Re: Project Poppy - 1987 MkII GT

Old Mac Rocco · Post by **Old Mac Rocco** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:59 pm

Scum that do this should be castrated.
Feel so sorry for you.

Cpt Custom · Post by **Cpt Custom** » Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:02 am

Bill wrote:This is bad news, sorry to see this fella,

Thanks Bill!

Cpt Custom · Post by **Cpt Custom** » Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:03 am

Old Mac Rocco wrote:Scum that do this should be castrated.

That's just what I thought!

stu.gtx · Post by **stu.gtx** » Sat Jul 02, 2011 10:05 pm

All I can say is f*&%ing thieving scummy t@%ts. Stuff like this really makes my p!ss boil.

seanr68 · Post by **seanr68** » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:04 pm

Absolutely gutted for you mate.

I couldn't get the link to work with the list and pics of whats been taken. I've got a few bits lying around but nothing really as significant as an engine, just little bits. If you need any help with work on car, drop me a line. I live in Dewsbury but my missus is in Harrogate so i'm up there quite a lot.

Hope the bastids get caught out but if i'm honest, they prob wont. Crime is starting to pay as the police dont have the manpower to chase every crime these days.

Post by **the edmundator** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:01 am

Look back over the thread and look at all the work you've done on this car. Are you really going to let a bunch of mindless idiots make you throw it all away?

Ok, so it might take a bit longer, but I wouldn't give up. A new engine won't be hard to come by (I appreciate it's not the original, but there's probably nothing you can do about that now) and the other bits you can gradually re-accumulate.

Plenty of help from our members available, as you already know. Keep going!

Cpt Custom · Post by **Cpt Custom** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 12:51 pm

Hard to believe that it’s only a year since I joined the Register and introduced everyone to Poppy, our much-loved 1987 D Reg 1.6 Volkswagen Scirocco GT Coupe, which we’d owned since 1992.

I came on here as a total ‘noob’ with no mechanical knowledge, just a novice with a dream of restoring a car he loved and couldn’t bare to part with - despite the fact that from a purely practical point of view that would have been the best thing to do.

My relatives thought me totally mad, but I joined the Register hoping to find some kindred spirits that might even be able to help me deal with what lay ahead and that’s exactly what I got.

In fact, thinking it through I got much more than I could ever have hoped: a wealth of information and tips were suddenly at my disposal; people I’d never met came forward to offer advice and encouragement; spare parts were offered and supplied not just at reasonable rates, but often free; people even took time to come down to my workshop and help with the tasks that were beyond me such as removing the engine; and, most importantly, the hand of friendship was offered by many.

Thanks to the Register(and a few others who aren’t members) I was able to take Project Poppy from a rusting, dilapidated scrapper to a sound, solid shell ready for sand blasting and prepping for paint.

What was a dream was becoming reality and I felt I was getting so close to turning the corner, to the day when we’d actually start putting her back together.

Sadly, as we all know Mr Fate has a habit of sneaking up on you when you least expect it, smacking you in the face and pulling the rug well and truly from underneath your feet.

For Jan and I that was the recent break in at our workshop when nearly every single part we’d gathered together for the restoration were stolen along with a vast array of tools. Around £2,000 worth of stuff gone in one night just because some scumbags thought it okay to help themselves to our possessions. Just because some barstewards either didn’t think, or more likely didn’t care, about the impact their actions would have or the dreams they were perhaps about to shatter.

The tools and spare parts could in time be replaced as we still have money left in the ‘Poppy Fund’, but as that money was there for the remaining works to be completed that would mean we’d need to push back indefinitely getting her on the road. As we’re not well off, what with me having lost my job last year through ill health that could mean it might be years before Project Poppy could be completed.

Add into the mix, uncertainty about my wife’s job and the fact that I’ve now been told I might need to move out of my workshop in the very near future and suddenly, instead of feeling we were about to turn the corner we feel like everything is conspiring against us.

And, perhaps the biggest blow over the last couple of weeks has been the fact that during the break in the engine and gearbox were also stolen. I say that because those of you who have followed this thread from the beginning will remember the section below:

“The one other thing I am sure of is that I don't want to swap the engine for something bigger. I might get it tweaked, but I see that as the heart and soul of the car so removing it would seem to go against what I set out to do, which is breathe new life into Poppy. Maybe that sounds a little daft, but I'm just not sure I'd feel the same about the car if I swapped the engine over.”

So, given all that’s happened and all the uncertainty which surrounds us I’m afraid we’ve decided to stop the project now. I know there will be many that will question if this is the right thing to do, perhaps as many as questioned the merits of the project to begin with.

However, we have to do what we feel is right for us and right now that feels like taking time out to re-group mentally, selling what we can to recover some of our losses, keeping what we are sure we will need in the future and looking to move forward.

Before we do though, I just want to say a big thank you once again to everyone who has taken time to help, support and encourage us along the way.

There are too many to mention specifically, but hopefully through this thread you know who they are and I’d like to think on a personal level they already know how much we appreciate their input.

At least there’s a positive end to this story given how much I’ve learned in this last year and how many friends we’ve made. I hope to continue that education and I certainly hope to maintain those friendships meaning that Project Poppy will have a legacy.

And we still have Lily!

Post by **MRMENDER** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:11 pm

Sorry to hear this paul. I know it must be a decission you both will not have taken lightly

seanr68 · Post by **seanr68** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:28 pm

Sorry to hear you're calling an end to the project, but i can understand the reasons you have decided to do so. Hopefully, someone may buy her and continue the good work you've started. Then your legacy will live on in the final result.

go-for-it1 · Post by **go-for-it1** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:23 pm

As you say Paul, you still have Lily and she is the new Poppy, keep your chin up and good luck with the sale.
Rob

Post by **ianaudia4** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 10:44 pm

This is a sad story to read Paul, I was so hoping that the scum that nicked your stuff had been caught and it all returned to get the car back to its former glory.

You know you have many friends on here that are always on the end of the phone if ever you need any help with anything.

See you and Jan soon mate, keep your chin up.

Tim_R · Post by **Tim_R** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:00 am

Really really sorry to see this as I was looking forward to seeing Poppy come back together and the fruits of all your hard work at meets .

Lets hope that karma catches up with the lightfingered looses who helped themselves to all your stuff.

G Beats · Post by **G Beats** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:08 am

We are very very sorry to hear this some people will steel there own grand mother what some people do for money or a quick pound, that they have to allways rob from there very own as the people as the same as them with not much money, plus the sentimental value of this.And a real real shame you have given up with poppy why dont you take a break from it after this and get back to it latter on? and you can allways find a free or share a work shop though here.

DT1 · Post by **DT1** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:39 am

Not good. Really sorry to hear that you are having to give it up, but understandable.

I hope things work out OK for you and Jan.

Still going to see you at the National?

bensspares · Post by **bensspares** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:23 am

The right conclusion Paul.

Sometimes in life, events beyond our control happen to alter our chosen path in life, often with possative results.

I also made the hardest decision re my GTX, you saw her in her dying stages but, although I miss my scirocco most days, I knew it was the right desision, and if I need a scirocco fix I can always borrow my brothers which I may be permantly adopting in the future..My knoledge and stock of spare parts is/has helped many people, its a good feeling when someone else benefits from your experience...

On a posative note, it would seem that the final gifts from poppy was the knoledge and some spare parts for you to look after Lilly. She is a real thing of beauty and deserves people like you to love, cherish and enjoy.

Ben

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