vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I've been umming and ahhing about putting a build thread over here for my little gothwagen. Some of it is Autoshite ethos, and some of it isn't. He's not beige and he's not standard, but he is interesting, in an odd sort of a way. A quick potted historyI've had a few cars before getting this one, my first being a Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.6 that would have made Mr Boll's Maserati look like a concourse winner, anywhere it could have been rotten it was and it was all covered up with lots of filler. I cut my teeth on that car, finding out what was wrong, understanding why things weren't fixing and learning what happens when you attempt a roof chop without bracing anything. I was young and stupid, but I was a quick learner so I didn't repeat these mistakes. After that I had an Austin A40 Farina jointly with my brother which we found was beyond our skills to repair so was sold to someone who actually put it back on the road. There was a Volvo 240 saloon which was excellent, but too costly to run and repair and found it's way to the scrapyard in the sky and then, in about 1998 my Dad bought this Polo for my brother, mother and I to learn to drive in and pass our tests. Was okay, cost £250 (I later paid £25 to keep it from being scrapped) and was navy blue with the bog standard everything. If I'd known then what I know now I'd've kept everything standard as it is now quite a rare thing to have the proper povo spec Polo. He looked like this. At the time there were Williams Renault Clios about the place, so the wheels got painted gold and he got the nickname of Wilhelm at some point down the line. Now, it's worth pointing out here that money and I don't have a great relationship. I rarely have much, and not for want of trying, I just seem to be one of those people who doesn't have a lot of cash, or spend a lot of cash. So it wasn't until last year that I passed my test, even though I'd had lessons on and off since I was 16. The money was never there for long enough for me to get through to passing my test, but it meant I did get a fair chunk of on-the-road experience. So all the while I was trying to pass my test, I was putting ideas on the Polo. I had this vision of where I wanted to end up, it appeared in Custom Car magazine (I don't have the copy any more) and mostly involved satin black paint, Moon discs and lots of smoothing and lowering. I got to the point with the car, doing jobs here and there and learning as I went along, that I was getting disheartened. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes and I almost scrapped him, until a mechanic friend stepped in and told me not to give up and that he'd help me out. That was the encouragement I needed to get the seats done and new carpet fitted (the original went at some point in the past, I don't know when). Plenty of work was done to repair the hole under the battery tray and the mechanical stuff until eventually we got through an MoT... then road tax... then I passed my test and insurance was bought (which was a fiasco and another story altogether) and I made the 250 mile round trip to drive to the top secret Polo location in Lincolnshire in Dad's Lexus LS400 and then all the way home via a wiggly grandparent-visiting and Mablethorpe-for-ice-cream route home in the Polo. Some things needed to be redone, like the terrible satin paint job, the bumpers that I'd made a right hash of and were rotten anyway, and the interior, that was pretty shagged due to UV damage on the fabric I'd used. But all in all I'd achieved what had seemed the impossible and I was not just proud, I was ecstatic that my little Polo that I'd hoarded away and nobody believed I would ever get on the road was now in regular use. While not technically my first car, the Polo is everything a first car should have been so that's how I think of him. So how is this Autoshite and not OMGVAGLOVE? Well, I don't really fit in with the traditional skinny jeans VW crowd. I apparently don't fit in with the Hot Rod/Kustom scene either, even though the cars from that particular scene are my biggest influence, and I don't *quite* fit in with Retro Rides. I'm not sure I fit in anywhere, but that's okay, I'm not doing this to fit in, I'm doing it to make me happy. What I think makes this car Autoshite is that it's all home-brewed, on a budget, but to the highest standard possible using traditional techniques were possible. I document and learn from my mistakes (usually) and like to share the highs and lows of owning a much abused and often dismissed little car. I still run the original engine, and I'm happy with the original engine when it works. I do have lowered suspension, and I do have alloys, but I've tried to be sensible about those and not just do it for the lows. I have a tow bar in the garage I'm wanting to fit at some point, which is probably a bit daft, but I really fancy having a tiny caravan to tow with my silly car. Coming up: the project in pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 I've been umming and ahhing about putting a build thread over here for my little gothwagen. Some of it is Autoshite ethos, and some of it isn't. He's not beige and he's not standard, but he is interesting, in an odd sort of a way. A quick potted historyI've had a few cars before getting this one, my first being a Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.6 that would have made Mr Boll's Maserati look like a concourse winner, anywhere it could have been rotten it was and it was all covered up with lots of filler. I cut my teeth on that car, finding out what was wrong, understanding why things weren't fixing and learning what happens when you attempt a roof chop without bracing anything. I was young and stupid, but I was a quick learner so I didn't repeat these mistakes. After that I had an Austin A40 Farina jointly with my brother which we found was beyond our skills to repair so was sold to someone who actually put it back on the road. There was a Volvo 240 saloon which was excellent, but too costly to run and repair and