'82 GTI in need of help

hey guys,

I've been offered a Y plate '82 black GTI.  I'm pretty sure it's the 8V but i could be wrong.  It's pretty tired.  Engine has just had a new head gasket and distributor but is not running (dead battery).  The engine and gear box seems in pretty good knick.  The owner (who is my GF's mothers best mate from new) said the engine was misfiring but other than that running fine.

The body is ok-ish.  Engine bay although dirty is rust free.  The standard spoiler has nearly rusted off.  Under the rear arches seems a little rush nothing too bad.  The main problems i saw was when i opened the boot.  The boot surround (under the seal) was pretty rusted, and under the spare was rusted right through.  As far as i could see the under belly looked ok, and a fairly new exhaust fitted.  There was water in the boot and on the floor inside the car.  Minus a tear in the drivers seat and the water the interior is mint.

It's 102k miles, 1 owner, regularly serviced and driven well, it's not been MOT-ed since Feb 08 and standing still since March 08

this is what i think it would need.

- Some underbelly welding
- Arches stripped and re filled
- Spoiler removed and filled
- Respray
- Engine tune up
- New battery

What do you think it is worth?
would this be too much to take on and do myself?

what's your masterful opinions?

Thank you

Hard to judge witthout piccies but from what you have described I would'nt be parting with any more than ?300-?400

Out of the faults/work required you've listed, the obvious one which skill and special tools are needed, is the welding. Can you weld? How confident are you about this? How about paintwork?

Other than the welding, all you describe is relatively simple in evening/weekend tinkering, there's always the forum here to guide you for help and searching through previous topics, etc.

Just don't make the mistake of underestimating the amount of time and money, renovation takes….. It will soak it up like a sponge.

i read that rust under the spare wheel is common.  If the whole underbelly is shot, how much of a job is it to totally weld up and seal her underneath?

i can't weld but i know a few people that could do it fairly cheap.

problem is I've fallen in love but don't want to be buying a scrapper.

found one on ebay with pretty similar rusting

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170247124657&indexURL=7#ebayphotohosting

the car i'd be buying hasn't been stripped at al… the pic is to highlight where some of the rust is

If the spare wheel well has rusted through it will probably be better in the long run to cut the whole thing out and weld a new on in its place (not uncommon in a restoration). Where is the water inside the car? if theres water damage on the door cards then its likely the seals round the doors have gone, if the water is in the front foot well you should be looking in the scuttle area as theres going to be a hole letting rain water in.  

Like other people have said its really up to you as to how confident you are that you can put right the problems and afford to pay someone to fix the bits you cant.

Welding will probably be the single biggest expense if you pay for it to be done. If you've got a mate who will do the welding for you perhaps ask them to come along and have a look at the car so they can get a fair idea of whats involved before you start shelling out your hard earned!!

Just by stripping the car before you do any restoring you'll be amazed at how much you learn about how things go together and what they do etc..

Restoration can be fun just dont expect it to be quick and painless! :wink:

What about parts wise??

if i needed repacments am i goiong to be able to find suppliers for new or am i going to be searching the yellow pages for scapies??

thanks for the help guys!

is it hard to replace the whole back on the car.

i saw you can get a brand new back for about ?160.  is it as simple as cutting off and rewelding?

mate

go get some pictures of the said car and post them up here, people will be able to help you even more, as they could advise you on what needs replacing etc etc.

cheers kenno