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Jan 16, 2013 19:47:45 GMT
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I really like this as it is. Personally I'm not into cosmetic changes so I wouldn't wrap the roof. I can understand that the laquer peel is annoying, but surely it would be better to save up for either a localised repair or complete roof respray? Lovely example this, keep up the good work.
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Well spotted Will, that's a lovely Volvo! I wouldn't want the job of cleaning the wheels though!
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Blimey, you really like making things difficult for yourself. So your gonna go hunting around breakers yards trying to find a set of springs from a different car that are the correct diameter, correct seat fitting and of a suitable spring rate? You're then going to source lowered and uprated version of these springs that just might be a couple of quid cheaper than Polo ones? Eh? What about dampers? The ones on your car are probably knackered so if you put lower springs on the ride and handling will be utter curse word. You really need matching shorter stroke ones - the fronts are an insert, the rear is a complete strut. Look it's soo easy, contact Phil Jackson on the Club Polo website and he'll be able to give you a full list of what is available and prices from the cheapest (usually rock hard and slammed curse word) right up to the best ride/handling compromise stuff from Bilstein etc. Don't forget to factor in changing the top mounts as a matter of course, as well as any worn bushes - which there definately will be. It's never cheap doing these things, but I reckon you should be able to fit a half decent suspension kit and renew the bushes and top mounts for under £250 if you can do the work yourself. The Polo mk1-3 suspension kits are no more expensive than for any other comparable car. It is only the coilover kits that are expensive due to the front strut design, nothing else. Contact Phil, he's your best bet.
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Inner wings should be fine like volkskid83 said. The battery tray, rear sections of the sills, rear arches, lower rear seat belt mounting areas and fuel tank filler neck are all prone to rust. It's likely that the drivers side footwell will be wet due to water leaking through from the battery tray. Get a pressure washer on the engine bay and underneath wheel arches etc to clean away dirt and mud so you can see what you are dealing with. If I were you, I'd fix the bodywork as best as you can rather than and worry about doing an engine conversion.
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That looks pretty sweet Martin. Why don't you own up and admit you used your nail varnish on the cam cover? I think it looks better on the original alloys, will look really good lowered on the coilovers. Glad to see the old Alpine wireless set is back in service! Are you having a OE type Longlife stainless system fitted? I had a Longlife on my Manta GTE, superb bit of kit for the price. Cheers mate, Richard.
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I really must get on with my Polo turbo conversion. Too much time spent thinking about it and not enough actually doing it. Get finger out etc.
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Dec 30, 2012 21:26:45 GMT
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Like others have said, a great story and write up with lots of good pics. Although it looks very tidy indeed now, it will be a superb example if you get the paint issues sorted. What a fantastic value for money car that is, you really got a good'un there. Keep us posted, Cheers, Richard.
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Dec 30, 2012 21:18:22 GMT
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Great to see a substantial update on this Karl. The Mattigs look very nice but to my surprise I thought it also looked excellent with the 6n alloys....sorta like Revolution RFX's....which is cool. Did you need to change the front ARB or did the original one clear the 5 speed gearbox? I love this, a really immaculate but usuable classic Polo. Maximum win going on right here! Cheers, Richard.
