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Mk1 20vt - on a budget of £3k including buying the car

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As the title says, £3k budget to build something special.

Welcome to the build having had 6 MK1's, (first car) and many since  and a 8 year break (kids arrived) watching a Mk1 I built and sold for £1500 8 years ago sell for 7k 6 months ago I decided I had to have another in my life. As if i waited another day they would all be too expensive..
. O wait they are already.

 My issue, zero budget, zero time, two kids (6 and 8) no garage,… So it was a tall order. First things first.. A car, having watched eBay sales for the last 5 years I have pined to have another. Watched prices double, double again, and then a few 000's…..

When I said zero budget, I mean not big, I gave up drinking 18montha ago (ask me one day, wedding(not mine) very drunk, decided never again) and smoking 6 months ago, and managed to save £600, it goes up but it's about £1200 a year, all you smokers should give up and build a Mk1, haha god I miss it….

Anyway, I knew I would get a shell for £600 the state of the shell would be poor, and I was going to need ALOT of parts, time, skill, ….. 12 months of bidding, bidding missing out, being offered £1700 projects (which would be fab but out of budget) I thought I would give up. My wife wasn't a big fan and it seemed like it would always be a dream…..

Then two weeks ago a message from eBay… Item ends in 15mins…. Current bid £240, I watched this shell because it was 10miles away, very little rust, a few holes from a cage that was removed, but a car. I read the listing again, no V5, no Vin, no history, no doors, no glass, no boot. So it was a shell. I rang the wife who said "you can't not get it for that money" i had to sit down, normally I would get "where on earth is it going to live" I said I would bid £300, she surprised me and said no £544.44….. 15 seconds to go…. £240. 10 seconds….. 5 seconds now my time to bid, 4, 3, SH1T I hate living soooo rurally we have such rubbish signal. 2 seconds bid still processing…. 1….. Still processing……. 0… My heart sinks. Wish I had put a bid in at 30 seconds…. Throw phone on to the table, head in my hands, kicking myself for being such a pants ebayer…… Then my phone vibrates, I pick it up thinking it's the wife texting to see if I won…

In a toddler grump I pick my phone up and huffed to the kettle. Tea is about Alll that's gonna help me, lots of sugar and milk. As i flick the switch on the kettle my phone impatiently buzzes again to remind me I hadn't looked at it…. eBay "you won". My moody toddler grump is now one of adrenaline fuelled happiness. Then the panic, I just spent £550 on a shell… No doors, no log book ,what will the wife says she won't see its potential, But no. I won at £245. Never in my dreams did think I would get back into Mk1 ownership for less than 1k let alone sub £500, but £245 was a dream, a story you hear when you read a magazine feature, or a friend of a friend in the pub, that jammy lucky guy everyone's heard of but no one knows was me.

However the panicking them began, the seller would change his mind, I had no trailer, I had no barn/garage.

3 days later I borrowed a trailer and got her home, chap I bought it from saying do you want the dash, my response I'll take everything I can. (Probably the best thing I did)   image.png





Still no barn or garage the heavens opened and I bought a tarpaulin big enough to wrap the Mk1 about 10 times over. But in the rain under tarpaulin I got glove box open and found…… V5, MSA log book, the old owners MSA Licence, and the last MOT…. 15 years ago… Truely a "dry stored the last 15 years". Now Lady Luck not only secured a £245 Mk1 but now I have a V5 and some history. 3 days of rain and not even able to look at what I bought, I thought my luck was out. Then it stopped, like a kid at Christmas i pulled back the tarpaulin, and what I found was then next massive bit of luck. TSR stickers.. TSR engine. Maybe watch this space. 

Braided brake lines 

Bias adjustable brakes

Rear disks 
Koni Adjustable Suspension 
Welded in triangulated rear strut brace. 

Seam welded shell
280mm disks big clippers yet to be ID'd
Seam welded wishbones (now rusty)
 
2.1/2" exhaust
4into1 manifold 


 The bad bits 


A small tiny hole in the roof

A track battle scar in the rear o/s (prob need rear panel light section) 

A battle scar on the OS rear quarter (scrape) 

A little hole where the cage came out


 The hole and a dodgy chassis repair. 


