Rob's Mk1 VRS Combi

[RMDavis]

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.

Edited 28 September, 2021 by RMDavis

[Evil]

Looks nice enough 

And, from your description, sounds a lot like ours when we bought it a month or so ago - even the mileage is similar. 

 

Can't help with any advice, sorry, I'm treading water too... 

 

One thing I have realised is the surprising lack of spares (the stuff that I need, anyway). 

[RMDavis]

1 minute ago, Evil said:

Looks nice enough 

And, from your description, sounds a lot like ours when we bought it a month or so ago - even the mileage is similar. 

 

Can't help with any advice, sorry, I'm treading water too... 

 

One thing I have realised is the surprising lack of spares (the stuff that I need, anyway). 

 

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!

[KenONeill]

1. The "missing" headrest obscures an annoying amount of the rear vision.
2. 16" wheels were standard on the vRS estate, but the 17" off a hatch will bolt straight on; you won't even have to change the bolts.
3. A good remap is available from several reputable tuners.

[skinnyman]

Welcome to the forum.

The car looks to be in good condition and is on a similar mileage to ours.  I use mine each day and a bit like you, I enjoy fettling as I get to know the car and find things that need sorting.  I'm two years in with this particular car and I'm still picking away at the list of things that need replacing or changing.

There's all sorts you can do to the car to build on the original spec.  Some would say to leave it standard, others like me prefer to work through the car and tweak here and there as you see fit. 

Before you modify anything though, when was the timing belt last done?  I've recently had the timing belt, tensioners, water pump, thermostat and oil pickup pipe replaced which should help keep the car going for a couple more years.  If it's all been done on yours that's great, if not I'd look into how much it will cost.

Keep us updated on what you're doing as it's always interesting to see what people are up to with their Mk1 Octavia.

[RMDavis]

12 hours ago, KenONeill said:

1. The "missing" headrest obscures an annoying amount of the rear vision.
2. 16" wheels were standard on the vRS estate, but the 17" off a hatch will bolt straight on; you won't even have to change the bolts.
3. A good remap is available from several reputable tuners.

 

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?

 

1 hour ago, skinnyman said:

Welcome to the forum.

The car looks to be in good condition and is on a similar mileage to ours.  I use mine each day and a bit like you, I enjoy fettling as I get to know the car and find things that need sorting.  I'm two years in with this particular car and I'm still picking away at the list of things that need replacing or changing.

There's all sorts you can do to the car to build on the original spec.  Some would say to leave it standard, others like me prefer to work through the car and tweak here and there as you see fit. 

Before you modify anything though, when was the timing belt last done?  I've recently had the timing belt, tensioners, water pump, thermostat and oil pickup pipe replaced which should help keep the car going for a couple more years.  If it's all been done on yours that's great, if not I'd look into how much it will cost.

Keep us updated on what you're doing as it's always interesting to see what people are up to with their Mk1 Octavia.

 

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! 

[skinnyman]

1 hour ago, RMDavis said:

What's the reccomend tyre size for the 17" wheel?

 

The original is 205 50 17".

Quite a lot of people moved to 225 45 17" as there is more choice, the tyres are cheaper & it only affects the speedometer by about 0.4%.

[RMDavis]

4 minutes ago, skinnyman said:

 

The original is 205 50 17".

Quite a lot of people moved to 225 45 17" as there is more choice, the tyres are cheaper & it only affects the speedometer by about 0.4%.

 

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?

[skinnyman]

5 minutes ago, RMDavis said:

 

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?

 

The 225 is fine, I ran that size on the original spiders for years with no issues.  I'm currently on 225 40 18 and again, no issues.

[Evil]

13 minutes ago, RMDavis said:

 

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?

When we eventually get lucky on 17's they'll be wearing 225/45/17's.

 

[Dean]

8 hours ago, RMDavis said:

 

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?

I've only ever run 225/45/17 on mine.

As for my estate (PD130), I've gone back to 16" wheels, as I found it handles a lot better, and my MPG has improved. The VRS version of the estate doesn't have any rear bracing like the hatchback, hence the reason they used the 16" variant of the spider wheels. Try out the 17" and see how you get on, but I would personally leave the 16s on.

