RMDavis

The seats and carpet are in! Just got home from work (easiest place to carry out this job) It has been an absolute joy removing the very tired and worn grey carpet and replacing with a black variant from a mk4 golf. Along with a set of Recaro heated leather front seats, rear bench, and a leather armrest also from a mk4. A fairly straightforward job made easier by using the many guides and information found on this forum! It's improved the look of the cabin massively and the seats are much more supportive than the original seats. Next on the list is to wire up the heated elements and get them working via the original switch I fitted where the blank used to be. From what I've read I need to get a loom from Kufatec, and a relay and then link it all up!

Got my freshly refurbished 17" spiders back, and had them fitted with some 225/45/17 Michelin PS4's. I'm really pleased with how they've turned out! Looks much more purposeful in my opinion, just needs a slight drop in ride height and maybe some spacers to get the stance perfect!

Thanks Dean! I'm pretty chuffed with them, and I thought £430 was a decent price for the pair including the rear bench and an armrest. The armrest of course requires the obligatory catch replacment! 😂 I was also looking at Audi S4 seats but they are a fair amount more, and now looking at them these mk4 Golf Recaros IMO suit the Octavia better.

Thank you, but I've had no formal training although I did work in a garage and used to be an MOT tester, I've always just liked tinkering with cars. But I know my limits! I won't try and pretend I know everything in which case I seek professional advice! That being said from what I've experienced so far working on my MK1 is that it's very simple to work on I would imagine it being a great vehicle to practice on and get used to working on cars.👍🏻 I used to have a heavily modified version 3 impreza sti type ra and I miss it dearly, although it was always breaking down and I ended up selling it with a blown engine as I didn't have the heart to continue with it. Taking about seats I did a thing today... A set of mk4 golf leather recaros from a 5 door car with heated elements. The plan is to get them fitted along with a black carpet (which i have also bought) and get them wired up and working from an OE heater control on the centre console! Very excited and very happy with the seats they are very comfortable and supportive! They seem to be in excellent condition apart from dust and a few marks, but hopefully they will clean up well. 😊

So at the weekend I took the time to get under the old girl and give here a minor service and refresh! * replaced front discs and pads along with fitting kit * oil change and filter * carbon cabin filter * replaced spark plugs * fitted an oil catch tank * Fitted a ram air induction kit Didn't get chance to replace the fuel filter as I ran out of time due to snapping the dip stick guide tube which had the rigidity of soft cheese! 😂 had to get a mate to go pick me up a replacement as it had snapped right at the bottom... Upon removing the horrid Bosch Super 4 spark plugs that had been fitted with NGK items I found they were all heavily contaminated with oil which I can only assume is due to the rocker cover gasket so that's next on my to do list. When I took the engine cover off I found the Y piece rubber hose for the pcv system had completely worn through and was doing absolutely nothing! So I'm glad I picked up an oil catch tank kit to rectify that issue. I may look at removing all the unnecessary pcv pipework and the sai system later down the line but information online is hard to find in exactly what you need to remove etc what with all the different variants of the 1.8t engine. Also earlier in the week I picked up some 17" spiders which are currently being refurbished and will be finished in a light anthracite, I can't wait to get them fitted along with a set of Michelin PS4 225/45/17's New Centre caps for them, followed by genuine bonnet and boot badges. A secondhand and undamaged o/s/f indicator lens replaced my cracked one and a unmarked glove box picked up for a tenner! Won a secondhand travall dog guard specific for the mk1 estate on ebay for when dog duties are required! Sorry for the long list and I'm starting to thing this may need to be moved to the projects thread? I have only owned this car for a week and I'm absolutely loving it! I'm now finding myself looking at mk4 golf leather recaro interior (is it really just a straight swap?) And I would like to improve the handling if possible I've been pondering over the KW V1 coilovers and also the Whiteline ARB seems to get glowing reports is there anything else I should consider? Cheers, Rob.

Thank you for the heads up Dean, I will as you suggested try them out and see how I get on. I'll keep hold of the 16's though and stick them back on if it doesn't feel right. 👍🏻

That's quite a big jump, I would of thought the next step would of been a 215/45/17 I assume as plenty of people run the 225 there's no issues with scrubbing etc?

Managed to find a set of 17" spiders local to me, which I'm collecting tomorrow! Depending what condition they are in I will fit them straight on, failing that I will get them powder coated the correct silver. What's the reccomend tyre size for the 17" wheel? Thank you for the warm welcome! I do intend to keep this thread updated with what I get upto regarding the 'hearse' as my wife has nicknamed it... 😳 As for the belts I was quite keen to make sure that had been replaced. Fortunately the belts, water pump etc were all replaced about 15k (2 years ago) So hopefully that one particular service item won't cause me any issues!

Cheers bud, I knew the old girl would need some work but that's fine I enjoy tinkering with cars. My only concern is that I have a bought a daily that I will end up fettling more than the eventual track toy! 😂 I have already found a few bits I need on ebay, so will check over the car again tomorrow and put together a list before I start buying!

Hi everyone, Here's my first post for my first Skoda! I bought this today to be used as my daily/practical vehicle whilst I'm also on the hunt for something for the occasional track day. I was looking at all kinds of estates to fill this role, but none interested me with the budget I had, and I then came across this black mk1. I've always been a fan of the mk1 vrs my uncle owning a yellow saloon many years ago (probably brand new at the time) and I loved it! This one is a little older now and currently sitting at 114k with plenty of history and invoices, after a test drive and a thorough looking over it's mine! It's not mint, to be expected of the age of course but I have set aside some cash to work through some of its issues and improve things where possible. * Missing rear centre head rest * Slight damage to rear bumper * Slight rust under o/s/r door window rubber * Slight rust to o/s/f wheel arch * New Skoda badges front/rear and also alloys * Cracked in o/s/f indicator lens * Crack in o/s/r brake lamp * Centre console lower ash tray mechanism faulty * Glove box lid is marked and scratched * Cup holder by hand brake permanently open and won't close * Needs new floor mats urgently, to try and keep the grey carpet clean... * Due an interim service * Needs new wipers front and rear * Needs a set of decent halogen bulbs (nightbreakers) * Vibration through steering wheel under hard braking (discs and pads) * 16" wheels fitted thinking the 17" wheels would look better? * In urgent need of machine polishing and proper detailing session * Finally will look into some basic modifications to eek out a little more performance, sound and handling Any help or advice would be most appreciated, Cheers Rob.