Page 1 of 2

Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:01 pm
by Cpt Custom
As many of you already know we first saw E48 GRE when we attended the Vintage & Classic Vehicle Rally at Harewood House in the summer of 2010.

Image

At the time we were thinking of getting our own Mk2 Scirocco (Project Poppy) back on the road after 6 years in storage and seeing this stunning GT inspired us to move our plans forward.

A few weeks later I heard about a “near concours condition” Scirocco up for sale and, when it turned out to be the same one we’d seen at Harewood, I got in touch with the owner to see if we could help him find it a good home.

At least that was our initial intention, but we soon came to the opinion that she might be worth buying for ourselves especially with Poppy not due to be on the road anytime soon. As I’ve said a few times now, I blame Tony (mazellan) as he was the first to introduce me to the concept of multiple ownership! :laugh:

Anyway, we arranged to go down to Sandbach to check the car over and make sure she was still as good as we remembered. She was indeed and so a few hours later she was back home with us in Harrogate. :yahoo:

Image

Image

Image

A few days after we bought her we took Lily as she’s now called (Poppy Red .. Lily White - get it?) up to Sedgefield to sit with the other Sciroccos on the Register stand at the Durham Dubs event.

Image

From the day we bought her we kept saying we wouldn’t be making any significant changes to her. We really saw this one as being more a case of preservation than restoration hence the title of the original project thread.

Apart from anything else we were already planning to modify Poppy and so we thought it would be nice if our second Scirocco was standard.

And with that in mind we set about removing the few non-standard touches on her. These included: silver tape lines on the lights and the bumpers; clear front indicators and smoked repeaters.

Other than that it was just to be bits and pieces or at least that was the plan until our workshop was broken into. With over £2,000 worth of tools and all the new spare parts we’d purchased for Poppy stolen we found ourselves unable to continue with that particular project.

Yes, we still had some money set aside, but it would have taken all of it to replace what had been stolen and then we’d not have had enough left in the kitty to finish her off.

So, after much deliberation we’ve decided to do what many people said we should have done from the start, spend what money we have on Lily as being in such superb condition she’s an ideal base.

I should stress here though that our intention is to only make modifications to her that can be easily reversed should we ever want to return her to standard.

Changes being considered include a set of lowering springs, new wheels and a revamped interior. However, much will depend on how far we can stretch what’s left in what was the Poppy fund.

Yes, I know this is a big change in direction, but it now seems the sensible thing to do and hopefully by being selective in what changes we make we won’t upset the purists too much.

:beers:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:19 pm
by eefy
I'm glad to see you've transfered your enthusiasum on to Lily, look forward to seeing what you've got planned :)

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:12 pm
by Cpt Custom
eefy wrote:I'm glad to see you've transfered your enthusiasum on to Lily, look forward to seeing what you've got planned …
So, it starts Heath. Well, to be honest I started making some minor changes/improvements a few weeks back, but I’ve just been too busy with other things to get the thread updated. Been too busy to finish them off as well! :blush:

Began by removing the smoked side repeaters and retro-fitting an orange set …

Image

Really happy with the ‘new old’ look …

Image

Talking of retro-fitting, the under-bonnet sound absorber has been in steady decline …

Image

Image

Tools at the ready, I spread an old cover across the top of the engine bay to catch all the crap as I removed the sound proofing. Using a plastic ice scraper it came off so easy it was like the proverbial hot knife through butter …

Image

Image

Unfortunately, the next stage of the task proved to be much more difficult and helped me understand why so many people are reluctant to tackle this job. The white spirit just didn’t seem to be having much effect on the glue residue. In fact, most of it was either dripping into the engine bay or running down my arm.

I did eventually get one section cleaned off, but it took ages so I decided to look for an alternative to white spirits. Goo Gone was recommended by a couple of people, but I couldn’t find that locally so ended up buying this from Screwfix …

Image

What I liked about this was that it was a spray and so it was much easier to apply and less prone to running off. Yes, the job was still a tedious one whereby I had to apply several coats of the stuff, but it did do a really good job and I’d thoroughly recommend it to anyone …

Image

Image

Amazingly, I managed to get it all off without causing any damage to the paint below except for few small chips in one section …

Image

So, what next? Well, I’m putting off fitting this quite yet …

Image

Why? Well those small chips aside there’s some rusty areas I want to eradicate before I put the new kit on …

Image

Image

Seems sensible I thought to tackle those while the bonnet is ‘bare’ although I’m not sure if the repair would be easier to achieve with the bonnet removed? :dunno: Once again, I’d welcome any advice on this.

