My VRS tidy up project

[Bazmcc]

Well I managed to get my hands on a fairly cheap Fabia VRS. I'll be honest, it's no minter and needs a lots of little fixes and bits tidied up on it but I don't think it should take too long to sort out and at the very least, get it roadworthy.

So Here's a couple of pics of it from a couple of years ago.

And now onto the list of bits which are a little worse for wear.

Needs a number plate light bulb

Tear in drivers side front door seal.

Rear inner door panels are letting water in

Needs a couple of clips for rear door cards.

Passengers side seat rails were jammed with a pen lodged in them. Now I have a bolt stuck and just needs removed with a magnet and the rails slid out. Seat is out already.

Dent in drivers door, no paint damage

Dent in drivers side sill (will need pulled straight and repainted)

Front right wing bracket needs to be straightened and refitted

Needs new drivers side headlight

Appears to have a spring or something missing on the boot latch

CV Boot on drivers side needs a strap/clip (What size are the CV joints?)

Needs new floor mats

Front Control arm bushings might need done soon (are these a common problem in the Fabia VRS?)

Clunk from front end which I suspect is arb bushings or top mount bearings

Needs 2 new tyres on the rear.

I'm not convinced the Gearbox mount is any good. There seems to be a lot of movement in it.

EGR valve and Intake manifold needs cleaned out so it doesn't drip oil on the turbo.

Plastic cover missing from boot latch

So here's a few pics.

Anyone know what might be missing in here?

Any help along the way is greatly appreciated.

It would be good to get the car back to it's former self again.

Edited 20 April, 2011 by Bazmcc

[ianpvrs]

as i know from mine there's a plastic cover that clips in there...never take much notice tbh lol thats a nasty dent on the sill there :( health to enjoy her anyway great we cars

sorry just read the post properly not sure whats missing in there sorry lol

Edited 20 April, 2011 by ianpvrs

[Bazmcc]

The dent is a minor worry, looks worse than it is. The previous owner rubbed it on a bit of broken pillar on the ground. But it's not a massive problem. I'll probably fix it last as it's only cosmetic.

I'll need to have a look and see if I can get the plastic cover for that too. I don't think it should be too expensive.

[wilsy7]

i seen this for sale, have you just recently bought it? its a cat c isnt it?

[Bazmcc]

Yip, that's the one, it was a cat from a few years ago though. It's been repaired and driven for a long time since. It was at a good price.

You can see from one of the pics where the drivers side headlight is a little tight between the grill and headlight. This is where the repair work was done but just not adjusted quite right. Hopefully it will be easy enough to put right.

[Bazmcc]

Just ordered a set of legal pressed metal plates from Neil at Rockvale Graphics.

[Bazmcc]

New mats ordered

Rear door card clips ordered

Plastic flap for rear latch ordered

Also sourced a headlight, door seal, and inner arch liner for the drivers side.

[Scott Howie]

i was expecting alot worse, maybe accident damage, good luck!!

[Bazmcc]

No the car had been repaired some time back so hopefully I can make a few tweaks here and there without having to do the whole thing again.

Luck I can deal with, it's the jammed seat rail I'm finding hard work at the minute.

[Jimi182]

Best of luck with it. Good to see another NI vRS driver on here

J

[Bazmcc]

Cheers

Passengers side seat and rails sorted out tonight.

I also done the rear door panel seal fix. Drivers side was leaking and passengers side was fine but I done both anyway. As soon as the clips arrive for the door cards I'll put them back on.

I'll also get the soundproofing stripped out with the carpets at the start of next week to get it all dried out.

[Bazmcc]

Back to work tonight.

Carpets and soundproofing to be sorted out later.

[Vrs-Dick]

How much did you pay for it ?

[Bazmcc]

lol

That would be telling.

It was advertised at £1500.

[Vrs-Dick]

I'm assuming you got it for a bargain. Is it up on eBay ?

[Bazmcc]

No it was a private seller. I knew the previous 2 owners.

[Guest BigJase88]

Tbh you cant grumble even at 1500 quid

[xxjodifxx]

Just wondered how much u paid for ur legal pressed plates?

[Bazmcc]

The pressed plates are £35. The dubmeister dealer over here is a sound chap and also in another car club i'm in over here.

So, back to work last night.

First thing is to change the back wheels so I can get new tyres on the spiders. They were still legal but only just and they were 2 different tyres so I thought it would be best to get new ones. My old spare corrado wheels come in handy.

Then I jacked the car up at the front and found a couple of new issues.

ARB bushes were knackered

Drivers side outer CV needed a clamp on it.

So I put the clamp on with the shaft and wheel etc still on the car. Not sure if it'll hold. I think i'll need to remove everything and clean it up and put it on properly.

Then I took the gearbox mount out to have a look and see what condition it was in. It looks ok but feels like cheap soft crap so I need a new solution for that. Not sure whether to go poly or oem yet.

Found this pipe under the passengers side headlight. What is it?

Then Found that the air intake channel was broken. And the lower half of the airbox wasn't bolted down and seems to have a couple of broken clips.

Then it was time to tackle the soggy floor problem.

Seats out, center console out, and carpets out completely. The soundproofing is currenty hanging up drip drying.

[Bazmcc]

So here's the inside of the fabia now. (well before I lifted out the front soundproofing in the first pics)

Edited 27 April, 2011 by Bazmcc

[Bazmcc]

Oh, and I got the rear lock working perfect now. All it needed was a good clean up and a bit of wd40 and after a few wiggles the gunk loosened up and the latch is working fine.

[st3f4n]

Real Bargain at sub £1500, think I might take all my interior out one day this week being off work, give it a real good clean. Good luck with the project!!

[Bazmcc]

Got the new mats, and new clips for the rear door cards for the fabia yesterday and fitted them last night.

The difference between the old door card clips (left) and the new stronger ones (right).

New floor mats

And then I went to check the pollen filter to see if I needed a new one...... what pollen filter !!!!!!! It's supposed to be in that frame.

I also fitted new anti-roll bar bushes. Much easier to fit than a MK4 golf ARB bushes. And no need to even drop the subframe or anything.

[Scott Howie]

how much were the mats? you got partnumbers?

[Bazmcc]

I'll need to get them when I get home mate but I didn't need them to order. I just asked the dealer for a full set of 04 Fabia VRS mats and he had them ordered within a few seconds.

I think in total they were about £65 or thereabouts. Not much to pay really when it totally freshens up the interior.

Carpet and seats are getting wet-vacced tomorrow too.