1999 Skoda Felicia Cube 1.9D - tentative sale - Ipswich £? - GRIZZ is SPARTACUS

[domrr]

As above but with a story...

I bought this Skoda from the bay of E in September 2017.  It was being sold due to a short MOT and fears the rust present would prevent another MOT being issued.  In hindsight, and looking at previous MOT's I don't think the rust was as bad as made out.  There are other issues raised in the MOT history that will need attention.

Upon purchase the van was transported to a bodyshop in Ipswich and has had repairs to the front inner and outer wings and strut tops.  The rear outer arches have also been repaired (but not painted).

 

I have never driven the van since purchase but heard it running pre-purchase.  It has done 108k miles with, from memory, some service history.   The van has lived inside the bodyshop since September 2017.  The intention was to get this painted, remove the Cube from the back and use it/show it.  Clearly life has gotten in the way and other than the work the body shop has done, this van has had no other attention since the last MOT in 2016.  

 

The kind bodyshop owner now wants this moved which is understandable.  It will need to be trailered away from Ipswich to its new home.

 

I am listing it to generate interest; I have a rough idea of what I would like for it but it is only worth what someone wants to pay for it.  So...over to the hive mind - any takers/offers/thoughts?  

[MrBig]

That went quick! Don't seen many cube variants about.

[domrr]

Awakened from her slumber after 9 years and off to pastures new...within this very fold.

 

I am sure the new owner will be along at some point to continue the journey of this little van...

[MrBig]

So it's going to a known weirdo then...? 😁

[domrr]

I'll let that person make themselves known.  Weirdo isn't far of the mark...but meant in a nice way....

[grizz]

Well ?

Gotta ask you all  

Why would you not like this. 

We are all looking for the elusive elixir

Barnfind with real barn (workshop) dust not enough? 
 

Go on gang….. 

 

What could possibly go wrong here? 

[grizz]

8 hours ago, domrr said:

Awakened from her slumber after 9 years and off to pastures new...within this very fold.

 

I am sure the new owner will be along at some point to continue the journey of this little van...

 

What a vision in Magnolia dust? 

[GeordieInExile]

https://www.quantumtuning.co.uk/motorhome-remap-tuning-remapping.aspx?make=Skoda&range=Cube Van

 

Phwooooooooar, I bet with 76bhp these go like stink. 

[grizz]

On 11/05/2026 at 22:39, GeordieInExile said:

https://www.quantumtuning.co.uk/motorhome-remap-tuning-remapping.aspx?make=Skoda&range=Cube Van

 

Phwooooooooar, I bet with 76bhp these go like stink. 

 

Sometimes being classy is surely enough 😉
 

Even at 63 bhp 

Or less. 
 

.

[grizz]

Made it here. 
 

Driven the last mile to my home and onto the driveway. 
 

I drove it to the bottom of the garden and back up again. 
 

Pressure washed last night  

[St.Jude]

On 11/05/2026 at 20:19, grizz said:

Well ?

Gotta ask you all  

Why would you not like this. 

We are all looking for the elusive elixir

Barnfind with real barn (workshop) dust not enough? 
 

Go on gang….. 

 

What could possibly go wrong here? 

@grizz had always wanted to be Pope, but his lack of catholic guilt and his almost addictive love or sex with women excluded him from that dream.

That was, until, he stumbled across a Skoda Felicia cube van….

[grizz]

25 minutes ago, St.Jude said:

@grizz had always wanted to be Pope, but his lack of catholic guilt and his almost addictive love or sex with women excluded him from that dream.

That was, until, he stumbled across a Skoda Felicia cube van….

As accused 

[urpert]

3 hours ago, grizz said:

Made it here. 
 

Driven the last mile to my home and onto the driveway. 
 

I drove it to the bottom of the garden and back up again. 
 

Pressure washed last night  

Complete with roof rack for OMGVWSCENE

[grizz]

2 hours ago, urpert said:

Complete with roof rack for OMGVWSCENE

 

You reckon those Scene boys would be interested in this one ?? 
 

.

[domrr]

OMGSKODASCENE - VW did take the original Skoda Felicia Pickup shell and rebadge it as FANBOIVW 

[Dave_Q]

I'm sure taking these and rebadging them as a Caddy is the preferred option in the pineapple scene.

Hence I propose you cover it in massive Skoda badges and take it to a VW show.

[grizz]

For those who take their time. 

More text to read. 

Exchanging messages with the seller. 

Proceeding to agreeing to buy a car, sight unseen. 

Not the first or second time that I have done this. 

 

And this is what happened. 
 

.

[grizz]

Still no regret  

 

NOW FOR SOME CONTEXT  

About 10-15 years ago, I was going to buy a Skoda pickup (one of these minus the box) on my way back from Oxford where I had been working, I detoured and stopped at the sellers workshop, to be met by the truck, but with a mangled front fender covered in still wet blood and fur. BAMBI 😢 it had happened hours before, on his way to work  

 

And so that put that dream to sleep  

 

Fast Forward many years…….. 

 

Procrastination and Impulsivity meet each other in the middle and I agree to buy a Skoda pickup  

[grizz]

For those wanting a collection video. 
 

So here you go. 
 

 

[grizz]

So the van got collected. 
 

£220.00 delivery fee for 89 miles. 
 

Drivers flatbed blew a turbo 15 miles from here. 
 

An hour later he drove the Škoda onto my yard.  Kudos to him. 
 

My lodger Michael was on hand and also proved to be a very capable camera man. 
 

So a walk around video recorded. 
 

