Scrof's 1989 GTi 16v - G-VOT
Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 10:33 am
Morning all,
I've been lurking for a while now so I thought it was about time I posted.
My name's Alex, also known as Scrof in some circles. Some of you may remember me from a different life several years ago when, while at university in Wales, I owned first a white and then a grey TZD Turbo. Back then, I also owned a very lovely Capri 2.8 Injection, which was a cracking thing, but always meant I couldn't fully explore my hankering for a BX 16v.
Fast-forward around eight years, and recent circumstances allowed me to think about scratching the itch I'd had for a very long time. So, with the help of Mr Kitch of these here parts, I started looking - and ended up buying G-VOT, a car I know some of you will be aware of.
Funnily enough, I was actually looking for a Ph2 car, as at the time I preferred the looks of the chunkier bodykit. But when Mat's car came up I decided I could do worse than go along and have a look. When I turned up, I could tell the car needed a bit of TLC to bring it back up to top spec, and as I really wanted a nice, shiny example I could take to shows, I initially baulked.
But I couldn't get my mind off the car. For some reason, I was started to get really excited about the idea of owning a Ph1, and I decided to make Mat an offer, which he very kindly accepted. I collected the car with a fresh MOT on it and drove home happy. Well, sort-of - on my way, the car started to misfire, which, as you can imagine, gave me a spot of concern.
A few days later, I dropped the car off with Rich, to sort out the misfire and a starting problem which had also reared its head. As it turned out, there were a few problems that needed sorting, which I won't go into now, but in the end I left the car with Rich for a month or two to get the majority of its mechanical issues dealt with. (I'll point out at this juncture that, as Rich can testify, I am about as much use with a spanner as Taki Inoue was with a Formula 1 car - no, less, in fact.)
These ended up taking up pretty much all of the cash I'd set aside for sorting the car's cosmetics out, but undeterred I realised that I was in this for the long haul. Despite its many foibles, for some reason I'd grown attached to G-VOT, and I decided that rather than be a quick 'up to scratch' job, this would have to be a bit of a rolling resto, to be carried out as and when time and funds allow.
So that's the story today. G-VOT is on the road and (sort of) in working order. It's going to be a long road, and I know there'll be lots of niggling little issues along the way, but the eventual plan is to restore her back to her former glory, such as when this shot was taken (during Keith's ownership, I believe):
The plan is to aim for 'solid, clean, original condition' - so that'll involve switching the Ph2 alloys for Ph1 items, losing the yellow fogs, replacing the bumper with one that better matches the paintwork, tidying up the surface rust spots that are cropping up about the place, replacing the Le Mans interior with the original Monza, and putting back to original spec a number of little tweaks that have been made by previous owners through the years. I'll try and keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can keep track of the car on PistonHeads - check out my running reports here and here, with another coming soon. You can also keep tabs on the car through the updates I'll be posting in the 'Fleet' section of my website and my Facebook page (if you click 'like', I'll be really, really grateful!) As you might have guessed, I'm a freelance motoring journo by trade, and I'm hoping to bring plenty more exposure to the BX as a model through PistonHeads and other outlets. So far, the reception from the public has been pretty good. And enormous thanks have to go to Kitch for helping me out as much as he has thus far in getting the car up together.
Anyway, that's about enough plugging for one day. I'll be sure to post more pictures as and when progress is made. In the meantime, I'll look forward to browsing BXClub more regularly, and I may just put up a 'want' list in the 'Wanted' forum to try and get some of the parts I need sorted!
Cheers all!
I've been lurking for a while now so I thought it was about time I posted.
My name's Alex, also known as Scrof in some circles. Some of you may remember me from a different life several years ago when, while at university in Wales, I owned first a white and then a grey TZD Turbo. Back then, I also owned a very lovely Capri 2.8 Injection, which was a cracking thing, but always meant I couldn't fully explore my hankering for a BX 16v.
Fast-forward around eight years, and recent circumstances allowed me to think about scratching the itch I'd had for a very long time. So, with the help of Mr Kitch of these here parts, I started looking - and ended up buying G-VOT, a car I know some of you will be aware of.
Funnily enough, I was actually looking for a Ph2 car, as at the time I preferred the looks of the chunkier bodykit. But when Mat's car came up I decided I could do worse than go along and have a look. When I turned up, I could tell the car needed a bit of TLC to bring it back up to top spec, and as I really wanted a nice, shiny example I could take to shows, I initially baulked.
But I couldn't get my mind off the car. For some reason, I was started to get really excited about the idea of owning a Ph1, and I decided to make Mat an offer, which he very kindly accepted. I collected the car with a fresh MOT on it and drove home happy. Well, sort-of - on my way, the car started to misfire, which, as you can imagine, gave me a spot of concern.
A few days later, I dropped the car off with Rich, to sort out the misfire and a starting problem which had also reared its head. As it turned out, there were a few problems that needed sorting, which I won't go into now, but in the end I left the car with Rich for a month or two to get the majority of its mechanical issues dealt with. (I'll point out at this juncture that, as Rich can testify, I am about as much use with a spanner as Taki Inoue was with a Formula 1 car - no, less, in fact.)
These ended up taking up pretty much all of the cash I'd set aside for sorting the car's cosmetics out, but undeterred I realised that I was in this for the long haul. Despite its many foibles, for some reason I'd grown attached to G-VOT, and I decided that rather than be a quick 'up to scratch' job, this would have to be a bit of a rolling resto, to be carried out as and when time and funds allow.
So that's the story today. G-VOT is on the road and (sort of) in working order. It's going to be a long road, and I know there'll be lots of niggling little issues along the way, but the eventual plan is to restore her back to her former glory, such as when this shot was taken (during Keith's ownership, I believe):
The plan is to aim for 'solid, clean, original condition' - so that'll involve switching the Ph2 alloys for Ph1 items, losing the yellow fogs, replacing the bumper with one that better matches the paintwork, tidying up the surface rust spots that are cropping up about the place, replacing the Le Mans interior with the original Monza, and putting back to original spec a number of little tweaks that have been made by previous owners through the years. I'll try and keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can keep track of the car on PistonHeads - check out my running reports here and here, with another coming soon. You can also keep tabs on the car through the updates I'll be posting in the 'Fleet' section of my website and my Facebook page (if you click 'like', I'll be really, really grateful!) As you might have guessed, I'm a freelance motoring journo by trade, and I'm hoping to bring plenty more exposure to the BX as a model through PistonHeads and other outlets. So far, the reception from the public has been pretty good. And enormous thanks have to go to Kitch for helping me out as much as he has thus far in getting the car up together.
Anyway, that's about enough plugging for one day. I'll be sure to post more pictures as and when progress is made. In the meantime, I'll look forward to browsing BXClub more regularly, and I may just put up a 'want' list in the 'Wanted' forum to try and get some of the parts I need sorted!
Cheers all!