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Dec 30, 2012 20:10:13 GMT
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Blimey, in comparison with some of you I haven't had many cars. No1 was in 1983 when I bought a 1970 mk2 Cortina 1600E, my first love! No2 was a mk2 Escort 1600 Sport. Spent far too much time and money on this one! Totally rebuilt throughout with a 180bhp 2.1 Pinto on 48's, LSD etc etc. No3, a 1979 Lada 2101 in factory dioreah colour paint and a tan vinyl roof! Hit with a large dose of stick and a Fiat 2 litre twin cam on twin 40's and 5 speed box it was such a laugh....yet frightening at the same time! ;D Then I bought a 1985 Manta GTE Hatch that my dad had owned from almost new. Again lots of love, tlc and too much money lavished on this one...well worth it though. Sold on to my best mate. Then my wife to be and I bought a mint 1987 Nova SR. Car no 6 was another Nova, this time a '91 plate GSI. I did loads of work uprating to the suspension and brakes on this in preperation for a 16v red top conversion, however with a wedding coming up I never did it. Bought a mk2 Cavalier Hatch 'cos it was cheap, sold on for a profit after a few months. Another Manta was bought, this time a '85 Coupe 1.8. I fitted an injected V8 Rover Vitesse engine and T5 Cosworth box, didn't have the time or space to finish this one unfortunately. No 9 was the old Manta GTE I'd previously sold to my mate. Now my daily driver it was great to have it back, it was still immaculate. Another Manta, this time a GSi Coupe was bought. Used for a while then stripped for the the many goodies it had whilst the wibblepoo it had been attatched to was crushed. With our first son born we got a '97 Astra 1.6 16V GLS for the missus to drive as her daily. Boring but sensible. Then some ****ing idiot caused me to hit a parked car writing off my beloved Manta GTE Hatch. Son no 2 arrived 16 months after our first and we exchanged the Astra for a '99 Omega V6. Had yet another son just 2 years later! The replacement for my poor old Manta was my current mk2 Polo breadvan. This is a very long term project. Had a mk2f Polo GT Hatch which was a cracking little car, though I ended up putting the mechanicals into my mk2 breadvan. This was soon removed cause I bought a highly tuned '94 M plate Polo G40 and began to convert my mk2 to G40 spec! Now converting this engine to turbo spec and a full ground up rebuild is slowly ensuing on the mk2 breadvan. I said it was a long term project! The Omega was traded about 7 years ago for our current family daily which is a Focus CMax diesel. Since 2006 I've had a Citroen Berlingo company van. I can (genuinely) highly recommend it! That's only about 17 cars since 1983.
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Dec 27, 2012 22:46:03 GMT
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Hey Mark, how comes your idea of "something sensible for the winter" turns out to be a rust free and nigh on immaculate e28 535i?!!! ;D A superb example in a great colour too but what a shame about the punt in the back on the way home If anyone can get this repaired to the highest standard it'll be you. If you can get the suspension sorted and some wheels whilst the work is being done that'll be a billy bonus! Get some more pics up and good luck with it Mark, Cheers, Richard.
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Dec 22, 2012 18:29:04 GMT
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Yeah maybe it's just an optical illusion then, I thought the black bumper trim on the passenger side rear quarter looked to be screwed on?
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Dec 22, 2012 13:58:04 GMT
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That's a superb example. A mate's Dad had one of these when it was new. It was a gold CD Berlina automatic with bronze tinted glass, an electric sunroof and ... electric windows in the back!! I can still remember the temptation to play with the window switches whenever I went in it! This is gonna look the business if you really go to town with the cleaning. Apart from the rear bumper I can't see any other thing else that needs attention cosmetically? Could really do with a passenger side door mirror though. Opel always seemed to only put a drivers mirror on as standard, looks unbalanced IMO. Get cleaning and put some new pics up ASAP please! Good luck with it mate.
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Dec 16, 2012 18:09:37 GMT
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Some superb fabrication work mate. What are your plans for this long term, straight resto or modify?
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Nov 28, 2012 20:17:06 GMT
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I've got the Sealey one in the above link. Really pleased with it, sturdy design and decent quality.
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Nov 15, 2012 22:44:49 GMT
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Just to echo what everyone else has said really, this is a brilliant build. It looks proportionally so much better than I thought it would too. I agree that an original colour is the way to go with this. Fantastic work mate, keep us posted.
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Nov 11, 2012 21:46:18 GMT
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Hey, standard mats FTW!!
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Nov 10, 2012 23:22:20 GMT
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I really like where you are going with this. No faffing about trying to make silly wide wheels fit or chopping the suspension about etc. Just cleaning, tidying and generally trying to get it as mint as possible sorting out any niggles along the way. Keep up the good work.
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Nov 10, 2012 10:35:06 GMT
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Hi and welcome to RR Campbell. Your BMW appears to be a very tidy example and that interior looks well comfy. Personally I prefer the 5 series 'cause I'm a short but if you want to cruise around in comfort coupled with a decent chassis I can't think of anything I'd sooner be in, especially for the money. Niiiice.
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Totally agree with the above comment.
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Fantastic, absolutely full of win!
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