Advice for a newbie - Mk1 Cabriolet

Hi

I've had my Mk1 1983 cabriolet for 17 years and always planned to restore it.  I got a new mohair roof some years ago and replaced a wing and had various engine parts replaced through wear and tear over the years.  I planned to get a total respray but just never got round to it.  The engine was always good but recently the hoses have started to perish one after the other.  I recently had to replace the fuel pump, radiator and thermostat too.  But even since the radiator replacement, the water hoses have been busting one after the other and I decided I'd had enough.  At the moment the car is not driveable as when I try to fill the radiator the water just pours straight through yet another busted hose/seal.

I tried to sell on ebay and have had various timewasters who bid and withdraw or who bid and then can't organise pickup (I'm in London) so am now considering whether to keep it or not.   Just wondered what you all might think.  It has 112k miles on the clock.  Still taxed and MOT'd until October so guess I could get a few more months out of it at least.  Is it worth fixing?  And if I decided to sell, what do you think would be a reasonable price?

Thanks all for your help! 

Get it sorted and keep it, replace all hoses.
New thermostat etc….
Have some fun in it, u will love it again 😎

tododavies said

Get it sorted and keep it, replace all hoses.
New thermostat etc….
Have some fun in it, u will love it again 😎

Thanks tododavies.  I'm very tempted.  I already paid £300 a few weeks ago to replace the radiator, thermostat and fuel pump but just wondered if this might be the beginning of the end according to those of you with more experience.  Maybe I should cut my losses now…

That's up to you buddy, but there is nothing that can't be sorted, just depends how much love you have for the v dub 😎

fix'er up once all sorted again you will think why did I ever think of selling!!

and not only that if you did sell it you will only regret it afterwards!

I bought my cabriolet back in 2007, knowing it needed some work, over the last seven years I have had loads done (all done by a mechanic as it was daily so had to be done quick) I have bills worth 3k…. do I regret it? never.

Keep it, you wont get another one for the price you sell it.

I'm not saying yours will cost 3k, I had to have a new engine and gear box, I went for a recon, there's almost nothing I haven't replaced now!

The beauty is for me now I'm not dependant on it, I did the exhaust and inlet gasket for £8 the other day, and I'm not technical in the slightest.

Over the years I have thought about selling multiple times, but always decided against it, the questions you have to as yourself is can you actually imagine not owning it?

P.s Welcome to the forum, and before you make a decision, why not join us at our annual gathering, it's sure to make your love for it shine through!

I am new to this …..it will cost money over the years but you gotta ask yourself do u enjoy driving it????  I sure when you go to meets and speak to other enthusiasts it will all become clear cant wait for the first meet I go to AGM fingers crossed

Youve had it so long, if you got the space tuck it in the garage and fix it up over time

I too understand where you're coming from. If it's only a few leaking hoses it's really nothing to worry about. I've not had my current one long but already have problems. No intention of selling.
If you were to sell it you should be honest and describe the problems accurately. This would put a lot of buyers off and attract those either looking to break it or do it up cheap and sell on for a hefty profit.
You should keep it, make a list of the critical jobs to be done and slowly work through them 

Welcome aboard,

It's an old car, things like this are going to need sorting out. I've just done a hose on mine.
Make a list and do one thing at a time, tick em off as you go.
For me just having the roof down on a hot summers day, some tunes on just makes me smile.
I sold my original one when I was to ill to drive it.
As soon as I was a well enough I bought another.
As a pointer being a paid member gets you some good discounts from the various traders so it's worth looking at. Soon pay for it's self, plus if your worried as a paid member we've got 50% discount on RAC cover.
Get the spanners out..

cheers

chortle

Thanks guys for the great welcome.      You all make some good points.  I don't have a garage so it's parked on the street and I'll need to get it fixed as I can't just leave it there.  So am thinking I'll try to get RAC to come and mend the hose and if it's fixable then I will reconsider.

You're right about the fact that I'd probably really miss it if I sold it.  Especially as I won't get much for it.  Also I was thinking about which car I would buy as a replacement and couldn't get excited by any new cars at all.  I was still looking longingly at more classic cars which would come with exactly the same problems.  Maybe it's better the devil you know!

Which hose is it exactly? 
Which ever one it is they are all readily available to buy and for not much money. 
As 'chortle' said, they are old cars now, very reliable in their day (still are now really) but as time goes on things do need replacing.
Back to my original question- how much love do you have for the car?
Either way it will need repairing.
Are you talking about the rubber hoses or the main steel one?

tododavies said

Which hose is it exactly? 
Which ever one it is they are all readily available to buy and for not much money. 
As 'chortle' said, they are old cars now, very reliable in their day (still are now really) but as time goes on things do need replacing.
Back to my original question- how much love do you have for the car?
Either way it will need repairing.
Are you talking about the rubber hoses or the main steel one?

It was the blanking hose for the radiator.

So… the saga continues.   

I upgraded my breakdown service with RAC to home start and got someone to come out.  He fixed the leak which was fantastic!     But then when I tried to start the car it wouldn't start…  Turns out the throttle cable had seized up.  He was about to order a new cable to fix it when he noticed a leak from a fuel hose…………..

In the end I got towed to the garage who fixed the fuel leak and throttle cable.  Yay!  Then on my way home the car overheated again!!!

I drove back to the garage and it turns out it was the radiator cooling fan that wasn't switching on.  So I guess it could be that, THAT was the problem all along and why it was overheating and the pressure blowing all the hoses.  

So a new fan has been ordered and should be fitted on Monday.  Wish me luck!

On the plus side, the fuel leak is pretty dangerous so it was lucky that the other stuff happened and it was discovered.  Got to look on the bright side!

Thanks again everyone for your help.  I have decided to keep the faith and it's down to you guys.   

The fan should kick in when your temp needle on the gauge reaches 3/4 of the way.
Great that you found the love again!!

Any photos ??

Yeah like to see some piccys 😎

Just keep at it bud.
It's fun to drive and even more fun to learn how to fix them.

wish I had the space and the tools to fix my car but it feels good to drive them lol

UPDATE!

My car is working again!    I think this might be it (for a while at least) as he sounded so much better on the drive home from the garage.  (I know it's customary to call car's "she" but as a female myself I like having a car that's a "he")

They changed the radiator cooling fan.  Got the part from German Swedish I think and although it was a 3 pin connector they modified it to fit the 2 pin in my car.  No more overheating!

So my next plan - assuming there are no more mechanical problems - is to try and make him look pretty again.     Any ideas on the cost of a respray in the London area?

Oh and here's a pic.  Not too pretty now but I'm hoping it won't be too long before he is looking good again!

Thanks again for all your help.  You made me make what I believe is the right decision.

Edit:  Just tried to upload a pic but it's saying I need to upload to Photobucket (which I don't have) so might try again if I can work out how to get around that…