hi guys.
Been to see a series 1 turbo today. Buyin it off my mate, who just told me to go round and have a look at it.
After seeing it I have a lot of worries with regards to the amount of work and money required to get it tip top.
It looks as if it needs
1. welding to floor pan front drivers side.
2. 2x new front wings probably inner and outer.
3. rear panel.
4. new bonnet
5.remedy rust on roof gutters.

Thats just the body, I dont know what its like mechanically as i didnt have the keys today, and mont know until weekend.

Are the partts required still available from ford as i dont want to use pattern parts and are they expensive?

thanks for any advice in advance.

 

inner wings would be my concern, why do they need replacing?

its a lot of work and could cause you more problems as its an old car and it sounds as though its rotten?

i think the inner wings were around the £250 each from ford and im sure no longer available, you might pick them up somewhere though so keep an eye out!!

ask yourself why as well , is it not cheaper to go and spend £4k on a really nice one?

 

where both wings meet seems to have rotten, but are probably fixable, I want to do a proper job if i do restore, but i have to draw the line somewhere i suppose.
I would rather save an RS from the scrapyard in the sky than spend 4k on a mint one, would probably respect it more upon completion. and i can modify to my desired spec. Thats just my opinion though, would be a lot less to buy a decent one though.
cheers

 

if you have a good garage and can weld well, it is probably viable if you have 3 or 4 months+ of spare time to give it.
Front wings can be fiddly to get right for gaps etc, especially if you buy pattern ones.

earlier in the year I stripped my mk3 and repaired the battery tray, fuse box base, and both front footwell to arch pieces, along with the leading end of the inner sills. Also had to remove off side outer wing to repair the front end of the sill and the aerial mounting plate.

It took me 6 weeks of full weekends as I had to fabricate a lot of the repair sections.

Bear in mind that you will always end up cutting out twice as much as looks rusty before you get back to weldable metal, and if the drivers footwell has gone, odds on the fuse box..hence loom, will have to come out to do a decent repair.

Satisfying work if you can do it, and although mine is not completed yet (wing needs professionally spraying), it is good to know I have saved it.
If you can't weld, I'd guess the work you describe would cost approx £1500 labour, less if you have a mate who can do it

HTH
Ant

 

Very expensive restoring cars just go out and get one someones spent the time and money on work out £0000's cheaper in the long run and gives you more money for getting more power!!!!!

Rob

 

Its starting to seem as though there is a lot more work involved than i had first anticipated.

I am in no huge rush to finish the project and my dad is currently welding his transit ready for its mot, and fair play he is doing a cracking job so i will have to get him to give me some lessons as I am working on a budget, and there is no way I can afford to splash out £1500 just on the welding. I have a good garage with a pit, welder, compressor and pretty much everything i will need there.
Are repair plates easily available from Ford or will I have to fabricate everything myself. My uncle is service manager at my local main ford dealership and his brother runs the bodyshop their, so i can get a lot of advice and cheap parts from them.

There is no way I can afford to buy a minter outright so I figured if i buy a project I can do it up at my own pace. The engine was as sweet as a nut last time i drove it about 2 years ago and it has hardly done any mileage since then.
I am just going to have to think now whether it is worth all the work.

Cliche i now but my heart is saying yes but my head is tellin me to stay away.

Thanks for all of your valuable advice anyway

 

I would honestly walk away and spend the cash on a better car to start with mate. Harsh as it sounds you could be pumping a fortune into it just to get it to a nice base to start working from

 

I will go and have another look at it tomorrow night before meeting him this weekend, and see exactly how much work is needed.

 

if you plan to restore this one then fair play mate the RS scene needs more people like you

go for it mate take your time tracking down the correct parts and dont listen to bullshit and you should be alright

 

Cheers mate.
But I am woried I may be biting off more than I can chew, but i am not one to back down from a challenge.
What I am concerned about though is coming back next week saying I have bought it and everyone thinking I am an idiot. I have always wanted one of these cars, I cant afford to buy a minter, so I will just have to take my time and build one myself.
I will have a proper look at it tomorrow and see how it goes from there.

 

right then.
been to have another look at it today. still cant get the keys though until weekend although the bonnet was only on its latch
its not as bad as i had originally thought, I took my trusted screwdriver and started poking.
it needs:
1 wing outer only as it is dented, strut and everything looks ok.
some welding repairs to the floor pan. around drivers seat only(couldnt get my screwdriver to that though). spare wheel well looks clean.
battrey tray
bonnet
rear panel needs some tidying but nothing major.
A-pillars will probably need tidying but other than that it looks ok.
I think I could tackle that to be honest. like i said i am in no rush to get it done so I am willing to talk cash on weekend now.
How much if anything do you think its worth?
Thank you to everyone for your comments so far, positive or negative, it has given me much food for thought.
Wish me luck for weekend.

CheeRS

 

is the car all their and no bits missing and the price is right get it .it might need some work doining on it but think what it will be like when you have done it all s1 turbos are a mint looking car when restored

 

its all their yes. interior is stripped at the moment though, one less job for me to do!

 

i would bye it if the price is right. there doesnt sound to be that much work!