's incredible Derby for reference, and it looks different to me..