1985 VW Gothwagen - FOR SALE

[vulgalour]

As mentioned in the Princess thread I didn't know gas struts had a way up they were supposed to go. Easy enough to resolve.

[vulgalour]

Wish I had a welding machine right now, I've just discovered that fitting the Corsair lights is actually going to be less hassle than previously imagined. For some odd reason, I'd mocked up the Corsair lights on Photoshop and never in the real world.

 

So, the original plan of this is not going to happen, awesome as it looks.

 

 

Instead, they're going vertically as Ford intended in the holes that VW made the wrong shape.

 

There is work to do to make this happen. For the purposes of the photograph, the clusters are wedged in with the top bolt and bottom bulb holder and will sit slightly differently when completed. I need to redrill the bolt locations, but it looks like they should fit on the VW frame once I have and not foul anything important or look out of place. I could hunt for different lights, but I think the Corsair lights will work very well once the modifications to the rear wings are sorted out

 

Once that's been done, the plinth that usually goes beneath the old light cluster has to have some of the metal cut away so the new cluster fits flush and doesn't stand too proud. I'm not making these lights into fins as I don't think it will look as good as having them flat fit with the surrounding bodywork tweaked.

 

I'll be keeping the aluminium trim, which means the very edge of the tailgate will need reprofiling to accomodate. Not much needs coming off, just a bit of a shave and reweld to match the new cluster shape.

 

By trimming the edge of the tailgate, I get to keep the original seal and lock locations which is a very good thing. The light clusters do then just fit within the confines of the body shape and providing the end of the wing is profiled correctly it shouldn't look bodgey.

 

Some of the above photographs make it look like the clusters are a shade too big, but that's mainly down to the angle of them for the photograph, there's millimetres of difference in the actual widths so it should all go together neatly. I'll make up some cardboard templates before cutting anything so that I know exactly what I need to make up new for this to work.

 

I'll be happy to get out of work limbo, I can start throwing money at this then which I really need to do.

[eddyramrod]

That's going to look really cool! (Says a man who actually had a Corsair, even if it was 30 years ago...)

[Albert Ross]

Don't forget to add a rear foglight to the centre or offside, just to be sure it stays legal.

[dollywobbler]

Wow. That should look pretty ace. Don't forget you'll need a fog light - reverse lights entirely up to you! Lots of classic-type ones around though. (Bugger Albert got there first! Pedant Patrol!)

[Richard]

Aren't reversing lights a legal requirement? I assumed they must be because Ford fitted them as standard in the 1980s.

[dollywobbler]

Don't think reverse lights have ever been a requirement - just something that buyers have demanded. 2CVs never had one (in the UK), and they were made until 1990. Reverse lights aren't part of the MOT test either I don't think.

 

Back to the Polo. It's reminding me of a Rover SD1 van that a mate of my dad's used to own. It had Zephyr Mk3 fins and rear lights and a very loud exhaust. T'was an absolute shonky beast. I loved it. Sadly I think it went off the road around the turn of the century, and I never took any pics of it. Lived in Birmingham and I know he took it drag racing a few times.

[cobblers]

nah, you don't need reversing lights for an MOT. Handy for actually reversing tho!

[stuboy]

Aren't reversing lights a legal requirement? I assumed they must be because Ford fitted them as standard in the 1980s.

nope...........

[stuboy]

Aren't reversing lights a legal requirement? I assumed they must be because Ford fitted them as standard in the 1980s.

nope...........

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Aren't reversing lights a legal requirement? I assumed they must be because Ford fitted them as standard in the 1980s.

A legal requirement in so far as they must be fitted to new cars for type approval, but no one cares if you remove them later because it's not on the MOT.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Aren't reversing lights a legal requirement? I assumed they must be because Ford fitted them as standard in the 1980s.

A legal requirement in so far as they must be fitted to new cars for type approval, but no one cares if you remove them later because it's not on the MOT.

