89 Mk1 Caddy build

My plan with this project was to make it stand out a bit, I wanted to make it really clean and some subtle differences. First job was to sort out some welding work. I found a small bit of rust in the corner of the passenger footwell which went through both skins of the metal so the rust was cut out and a plate was welded in both inside and under the truck. I also stripped the interior because I have plans for that. Once the carpet was out, i degreased and scrubbed 30 years of dirt off the floor and after assessing it for anymore rust, I painted the floor black to make it cleaner, one colour and seal up any bare metal.





I then began welding up a few bits and pieces on the body, side repeater holes, aerial hole and a few other bits and pieces including some rust on the b pillar and bottom of the drivers door. Once the small bits were completed I set about the bigger jobs, the first being the leaky sunroof. It didn’t work, it leaked and in the summer it cooked you inside the cab so it had to go. I cut a plate to size and welded it in, all in taking a couple of hours to try and limit the flimsy metal of what remained of the roof from warping too much. I also set about widening the rear wheel arches by an inch. I wanted them wider for the look but also because I plan on fitting wider wheels.





I also had the tailgate inside because it needed a fair amount of work straightening it up and smoothing everything out. Still a work in progress.

Once the bulk of the welding was done I started on the body work, smoothing the wheel arches out and starting to smooth the roof. I also bought some new seats which were of course a different fitment so mounting plates had to be fabricated to make them fit.




Along with new seats, a low mileage 1.8t was purchased with plans on fitting it into the truck. This will happen if I ever get around to it. For now its resting on a pallet out of the way.

Finally a full interior trim kit was ordered which includes headlining, as the old one had a massive sun roof shaped hole cut into it, A and B pillar trims and bulkhead carpet. Before its all fitted, the interior will also be covered with sound deadening to try and combat some of the noise and summer heat/winter chills. My plan is to have the paint done around spring so it can be put back on the road and enjoyed as the weather starts to get nicer.

Small update. Tackled some more of rust around the rear window, removed the window with the hope of being able to patch up the panel but unfortunately found the rust had turned to rot and had worked its way along most of the window frame so it had to be cut out. Whilst the edge was removed, I removed the rust between the two skins and treated it before applying a thick layer of paint and then welded in a new piece.




Also collected all the parts required for the engine conversion so hopefully this can go ahead soon.



I’ve also removed the front bumper, turns out it actually looks a lot better without it so this is how it will be staying. I will however be meshing the lower grills to neaten it up a bit.



Slowly but surely getting through the mass of bodywork piece by piece. Hopefully it should be ready for the new colour in a couple of months time.