As it looks now

In this blog you will see a relatively easy conversion of a mk1 base model to a half decent RS replica. I am in no way going to build a group 4 rally car that never sees its potential and is nothing more than an example of the lengths you can go to with modifications. Bless all for the efforts but just not something I am prepared to do. So this is a "buy-it-and -bolt-it-on" build.  Saying that, there are modifications to some of the body but nothing dramatic. This will show you how easy it is to make a solid driving and good looking mk1 without blowing all your savings. This will be a daily driver. The hardest part is finding good quality reproduction parts. 

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As it was when i bought it. 

As its looking now

being delivered

So i agreed on a price for the car as you see it. 1500 euro. I wanted it for 500 euro but negotiations were not in my favour. So i paid it knowing what needed spending. But i also know i got a wee bargain. 

does it need a polishing

Now remember, this car had sat for 4 years in a shed in a wee village outside Zagreb for 4 years. You cant see it in the photo but the paint was so rough you could light a match on it. Rough did not describe it. What you dont see here is that i used 1800 wet and dry and sanded the complete car first. Then i took it to this young guy in Trogir who spent 3 days polishing it with 3M products. The car was transformed 

the engine and engine bay

This is the engine bay as it came. Standard 2.0 reconditioned Pinto (205 block) There is no end of Heath Robinson repairs under here. All was on display when i bought it and no secrets raised their ugly head later. On initial assessment my plan is to put the battery in the boot, new set of dual carbs, new exhaust, radiator and more importantly, a remote Girling servo where the battery is currently installed. Why, because its a Left hand drive and the carbs restrict a standard servo installation. You can see bellow where the master cylinder is. 

so at this point you can see the simple stuff has started. I also bought the new rocker cover from JR  Castings Ireland. Lovely touch to beutify the engine bay. The new exhaust (ASHLEY) installed and soon to be wrapped in asbestos tape. The option i have gone with for the induction is Honda 600 CBR carbs supplied by danstengineering in England. Dan gave me good instructions and help to ensure they were installed and tuned correctly. Thanks mate. 

As i planned, the battery is now moving home to the rear of the car. I know i could have bought a fancy battery box but once its prepped and painted it will be dinky do. 

Ok, progress. New radiator installed. Had to make some mods to the body work and also make brackets and used Renault 5 rubber bushes. Good detail and work well in the Croatian summer weather. I have also installed and electric fan as the original viscus one wont fit. New set of silicone hoses, new water pump, new alternator and the exhaust wrapping in progress. 

So here is the new carbs. Dont they look nice. Full power from top to bottom, easy to tune and more economical than Webbers. I did consider throttle bodies but due to several factors i decided on this option. 

There we go. Carbs installed, radiator installed. Now one thing extra i did buy was a MagnaSpark dizzy for the car. When running multi carbs I believe the ignition system should be as good as possible. Or at least as reliable. Nothing worse than the stupid points burning out. You can now see how its impossible for a servo to be installed hence the need for a remote servo over on the other side where the battery was. 

The exhaust system when it arrived. 

Suspension and brakes

All suspension and brakes etc were supplied by Dave Simmons from England. Dave has a great range of parts and was spot on with communication and advise and shipping. Now some may say "oh thats good but you could have gone for this or that". Remember what i said. All upgrades are sympathetic to the car to make it a good reliable daily driver that can still be fun if required. This is for me a practical and affordable way to proceed. I have many cars and before going down this road you have to know what you want to build and why. Then have a budget and work out what the cars worth when its finished versus the money and time invested. My car so far is standing me 7k. All inclusive which includes the buying of the car. I know in the UK its worth more so i have done what i set out to do.  

Vented and grooved 

All alloy billet hubs with adjustable coil over suspension 

German back axle. All new brakes on 9'' drums. No need for rear discs. Gryston lowering kit, tramp bars on it as i bought it. Now one thing i will add here is a 4:1 LSD and a 5 speed box. Neither to date purchased. Now, some may be saying, oh a German back axle, not good, English is better. The German axle is more than adequate for the power. Only the diff will be changed. 

This suspension came with it. Its tough and has no leaks. I have no idea of its origins but will leave it until i drive it. I like a softer back end and stiff front end. I will make that call when I drive it. But Spax adjustable may be in the post sooner than later. Also as you can see there is 2mm of wax oil under the car which by the look of the metal underneath, must have been applied from new. 

Lower arms. Fully adjustable for the camber. 

Anti dive kit. 

the billet hubs required minor modifications but went on ok. 

I forgot to mention its now also got a quick rack installed. Here it is all put together. 

doing the striping

Needless to say the car needed stripes. So now do i go mexico or RS. Do i go dark green or something else. So i decided to go outside the norm for white. This was now going to cause an issue with wheel color. But hey, i will get there. There is no way in hell those wheels are staying on it. 

the Interior. My gosh, the hardest part.

Before i dig out the photos, this by far is the most expensive part of the car. That and the amount of totally crap reproduction parts being sold in the UK by people who obviously have only a love of money and not cars. These people should go back to cleaning the streets, if they can even do that.

Photos coming soon. But before I do, tell me readers, should i publicly name and shame??

As for the interior. This, to get looking good with original second hand parts is a nightmare. And as I said, trying to get quality repro stuff is just as hard. My new carpet is crap, the mirrors are crap, the seats are crap. I reckon its going to cost me another 2k just to get the interior the way i want it. I need all seats, all panels, roof lining and carpet. I am trying to find the glove tray for under the drivers side but look like i will have to make it myself. 

Mirrors. Look great but useless and i will replace with better ones at a later date

Dash. Wrong one. I need a LHD binnacle. The Euro spec is in Km and the dials are reversed. The 2 main dials are on the right to avoid a blind spot from the steering wheel. I now have the correct one which has been installed. 

LHD 6 dial dash top. Not easy to come by but i got it in the end. However, i now wish i bought the flecked one. 

slowly coming together. But this dash and wheel have now been replaced with parts more suitable. I also now have 2 wheels like this and the dash for sale if anyone is interested. 

with the proper dials and new wheel

No need to explain this

Now then. These seats were supplied by Classic Trim UK. Dave Verney. Never, ever if you hear this guys name, or similar, buy anything from this guy. These seats are a disgrace and they should be ashamed of them. They need totally redone. I took them to an upholsterer who laughed when he turned them over. In addition, trying to get any info from this company was like drawing blood from a stone, it took 7 months of messing around, they did not come with the headrests I paid for. Then another 3 months later the headrests appear and they are the vinyl ones and not the beta cloth. I gave up at that point. This company has even changed its name now so be very careful.