VIDEO:

More details to come in the next video when I start cleaning it all up. 
 

Please like and subscribe if you can be bothered  

I need you to  

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[wuvvum]

On 12/05/2026 at 10:00, grizz said:

 

Sometimes being classy is surely enough 😉
 

Even at 63 bhp 

Or less. 
 

.

If it's any consolation, it has over twice the power of my Innocenti, and is a good 8 seconds quicker to 60.

[grizz]

9 hours ago, wuvvum said:

If it's any consolation, it has over twice the power of my Innocenti, and is a good 8 seconds quicker to 60.

Show us your Innocenti

 

Please 
 

 

.

[grizz]

For those who only have the attention span of a three day old piglet……

Short version of delivery. 
 

📦 

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, grizz said:

Show us your Innocenti

 

Please 
 

 

.

Here's a photo of it at FOTU a few years back.  Sadly it's suffered a severe case of lacquer peel on the bonnet since then (you can already see it starting here) so now looks a little scruffy.

[vaughant]

Driver "mate all the houses in this street look the same, how can I tell which ones yours?"

"It's got a big blue American car outside"

"Yeah got it" 🤣🤣🤣.

[grizz]

1 hour ago, vaughant said:

Driver "mate all the houses in this street look the same, how can I tell which ones yours?"

"It's got a big blue American car outside"

"Yeah got it" 🤣🤣🤣.

Exactly the conversation that preceded that. 
 

 

Also, if you want to pop in for a brew and biccies. 
Now you know. 

[bezzabsa]

On 16/05/2026 at 12:30, vaughant said:

Driver "mate all the houses in this street look the same, how can I tell which ones yours?"

"It's got a big blue American car outside"

"Yeah got it" 🤣🤣🤣.

forgot about ya yank car

[grizz]

13 hours ago, bezzabsa said:

forgot about ya yank car

No idea what you’re saying? 

[Kringle]

Think he called you a yanka 

[grizz]

After the “high” of the delivery day (Evening) , came the bright light of day the next day. 

I had actually closed shop the moment Michael and I were done with looking at the wheel arch extension in the last post and video. 

So I had my mug of morning tea and breakfast, after which I went down to start the Cube, now known as Spartacus and then reversed it back up to the house for unpacking the parts in the rear and pressure washing the outside and the inside of the load-bed and canopy. 

I had to go to town and did a few other jobs as well before I could get back to Spartacus 

Eventually I got back home and resumed my discovery journey. Unpacking and pressure washing it all. The keen zoomers will notice that I skipped the center part of the canopy or cap roof as the American contingent says because I was tired (time frames moved about a bit) 

Cleaning stuff always allows you to look a bit more closely at what you’re working with. One can see old signwriting residue and it reads with the details of a painting and decoration company in a previous life. 

Mickey came around tutting and was not overly impressed. 

There were shelves fitted in the rear that unfortunately meant that the photos in the ad did not show just how bad the rear shock towers are rotten away. 

On inspection they seem to have been repaired twice before. Plates welded over plates. Fist sized holes rusted right through. I was absolutely gutted at seeing just how bad it is rusted away. 

At this point, Michael my lodger came back from work. So he and I removed the painters shelves, exposing just how badly this is actually rusted away. 

Of course I then removed the hard but broken plastic floor lining as well…… exposing even more chaos and trauma for myself.  

Big parts of the unseen, and under the floor protector floor are rusted completely through and three to four fingers will easily fit through the floor holes. I have not bothered taking more photos of those discoveries. 

At this point I realised Caveat Emptor was a very real thing. I failed on the Buyer Beware warning that surrounds any business deal.  I failed to ask for more information, photos or a video walk around. I failed to research these little oddities more. I failed to drive the 90 miles to go look at the little van that……. [ put in your own caption here ] 

I am not sure if I would have bought it today, 10 days after agreeing to buy it on the 8th of May (my brothers birthday) armed with the knowledge I now have and having inspected it on my drive. But Masochist  

The point is, The seller was a good salesman (I actually complimented him on that) he never withheld any information that I asked for. I don’t think he had seen or inspected the vehicle in the 9 years it lived inside the body shop where they had done some of the easier work on the body to a pretty shitty standard imho. (YES I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY THIS, GO LOOK AT THE RUST REPAIRS ON MY C10 RESTO. IT IS PURE METAL ON ALL BUTTED JOINTS AND REPAIRS) and whoever did the rear turret MOT repairs previously should get a hot lead enema. Criminally badly done. 

Replacement Patch panels are available at £250.00 each. You are welcome to sponsor me for a pair of them. 

So the video and photos will give you an idea as to why this car has been named SPARTACUS 

 

Video link: 

 

 

So I cleaned out the van on 12 May and today is 19 May. 

I am expecting a £72.00 cylinder of Argon/CO2 mix gas delivery today. Also ordered some “Tip Dip” because I am not expecting this job to be quick and easy. 

The scrap man and crusher are still firmly in the front of my mind. Seriously. 

I have actually been quite crestfallen by this whole thing. But giving up is unfortunately not really clearly written in my DNA. 

 

SPARTACUS WILL RISE AGAIN

 

It may just be a matter time. 

I will not decline help here. 

Don't be a dick with dickish suggestions. They don’t help and just make you look like a prick. 

Is that a harsh comment? 

I guess if you have been at the receiving end of these, you would recognise them. 

So in order to muster up some courage and try build some relationship with SPARTACUS I decided to go do some more cleaning over three days. Seriously, I was that disinterested that I only managed a couple of hours at a time. 

 

Photos. 

 

 

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