new member... 51 reg 6n2 1.0 E :D

[GeeDub]

Hey all,

joined this forum a couple of weeks ago when i bought my first car... a 51 reg 6n2... it's only the 1.0l and E trim because i'd need to sell both my kidneys and left bollock to insure anything bigger/faster, but it's a polo none the less and i'd rather have this than a micra or corsa...

i've been lurking around not posting very much and just looking at random bits of advice for the last few weeks, as well as gawping at some of the many gorgeous projects dotted around the site...

The car is mostly pretty sound, bought with a years MOT and we got it for cheaps because it has no service history... a quick phonecall to the previous owner on the cars documents revealed that it was owned from new by a doctor who had sold the car to move abroad, and it had been serviced regularly and maintained by the book.
Has the usual chips and the odd scratch, but pretty good condition apart from a small parking incident leaving the front plastic (between the headlight and grill) paintless =/.

i'll try and get some pics up in the next few days for you lot to laugh at, and hopefully *temporarily* sort the scratches and whatnot with a paint pen from halfords or something

so far, the grill has been swapped for a GTi honeycomb, and both badges swapped/painted black... would love to drop it on it's arse over some BBS splits or ATS cups, but again, insurance is costing the earth as it is

i'd like to change a few things as it is that hopefully won't affect the insurance, such as GTi front splitter, swap out the black bump strips, roof rails and door handles for red ones to match the rest of the car, and possibly put some G60 steels on until i can afford to insure anything more expensive, but i've got a few questions if that's OK and i'm sorry if these should be general knowledge

I'd like to swap the bump strips for red ones... the car is "flash red" and 5 doors, and i'd rather not paint them because it's hassle taking them off, adding new sticky stuff and putting them back on, and i don't trust myself with a paint can too much... can i buy these from VW and swap them myself? if it's expensive then i'll paint them but i doubt i'd be able to get anywhere near the finish i'd get if i bought them... has anybody bought these before and if so roughly how much would i be looking at for a whole set?
(same question again for all 4 door handles... can they be bought, and if so, are they expensive?)

Thanks for reading, and for any help in advance...

GeeDub

[gregperkins]

Welcome to the forum mate

Sounds like you have a nice little project! As for the door handles, i would keep your eye out on ebay or a local breaker. Another option is you could also get them sprayed red at a body shop. I have a silver 1.0L 6N2, i got my handles sprayed, and it makes such a difference!

Are you looking at putting fog lights/grills in, GTI spoiler and all that?

Maybe a xenon conversion kit ?

Get some pics up dude!

Greg

[GeeDub]

paha i've got to admit i'm a little shady on the HID area... i understand that for xenons, you need projector headlights in order to keep the beam pattern legal and not blind other drivers? Dad is really worried about insurance so in order to change something, it either has to be subtle and behind his back, or really subtle and with permission for now, as he's the one teaching me to drive and he'll just refuse to get in the car... (he's uptight, i know... i suppose i'd rather be insured if i crash though )

GTi spoiler is a no for now, for the above reasons as well as the fact that i'd have to mount it and i don't trust myself with a drill just yet .

I have been keeping an eye out on ebay for a couple of door handles, but flash red 5 doors seem to be non-existant
how much did getting them sprayed cost you? and while i'm at it, would it be completely insane to get the whole car done? it'd be nice to get rid of all the chips and scratches
pics will follow as soon as i get through this mountain of coursework i have strategically left until the last day of the holidays...

Geedub

[gregperkins]

Well, before I upgraded my headlights, i was running xenons on the standard 6N2 headlights and didn't get flashed once. The beam isn't quite as accurate as projectors, but it was still pretty good. Yeh insurance just ruins the fun out of everything haha.

