2 | 3 |4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Hi all. Thought that someone ought to make a start on this page so here is my account of a restoration so far...... Where does one start when cataloguing the events of a vehicle restoration?

I suppose that mine will start with my old MK4 being declared deceased by the insurance company after a small barbecue was had on my way home from ASDA on 18th December 2008. I was now not the happiest person to be around having spent 18 months restoring REV 248 K and having to watch it become a charred mass in front of my eyes.
I had managed though to purchase another MK4 that had been advertised on the MK4 owner’s club website: RBT 825 G about a month previously.

RBT 825 G was in Yorkshire and after a very long day fetching it back to Dagenham it was quite apparent that I had purchased a whole heap of problems. Basically the front of the car up to and including the “A” pillars needed to be replaced. After hunting round for various parts inner wings front valance front panel etc etc, I received a telephone call from our spares co-ordinator Jeff Wills.

Jeff had known of my situation for some time and had just taken possession of a very well looked after MK4 body shell. It was exactly that a body shell. 4 doors 4 wheels bonnet boot and steering wheel! I spoke with Jeff about the MK4 shell and decided that even without seeing it I would buy it as it was to be much less work and less time consuming than RBT 825 G.

To make way for the body shell I had to give RBT the chop – quite literally into 3. This was then weighed in. RIP

With the body shell back in Dagenham we started to get to work on the few bits of welding that were required. The O/S sill, O/S/R quarter & wheel arch. The two front strut tops, the usual bits round the headlight fitments. Small patch on the driver side floor pan and the whole section where the boot rubber fits needed to be cut out and replaced. Luckily I still had the salvage rights to REV 247 K and we chopped the one from it. The front wings were also salvaged as was the remains of the engine & gearbox.

Not long after finishing all the welding I lost my garage. The council decided to sell the land for redevelopment!!! My body shell now sits in a friend’s front garden in Scunthorpe of all places, while I’m still down here in Dagenham.

While the body shell has been away though, I have had time to strip and rebuild the engine from REV. The fire brigade did a nice job of flooding the engine and getting it seized up for me! Once this was overcome the usual weak parts were all replaced. Fibre timing gear changed for a new steel one. I fitted a new spigot bearing as it had not had one being an automatic and I want this one to be manual. The inlet manifold was machined and gas flowed, all new gaskets top bottom front rear etc etc were replaced and a new air intake was purchased. I have had to make an adaptor plate to get it to fit the carburettor. My distributor was sent away for reconditioning and converting over to electronic. Some nice new alloy rocker covers were purchased and fitted as were the bolts for them.

The gearbox from RBT had been kept and was given a strip clean and a coat of paint to match the engine. So the engine & gearbox are now ready and no car to put it in. While all the various bits have been going on I have hunted around for other new parts to go in my MK4 before it gets put back on the road. I have a universal central locking system to fit, a nice stereo system with custom made parcel shelf for my speakers and an amp, with a 12 disc CD changer.

The addition of some NEW headlamps to replace the sealed beam units have been acquired. These have the “angel eye” effect of the BMW’s that are seen driving around. Should add a nice touch I think. I am now stuck as plenty of parts and no vehicle. Doh! Anyway I am hoping to move house soon and will then have a driveway where I will be able to put my MK4 shell and the work should then progress steadily.

* UPDATE 09 May 2010 *

Ok so I've had a bit of bother getting the bodyshell collected and brought over to South Yorkshire, but now its here I can commence working on it. First thing to do is get it high enough for me to work underneath safely. Then to strip the front end of all remaining parts. Cross member, steering rack, steering box, front suspension legs, servo etc all had to be removed! Now that the front is all bare I can see just what needs doing, plus I can now clean & paint the engine bay! Mind you before cleaning and painting I had a go fitting the engine to check where I need to cut the hole in the bonnet ready for the air intake. In the process of trying to fit the engine I had a mishap and the bodyshel fell off the axel stands and ramps.

Please click forward to proceed to the next page....

Please click here to see pictures of my first Zodiac....

Forward