No fuse box/a messy loom to work through.


 So when I picked her up I was expecting a fully frontal rotten mess that only an insane person would try to save… What I got was a rot free solid shell. With ALOT of extras, happy didn't come close, under the tarpaulin she went.

Then finally luck did run out, or at least the wave I was surfing dried up, someone 15miles away listed a "job lot". One door, all the seals, all the class - green tinted, £100. Being so cocky I put an offer in at 2200hrs of £80, at midnight I thought I was being too complacent and stupid. Went back and it had sold, I kicked myself don't worry no need to tell me, £100 was a brilliant deal, But it was a lesson i am glad I learned early on.

So two weeks of rubbish weather followed, and an eBay obsession so great my wife thinks I am having an affair, with eBay alarms/alerts set up, and the number of messages I get from eBay. I can tell you now every item listed for a mk1 golf on eBay, when it was listed, and when it's gonna end, I figure I need this kind of commitment/obsession if I am going to get this Mk1 in on any kind of budget. It worked, picking up two rust free doors complete glass and all for £100, and a rust free complete boot lid, wiper and glass for £42. I now when I have collected the boot will have a water tight shell, or will have when i find some rear glass and seals.

A barn is coming up in the next 2-3weeks, £100 a month and I can fit about 6 cars in it, so 1 x Mk1 laid out nearly with lots of space… 

 So the plan as I have it in my head currently.

-20vt - custom BAM type set up gearbox will be what I find, tempted for 6speed, but that's down the line. 

-Full Berg Cup Kit (the reason, it repairs then damaged arch, And makes it easier to tub so I can run 16/17" rims and still have suspension travel.
-Stripped look inside - it's what I have and would cost more to put back as most of the trim is missing. 

Probably a custom dash depending on how good what I have is.  
-custom pedal box as I have no master cylinder currently. 




 

This will be a built not bought project, I am handy with a welder, have a good grasp of physics, have restored beetles in the past from rotten messes, converted many a car and made manifolds/exhausts and engine mounts, I am planning on 2-3 years to finish, closer to 2 if my son (aged 8) continues his interest, 5 years if the kids don't)




 

So if you have anything knocking around the garage you think I might need, and you want to let me have it for free I'll book a courier and in exchange you'll have a warm feeling inside so message me,
if you have stuff I need cheap, and you are still wanting that warm feeling inside. Message me, if you have the bits I want but want crazy money for it, or it's not a super cheap dealio then I can't afford it.




I want to show what shopping around doing everything yourself, using 2nd hand good bits, and fabricating as much yourself as is possible can achieve.
Also a bit of buying more than I need and selling off what i don't need. 3k is the target, this is what some will spend on a 20vt conversion, let alone buying the car as well. I'll keep this post up to date, photos, rants, bargins I have picked up, mentions for those who have supplied bits. So the target 2018 AGM… Hold on tight it's gonna be bumpy.The  image.png

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The pictures seem to have imbedded themselves randomly but it's a start.  Total spend to date £387 😀😀👍👍

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Brand new in this morning.
2xrear lights £13inc postage
2xhella head light £14inc postage
1xdebaged grill £10. (Cheaper than a badged original. Sorry.
Total spend now £424


Parts wanted:-
Rear 3/4 window glass and rubbers
Fuse box
Rear floor section n/s
Berg Cup kit - in a month
Rear panel/repair including light mounts.
Full Cage

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Best of luck with a very adventurous project! I've just taken the bolt-in rear cage out of mine if you're interested?

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How much are you looking for? I really want a full cage, but could settle for a rear as it would cover up some of the welded in plates, or at least put them to good use. Message me details.

Last edit: by Webberna

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Good Luck with the project!

