1980 Mars Red GTI BRMotorsport 142

Thanks for stopping to say 'hello' the other night!!!  :wink:

Dano said

Thanks for stopping to say 'hello' the other night!!!  :wink:

I had to. Lovely car you have.


Here's the second choice centre caps that arrived this morning. NOS and lovely!

Any more clues on the new wheels?

Nice work there mate your car has officially floated my boat  

Look great that nice one

Just a little update…

Things have been very slow this year. I've had to concentrate on my health and family before cars and bikes, but I'm finding time again. The old wheels have been removed to be collected by their new owner, and I've borrowed some Revolutions to roll around on. I also raised the car by 60mm all around to make it easier to jack up and change the shocks etc. I know, it looks horrible.

Part of me is very tempted to return back to stock with it, but I guess it's only shocks, wheels and exhaust that's not stock, and the call of uprated suspension and cool rims pulls me too strongly to leave alone.

Looks like a 4x4!






Also, the new rims have turned up after a long wait from BBS…



Sealing rings…



And the all important sizes…

Fronts…



Rears…




Still waiting on the centres, valves and bolts, which were sent in a separate parcel.

I'll be back once they turn up.

AYOOOP! 8O These look interesting!  The potential for bettering the last set of wheels looks to be very high 8)

Wow looks bloody awfull if you don't mind me saying :p amazing how different a car can look with the right wheels and perfect stance. What are the new wheels? Looking forward to seeing this back in its former glory

Beautiful resotoration there mate.

What paint did you use Cellulose or 2  pack?

The paint is 2 pack that was slightly modified to tone down the more modern pigment. The result is a finish that looks as close to original as I could practically get.

The old wheels were collected over the weekend and are now with their very happy new owner. Their destination is very much a more suitable one as its a proper track car. Magnesium wheels are not really all that great on a road car, and should really be race only, so I'm happy they've gone to a good home.

The centres for the new wheels have turned up…

…as if I would have chosen any different! I love them too much.









When I get a spare couple of hours, then I'll mock a front and a rear up and trial fit them on the car. I'm quite confident that my calculations are going to be well received by the arches. The intention is to put a more balanced set of wheels on, that are better accommodated within the arches! And these are a more conservative wheel spec versus the previous set. Although wider, they will be tucked under more, or at least that was my plan!

looking good mate, what color for the wheels

Phew! I honestly thought you were gonna replace the last wheels with RS's or summit


I hear you about the magnesium. I didn't know you could get these wheels in any other material though! 8)

Some photos to share of initial test fitting before the centres are sprayed and built up properly.

The camber on the front is way out, so it looks as if the wheel is too wide, but this will be rectified when the correct height is found with the new coilovers.

The rear has plenty of room now, and give me various options for increasing track, altering the camber and just generally getting them to sit right in the arches. It's easier to pull a wheel out than in!

Glad you stuck with the same style wheel, they are going to look  awesome! I take it the centres are  from Roland Gamperling ?

What offsets did you decide on ?

mark83 said

Glad you stuck with the same style wheel, they are going to look  awesome! I take it the centres are  from Roland Gamperling ?

What offsets did you decide on ?

Thank you. Yeah, the centres are from Roland. I decided on 7.5 front and 8 rear with 3 and 3.5's making up the outers. The fronts are BH12 and the rears are BH0. They are machined for VW chamfered bolts and also have the outer face of the centre machined for BBS 60mm caps, but the mounting face is machined for mk1's.

They'll be off to the painters in the next few days.

what tyre size you going for ben...?

For those interested, I've some quick pictures of the wheels in colour. I've not even had a chance to remove the masking tape yet.
I'll get a couple of hours free next week to start putting these together properly and then choosing my wheel bolts and centre caps. Plus I'll have to get the new tyres on them, and give them another trial fit on the car. I've moved away from 195's in favour of a 185 with a 45 profile. Hopefully this will look a little less bulbous and show the dish a little more. 185 will also give me more flexibility to move the wheel around the arches and find the best fit v's look. In essence, I want it to look as good as it drives. Quite often modified cars get the balance wrong, and their owners fall out of love with their cars. I have suffered with this problem in the past, but my age is now helping me lean more towards sensibility and practicality, which translates to me actually enjoying driving the car.

I know the rims are already polished, but I'm considering whether to slightly delay the build and re-polish the outer rims as they lack a high polish finish really. BBS must just give them a very quick polish up and then send them out. It's like a dull polish where you can see the grain of the metal and the direction of the buffing wheels when viewed close up.

Hi mate - I've just read this from beginning to end. Proper proper build thread with awesome attention to detail.

Looks factory fresh - lovely.


Any pics of the engine bay? Running gear. Or is that work in progress ?

Thank you.
The engine is a genuine Brian Ricketts 142bhp 8 valve with the original 5 speed box. This engine is great and feels so right in the car. The sound, the originality, the power, the traction and the simplicity make it a no-brainer! Once the interior and outside are to a level I'm happy with, then I'll properly approach the engine bay. It's not quite to the same standard as the rest of the car yet, although parts are being gathered in readiness for this phase of its build. There willl be nothing smooth, chromed, silly or fancy, just a well detailed stock looking bay. My intention was always to keep the car as close to stock as I could bear. Wheels, suspension and exhaust can all be swapped over in a day, and they are probably the limits of any styling I'd consider. I've been there and back again with regards to modified mk1's, and learnt my lesson well, albeit at great cost.

I can respect that approach, especially as the car is a series 1 and very original.
I'm struggling with the concept of my build and still haven't decided which way to take it. Although the fact that I havelready bought a car in roof for it has Abigail influence as I can't be done with the hole in the roof.

Loom forward to keeping up with your progress