And if you’re thinking of doing this work to your own car you might like to know that I got my kit from VW Heritage. Their part number is C533-898-123 and it cost me £85.00 including VAT and delivery.

Meanwhile, the eagle-eyed amongst you (who have seen Lily at a show) may have noticed the vinyl on the passenger side B-pillar was slightly damaged in a couple of places and also a bit shorter at the top than it should be …

Image

Image

I’ve been planning to do something about it since last year when I bought a replacement set from Ian (ianaudia4), but only recently got around to tackling it. I was a little apprehensive in case I damaged the paintwork underneath, but was spurred on by my recent successful removal of the under-bonnet soundproofing.

So I got the white spirit (the other stuff can affect rubber) and the credit card out again, but before trying to actually remove the vinyl I warmed it up to make it more pliable. Initially, I used a hot air gun, but was concerned this might be too hot so ended up using a hair dryer. I found that the vinyl cooled down quite quickly so I just tackled it a small section at a time - steady away and all that.

Eventually, I had it all peeled off …

Image

Then, I went over the entire area with white spirit and using the credit card ‘scraped’ off all the glue that had been left behind before giving it a quick blast with some Meguiar’s Speed Detailer …

Image

With one side removed and cleaned up I was able to compare the contrasting looks …

Image

Image

Gold Star if you’ve noticed the ‘before’ shot is actually a ‘reversed’ view of the driver’s side as it is at the moment. I just did this to make the comparison easier.

To be honest I’m not sure now which I prefer. So rather than rush into something I might later regret I’ve left her like that so I can give it some thought. Opinions welcome folks!

If nothing else the exercise has been amusing one as it’s amazing how few people have noticed that the two sides of the car are actually different.

And that’s about it for the moment - no other changes apart from the fact I’ve put new plates on (to replace the old ‘wibbly wobbly’ ones) and reinstated the frames.

Got to say I’m quite happy with how she’s looking …

Image

:pilot:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:38 pm
by Cpt Custom
I had hoped to start on making good the underside of Lily’s bonnet earlier this week. However, other things took priority.

Pleased to say though I finally got around to it this weekend … glad to get it started while this good weather is still with us.

Got all the rust removed and took each area back to good metal before treating it with some rust eating gel. I probably took more of the surrounding areas back to metal than I needed to, but I wanted to try and get everything right.

This afternoon I went at it with various grades of wet and dry paper until it was silky smooth …

Image

Image

Image

Unfortunately, before I could get it primed the rain arrived! :crying:

So, as I didn’t want to leave it with all that bare metal overnight I put her back into the garage and sprayed her in there. The light wasn’t brilliant and I got a few runs, but overall it’s not too bad. At least it’ll prevent the flash rust forming.

Didn’t manage to get any photos of the primed work, but should get some taken tomorrow. The plan is to wet and dry the primer tomorrow afternoon before applying another fine layer. Then later in the week I can get those final layers smoothed off and get some top coat on.

Oh, and the discoloured area along the bonnet edge isn't rust I missed, but some sealant that was holding a rubber strip along the underside of the bonnet. Not quite sure why it was there as it was one of the previous owners that put it on. Needless to say that'll be getting cleaned off.

:bye:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:58 pm
by wassell
looking good!

what did you do with the clear indicators etc? i personally much prefer the look of black/white as opposed to the orange too. but she still looks great :good: .

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:29 pm
by Cpt Custom
wassell wrote:looking good!

what did you do with the clear indicators etc? i personally much prefer the look of black/white as opposed to the orange too. but she still looks great :good: .
Glad you like it ... I'm so glad I bought her! :hugegrin: Met the previous owner last week at a local show and I think he still misses her. ;)

As for the indies, I still have them and might even be refitting them given I've now decided to modify her ever so slightly. I only changed them over when I was going down the must keep her absolutely original route.

:beers:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:59 pm
by Cpt Custom
Primed and ready for action ... well almost! :hugegrin:

Image

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:29 pm
by Dutch GT
Glad to see you getting stuck in. Now can you post a few wheel options so we can all get involved in confusing the heck out of you with conflicting views!!? Something 15" and 80's, a bit unique without being too weird... but I guess winter friendly? Hmmm

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:43 pm
by wassell
how about some porsche teledials with tyres and adaptors....oooh, just so happens i have a set for sale. haha.

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:53 pm
by Cpt Custom
When I decided to remove the old soundproofing and replace it at the same time as getting rid of some rusty bits I never for a minute thought it would drag on this long. :dash:

I thought that getting the old gunk off would be the difficult bit … little did I know. The size of the job increased dramatically as removing one little piece of rust led to another and then I had real problems getting enough primer laid down to provide a decent base for the top coat.