found it's way to the scrapyard in the sky and then, in about 1998 my Dad bought this Polo for my brother, mother and I to learn to drive in and pass our tests. Was okay, cost £250 (I later paid £25 to keep it from being scrapped) and was navy blue with the bog standard everything. If I'd known then what I know now I'd've kept everything standard as it is now quite a rare thing to have the proper povo spec Polo. He looked like this. At the time there were Williams Renault Clios about the place, so the wheels got painted gold and he got the nickname of Wilhelm at some point down the line. Now, it's worth pointing out here that money and I don't have a great relationship. I rarely have much, and not for want of trying, I just seem to be one of those people who doesn't have a lot of cash, or spend a lot of cash. So it wasn't until last year that I passed my test, even though I'd had lessons on and off since I was 16. The money was never there for long enough for me to get through to passing my test, but it meant I did get a fair chunk of on-the-road experience. So all the while I was trying to pass my test, I was putting ideas on the Polo. I had this vision of where I wanted to end up, it appeared in Custom Car magazine (I don't have the copy any more) and mostly involved satin black paint, Moon discs and lots of smoothing and lowering. I got to the point with the car, doing jobs here and there and learning as I went along, that I was getting disheartened. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes and I almost scrapped him, until a mechanic friend stepped in and told me not to give up and that he'd help me out. That was the encouragement I needed to get the seats done and new carpet fitted (the original went at some point in the past, I don't know when). Plenty of work was done to repair the hole under the battery tray and the mechanical stuff until eventually we got through an MoT... then road tax... then I passed my test and insurance was bought (which was a fiasco and another story altogether) and I made the 250 mile round trip to drive to the top secret Polo location in Lincolnshire in Dad's Lexus LS400 and then all the way home via a wiggly grandparent-visiting and Mablethorpe-for-ice-cream route home in the Polo. Some things needed to be redone, like the terrible satin paint job, the bumpers that I'd made a right hash of and were rotten anyway, and the interior, that was pretty shagged due to UV damage on the fabric I'd used. But all in all I'd achieved what had seemed the impossible and I was not just proud, I was ecstatic that my little Polo that I'd hoarded away and nobody believed I would ever get on the road was now in regular use. While not technically my first car, the Polo is everything a first car should have been so that's how I think of him. So how is this Autoshite and not OMGVAGLOVE? Well, I don't really fit in with the traditional skinny jeans VW crowd. I apparently don't fit in with the Hot Rod/Kustom scene either, even though the cars from that particular scene are my biggest influence, and I don't *quite* fit in with Retro Rides. I'm not sure I fit in anywhere, but that's okay, I'm not doing this to fit in, I'm doing it to make me happy. What I think makes this car Autoshite is that it's all home-brewed, on a budget, but to the highest standard possible using traditional techniques were possible. I document and learn from my mistakes (usually) and like to share the highs and lows of owning a much abused and often dismissed little car. I still run the original engine, and I'm happy with the original engine when it works. I do have lowered suspension, and I do have alloys, but I've tried to be sensible about those and not just do it for the lows. I have a tow bar in the garage I'm wanting to fit at some point, which is probably a bit daft, but I really fancy having a tiny caravan to tow with my silly car. Coming up: the project in pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lankytim Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Looks a honey! Whatever you do DON'T matt black it! (LOL J/K) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lankytim Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Looks a honey! Whatever you do DON'T matt black it! (LOL J/K) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Many times throughout the recommissioning of my Polo, the house looked like this. One day I was told off by my then partner because we were having a dinner party and the house was full of my car. Remarkably, I managed to hide all of the body panels behind furniture in the house and our guests never noticed. It's also worth pointing out at this point that the car was in Lincolnshire and I was in Sheffield and I would transport parts between the two locations. I had to get Dad to help with the doors and bonnet, but I took the wings on the train, and the axle stands... and a lot of other things that got me some very funny looks. Dad had a useful Volvo, so we could get all the stuff up to the car. Just about everything removable fitted in Dad's Volvo, was far easier than the train. This had to be one of the happiest moments in the entire build. Only the driver's seat fitted but all the freshly painted panels on, bumpers on, engine running, car pretty much ready for MoT land but not yet lowered. It was fun trundling around the farm and this remains one of my favourite pictures from the entire project. I also managed to get some comparison shots of the car as it arrived at Lincolnshire, and how it was when I was ready to take him away again. I managed to find some suspension (the original VW suspension was shagged) and a set of wheels with tyres for the right price. As I say, I lowered the car sensibly, mostly for aesthetics but partly for improved handling. For the future, I have this planned. The overriding theme of the car is definitely 'Goth Kustom' but without taking myself *too* seriously. I had some of those eyebrows that people seem to love/loathe for a while, and I found they improved my ability to see in certain road conditions. Of course, I bought shitty Chinese ones so