[RMDavis]

4 minutes ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

I've only ever run 225/45/17 on mine.

As for my estate (PD130), I've gone back to 16" wheels, as I found it handles a lot better, and my MPG has improved. The VRS version of the estate doesn't have any rear bracing like the hatchback, hence the reason they used the 16" variant of the spider wheels. Try out the 17" and see how you get on, but I would personally leave the 16s on.

 

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. 👍🏻

[Evil]

19 minutes ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

I've only ever run 225/45/17 on mine.

As for my estate (PD130), I've gone back to 16" wheels, as I found it handles a lot better, and my MPG has improved. The VRS version of the estate doesn't have any rear bracing like the hatchback, hence the reason they used the 16" variant of the spider wheels. Try out the 17" and see how you get on, but I would personally leave the 16s on.

Would a K brace and rear arb sort this? 

[Dean]

25 minutes ago, Evil said:

Would a K brace and rear arb sort this? 

I think it would, Craig did this on the Yellow estate. He added a full brace behind the rear seats (where it would be on the hatchback)

Fabulous read, and out does me on my build. Well worth the read if you haven't already.

[Evil]

1 minute ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

I think it would, Craig did this on the Yellow estate. He added a full brace behind the rear seats (where it would be on the hatchback)

Fabulous read, and out does me on my build. Well worth the read if you haven't already.

I haven't,  but I will.. ta for the link..

 

Right now I'm trying, and failing, to find a tailgate and osr door, and other seemingly unobtainable items (and waiting for suspension to be delivered)

[Dean]

19 hours ago, Evil said:

I haven't,  but I will.. ta for the link..

 

Right now I'm trying, and failing, to find a tailgate and osr door, and other seemingly unobtainable items (and waiting for suspension to be delivered)

I'll keep a look out for the scuttle panel, and pollen filter on my search for parts at the breakers Should be going for a trip soon. If I find some parts in very good condition, I'll pick them up for you.

Edited 2 August, 2021 by DeanVRS20VT

[RMDavis]

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.

 

 

 

 

 

[LukeG99]

Loving the progress. I assume you've got some experience working on cars previous because you seem to know what needs doing. I want to get an older Skoda to try and learn a bit more about mechanic's, any advice?

[Evil]

Excellent stuff.... 

I've had my sai deleted but haven't removed it yet, the pcv is on the hitlist too. 

 

I prefer the mk1 vrs seats to mk4 golf leather (we had a mk4 before this that I fitted a leather interior to), iirc the fronts should be a straight swap - not sure about the rears. 

 

We still need a glovebox latch, ours is bodged... Not really worth buying a whole glovebox for. 

 

If things pan out I'm looking at offloading ours and getting a scooby next year but it's going to be hard to let go... Something really nice about the mk1 - it's been a while since I've liked a car so much. 

[RMDavis]

On 09/08/2021 at 19:10, LukeG99 said:

Loving the progress. I assume you've got some experience working on cars previous because you seem to know what needs doing. I want to get an older Skoda to try and learn a bit more about mechanic's, any advice?

 

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.👍🏻

 

On 09/08/2021 at 19:22, Evil said:

Excellent stuff.... 

I've had my sai deleted but haven't removed it yet, the pcv is on the hitlist too. 

 

I prefer the mk1 vrs seats to mk4 golf leather (we had a mk4 before this that I fitted a leather interior to), iirc the fronts should be a straight swap - not sure about the rears. 

 

We still need a glovebox latch, ours is bodged... Not really worth buying a whole glovebox for. 

 

If things pan out I'm looking at offloading ours and getting a scooby next year but it's going to be hard to let go... Something really nice about the mk1 - it's been a while since I've liked a car so much. 

 

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. 😊

 

 

[Dean]

Done well to find them, have yet to come across a set close to me from a 5 door to go in mine. 😁

[RMDavis]

7 hours ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

Done well to find them, have yet to come across a set close to me from a 5 door to go in mine. 😁

 

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.

[RMDavis]

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! 

 

 

[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!

 

 

 

 

Edited 14 August, 2021 by RMDavis

[Dean]

Excellent work! Nicely done. Heated seats for the win in winter. 😌