Cheers everyone i will update very soon i promise, I've been working some mega long hours so haven't been able to get on here much so sorry for that. Thanks for all the kind comments, I've got hours of stuff to update with so keep your eyes peeled .

You should give it a good clean, all the muck and loose rust will be making it look a lot worse than it is.

This is what I got upto on evening two : I wanted to get the back end of the car sorted first as this was the worst area effected. First was the rear quater panels so I started with the offside, Before.

This is after I had cut out the effected area with a 1mm cutting disc.

Then with a new panel made and welded in it looked like this. Its worth pointing out that I will get a bit anal about things like this, I will apologise in advance but I like things to look like I've never touched it so I made sure that I welded in the replacement panels the same way as they were put in in the factory so they overlapped the same sorry its a bit geeky I know but I want to make sure I've got all the rust out and it looks as factory as possible when its finished

Then I started on the nearside, Before.

During.

After, well sort of my camera decided to eat the finished shot of this side . It gives you an idea of were I'm going with this anyway.

With that done I could start with the first big step with this resto the rear beam then the tank!

Evening three : The rear beam and tank out.

This came out with no hitches at all, which is odd as you would of expected seized rear shock absorber bolts at least, but I'm not complaining .

So now thats them out I can get all the repair work done around the filler neck/rear sill area. Sorry Its a quicky but I will be back with a more organised update next time promise.

Its worth pointing out that I will get a bit anal about things like this, I will apologise in advance but I like things to look like I've never touched it so I made sure that I welded in the replacement panels the same way as they were put in in the factory so they overlapped the same sorry its a bit geeky I know but I want to make sure I've got all the rust out and it looks as factory as possible when its finished

Just the attitude required for restoring a car properly

Can't wait to see how this will look when it's done.

Edited 29 August, 201114 yr by MattLoaf

cheers dude :grin:

jade green indeed, only things I did to it were wheels and fitting a weber.

Right thought I might do a sneeky little update walst the better halfs at work. So after dropping the rear beam and tank out It was time to commence with evening No3 and I could have a better look at that rust around the dreaded filler neck after a good poke around this is what I was left with.

This is around the tank breather pipe .

I did have to pull the seam apart in places to see how far it had gone but thankfully not far was the answer :-D .

Its at this area that I started but it did end up leaving a hole on the inside of the car ohwell better that than rust. All in all i'm very happy its not alot worse.

Next job was to chop away at the outer, rear sill and a bit of the inner sill so I could gain a better idea of how far the rust had penetrated.

To be honest it was starting to look a bit better all ready. It was at thi point I got it in me to get carried away and chop the rest of the rust out .

This left a pile

The only way you can really get rid of rust for good is to cut it out completely.plus it will leave you the cleanest metal possible to weld to, it will actually help in the end. All in all I have had to cut at the inner sill, outer sill, inner wheel arch, outer wheel arch and rear jacking point. I have decided I dont want the rust coming back in a hurry so I will be making all my own repair panels this is because I want to make all the exposed panels out of 1.5mm think steal and all the none exposed panels out of 0.8mm steal not the standard 0.6mm that came from the factory :-) hopefully this will last the rest of the life of the car, like I said earlier I want this car to fly through all future MOT's with ease.

So first I started by cutting the outer sill back a bit higher then welding some 0.8 onto the inner sill.

That then gets a coat of seam sealer straight away just to stop any surface rust from forming.

It was it this point I test fitted the new fuel tank just so I could make sure the breather pipe would line up with the new hole in the inner arch panel.

With that welded in place I could now finish off the lower inner arch, inner wing and jacking point these were all hand made out of new 1.5mm steal I think they added about a kilo of wait to the car :-D . This is the end result, I tried my best to make it look as atandard as possible and at least I dont have to worry about it again .

This now left the final piece of the puzzle the outer sill its not that easy to bend 1.5mm steal by hand so I made this panel on the rollers at work so i could get the curve just right.

Before it could go on I had to underseal the inner side of the panel plus the inner sill aswell.