they rusted almost instantly, but I painted them to match the car and blend into the grille a bit. I used the car a lot. He was super frugal on the go juice. At the time, Dave in the Motornutz club had a mostly standard white Polo, which always made me smile. This wasn't scene, this was the car earning his keep! Loaded up with crap to go to the tip. I don't care how nice my car is, it has to be at least marginally practical. Boot lock lols. The club calendar shoot gave me an idea since I'd got October and I can't take anything too seriously when it comes to these things. So here's Wilhelm dressed up in ribbons. Then, when I moved house, I had to visit the hospital, and then was out of action for a month so the car ended up laid up. The first time I took him out for a run after that nothing was right and even though we found the head bolts were loose and retightened them, resolving most of the issue, things still weren't as they should be. That was back in October 2011 and since then the car has been tucked away in the garage, life has got in the way and I had lost a lot of motivation as we tried to fathom the problem which seems now most likely to be an air lock and a carb that needs setting up anew. Everything else has been run through and eliminated so that's my task for now. For a long while he's sat in the garage looking like this, new face only half finished. And now he's sat on the drive because tomorrow I *will* get out there and do something with that engine, even if it's just staring at it with a coffee in one hand and a hammer in the other! If this isn't suitable for Autoshite, I'll leave the thread at this, you just have to let me know. But hopefully, my misadventures with my low-powered little gothbox will be as amusing and entertaining as the Princess. My two cars are about as different as they can get, and that's just the way I want them to be. To read the whole gory story, you'll have to visit the blue forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Many times throughout the recommissioning of my Polo, the house looked like this. One day I was told off by my then partner because we were having a dinner party and the house was full of my car. Remarkably, I managed to hide all of the body panels behind furniture in the house and our guests never noticed. It's also worth pointing out at this point that the car was in Lincolnshire and I was in Sheffield and I would transport parts between the two locations. I had to get Dad to help with the doors and bonnet, but I took the wings on the train, and the axle stands... and a lot of other things that got me some very funny looks. Dad had a useful Volvo, so we could get all the stuff up to the car. Just about everything removable fitted in Dad's Volvo, was far easier than the train. This had to be one of the happiest moments in the entire build. Only the driver's seat fitted but all the freshly painted panels on, bumpers on, engine running, car pretty much ready for MoT land but not yet lowered. It was fun trundling around the farm and this remains one of my favourite pictures from the entire project. I also managed to get some comparison shots of the car as it arrived at Lincolnshire, and how it was when I was ready to take him away again. I managed to find some suspension (the original VW suspension was shagged) and a set of wheels with tyres for the right price. As I say, I lowered the car sensibly, mostly for aesthetics but partly for improved handling. For the future, I have this planned. The overriding theme of the car is definitely 'Goth Kustom' but without taking myself *too* seriously. I had some of those eyebrows that people seem to love/loathe for a while, and I found they improved my ability to see in certain road conditions. Of course, I bought shitty Chinese ones so they rusted almost instantly, but I painted them to match the car and blend into the grille a bit. I used the car a lot. He was super frugal on the go juice. At the time, Dave in the Motornutz club had a mostly standard white Polo, which always made me smile. This wasn't scene, this was the car earning his keep! Loaded up with crap to go to the tip. I don't care how nice my car is, it has to be at least marginally practical. Boot lock lols. The club calendar shoot gave me an idea since I'd got October and I can't take anything too seriously when it comes to these things. So here's Wilhelm dressed up in ribbons. Then, when I moved house, I had to visit the hospital, and then was out of action for a month so the car ended up laid up. The first time I took him out for a run after that nothing was right and even though we found the head bolts were loose and retightened them, resolving most of the issue, things still weren't as they should be. That was back in October 2011 and since then the car has been tucked away in the garage, life has got in the way and I had lost a lot of motivation as we tried to fathom the problem which seems now most likely to be an air lock and a carb that needs setting up anew. Everything else has been run through and eliminated so that's my task for now. For a long while he's sat in the garage looking like this, new face only half finished. And now he's sat on the drive because tomorrow I *will* get out there and do something with that engine, even if it's just staring at it with a coffee in one hand and a hammer in the other! If this isn't suitable for Autoshite, I'll leave the thread at this, you just have to let me know. But hopefully, my misadventures with my low-powered little gothbox will be as amusing and entertaining as the Princess. My two cars are about as different as they can get, and that's just the way I want them to be. To read the whole gory story, you'll have to visit the blue forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Looks a honey! Whatever you do DON'T matt black it! (LOL J/K) Been there, done that, saw how atrocious it looks after a few days outdoors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Looks a honey! Whatever you do DON'T matt black it! (LOL J/K) Been there, done that, saw how atrocious it looks after a few days