'89 MK1 Merit - Budget Mods

[pyromaniac_yeti]

Okay so here goes...

Got the car about 6 months ago....52k on it, old lady owner, hardly any rot...bit tatty on the outside

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs172.snc1/6453_242265155053_816330053_7926188_728866_n.jpg

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs192.snc1/6453_242265150053_816330053_7926187_8228771_n.jpg

Whacked in a pair of cheapy 6x9's, a sub and amp off ebay....£60 all in for audio gear, good enough. Fitted up a cheapo mushroom filter on the carb for a better induction noise and i hoped a bit more go (diddent realy notice much tbh...) Fitted up a rev counter (again, ebay...went up to 8000, and had a shift light on it)

Then proceeded to drive the car over 6 months as it was...tyres wore out after about 5k miles, so changed all four wheels for some corsa steelies from the scrappy (half inch wider, figured might get a bit more grip and for £40 the lot given they had all but new mitchellens on em i diddent think was too sad)

racked up 10,000 miles in it when i stuffed it coming round a roundabout, back lost traction and i clipped the front on the roundabout. nice one. cracked some welds on the front panel...week later the tax ran out anyway..soddit.

So whilst getting the welding done i thought i'd tart it up a wee bit, get it looking a little more presentable...try and get a bit more go out of it...

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs142.snc3/16934_448453380053_816330053_10889668_6453547_n.jp g

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_448453400053_816330053_10889670_944943_n.jpg

First off i set about getting shot of the "heart rate" sticker going down the side...never liked it, and it was starting to flake off and all sorts...so that came off with a lot of boiling water and a cashcard. figured it diddent matter if i scratched the paint lightly due to the damage to the paint already. I plan to buff it all out with a mop & some t cut...see where that leaves it. If its still bad then it'll get the rattle can treatment. Off came the rubber strips down the bottom edge of the door an all...

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs142.snc3/16934_448453435053_816330053_10889674_5424692_n.jp g

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs142.snc3/16934_448453450053_816330053_10889675_4921673_n.jp g

Next off was the bumpers. they'd gone various shades of grey and looked real crappy, not to mention the grill had snapped off, so needed repairing...rattle canned em in satin black...seems to have come up well. need to put em on the car realy to see where im at.

I figured the best way of getting more go, with such a small engine would be to loose some weight. The sub, amp, 6x9's and all that were junked, along with the spare wheel and the interior from the front seats back. Should have lost enough weight to make a noticeable difference i feel.

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_448453410053_816330053_10889671_2716656_n.jp g

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_448453415053_816330053_10889672_3493297_n.jp g

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_448453430053_816330053_10889673_3958678_n.jp g

Im trying to get ahold of some bits at the moment for it...looking at a fiberglass bonnet which ill fit up with bonnet pins on each corner, a set of alloys, and a nice exhaust at the moment...im working on a VERY tight budget, so course as and when i can do more ill do more.

In the long run i'd like it running the 1.4 16v lump, put in a pair of bucket seats, and get it dropped 60mm, SR bumpers. IDK...take it as it comes realy.

Ill add updates as it happens...

Yeti :thumb:

[Novaboi_1991]

Looking good ian.

keep us updated...

an move the number plate next time eh ;) lol

[MattBrown]

Sounds like a good little project, its not all about 500bhp and a nos!

[pyromaniac_yeti]

much as i'd love 500bhp and nos, im fairly sure the insurance man would have other plans, and the bank balence just says outright no lol

Nah, i mean two litre swaps and all that are still an option at a later date....just wanna keep the car cheap, simple and have some fun realy...for now anyways. 90bhp is plenty enough to be amusing in a car that light anyway, and all the planned mods arent going to whack the insurance up massively, the running costs wont get particularily bad either. which is what im concerned about...

whole thing behind the car is have a bit of fun and a nice motor without breaking the bank realy!

[Simon 1867]

^^ I might have some things for you matey, suttle mods. PM me

[Tony M]

There's not enough project threads like this, im always left wondering how people are able to afford all there expensive parts lol

[pyromaniac_yeti]

hum hum hum...so i figured i'd do something to try and make it stand out a bit untill such times as i could get some nice alloys on it..so set about respraying the old steelies...i'd done one wheel a while ago and it'd looked okay, but diddent like the colour, and it'd got scuffed up in the garden.

old white wheel...

