A newbie needing some cabrio help!

Hello All, I’m new and I’m in need of some help!

I bought a D plate mk1 cabrio in white in September last year as a project along with my girlfriend’s brother, Dan.  For reasons I’m not entirely sure about, it quickly became known as The Duchess and it’s stuck…

The plan was for me to use her for a couple of months until the weather really turned and then ship her up to Worksop where he’s based (I’m in Kingston on the edge of London/Surrey) as he spent several years as a mechanic by trade and could start on restoring her. Sadly, as with all the best laid plans things have not quite worked out that way- he’s just been too busy with his current job to give the project any time and short of turning her over a few times, hasn’t had chance to do anything. I was up there on Sat and she looked a bit sorry for herself, and as I bought the car primarily to save her it was pretty disheartening. I’ve decided to look at other options- which I’m hoping is where you chaps might help!

Prior to me buying her, the car had been basically a daily driver and as result there’s about 175k on the clock. She’s pretty much entirely stock- no mods from what I can see, but has had money spent on her to keep everything solid mechanically- I have a lot of receipts including recent ones for new plugs, leads, exhaust, fuel filter and a brake rebuild amongst others and the hood was replaced within the last 2 years. She starts, goes and stops pretty well all things considered, (at least she did until her current stay on a drive for the majority of this year..) so I’m hoping there’s a decent base to work with.

As you can imagine though for a car of that mileage/use its fair to say she’s a bit tired in parts- pre the hood being replaced it obviously leaked like a sieve so the most of the interior is in need of a total refresh and the body work looks straight enough from a distance (short of a the bumpers missing a couple of clips and bing a bit miss shaped) but there’s a few patchy filler jobs when you get up close and we’re missing the drivers wing trim. I’ll add a few pics later.

I’m looking to give her a new lease of life- get her aesthetically bang on and ensure mechanically everything is sound for weekend drives, but I’m not going to be able to do much/any myself and I’m not entirely sure who I turn to!  Can anyone offer any advice on first steps? I’m guessing its going to be a case of a specialist getting hold of her and really seeing what’s what.  As I mentioned, she’s currently up in Worksop and I’m down in Kingston, so at some point I’ll have to work round that, but that’s nothing a trailer wont fix Any guidance you wise souls can give is hugely appreciated and will hopefully set me on the way to keeping another mk1 on the road for years to come!

 Andy

You mention the interior is shot, have you seen the white interior for sale on the forum, dont see them come up very often in reasonable condition, - -asuming you want a white interior of course.

I hadn't, I'll have a look. Thanks.

And she looks like this:

Go to a few shows and have a look around to see what others have done, you may get some ideas on how you want the dutchess to look  

Welcome BigAndy81

How good are you with a spanner? Have a bash at some of the things yourself and I'm sure that we can guide you  

As mentioned pop to some shows and regional meets and get some guidance.

Failing that, I may able to help (web link in signature.) We've got another member's white, D-reg Cabby in at the moment for some re-commissioning work.

Good luck with it and shout if you need anything

thanks guys.

I will try and get to a show or 2 for sure.

And Andy, I'm pretty short on mechanical experience and even shorter on space/time so I may well drop you a line.  

Ok Andy, no problem