MK1 Octavia Estate TDI - Something different

[jzhort]

Not sure where to start with this but on the 13th November I managed to pick up this beauty in need of a lot of TLC. £500 full service history, 12 months MOT and 158k on the clock. I couldn't be happier!

[jzhort]

As you do, first thing I did when I got home was take a photo as the original one was from the listing, excuse the dark and dents which are getting sorted out shortly! 

[jzhort]

Plan was to originally keep these car fairly standard as it's a daily driver and will (is) being used to travel around 100 miles a day Monday-Friday. I say that every time I buy a car but it never happens. First things first I had to change out the broken headunit for something that actually worked along with Bluetooth for those long journeys.

[jzhort]

Very same day (day after picking her up) I decided to tint my rear lights as well as take off the dealership stickers ready for tints in the future, before and after

 

 

[jzhort]

One thing that bugs me was the rear interior boot lights. I used to have to rummage around with my phone light in one hand the other trying to get my kit out. Not anymore I've replaced them for ultra bright LEDs. Hard to get the difference in picture but it really is night and day (no pun intended)

[jzhort]

I noticed that my one of number plate lights had blown and had a spare so swapped it out like for like before deciding to take the jump to putting LEDs in as well as one bulb was lighter than the other as you can see

 

 

[jzhort]

The rear boot interior lights were brighter than the front which didn't make sense so I got matching LEDs for the front interior as it was starting to bug me, I've also done the door/puddle lights as well but haven't taken photos of them

[jzhort]

Always liked the yellow headlights that were ran by countries over in Europe so fancied the idea of yellow LED headlights, boy are they bright! Slowly getting through all the bulbs only things that aren't LED are rears lights and indicators.

[jzhort]

The front bumper looked like it had been run through hell and back so decided to take a trip to Wales and pick up a vrs one. Was an interesting experience as when we got there it fit in the boot perfectly but my rear passengers weren't too happy about having a bumper wedged between them (they was warned before we set off).

Me and my pal ended up changing the bumper over in a dominos car park before putting the old one into there big bin, which we of course asked to do. Finally she's starting to take shape and look different.

[jzhort]

That evening when we got back we decided to wrap my headlights in yellow tint as the clear borders when on looked daft and wrap my indicators in orange film as I couldn't find any orange film, I also fitted one new indicator unit as they was odd (OCD moment) 

[jzhort]

The following night I put on a "it's okay ❤️" sticker along the bottom of my windscreen, sprayed my grille black along with added the black and chrome style badges for a cleaner look then decided to stand on my bonnet for a picture 😂 

The it's okay sticker is all about supporting mental health

[jzhort]

At this point about 2 weeks into ownership I was really happy with how things were coming along until this...

I was driving along then all of a sudden my turbo felt like it had died and struggled to get above 60-70 and the car was extra sluggish. After turned the car off and looking under the bonnet everything seemed okay so started the car back up and just took it easy. The EML stayed on but car felt as good as before... Bit of research and think that it's the common problem these have with the vains sticking. Eventually will be upgrading to a pd150 hybrid turbo so will try and keep it going until then.

[jzhort]

Not a great photo by any stretch of the imagination but I put some stickers down the back window for the time being along with the matching black and chrome Skoda badge I have on the front

[jzhort]

Bit of a clean and a reflection of my progress at this point as I was about 3 weeks into ownership, I also got ride of the residue that was left on the front bumper from the number plate of the chap I bought it off, from the front doesn't even look like the same car anymore

[jzhort]

It's time to get some wheels and what I thought would look good on her is a set of Rotiform BLQ so that's what I decided to get myself, they come at a price but worth every penny

[jzhort]

Unfortunately when I bought the wheels thought the offset was et35 but they was actually et45 (et45 8.5j 18") so had to order myself some spacers, for a couple of days she looked like this 😶

[jzhort]

Got myself some hub adapters so I can run my wheels without rubbing (15mm at the front and 25mm on the back)

They poke a bit for the time being as I expected however I am planning on rolling my front arches and the rear will be slightly cambered

[jzhort]

Ordered a cheap drinks holder to go into a single din slot that I forgot about so thought I'd get that in. I also had a vrs gear surrounding arrive in the post which I got on. The DIY retro fit of the drinks holder wasn't great and involved cutting with the Dremel but it's as good as it'll get for the time being. Certainly need a new gear boot as mines minging and definitely the original  

[jzhort]

Not brilliant photos but I got around to debadging the Octavia badge off the rear, adding dynamic tinted indicators and wind deflectors all around

[jzhort]

We're now up to a month of ownership stage so I decided to treat her to a few more goodies! Tints all around, sunstrip, sharkfin, wiper delete (kill all wipers), private reg with 4D plates and a goodish clean including decluttering the back window

[jzhort]

Bit of bad luck come my way, I got pulled over for darkness of my rear lights as they don't let enough life through and don't show the reflectors which is fair enough, also because my front plates in the window, tut tut. I also had a tire debead on the way back from collecting a vrs rear bumper and a vrs rear spoiler, haven't got a photo but they're both red so will need painting. I'm going for black on the bumper and silver for the wing as I am planning on a 2 tone look. Have some photos of my journey that didn't go to plan.

[jzhort]

Luckily they sorted my tire there and then but we're on to more bad news, my coilovers have arrived along with adjustable drop links. Set fronts up, took out bump stops and helper springs and starting working on the car. First bolt snapped clean down the middle so she's off the road for a few days until I can get a bolt and put her back together on the new coilovers. Will update as soon as possible, probably tomorrow knowing me.

Edited 20 December, 2020 by jzhort
Pictures

[Dean]

Welcome aboard!

I thought you may get pulled for the rear lights.

Nice steady build, be good to see that front bumper sprayed too.

[jzhort]

16 minutes ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

Welcome aboard!

I thought you may get pulled for the rear lights.

Nice steady build, be good to see that front bumper sprayed too.

I'm thinking of spraying the rear vrs bumper I've picked up (red) black and black down the sides so it's all black bottomed to the height of the bumper lines all the way around but unsure at the minute.

 

I've been trying to source a set of rear aftermarket lights but not sure they still make the ones I want so for the time being I'll take the tint off tomorrow and put some pinstripes on them 

Edited 21 December, 2020 by jzhort

[jzhort]

Bit of an update! I'm off the pick up new bolts today for the suspension components as I fear everything else is going to be seized or cross threaded so potentially break everything. I managed to get one spring in yesterday along with taking a badge off one side.