When i got my spoiler resprayed, i thought i may aswell get my handles done aswell as there will be left over paint. I think in total it cost me over £100. If you were to get the whole car repsrayed, that would cost a bomb, but its totally up to you

Haha im doing my coursework/revision aswell it sucks

[GeeDub]

ahh fair enough... i'll take a look at xenons and projectors, but i'm kinda tempted my the philips bluvision ones because they'd keep dad happy, give better visibility and aparrantly look similar? (xenons will follow as well as lowering and such, but only when insurance renewal comes around so i can switch to a company that doesn't charge the earth!)

i guess i'll carry on keeping an eye out for some red handles on ebay then, and i'll probably have a go at painting my own on the car as well as the bump strips... masking off the surrounding area with tape and newspaper,sanding, primer, paint and lacquer when the weather gets nicer or something?

i'm thinking that, a bonnet bra to hide the chips, some G60 steels and i'll fill the footwells with bricks until i can afford to lower it...

god i hate being poor...

(EDIT: made no sense whatsoever... corrected spellings and grammar xD)

[gregperkins]

Oh okay mate

Its a bit of a gamble painting it yourself as it could go really well, or could turn out a slightly different shade of red, but its totally up to you! Do you not like the red/black theme then? I think it looks pretty cool if im honest.

[GeeDub]

well in all honesty, i like it, but i'd rather it was gloss black than the grainy plastic that it is atm... and your brothers/your GTi looks to nice to avoid

i'll get the flash red paint from halfords or something, and hopefully it shouldn't be too bad... the paint seems to be pretty well looked after despite the chips

[gregperkins]

Fair enough mate Haha

Yeh, give it a go, hope it works out for you Whats the milage on your car? And where abouts are you from?

[alexperkins]

i'll get the flash red paint from halfords or something, and hopefully it shouldn't be too bad...

halfords flash red paint is an absolutely shocking match. If your going to get some paint, make sure its from your local VW dealer

[GeeDub]

ahh god okay then thanks for the heads up alex... will do

and greg, mileage is 94k... i know it's a lot, but it had one previous owner who was a doctor, and as i said he's looked after it and only sold because he was moving abroad...
i'm from Royston, near cambridge

[GeeDub]

Had intended to get some photos after college tonight, but i had to stay and do even more coursework and by the time i got home it was dark .
diddn't stop me fitting the new battery and taking it for a spin though...
how important is the black plastic/foamy cover around the battery? It's sticky, has green stuff on it, pretty much falling apart and smells funny... it's a bit of an eyesore, so i'll probably rip it off if it's of no importance...
won't be able to take pictures until the weekend now, as i don't finish before 6 this week and it's already dark by then... hopefully they'll be up for you to have a peek by saturday evening ...

[GeeDub]

Hey all,

really sorry for the HUGE delay, but it's been raining, dark when i get home or i've been in france, so i kinda forgot to take pictures when i said i would =/.
There is some good news though, in that i passed my theory test with 92% first time, and despite only driving for about half a month i've been told i'm almost ready for my test... :S:S.

Pictures are uploading to imageshack as i type, so will follow shortly.

[GeeDub]

ENJOY :

[5509433]

Looking good mate. Braving the cold to give it a clean! Nice to see some one else on here with money troubles and the same problems! Although Iv'e finished my studies over 2 years ago now!
Got very similar cars, except I have the red bump strips and a 1.4 8v. If they were removable, and i have the cash. you could have them because I want mine smoothed.

Did you take the rear badge off? Getting it smoothed?

If your worried about insurance, GTI Splitter, audio, GTI grill, fogs, G60s. I personally wouldnt bother telling the insurers.
Coilovers, decent alloys and heavy body mods on the other hand, i would lol

What are the next plans for it?

Keep us posted!

[GeeDub]

haha yeah i'm pretty much ticking off that list lol, aero wipers and bonnet bra should be pretty soon... i hope .
the badge was nicked before i bought the car... i've got a black one. but the sticky on the back diddn't stay on, so i'm waiting for a delivery of some heavy duty velcro to keep it on .

On another note, road legal pressed plates from dubmeister... do they accept photocopied documents if they are of reasonable quality? sending my documents through the post isn't that appealing =/. i think i read on a thread somewhere that they did, but i can't seem to find it so if anyone has any idea please let me know... dubmeister haven't replied to my emails =/.