PLEASE BE WARNED! Dont try to weld through a spray on seam sealer or stone chip that stuff is explosive and will go up in flames the second you try to weld near it!! I use a brush on seam sealer called Grey stripe I find its the best to weld through, as long as you are quick with your welds you will only melt the sealer not burn it. This will help you as it will run into all the little gaps between your spot welds protecting the car even more :p . I find this is a area that is often forgotten about but its really important to NOT leave any metal surfaces unprotected with proper body repair you have to think about the areas you cant see not the one's you can, well thats my opinion anyway .

So after all that faffing around it looked a little like this.

Before.

Hope you like? Cheers for your time Alex.

I can tell you love this sort of stuff, dedication!

Might be interested in these matey > http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...=257552&hl=

Edited 30 August, 201114 yr by Dooleyz

I truly love this thread. Excellent work indeed. I don't want it to be finished!

I can tell you love this sort of stuff, dedication!

Might be interested in these matey > http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...=257552&hl=

Thanks very much dude pm have been sent.

I truly love this thread. Excellent work indeed. I don't want it to be finished!

More to come, very soon just a few bits to get and money is a bit tight at the mo.

Right guys I need your help here I am interested in these funky little adjustment block's for the front ARB. I believe these help reposition the front wheels and help stiffen up the front a bit? I have never fitted these and could really do with your thoughts on them and who do I go to to buy these items? Any help would be much appreciated. A great many thanks Alex.

Right guys I need your help here I am interested in these funky little adjustment block's for the front ARB. I believe these help reposition the front wheels and help stiffen up the front a bit? I have never fitted these and could really do with your thoughts on them and who do I go to to buy these items? Any help would be much appreciated. A great many thanks Alex.

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...249161&st=0

german company, as far as i know/read/see these guys import them and currently selling cheap compared to normal! go go go, hope it helps!

Thank you for that, I was looking for ages the other night, is there any cheaper ones out there as I'm not really going to be driving this car hard at all it will spend most of its time stuck in traffic . Does Philj/jackson tuning do a cheaper set? Again thanks for the help.

afraid not, apart from tht you could get poly bushes..

Poly bushes wont alter the position of the front wheels, well I dont thinks so anyway

excellent read

keep it going

Poly bushes wont alter the position of the front wheels, well I dont thinks so anyway

no, just stiffen it up.

You have some skills my friend, I can tell this will be a minter when its done.

lovely. I love the fact you love saving them.

My mk2 'loon hasnt needed any attention underneath (yet lol) it all seem's good underneath.

Glad too see someone else not bodging jobs and doing it the proper way :) Here's what mine currently looks like:

Should be lovely when finished, keep up with the pic's as its my one regret with doing mine, I didnt take many pictures of work in progress...

lovely. I love the fact you love saving them.

My mk2 'loon hasnt needed any attention underneath (yet lol) it all seem's good underneath.

Glad too see someone else not bodging jobs and doing it the proper way :) Here's what mine currently looks like:

Should be lovely when finished, keep up with the pic's as its my one regret with doing mine, I didnt take many pictures of work in progress...

What going on with the rear bumper?

Very good work, like to see things done properly not just bodged with filler!

Poly bushes wont alter the position of the front wheels, well I dont thinks so anyway

no, just stiffen it up.

Cool thanks again for the heads up appreciated.

Thanks guys for all the comments, I've just had a bit of a turn around with my job situation so I'm sorry for the lack of updates. The last couple of weeks has been all about getting to grips with the new job so the little polo has been pushed to one side. The good news is the new job is in my home town so no need to rush the polo forward as a replacement for my auto as I can walk to work if needed. This means I can spend a bit more time on her and add a few things to the list that I would of done to her once she was rolling. But I will still be aiming to have her finished before Xmas ready for next years show season so keep your eyes pealed and I will keep you updated as I go.

brightsideteeem, Mate I'm way off of getting it anywhere near as shinny as yours bud but I am determined not to let the rust come back so even if I sell her (no chance!!) she will last and last for the next owner.

Update coming very soon I promise.