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_450494180053_816330053_10902304_3854802_n.jp g

other wheels...

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_450494195053_816330053_10902306_5055152_n.jp g

masked up, first coat of satin white laid down....

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_450494200053_816330053_10902307_7198370_n.jp g

the finished item! finish isnt perfect by a long stretch...but the wheels themselves were a bit mullered anyway, and as they were scrappy jobbies it was worth a crack. definately more presentable now anyways. (looks better than that in real life...the camera glare's showed up all the tiny bits of rough edging and all sorts...ill take more when theyre on the car

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs122.snc3/16934_450494185053_816330053_10902305_7227302_n.jp g

[wwmnw]

I like this, and its kind of like my car, I'm on a tight budget, although I'm building a decent spec 1.6 16v and may go mad when I get some dosh.

[octagonalpaul]

its all about the budget mods :P

[Steve]

Nice to see you got a page on it, saw it a few weeks back, looks pretty rust free. :thumb:

[LEWI007]

This might look weird blue early front bumper and grille on the blue car.

will be interesting to see it fitted together.

[pyromaniac_yeti]

Blue bumper/grill? they're sprayed satin black :S

went and picked up the fiberglass bonnet today...needs a respray, but all in none too bad nick for a tenner! gotta get some bonnet pins to fit it with now which'll happen tues or weds i would have thought, provided they're not too pricey at 4u2fit/halfrauds. otherwise ill have to ebay em...

negotiating for a "sports" exhaust at the moment also...get a bit of a nicer sound out of it. see how that goes

ill get more piccies uploaded as and when i've got more work done on the car.

[LEWI007]

Looked like a dark metalic blue in the photo.

fibreglass bonnet for a tenner ? !! you lucky git.

[daverobson]

this looks like it will be a nice read =)

[loggyboy]

What is the budget so far?

[pyromaniac_yeti]

what've i spent so far?

car £425
corsa steelies £40
satin black rattle can £3.30
satin white rattle can £3.30
rev counter £30
air filter £7
CD player £30 (a very long time ago...been in all my cars now)
fiberglass bonnet £10

Total so far: £548.60

[kc_08]

what college do you do mechanics at mate?
looks good keep up the work

[Tony M]

keep the up the good work mate

[pyromaniac_yeti]

Oakwood (mid kent), its in maidstone. :thumb:

Havent got any news on the car unfourtunately...havent had a chance to do much, been a bit busy...almost done grinding the lip off the fibre bonnet so it'll fit propperly now, but thats about it.

Still...money tomorrow, meaning bonnet pins...once the bonnets on then ill start refitting up the rest of the car.

gotta find a bit of perspex aswell to do the sunroof as the mechanism broke the other day, so i've removed the headlining, and plan to remove the whole sunroof unit and put the perspex in the hole....it looks quite heavy, so it should make a fair difference shedding weight high up. Just have to see how it goes realy.

I'll get some pics up when stuff starts happening...

[Novaboi_1991]

why not just take the sunroof out and get a thin sheet of metal and get it welded in place? would be lighter than a sheet of purspex...

[pyromaniac_yeti]

a lot of time's passed, i buggered up the car with the silly fiberglass bonnet, crashed it into a lamppost, flatted it out and she's now been sold on to a fellow forum member & good mate of mine teddythom :cry:

good luck with it matey :thumb:

[TeddyThom]

a lot of time's passed, i buggered up the car with the silly fiberglass bonnet, crashed it into a lamppost, flatted it out and she's now been sold on to a fellow forum member & good mate of mine teddythom :cry:

good luck with it matey :thumb:
Yeah I've got the car. :thumb:

Building a project portfolio at the moment, I've also got a bit more moeny to spend than Pyro has lol but yeah, picking up some new tyres for a set of 15"s I got, and I've put the original bonnet back on but with a twist, I'll sort out some pictures for my thread just as soon as I find an sd card reader lol