What sort of things should I be looking out for/main areas to look at?

It's not a Gti, and has the standard 1.7 petrol engine.



Cheers.

 

Rust.

 

back panel where it joins the boot floor for rot
rear chassis legs
front panel
a pillers

They dont tend to rot like a ford of the same era tbh and my old a plate mk1 campain was absolutly solid underneith and needed no welding at all.

 

What Alps Said

Rot in those places

 

Rotten sills about 6 inches from rear arch. Bloody good little car those like. Allways had a soft spot for them. Hope you find a nice one mate.

ps VW Mars red looks fab on the Mk1

 

Rust is the only thing that matters

 

Got an 89 cab and the only rust it had was where poor repairs were previously carried out,it's fucking solid,they embarrass fords rust wise,BUT of course their 27 years old at their youngest the hardtops so the main issue is rust.

Gear linkages can be awful but only a tenner for the full rebuild kit on eBay.engines/boxes literally bullet proof but check it heats up and the fans come in.brakes are shite as standard,fuseboxes can fuck up,wiring in general,but really quite minor stuff for an old car.

Their absolutley top motors,and the modification scene is great on them.engine swap wise they reckon the abf 16v 2.0l is the one to go for,about 160horse,plenty in them as they weigh jack shit.1.8 t is the boy but it's not a cheap conversion.I always loved the vr6 noise but I've been told it makes the car handle bad?

 

petrol filler neck rots, open it up and look inside

were the clutch goes through the bulk head, that can rust, check theres a repair plate

wipers are slow, need regreasing

rust in spare wheel well, at the back by the rear panel, common problem.

ive had loads, always had the same probs