My Yellow 78 Series 1 - Restoration started 05/14

beaut

Gorgeous mate. Those rims really suit the car. Mk1 jealousy.          

smudger1980 said

Gorgeous mate. Those rims really suit the car. Mk1 jealousy.          

Cheers dude. Yea im really happy with them, worth the extra bit of cash!! i was worried about the tyre wall but personally i think it suits the car. Gives it a more original look!!

whats peoples opinions on an engine conversion. Ive wanted a 20vt mk1 since i was about 18…

I just dont know whether it would be complete sacrilege to the car to rip out the original diesel…?

Would it devalue my car by doing so?

Hmmmm. If it were me I would keep it as it is mate as it's such a nice car. Having said that it is your car so go with what you want.

How about getting a decent s2 shell and converting that??

smudger1980 said

Hmmmm. If it were me I would keep it as it is mate as it's such a nice car. Having said that it is your car so go with what you want.

How about getting a decent s2 shell and converting that??

She runs a dream too… i left her for 2 weeks and bought some jump leads.. just in case (no faith   ) but she turned over first time  

maybe once ive saved up the money i will make a decsion then. she will remain a diesel for a few years anyway some of the quotes ive been getting  

Respray and bodywork will be getting sorted first before anything.

Also im desperatly after an original mint interior if anyone sees one pop up

What colour would've been in there mate?

Is it worth getting these refurbed???

its an option,, really struggling finding original material anywhere though. Someone suggested http://www.westtrading.nl but i contacted them and they wont deal with end users  

oldskool_89 said

its an option,, really struggling finding original material anywhere though. Someone suggested http://www.westtrading.nl but i contacted them and they wont deal with end users  

Try THIS guy mate. He seems like a good lad and might be able to help you out with a refurb.

smudger1980 said

oldskool_89 said

its an option,, really struggling finding original material anywhere though. Someone suggested http://www.westtrading.nl but i contacted them and they wont deal with end users  

Try THIS guy mate. He seems like a good lad and might be able to help you out with a refurb.

   will send him a message. cheers dude

No worries matey, hope he can help

Little update :

Took the mk1 to see a local restoration guy last night as i want to completely restore the body work before it gets beyond the point of no return.

ITs not going to be cheap and got a long list of body parts to get hold of if im to do it peoperly without any corner cutting or bodging…

Hopefully it will be a worthwhile investment though.

What do people think a fully restored inside and out series 1 could be worth? Its not about the money but dont want to chuck so much at it and never get a decent return… ive got to be sensible about it (so the boss says    )

Would you be going back to completely original? Not many series 1's left now so it would be worth a fair bit mate IMO. Difficult to say exactly though but I would guess about 6-7k.??? Possibly more

smudger1980 said

Would you be going back to completely original? Not many series 1's left now so it would be worth a fair bit mate IMO. Difficult to say exactly though but I would guess about 6-7k.??? Possibly more

It would look as it does now (but nicer) and with the reassurance that its 90+% rust free and shouldnt need doing again for another 20/30 or so years. So a full resto.

I bassically said i want it to be mint / show condition and he gave me a price.. i think his price was really reasonable.

Its just a gamble as untill hes stripped it we dont know the situation but ive got to budget for that i guess..

I would hope to return around that if i did this work, that would be breaking even.

You're never going to get your money back on it mate especially when you factor in labour, parts (inc MK1 tax) etc etc. I would wager that once it's fnished and it's won a few awards you would want to keep her for yourself

smudger1980 said

You're never going to get your money back on it mate especially when you factor in labour, parts (inc MK1 tax) etc etc. I would wager that once it's fnished and it's won a few awards you would want to keep her for yourself

Thats a fair comment i think dude. shes going to be a labour of love for sure!! And wont be going anywhere for a long time!!  

The longer you have it, the odds are the more it will be worth due to numbers and demand. If you have got the time and the money, go for it. You have a good base to work with. You won't regret it

New rear lights fitted on my lunch and a good polish up ready for her first show out tommorow!!