As some of you know, I encountered so many high spots that no matter how gently I tried to flat the areas back they just kept wearing through as I tried to smooth off the surrounding sections.

Life in general also through up some problems that took priority over working on the car and all of this combined to erode the enthusiasm I’d felt when I started the job.

However, there is a happy ending to this tale. I eventually got the primer to a point where I felt it was good enough to apply the paint proper. I also came to realise that with the size of the area I was now working on I was never going to get the quality of finish I wanted from rattle cans. So a couple of weeks ago I put Lily into a local body shop to get the top coat applied properly.

To be fair when I went to collect her last week they’d done a great job of matching the bonnet to the surrounding panels.

However, there were a few small bits underneath that were damaged and I wasn’t at all happy with that. No more than I was with their suggestion to just ‘touch’ them in so, after a bit of debate, they agreed to put her back into the paint shop and here’s the finished result …

Image

Image

Still not 100% on close inspection, but I couldn’t bring myself to put her back in especially as she’d picked up a couple of scuffs and scrapes elsewhere whilst in their possession.

So I decided to make do so to speak and went about fitting the replacement soundproofing. Just a word of warning here for anyone else thinking of doing the same … be warned the adhesive on the back of the panels is very, very strong and fairly unforgiving.

You really want to be sure you have the pad exactly where you want it before you start peeling the backing off. I found it easier to position it with only a small piece of the protective film pulled back and then gently ease it away whilst guiding the pad on its way.

The whole operation was scrutinised from the garage doorway by one of my two canine assistants, who had carefully positioned himself on the only rug in the entire garage …

Image

As for the final result, I’m absolutely over the moon with it … :hugegrin:

Image

Image

Now, it all seems to have been worthwhile, but lessons have been learned …

• First, don’t ever try doing this again with the bonnet still on the car.
• Second, don’t try to tackle such a big job with rattle cans.
• Finally, be careful who you entrust to do the final paintjob.

Still, no omelettes without a few broken eggs etc. The main thing is she’s back on the road (for the moment) and looking good …

Image

:pilot:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:13 pm
by Old Mac Rocco
Excellent as expected Cpt. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
She looks really good. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Brilliant work. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:36 pm
by KrisB
Love the colour and the cleaness. Just scraped the foam off my bonnet. I took it off though :chill: still got the glue on though so taken some advice and tips off this :read:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:25 pm
by Cpt Custom
KrisB wrote:Love the colour and the cleaness ...
Glad you like how she's looking Kris ... good luck in doing your own. :good:

By the way, looking at your signature, I hope you're not one of those City fans old Rio says have suddenly appeared! :hugegrin:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:56 pm
by Cpt Custom
Inspired by finally getting the bonnet sorted, I decided to revisit the B-pillar vinyl.

Its months since I removed the sections on the passenger side so I thought it about time I tackled the driver’s side. To be fair, I did initially leave it half done so as to try and decide which look I preferred.

However, I’m still not 100% sure so have opted to remove it all at least for the summer. I’ve got the replacement sections so I can always put it back to how it was in due course.

So, here’s how it looked before I started. I know its not that bad … most of the damage was on the other side.

Image

I removed the main section first using the old hair dryer technique …

Image

That got me thinking what it would look like with the small section on the door left in place …

Image

Just wondering if anyone’s done that or do they tend to go for the all or nothing approach?

Anyway, for the moment I decided to remove it all …

Image

By then I was losing the light and it was getting a bit chilly so decided to leave removing the glue. I’ll hopefully get that done tomorrow.

:pilot:

Re: Project Lily - Preservation Through Modification!

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:11 pm
by Cpt Custom
Pleased to say I now have the vinyl removed completely from the driver’s side door and B-pillar. :yahoo:

Went at it initially with the white spirits, but yet again failed to be impressed by this as a technique. Don’t know if its how I apply it or the glue on Lily is extra strong, but as with the underside of the bonnet this stuff just didn’t make much of an impression on it.

I was going to revert to the De-Solv-It, which I eventually used on the bonnet, but it doesn’t get on too well with rubber so I thought I was just going to need to persevere with the white spirit. However, then I struck on a winning combination …

Image

I just dabbed this stuff on as you would the white spirit, left it for a few minutes and then rubbed away with my AA gunge removing tool. :hugegrin:

Most impressed by this technique … job done in no time! Happy too that the paint underneath was in good nick … it looked good even before I cleaned it up properly …

Image

Image

:pilot: