I said sensible, and I'd expect more from a property tycoon. :p

£9? Strapped for cash as it's all invested!

My question is now; Can you make this beast legal?

My question is now; Can you make this beast legal?

Yes.

I've already looked into that.

It's essentially just upgrading to 4x4, then a bit later changing the engine and gearbox.

That's why I am doing it the way I am, not chopping things up and sticking them together.

The whole point is to make it road legal so I can use it when I feel like it, not just trailer it to Santa Pod.

Sounds like an interesting project,look forward to seeing how it pans out

whos doing all the fab work

whos doing all the fab work

I am not 100% decided at this stage.

Once I'm ready to go I'll get a few quotes from people I've used and trust to do a good job.

Jabbasport

Don't forget to make that road legal you will need to get an iva test done too, and that's £450...

Don't forget to make that road legal you will need to get an iva test done too, and that's £450...

I've had 19 of my fleet conversions done in the last month in the same VOSA station.

So I'm fairly up on the rules and the tester is happy to advise. Very handy.

It'll get a little more tricky when the local VOSA stations are closed later in the year (probably), but nothing that'll stop me.

Yes.

I've already looked into that.

It's essentially just upgrading to 4x4, then a bit later changing the engine and gearbox.

That's why I am doing it the way I am, not chopping things up and sticking them together.

The whole point is to make it road legal so I can use it when I feel like it, not just trailer it to Santa Pod.

Now I'm not familiar with UK regulations, but here in Sweden we have something called an "amatörbyggt fordon" (Amateur built vehicle). Bottom line, its either some sort of kit-car or a mass-produced vehicle that has been modified to a level that it is technically no longer the same car. I'm guessing you have something similar, yes? Cause I'm having a hard time believing that you can just drive this beast to an MOT station and they'll pass it. Over here, you're not even allowed to replace the engine unless the car in question was originally sold with that particular engine. And even then, only a 10% power increase is allowed. Now, I know you guys have some pretty lax regulations concerning this, but IMHO, this is far fetched.

Now I'm not familiar with UK regulations, but here in Sweden we have something called an "amatörbyggt fordon" (Amateur built vehicle). Bottom line, its either some sort of kit-car or a mass-produced vehicle that has been modified to a level that it is technically no longer the same car. I'm guessing you have something similar, yes? Cause I'm having a hard time believing that you can just drive this beast to an MOT station and they'll pass it. Over here, you're not even allowed to replace the engine unless the car in question was originally sold with that particular engine. And even then, only a 10% power increase is allowed. Now, I know you guys have some pretty lax regulations concerning this, but IMHO, this is far fetched.

yes as mentioned above, it's called an iva test in the uk, but there are certain exemptions and exceptions, it's a bit of a minefield tbh and there are also lots of grey areas and loopholes too if you know the regs.. the thing that boss fox mentions surprises me about fleet vehicles, you could possibly get those tested as a low mass type approval in his case to save the company money but again it's a grey area there too

For licensing reasons and the fact that they are not the same it's easier to do the company ones individually, but often we can just do the voluntary IVA which is cheaper.

But in response to Dakks, we can do a lot more to vehicles than many other countries.

My other Fabia makes nearly double it's original horsepower and that's fine. No test needed.

This is gonna be great. I'd like the idea of having the wide bodykit, but lose the WRC spoiler. That way it will look more beefy to Skoda owners but not be a chav magnet

But in response to Dakks, we can do a lot more to vehicles than many other countries.

My other Fabia makes nearly double it's original horsepower and that's fine. No test needed.

I have this illness, haven't you noticed? OCET, Obsessive compulsive engine tuning. You just killed my last reason not to modify my S2. Well, more precisely, you killed it, chopped it up, ground it down and fed it to the dogs...

Damn it, mate. This is not helping to keep the peace at home, you know. I'm getting enough grief now that I decided to keep the bloody thing. Women... Owns three cars, and four motorbikes, and complains about my three cars...

You've got me thinking about an Octavia equivalent to this now

Octy touring car I reckon Harry, or DTM spec....

I was just wondering on the possibilities of converting a FWD vRS to 4x4 using a scout rear differential and saddle tank etc. It's been done in Greece...

I was just wondering on the possibilities of converting a FWD vRS to 4x4 using a scout rear differential and saddle tank etc. It's been done in Greece...

It's can't be that difficult as they already make a stock 4x4 Octy...

It's possibly easier to do than a Fabia.

Technically they also made a 4x4 Leon, but you can't fit 4WD to the 2WD model as the floorpans are different at the back. Could well turn out to be the same with the Octavia and not be as simple as simply "dropping in" the Haldex system.

Would be easier to buy a 4x4 Octavia and do the engine swap. Or buy an Evo and have done lol

Would be easier to buy a 4x4 Octavia and do the engine swap. Or buy an Evo and have done lol

Yes on the 4x4 with your VRS bits in it.

But as for the other idea... it wouldn't be a Skoda then. I like to surprise people. Everyone knows an EVO is fast.

Been a couple of days and I've been doing a lot of number crunching... big decision to make.

My intention has always been to leave my VRS SE alone as it's (possibly) the last registered mkI Fabia in the UK.

It's well set up and a real fun car.

But...

When the 4x4 Fabia is built am I realy going to keep it?

Chances are no, as it does around 3000 miles a year and is just a toy really.

Selling it will probably only raise about £10k despite what has been spent on it. Part and parcel of modifying cars.

This is where the big decision comes in. Because the SE is well prepared it has a lot of things on it that will have to be done again to the 4x4 Fabia. In total, the cost of the parts and labour is going to be around the money the VRS SE will sell for. As the 07 Classsic base car is around £3k I'm actually going to be worse off converting that. Factor in what I could sell off the SE (like the Jabbasport 260(ish)bhp engine) and I'm way in front using the SE as the base car.

As much as I'd love to keep the SE as it is and not start chopping it about, it's financially a daft idea and will just mean passing it on to someone else in the future. :(

You could call it a clash of financial sense and sentiment.

how about you buy my track car once i finish ;-) it will have plenty of bhp lol you can come see it being built and see the blood sweat and tears going into it lol strip the wiing loom out today to remove all the bits that are not needed and cable tuck for looks and also make the engine loom be on one harness so it will in future come out with engine by undoing one connection ;-) and i dont even want what you have paid for those 2 cars and this is all brand new ;-)

is just a toy really

I can see that being an important factor.

If the SE were your daily, then I'd say keep it separate.

Low MPG but good performance. Sounds like its still a 'sensible' car.

I guess you need to ask yourself what you really want to achieve from the 4x4 fabia

or to put it from another angle, what isn't the GTR doing for you ?

I'm so glad you came to your senses over this.. Spending that sort of money on a project is ludicrous unless you are minted or can do it all yourself for free.