# I'm Bored Again.



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

So I'm thinking of rescuing a MKI
Has anyone TOTALLY shelled the car and built it from the ground up?

The plan would be to pick one or even two from autotrader (seem to be around the 2k mark now, 4k for a good one).
strip the car, send it to a body shop for a complete paint strip and then re-paint. The cabin/trim would be replaced with only new parts . I'm not looking to "custom" the car, I'm going for the original look with maybe the "odd" exception (alacantara headlining maybe for example). I'm not mechanically mined so i have no plans to mess with the engine or running gear, but the engine would be either a full rebuild, and exchange engine or maybe even a blueprint.

So the basic idea is to create a new car from an old one... and save one from the max power brigade.
Also is there a way to check for a remap via VAGCOM - i want to ensure the donor car has not been screwed up/over stressed by someone before.


----------



## kevtga (Mar 8, 2012)

Sounds like a good winter project  would you be acid dipping the frame and fully re-spray ? Buying all new parts or nearly new parts ?


----------



## simno44 (Aug 25, 2012)

Expensive?!


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

kevtga said:


> Sounds like a good winter project  would you be acid dipping the frame and fully re-spray ? Buying all new parts or nearly new parts ?


The cabin trim would be all new, but i might have the existing dash leather trimmed, tunnel trimmed etc etc. 
Running gear wear items such as brakes, shocks, discs, tyres, alloys would all be new.

Not worried about the cost, thinking 2-4k for the donor car, plus 10-15k on bits


----------



## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

I like the idea of returning a car to factory condition, but I'm not sure a Mk1 is a good candidate. Although there are plenty of ruined ones out there, it's only a 12-ish year old model, so there are loads of them in excellent condition too. I think you run the risk of spending a load of money to create something that's not really that unique.

I think I'd be looking at an older budget classic if I was wanting to do a restoration.


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

You have a valid point.
I'm not doing it to make money - i'm looking more for a project.

To kinda say i've rebuilt my own car. If i'm going to the expense of stripping the car to repaint, i thought i might as well go the extra mile and replace bits. I have to say i haven't looked at a used car for years, but the images on autotrader of the cabins all look very tired. I guess i could do it cheaper like just re-trimming the existing seats but the original goal/thought was to build a 'new car' with the exception of the shell and get experts to sort the engine and running gear. (ie blue print and make it better than when it came from the factory, but not messed with/remapped etc i.e. its not about extra HP,).

I'll have to have a bit more thought on what and why i'm doing it...


----------



## Ikon66 (Sep 12, 2003)

I think you're just bored tonight and fishing to see who'll bite!! :wink:


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Nope, not looking for a bite, i've said nothing negative about anything..


----------



## Ikon66 (Sep 12, 2003)

Well I may wrong here Kev. But I doubt you've ever delved under the bonnet of a car let alone take on such a big project [smiley=iloveyou.gif]


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

I have no plans to do the painting or the engine/running gear etc etc.
Cabin is my main part of the project, so you are 99% correct, i'm not looking to learn or to be a home mechanic.


----------



## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

Toshiba said:


> You have a valid point.
> I'm not doing it to make money - i'm looking more for a project.


It's not so much the money I was thinking of (no car restoration to that level is going to make you money), it was more the fact that it might not seem special when it was finished, because there are plenty of other similar examples out there.

With the time, effort and money involved, I'd want to end up with something that truly justified it.


----------



## ttjay (Apr 18, 2007)

You must be seriously retarded if you want to spend £20k on a mk1 or have more money than sense.

I'll put you in the wind up camp - good one :lol:


----------



## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

ttjay said:


> You must be seriously retarded if you want to spend £20k on a mk1 or have more money than sense.
> 
> I'll put you in the wind up camp - good one :lol:


You have read the mk1 section of the forum, right?? There are plenty of people there with more than £20k 'invested' in their cars (and I'm not just talking about the people pouring money down bottomless big turbos).


----------



## brittan (May 18, 2007)

Unless you are really committed to achieving the end result, this sort of partly baked idea has great potential to become just something preventing better use of your garage, and subsequently, yet another listing in the "Unfinished Projects" section of Auto Trader.

If you did this, would you ever use it? If not, I'm sure that there'll be a good market for a fully refurbished, concours quality Mk1 of the right model. It would probably attract offers in the region of 30% - 35% of whatever you spent building it. 

Oh yes, don't get a black one. :wink:

I had three Range Rovers lined up as projects but I've recently sold two of them as 18 months into retirement they were still in a barn. The third very early one (plastic seats and rubber mats) now waits its turn for selling on.


----------



## ttjay (Apr 18, 2007)

> You have read the mk1 section of the forum, right?? There are plenty of people there with more than £20k 'invested' in their cars (and I'm not just talking about the people pouring money down bottomless big turbos)


And your point is?


----------



## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

ttjay said:


> > You have read the mk1 section of the forum, right?? There are plenty of people there with more than £20k 'invested' in their cars (and I'm not just talking about the people pouring money down bottomless big turbos)
> 
> 
> And your point is?


Obvious.

Why would this particular post be a wind up, when all the other posts were people say they've spent in excess of £20k on their mk1s, aren't?


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

brittan said:


> Unless you are really committed to achieving the end result, this sort of partly baked idea has great potential to become just something preventing better use of your garage, and subsequently, yet another listing in the "Unfinished Projects" section of Auto Trader.
> 
> If you did this, would you ever use it? If not, I'm sure that there'll be a good market for a fully refurbished, concours quality Mk1 of the right model. It would probably attract offers in the region of 30% - 35% of whatever you spent building it.
> 
> ...


Hmm, that worries me - i do have a tendency to get bored quicky so i could end up doing the same as you for sure.
Black - it wont be black!

As for the money - its no more than i lose every year on new cars so its nothing that im not expecting.
I'm still going to think about it over xmas, maybe i do buy a newer one and do less to it and take it from there.
Will i use it? erm, maybe 1k miles a year.

Any feedback on how to check if the cars been chipped via vagcom?


----------



## ttjay (Apr 18, 2007)

Exactly, looks like the OP is taking the pee out of people who have spent excess of £20k on a MK1


----------



## TTMBTT (Jul 22, 2010)

Toshiba said:


> brittan said:
> 
> 
> > Unless you are really committed to achieving the end result, this sort of partly baked idea has great potential to become just something preventing better use of your garage, and subsequently, yet another listing in the "Unfinished Projects" section of Auto Trader.
> ...


Why bother going through all this rigmarole, would it not be far easier searching for a Mk1 that hasn't turned a wheel from leaving the factory, say very early chassis build (1-500) turn it from a chore/boredom exercise into a grail hunt, surely to a person that appears not be swayed/detered by cost should find this a more challenging cause celebre.


----------



## clived (May 6, 2002)

Toshiba said:


> Any feedback on how to check if the cars been chipped via vagcom?


Easiest way would be to log requested boost on a vigourous test drive and then compare to standard.


----------



## DPG (Dec 7, 2005)

ttjay said:


> Exactly, looks like the OP is taking the pee out of people who have spent excess of £20k on a MK1


+1


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

i'm not taking the woopsie out of anyone - dont worry, i'll sort this one out myself. :roll:


----------



## ttjay (Apr 18, 2007)

Only time will tell :lol:


----------



## Yellonvi-r (Aug 26, 2012)

Ibiza cupra mk3


----------

