Thought I'd start a thread and share my progress on getting the old Mk2 looking the part. 

 

Bought this car for £6000 in Nottingham at the end of last summer to replace my dying Mk1 Octavia TDi SLX. Wasn't crazy about the colour, but at 48000 miles, it was the best VRS oil burner I could find. I had a budget of £8000, so I took it to my trusted diesel mechanic (Eddie at Hampshire Diesel Services) and had them throw on a new flywheel, clutch, cam belt, water pump, front discs and pads. All VAG, no garbage. 

 

I like the pre-facelift MK2, but there are a few let-downs I plan to address in the coming months, starting with.....

 

1. The grill. I've never been a big fan of chrome, and I think the pre-facelift grill on the Mk2 Octy is a very good example of why. It gives the car that "Oldsmobile" look. I also think the Skoda logo is pants. The new one is a little better, but not much. So far I've only found one place (in Germany) that does a badgeless replacement, but it's way too expensive in my opinion and it cuts off the existing lines on the bonnet too abruptly. Thus I've elected to do the job myself using the stock grill. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Used fill primer for the first coat, and going to put a coat or two of white on before the yellow. I was wondering if anyone out there could recommend the best place to get the paint. I'll need it in a can as I don't have the kit or a compressor. I know you can get VAG "repair" kit with paint and lacquer, but is there a better way to go?

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by jronnquist

So the grill is done and now I can't decide if I like it or not. One thing I have learned is that Halfords's paint mixing service, while convenient, is to be avoided in future. They mix the colour and compress it into a pressurised aerosol can with the thinner already in it. The colour is fine, but the nozzle on the can you get is crap. Not a fine mist, but a thick spray, more akin to a shower head. 

 

Anyway, here are the pics:

 

 

 

 

Also been looking out for a front end splitter and found this one:http://goo.gl/GPAmTh Seems reasonable. 

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by jronnquist
Changed picture links so they appear in the post

Respect for doing it, but personally I'm not keen on the way it has turned out. I think it looks like a big-nose F1 car.

 

Haha....I agree. I'm not happy with it. Bought a replacement grill on eBay yesterday and going to start again. I think the colour-coding worked out well, so I'm going to paint the new one, but there will be no filling in the badge this time. I'm going for the new style badge on both front and back, but sprayed matt black. And will soon be doing the same to the wheels. Also ordered a set of 20mm Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs. Watch this space. :-)

 

Opinions?

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by jronnquist
Changed picture links so they appear in the post

 

Opinions?

 

Looks a bit like a refrigerator magnet 

 

Personally i prefer the look with the stock emblem painted black, or maybe the background painted yellow and the rest black, like some do on the MK3's

Edited 16 August, 20169 yr by Oxboll

Edited 20 August, 20169 yr by jronnquist

Yes, sadly the de-badged grill experiment has ended in failure. Never mind. I've now ordered a new grill. This time I'll colour-code and add a badge like the one pictured above, which I just lacquered and will stick on the back once it's dry. 

 

In other news: 20mm Eibach springs arriving on Monday. If I like the ride/look, I'll consider doing the job properly with a full Bilstein B12 set-up. £612.00 delivered sound like a good price?

 

As for spacers, still in two minds. 20mm at the back and 12mm at the front seems like the best way to go, but I think I'll wait until the springs are on to see if this is going to work.

 

Oh, ABT centre caps and steering wheel badge are now on.  

 

Edited 20 August, 20169 yr by jronnquist

And now that I've finally figured out how to host images from Pinterest. 

 

Total nightmare!!!! 

 

The front shocks I ordered (using the reg number) are too small. 50mm instead of 55mm. Had to drill out four of the six bolts on the old mounting brackets as the nuts began turning on the first attempt and no set of vice grips on Earth can hold them still inside the wheel arch. "New" grill arrived from Poland and it's an aftermarket product that looks (and feels) like it was made in a Chinese toy factory. So that went straight in the bin. So taxis to work until Thursday!!!

Replacement shocks have finally arrived and are on. There's no denying that new shocks all around and the Eibach springs have made an unmistakable difference to handling. Also found a shop in Austria that do a variety of badge-less grills for both the Mk1 and 2 Octavia. The one I ordered arrived today, but I'm in two minds about it. Will post picks later in the day. 

So here it is. As you can see, this one has two small banks of LED lights set into the mesh. The company do one without the lights, but this one came from Amazon, and I didn't actually find their website and the other options until after it arrived. The surround and mesh are a single mould, so the entire thing will have to be colour-coded, which I'm not too sure about. As for the lights, it's hard to say if they're going to look tacky or not. To be fair, they are good quality LEDs with glass lenses, and the grill comes with wiring and a junction box. 

Some pics: 

Spent the afternoon polishing the old girl. 

Just bought a spoiler for the front bumper and some eyebrows for the headlights from Superskoda. Rip off prices. Better be worth it. 

i think you have made an error with the grill.

id start again and just get it colour coded and stick with oem mesh and badge.

Front spoiler painted and installed! The eyebrows were a really bad fit, so not going on. Spacers arrive tomorrow. 15mm on front and 20mm on back. Pics to follow. 

Spacers arrived and are on their way back! 

 

I thought these seemed decent, but they're garbage. The moment I set them on the hubs I could feel a bit of play. Also, the bolts that came with it were very poorly machined. Out of 5, 3 began to thread instantly. So I've now ordered these:

 

From Germany, not Italy, so I'm hoping for better results. They cost a bit more, of course, but not a lot. 

I've had h&r and ebaich spacers with no problems. What ones did you go for?

20mm on the rear and 15mm on the front. I had the crap 15mm on for a quick test drive and the spacing works well with the 20mm Eibach Pro springs already on the car. Will post some pics when I get it all on. 

Spacers arrived this morning. 

 

The difference to the garbage I bought the first time is night-and-day. I had to brush the hub and wheel down to the bare metal just to get them to fit. 

 

 

Before

After

 

Went for a test drive and no sign of vibration at all. If I had to do it again, I'd probably put 25mm spacers on the back instead of 20mm, but I think this does the job. 

I think I finally get Micheal Jackson's addiction to plastic surgery. I'm beginning to feel the same way about my car. 

 

Although I plan to ultimately go nuts and transplant the engine and drive train entirely, for now I'm considering. 

 

1. Paint the spoiler black?

2. Strip and polish wheels to a chrome finish. I'm already in the process of buying a single 18" spare Zenith to begin the work.

3. Darkside Developments GTB Turbo Kit with 2260VK charger for 310 BHP (£2000.00) + necessary clutch upgrade. 

4. Forge 356mm big break kit. 

Edited 18 October, 20169 yr by jronnquist

Another picture.