1980 series 1 project "lucky red"

hi all ive finally got round to doing a quick thread on my series 1

she is a 1980 red series 1 mk1 1100cc totally standard (on purchase)

bought her a couple of years ago for a jaw dropping price of £100 lol off a classic car buyer/seller who i dont think he really knew what it was !! it needed welding and i think it was too much for him to handle/spend money on , i did a lot of his classic cars and repairs at the garage i worked in and he just turned up one day with it on the back of his trailer and asked me if i wanted it.

i gave her a wash grabbed the trade plates and took her for a spin around the village, it was instantly love !! i literally couldnt stop smiling when i was driving her.




i got her on the ramp and gave her a once over and to be honest there wasnt that much work needed to get her on the road mainly welding around the usual areas the sills, inner arches, rear axle mounts, wings and inner wings etc etc the brakes needed an overhall and the engine rattled a bit bottom ends were noisy also the headgasket was leaking oil so all in all not too bad ha ha  8O


so i planned to take a week off work to just get her on the road and i would sort paint out later as i just wanted to drive her around i got her in my dads garage (thanks dad) a bit cramped but dry and started stripping her off i ordered new a new front panel section new rear panel section and head set, bolts, oil filter, cambelt kit, big end and main shells my week off came i got the kettle on perma boil and i got to work

new rear section going in seam sealed and protected





rear axle out and new mount sections welded in seam sealed and stone chip protected








front end off and new one welded in also under wings repaired and sealed etc







head off skimmed and new bolts head set waterpump and cambelt kit fitted


quick rattle can matt red paint job lol turned out really good lol !!! coilovers on and wheels now too



this is her how she is now im going to paint her this year i will add more when i get her in for paint just enjoying running round in it for the time being  

Excellent work! How long did all that take you?

just 7 days and thousands of cups of tea mate  

doughboy said

just 7 days and thousands of cups of tea mate  

Impressed. Mine's taken months so far, although I have been learning to weld, as well as doing my motorbike test, and tidying the garage 'again' in all that time. It's spotless. I'd better get the kettle on eh?

£100… Damn.

Good work so far, I'm not envious at all  8O

Any big future plans?

lovely little s1 ! liking those wheels what are they called ? are they 14s ?

Awesome buy, great that it got saved!

bazwuar said

lovely little s1 ! liking those wheels what are they called ? are they 14s ?

Looks very much like ATS Cups repainted.

yeah they are 15s ats cups

tomsdubs got a few plans i was thinking bigger engine ive got a 1800 8v ive rebuilt and tweaked a bit but i think im going to keep it 1.1 for a bit although it could do with a 5 speed gearbox as it screams a bit in 4th lol

next job is paint got 2 new front wings lined up just waiting for some bumpers and window seals to come along at the right price then i will bare metal her to see what else is lurking under the paint and get her treated and painted up

I like this alot dude any more shots on the interior, seats i love the dogtooth low backs!

cheers bro yeah i love the lowbacks too i will stick some more pics up when i get 5

Nice work mate, paid £100 for mine as well..

Good effort mate,keep up the good work.

Great work here mate, and all in only 7 days, you don't hang about do ya!?
I take it you'll be doing the paint yourself? Are you going with the original colour or something different?

im not really sure yet thinking of sticking with the standard (im guessing its mars red) kinda want to keep it pretty standard too but not boring if you know what i mean  :?

Yeah I know exactly what you mean mate, I'm sure what ever route you take with it it's gonna look awesome!

good going matey!!
and what a bargain for £100 !!