[chaseracer]

I am loving the idea of Corsair lights, but I'll just leave this here...

 

 

[chaseracer]

I am loving the idea of Corsair lights, but I'll just leave this here...

 

 

[vulgalour]

I had considered Anglia rear lights, but they never came up at the right time and would need a lot more work than the Corsair ones to fit. The Corsair units were 99p on eBay, so I thought it was worth a punt on them even if they are a bit battered and I should probably replace them with better units. Good for the mock-up work until I can get better ones though.

 

I'm thinking of fitting two discrete fog and reverse lights under the bumper, possibly those oblong ones with the chrome surround that you find on 70s cars.

[vulgalour]

I had considered Anglia rear lights, but they never came up at the right time and would need a lot more work than the Corsair ones to fit. The Corsair units were 99p on eBay, so I thought it was worth a punt on them even if they are a bit battered and I should probably replace them with better units. Good for the mock-up work until I can get better ones though.

 

I'm thinking of fitting two discrete fog and reverse lights under the bumper, possibly those oblong ones with the chrome surround that you find on 70s cars.

[eddyramrod]

two discrete fog and reverse lights

 

Sub-edit note: I suspect you mean "discreet," as in, not readily noticed, easy to miss if you're not looking for them, etc; but I suppose you could also have intended "discrete," as in, clearly seperated from each other, not open to confusion. Care to put me out of my pedantic misery?

[eddyramrod]

two discrete fog and reverse lights

 

Sub-edit note: I suspect you mean "discreet," as in, not readily noticed, easy to miss if you're not looking for them, etc; but I suppose you could also have intended "discrete," as in, clearly seperated from each other, not open to confusion. Care to put me out of my pedantic misery?

[vulgalour]

Discreet. My bad >.>

 

For further clarification, I didn't mean dis Crete either. Nor did I intend to dis(respect) Crete.

[vulgalour]

Discreet. My bad >.>

 

For further clarification, I didn't mean dis Crete either. Nor did I intend to dis(respect) Crete.

[eddyramrod]

Good answer, tyvm!

[eddyramrod]

Good answer, tyvm!

[PhilA]

I had considered Anglia rear lights, but they never came up at the right time and would need a lot more work than the Corsair ones to fit. The Corsair units were 99p on eBay, so I thought it was worth a punt on them even if they are a bit battered and I should probably replace them with better units. Good for the mock-up work until I can get better ones though.

 

I'm thinking of fitting two discrete fog and reverse lights under the bumper, possibly those oblong ones with the chrome surround that you find on 70s cars.

 

 

http://www.classicpartsworld.co.uk/clas ... s_lens-red

 

Like this one?

 

Discreetly discrete.

[PhilA]

I had considered Anglia rear lights, but they never came up at the right time and would need a lot more work than the Corsair ones to fit. The Corsair units were 99p on eBay, so I thought it was worth a punt on them even if they are a bit battered and I should probably replace them with better units. Good for the mock-up work until I can get better ones though.

 

I'm thinking of fitting two discrete fog and reverse lights under the bumper, possibly those oblong ones with the chrome surround that you find on 70s cars.

 

 

http://www.classicpartsworld.co.uk/clas ... s_lens-red

 

Like this one?

 

Discreetly discrete.

[vulgalour]

That's the doobly. Not a bad price for brand new either, thanks for the link

[vulgalour]

That's the doobly. Not a bad price for brand new either, thanks for the link

[PhilA]

Welcome. Doubly nice for the price because they are glass lenses.

[PhilA]

Welcome. Doubly nice for the price because they are glass lenses.

[vulgalour]

They've got the 'Ital style' mirrors at an affordable price too so I'll probably get a job lot together to save on postage. Super useful little site for the Polo, that is. Have a gold star.

[vulgalour]

They've got the 'Ital style' mirrors at an affordable price too so I'll probably get a job lot together to save on postage. Super useful little site for the Polo, that is. Have a gold star.