outdoors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Your car, your way! Obviously I can't speak for everyone, just for one bloke who wouldn't have a VW of any sort as a gift ( ) but I'm happy that you've saved a car that otherwise would have been scrapped. Any car, I don't care what it is. Even a VW. Good luck to you. Anyway, you've easily cleansed yourself of any sins, with the Princess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Your car, your way! Obviously I can't speak for everyone, just for one bloke who wouldn't have a VW of any sort as a gift ( ) but I'm happy that you've saved a car that otherwise would have been scrapped. Any car, I don't care what it is. Even a VW. Good luck to you. Anyway, you've easily cleansed yourself of any sins, with the Princess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Ooh, I like that system. You can have a modified VW, but only if you buy and care for an unloved gigantic slice of the British Leyland Pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Ooh, I like that system. You can have a modified VW, but only if you buy and care for an unloved gigantic slice of the British Leyland Pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUNO Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Black with a red bonnet ! And some non-standard bits. That should start some arguments Me, it belongs to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUNO Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Black with a red bonnet ! And some non-standard bits. That should start some arguments Me, it belongs to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBR Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well I do like VWs, and I have no problem with it either! The VW modding scene is pretty varied anyway so it may fit in better than you think but there are a few who have amusingly strong views on how they should look, anything that can be done to wind these folk up may possibly be a good thing! I've got a later Polo & although I'm putting alloys on it they'll only be 15" ones from a Golf with tyres that fit them correctly (not stretched on a rim 2" too wide for them!) & it wont get lowered, this will annoy some of the VW crowd but it'll suit my needs so fuck em!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBR Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well I do like VWs, and I have no problem with it either! The VW modding scene is pretty varied anyway so it may fit in better than you think but there are a few who have amusingly strong views on how they should look, anything that can be done to wind these folk up may possibly be a good thing! I've got a later Polo & although I'm putting alloys on it they'll only be 15" ones from a Golf with tyres that fit them correctly (not stretched on a rim 2" too wide for them!) & it wont get lowered, this will annoy some of the VW crowd but it'll suit my needs so fuck em!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autofive Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 oh no what did you matt black it for?that shed looked much better its original colour, its ruined now oh, and the polo looks quite good in black and red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autofive Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 oh no what did you matt black it for?that shed looked much better its original colour, its ruined now oh, and the polo looks quite good in black and red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-M Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Good on ya. Doing things your own way and managing to not end up with something that looks shit. I quite like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-M Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Good on ya. Doing things your own way and managing to not end up with something that looks shit. I quite like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I like it, especially the bumpers and I like where you're going with it. You don't need to be a twat to own an old VW, just a shame that 5 minutes on VZi uncovers so many Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I like it, especially the bumpers and I like where you're going with it. You don't need to be a twat to own an old VW, just a shame that 5 minutes on VZi uncovers so many Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashmicro Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Good on ya. Doing things your own way and managing to not end up with something that looks shit. I quite like it. +1. Fair play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashmicro Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Good on ya. Doing things your own way and managing to not end up with something that looks shit. I quite like it. +1. Fair play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Well.... that response surprised me, but in a totally excellent way (uh oh, that's a bit Bill & Ted). Bodacious (stop it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Well.... that response surprised me, but in a totally excellent way (uh oh, that's a bit Bill & Ted). Bodacious (stop it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I like that, and although the VW "scene" is over populated by complete knob jockeys, some of the stuff built is lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I like that, and although the VW "scene" is over populated by complete knob jockeys, some of the stuff built is lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yep, I think it's OK too. I particularly like the 'mini sports hearse' look you have planned for the future, those rear wheel covers (which I usually don't like, e.g. on French stuff) really suit the image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yep, I think it's OK too. I particularly like the 'mini sports hearse' look you have planned for the future, those rear wheel covers (which I usually don't like, e.g. on French stuff) really suit the image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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