Hi there,

 

new owner from the North of France, just purchased a 1992 Polo Fox Coupe which has been off the road for a couple of years.

 

Usual story, bought from an old lady by a young enthusiast who lowered it with coil-overs, replaced the 1.0 injection block with a 1.3, fitted some BMW (I think) wheels then ran out of time, parking space, money. Fast-forward three years, car passed on to seller to pay off debt, no CT (French MOT) etc, so hasn't been on the road since and was sitting unloved when we found it with the original engine, box, suspension, etc. in the boot, and the rear tyres rubbing the arches.

 

A quick check for body rust and a longer look at the paperwork and I negociated the price down to €1000, and put it on the trailer. Here it is after a quick clean (and emptying the leftover parts into the garage)

 

 

 

 

 

The first job will be to get it through an MOT - obvious jobs are a rusty silencer, a steering knuckle and a good service and check of brakes, etc. After that it'll need a longer gearbox, but there was one on the front passenger seat, there's a crack in the top corner of the windscreen, the rear tyres are going to rub if it's heavily-loaded, etc.

 

I've always run older cars - my dailys are a an '81 Golf 1800 Cabriolet in summer and a W124 Coupé in Winter, and I've got a number of other VWs, BMWs and Mercs lying around the place, so I'm not scared

Edited 25 March, 20233 yr by Robin France
photos got lost

Now that I've got the photos uploaded, you can spot the first issue - the rather nice Mille Miglia 6x13s fitted with 175/60/13 tyres are ET13s, which I'm guessing is a BMW fitment for RWD cars - I will have to address the rear arches at least, or swap for something more suitable.

 

Robin

Edited 25 March, 20233 yr by Robin France

Hi there,

 

a couple of weekends later and the car is virtually ready for its MOT. Over here the procedure is still fairly easy to get through, so it should be OK. There's no rust and all the mechanical parts are where they should be.

 

 

So far, apart from the obvious deep clean and a little paint here and there, I've rebuilt the drive shafts with new boots (same as Golf Mk1 90mm cups) and fitted new steering links, along with lower link bars (wishbones?)

 

 

I've changed the oil and filter, checked all the ignition circuit which is new, fitted an aerial, a driver's door handle (Golf Mk1 again) and a couple of pieces of plastic trim.

 

The next job will be the rear exhaust box which is held on with a piece of wire, and the gear linkage underneath which is held together with zip ties...

 

More news soon,

Robin

Hi there,

 

six months later (!) I've finally got the paperwork sorted. France is the country that invented bureaucracy and this car was no exception, with a string of former keepers who shuffled it around without using it or declaring ownership...

 

It now has a 5 year MOT (as a classic) and is insured and ready to go.

 

The gear linkage needs attention, as do a few minor details, but most of all it needs using to check everything is OK.

Wish me luck!

Robin

Over a year later, and a few thousand kms without mishap.

She's got a home-made roofrack and a new backbox:

Not really getting used as much as I'd like but then I have too many cars...

Robin

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