full restoration

Hi Folks

I bought myself a Mk1 GTi Campaign in Helios Blue last summer with the intention of running it over the winter when I'd rather not drive my rear wheel drive car or ride the bike.

Anyway I've got rather attached to it and come March I'd like to have it completely restored.  I have neither the time or the skill to undertake this and am looking for some advice.  Basically I want the car looking and driving as good as new.  

So I want a complete bare metal respray in its original colour, the engine and running gear tidied up and fully working, the suspension, brakes, wheels etc sorting and the interior restored.

The car itself runs me to work everyday and at worse i would describe it as tired.

I'm based in Manchester, who would be the best people to take this car to for pretty much a drive in - drive out service and roughly what should i budget.

Thanks in advance.

Hiya mate.

As regards to budget then it really depends what need doing when its all stripped back.

A bare metal respray itself is going to cost 3k plus (just my opinion)

One thing i would say is drive round a few garages and see what sort of work they do.

Most places nowadays do mainly insurance work so will want to get cars in and out quickly.

Ideally you want someone to do it who takes on restoration work.

Does it really need to be a bare metal respray as just having it resprayed will save you a lot of cash.

Another thing to think of is, will you be using it as a daily car once all the work is done?

I wouldnt use a car on a daily basis if i fully restored it.

Ceri.

How much have you budgeted for it ?

Prob only worth doing if its a family heirloom.

To pay someone so restore the car properly inc body repairs, full respray and refurb/replacment of all mechanicals would easily cost £5,000++.

You can find a minty MK1 for £3-4000, sell the current one for £1,000+ and so it ends up costing less than half of restoring. And without all the hassle of arguing the toss over delays/cost over runs/mistakes/misunderstandings etc

Restoring only works if its your hobby and you can DIY most of the work for pleasure and even then you'll never get the £ back.

The Mk1 Golf was the first car i actually saw in real life as a child and thought wow.  In my early twenties i ran a mk 2 and then mk1 GTi for about 5 years.  If anything the car has sentimental value for me.

I am looking for an established and well recommended restoration place that has a history of such work rather than an accident repair garage.  As for budget i reckon somewhere around 7 or 8k.  I can stretch a bit more if necessary but I really want the car coming back to me looking and driving like new.

The way i see it is that i bought the car for about £2,500 and if i can get it as close to 'as new' for another 7 or 8k i'll have something pretty amazing for about 10k.  

Yes I'll then use it as a daily driver but a car costing 10k isn't much these days.  So I'd really appreciate some advice on where i could possibly take this car as the last thing I'd want to do is put a pretty decent campaign model in the hands of a cowboy.

Trickett Welding [Poole] Ltd
48a Holton Road,
Holton Heath Trading Park,
POOLE,
BH16 6LT
www.trickettweldingltd.co.uk

Have a look at these buddy. I don't know where your based but if you want a good job then you wont mind travelling.
Ive always used them and they're great. Google them.

I Agree with Early

If one is good at DIY then restoring can be fun and cheap. If you are going to pay some one then its expensive

Dave are theses guy sin Poole reasonable or too expy ?

Allana13, They're very very reasonable. I've never used them for a full resto but I've always had my MOT's and any other small work done through them. I had some outer sills done on a Mazda Mx5 and the workmanship was second to none. I'd honestly never seen a better job. Personally i wont go anywhere else now…..

Thanks Dave, :wink:

Info will be handy

A specialist drive-in/out resto service isn't cheap.  Obviously all depends on condition of your car but if the car is fairly average now with no major structural issues (but needs a couple of wings/doors/wheel arches doing/underneath etc) I would budget around £8k for a good quality resto (shot blasted, bare metal respray, everything that can be seen wrong sorted, no filler) all the way to £15k+ to get a "new" car back that looks like it has just come from the factory.    

You can get it done cheaper but IMHO any other option you have a garage do and in a couple of years you'll be back to chasing rust around the car.

I understand why you would want to commission the work yourself. If you buy a 'mint' car for £3000-4000, the chances are its not going to be MINT. Its very easy to hide poor repairs and welding, and its usually impossible to tell until you hit it with a wire wheel.

My Dad runs a Motorsport workshop and was commissioned to built a Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider AS NEW. Most was sourced new from Renault or NOS from others.
The odometer was set to 000,000 as the car could only be described as new throughout. It will last longer than when it came from the factory as its full of waxoyl and protection. There won't be another like it in the world.
I would say it cost the customer around £12,000 ++
But you could save alot by refurnishing items, instead of buying new.

Very satisfying if you can spare the money. And why not use it daily? Alot of people drive their £12,000++ modern cars daily without a thought.

He is based near Harlow, Essex.
PM me for details  
Sam

fullcircle you have a pm

pmd