My original GSi
Moving forward to June 2010, this beauty became available in Devon. It came with masses of paperwork and had lived in the Devon area for most of its life. White wasn’t my first choice in colour, but the moreI looked at the advert, the more I came around to it. By the time I called, the car had provisionally sold to someone. Gutted! I made it clear to the owner that if there was any messing around at all, I would be straight up there with the full asking price. 24 hours later the phone rang and I couldn’t say no...
Bringing back the new one!
First thing on the list was replace the back lights with original GSi smoked ones. It took ages to remove the bloody things; an owner at some point had loaded the seals with silicone sealant, and it had well and truly bonded everything in tight. I was suitably impressed to find the metal behind the lights was solid and in really good condition.
Next. I didn’t feel the love for the DTM 17” alloys from day one.
Soon after, I managed to locate a set of Cav slabs for £100 – the same price I sold the DTM alloys for. Result. Before they were bolted on, my brother mentioned that he had a set of Momo arrows which should fit straight on. For a laugh, we gave them a go and they actually looked pretty good for a period wheel.
My brother tried to lower the back end of the car manually, but it didn’t do a lot! He’s hanging onto the arrows for his own project, but if he doesn’t use them, I may try them in anthracite...
Anyway, the slabs are now fitted:
At about the same time I visited a lad in Plymouth who was breaking a black GSi and bought a load of bits from him, including an original space saver wheel, to replace the rusty steel which sat in my spare wheel well. Little touches but well worth the hassle.
I also whipped off the rear towbar, which looked crap and wasn’t needed. I was impressed to find the rear panel behind the bumper was in excellent condition too. No photos unfortunately.
Next, I located a mint interior. My interior was in good condition apart from the driver’s seat which had worn. Out with the old, and in with the new.
Since this, I have bought some genuine Morette headlights, a decent spec alarm and immobiliser, a scorpion stainless exhaust system to match the existing Scorpion back box, and a fifth slab alloy wheel (always handy as they seem to be becoming much harder to find now).
Now, after owning the car for just over 2 years, and it having sat for 99.9% of that time, I have finally pulled the sill covers off to see what I'm going to be dealing with:
Sill covers off - drivers side is fairly tidy:
Passenger side is much more crusty:
Looking up further into recess (ooh matron)
Looks like she's still rocking her original sills, which isn't bad for 20 years of work and moisture retention from the skirts! The drivers side has been plated at the back which makes it look much more solid overall.
Obviously outer sills will need replacing, and it looks like fab work will be needed to add some shape back to parts of the inners. However, the structure inside looks remarkably solid, and there are traces of Waxoil inside (not sure if VX did this when new?).
The underside of the car also looks pretty solid, and considering what the car is, its age and the fact it has been sitting around for 2 years, it's really not that bad. Main thing is now trying to get a figure for the work to be done, and finding someone who won't make a royal cock up of it. Answers on postcards please...