I started with a £3k budget and think I am around the £6k point! - but decided on doing a lot more than planned (including a colour change)

There are a lot of great guides and helpers on the forum, so if you get stuck, just ask

M

Matt

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Thanks, the budget is flexible given time but buying a car for 5k was out of the question it's different world to a couple of hundred here and a couple of hundred there. It's having that big outlay that I don't have, save a couple of grand and the boiler at home packs up, or my daily needs something major, you know how it is. I am sure The budget will grow as plans grow, but trying to keep any one big purchase to less that £600 is the goal. Engine will come from a compete TT I guess and I can break the whole car to recoup the money, so that will break the £600 target, but may end up with a free BAM engine and gearbox.

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Nice start, seems the shell has some interesting history behind it.

I wonder if the anyone on club gti might know anymore of its track/race history, got to be worth a ask.

Good luck :thumbs:

You have a pm also.

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I am going to post later with the reg number and details of the MSA licence to see what I can find out. It's has a lot of money thrown at it over the years. 

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Webberna said

Thanks, the budget is flexible given time but buying a car for 5k was out of the question it's different world to a couple of hundred here and a couple of hundred there. It's having that big outlay that I don't have, save a couple of grand and the boiler at home packs up, or my daily needs something major, you know how it is. I am sure The budget will grow as plans grow, but trying to keep any one big purchase to less that £600 is the goal. Engine will come from a compete TT I guess and I can break the whole car to recoup the money, so that will break the £600 target, but may end up with a free BAM engine and gearbox.

That's how I did it, just buying bits as and when I saw them….and had room on my credit card lol!

TTs are quite expensive, even for breakers, and early A3 or MK4 Golf tend to be a lot cheaper to buy! - I picked up another MK4 Golf donor over the weekend, with MOT and is good condition for £300. Once the interior, alloys and a few panels are sold I will have a free engine and box…and may even make a profit!

Good luck with it, are you coming to the AG 2016?

Matt

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No AGM this year, went last year, I have a trade show for a side bussiness, selling hot horse showers. So can't afford to come and miss out on potential sales. 2017 I'll be there, and 2018 I'll be on the drive about. 😀

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Well, two new rust free doors, tatty but a bit like a badly decorated house you gotta have "vision". So no update on the barn, but I have two outbuildings for storing the new bits, advice, time, car will be painted, what's best way to stop rust getting into the doors.
Option A, leave alone
Option B, rub down, blow over with primer
Option C as option B but blow over with the colour or a base colour to seal.
image.jpeg

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Nice bargain hunting.

Looks like you did brilliantly with the initial cost of the car… and got the V5 too!!  :thumbs:

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Well the story on my Mk1 and its history is hopefully about to get a whole lot more interesting. The MSA licence I found in the car, after some research turns out the owner from 16 years ago hasn't moved!!!! And I have had a positive response from him!!! I will update soon hopefully with pictures from its distant past!! The internet is a powerful thing!!

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Right…
Former owner update:-
He attended a VW show and my car was being exhibited, and for sale. It was being used as a hill climb/rally car. And was due to be magazine featured the month after he bought it. 1999-2000 VW Motoring. He is hoping to find the month, and send some pictures. Car does have a TSR Head, Race/Rally Cam, and used to run carbs. 

Old owner ran the car for 6 auto cross events, and then lost workshop so sold to a circuit racing chap, who appears to have stripped the light bits, and popped her into storage for the past 16 years.

Full update to follow when I track down the magazine.

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Mk1 20vt - on a budget of £3k including buying the car

Sounds a good score.
We have a free cycle section on here for bits going free. Might be worth having a look at.

Happy bargain hunting



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

"Making Cabbies More Beautiful One Roof at a Time" 

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What section is the free cycle part? Free or super cheap is perfect!!!! 

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image.png


Old owner came up trumps and found these old Polaroids, also has the magazine feature somewhere. Bloody love digging up history, and how despite not owning the car for 16 years he was still happy to dig out these.




image.png image.png image.png

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Cool. I love it when you manage to get a load of history with the car. Especially when it's interesting

Sent from a phone, please excuse all the medium steaks. Stupid autocorrect!!

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What a great find ! just shows  that there are still bargains if you are willing to take a chance.
  Out of interest  was the old owner from Somerset? this car seems very familiar.

76 ?
78 gls
83 gti 5v
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