Golf bottletops? I had a set, really nice. Love this beige breadvan, such a rare colour too

Cheers chap you wouldn't say that if you saw it now lol. I will rebuild it again soon

Cheers fella, thats that sorted then :)

No worries bud, don't get me wrong the ride comfort is really nice when they work but I would expect that as there standard shocks, Its just the quality is wofull lol

So I'm still waiting for the guy who's going to do the welding and paint to free up some space in the workshop. Apparently he's waiting on a company to finish machining a head from a Mk2 Jag he needs to rebuild to make room...

In the meantime I've been busy sorting the rear brakes as one drum was seized on and the handbrake cables had snapped. I've been a bit crap with taking pics but I do have a few.

This is the sticky drum and it was clear to see why. The slave cylinder was gummed up with as sorts of crap. It had been leaking and had caused lots of surface corrosion.

I soaked all the nuts and bolts, along with the backing plates from the drums in Bilt Hamber De-Ox to get rid of the corrosion, I then gave everything a coat of black Smoothright. I also used some Bilt Hamber De-Ox Gel on the rear beam to clean it up.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of the rear beam and brakes once finished but they looked great. New handbrake cables and flexi pipes were also fitted at the same time.

While this was going on my H&R 60/40 kit arrived so while the beam was off it made sense to fit the rears. This is what it now looks like...

I'm always keeping an eye for cheap or interesting parts so I managed to pick this beauty up very cheaply recently. Its a full stainless 2" pipe with a stainless Powerflow back box. I know its not going to add anything to what little power this car has but it'll look and sound far better :)

Thanks for reading!

Edited 1 March, 201511 yr by SimonP

One more thing! If anyone has a single headlight front grille with the chrome strips like you can see on DirtyDubs' square back, please let me know. I'm in the market for one but it must be in good basic condition. I don't mind dirt, it washes off. Ta.

That exhaust is quite a find. Where'd you get that?

It was a cracking find. It was on EBay from a guy in Tewkesbury. He had taken it off his Mk2f he was cutting up for a trailer project. It might be a bit long in the tail pipe due to the big bumpers on the 2f but for the £110 it cost me I'm not worried about having to get it shortened slightly.

It'll look nice. Let me know if you ever let it go

Seems that MK2 Polo front struts are a bit of a PITA to get off, and that big nut holding the insert in, don't get me started! Anyway, I got them off, got the inserts out and sent them off for vapour blasting. Have a look at the before and after pics below. The after is bare metal ready to be painted. The guy that does the blasting does alloy engine parts for motorcycles and recommended the paint I'll be using. I'll show y'all another pic when they're re-assembled. Thanks for looking.

Love this thread so far buddy! I'm after a mk2 'loon at some point in the future, but I've never seen one down in Cornwall.

Definitely looking forward to more updates on this one!

Loving this!

does that porcelain paint seem any harder than other rattle cans?

Liking this a lot. I like how you're attacking manageable chunks and getting them complete to a high standard, instead of a 'strip everything and worry about it later' approach! :)

Love this thread so far buddy! I'm after a mk2 'loon at some point in the future, but I've never seen one down in Cornwall.

Definitely looking forward to more updates on this one!

Loving this!

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I'm really enjoying the work and my enthusiasm isn't running out yet, but kind words and appreciation always make the effort more worthwhile. Cheers :)

does that porcelain paint seem any harder than other rattle cans?

Time will tell regarding durability I guess. Until my oldest boy is old enough to drive (he's 15 in August), the car is mainly going to be used for going to shows and not much else. It certainly won't be seeing any winter weather for a while.

What I can say about the paint is it seems to dry to a really nice, hard finish. It goes straight on to bare metal, covers far, far better than aerosol Hammerite and at £15 for two cans delivered, its cheaper too. Have a look at my terrible pics below.

Liking this a lot. I like how you're attacking manageable chunks and getting them complete to a high standard, instead of a 'strip everything and worry about it later' approach! :)

Ha ha, thanks! You make it seem I may have planned it that way :) I'm doing it in bits simply because I'm waiting for a guy to make space in his workshop to do the welding and full respray. In the meantime I've been cracking on with jobs I can start and finish relatively quickly to allow the car to be on its wheels in case I get the call. Its working out quite well really and keeping me focused on getting stuff sorted.

Love this. why do they always look better than mine....

Keep it coming fine sir, keep it coming

I would be interested in how the paint lasts also as I always get my stuff powder coated.

So. Not a lot to add at the current time as its time for my other ongoing project to come out of hibernation. Every year we have a bit of a boys weekend away, usually the Nurburgring or Spa Francorchamps (or both if we can be arsed). So most of my time and spare cash lately has been spent on a new clutch, rear wheel bearings, custom exhaust and a diff reseal on my turbo'd Mk1 MX5. We're off to Belgium to the Spa Classic meeting at the end of the month where we also get a a few 30 minute track sessions. There is an in car vid from last year below if you want a look. Its mental, a bit of a free for all but incredibly good fun :)

I have managed to get the H&R 60/40 fitted on the Polo though and the car is looking far better for it (but possibly not low enough for some). I also had one of the those moments when you're casually surfing Ebay with too much red wine on board and managed to buy myself some new wheels. I drafted the 'youth' in to fit them :)

The guy thats supposed to be doing the welding and paint hasn't come back to me at all so I think I'll probably have a go myself. Once the Spa trip is out of the way I'll crack on. Retro Rides is still the target.

Cheers for looking :)

That looks awesome!! :)

I can't believe the difference. Never heard of vapour blasting before..

Thanks for the comments mate! High praise from you, I'll take that :)

The guy that doe the cleaning for me specialises in motorbike engine cases. Soft alloy stuff so he doesn't use hard media. Its not cheap but its a great local service. http://www.swanplantair.co.uk/cleaning.html

I've just spend 2hours using a wire brush and sand paper on my struts and they still look rubbish!!

Those look like new!

Your ATS classics and Mk2's look great too. :-D

If Stanford Hall wasn't so far away I'd have picked up your struts tomorrow and taken them to this guy. I had him do the rear sub frame and wishbones on the MX5 too. There must be something reasonably local to you that could do a similar service?

I love the ATS Classics on a Mk2 too. I'm a bit smitten.

So now the real waiting begins. The car was collected this morning so its time for welding and paint. Retro Rides is still the deadline and I have a lot to get done when its returned (assuming I'm happy with it of course). New pics soon I hope...

I hate you, your loon already looks better than mine!

Hahum, so whats the deal? anymore news to tell? come on stop leaving us hanging.