Considering going in a new direction..

[JoshFair]

hey guys, for those of you who haven't been watching my thread, i'm josh... and i have been building up my '76 Mk1 since about march this year.. and have gotten it to the stage where it can and will be roadworthy soon and ready for rego



but through browsing this and other forums, i have come to the understanding that if you want a really really really tidy mk1.. you either have to have a good start.. or lots of money... and seeing as i have neither, i thought... whats the best way for me to have a tuff looking mk1 that will turn heads and still be a lot of fun, without spending toooo much $$$ .... ?

And i'm thinking the solution is to go rat rod.. not rusty ruined rank rat.. semi tidy, smooth gangster rat rod...

here's some pics of what i mean...









i'm thinking matte black.. keep white interior.. white powder coated re barrelled steelies... maybe even matte white bumpers??? who knows.. i think thats where i'm headed though.. thoughts?? ideas?? concerns??


Jf

[cleb]

i rkn slamm it get some good offset dishy wheels, and a front lip and you will be having a win it kinda already looks semi messy ratty. the thing is with those photos that you posted, there is still actaully a lot of effort and money put into them. it isnt just a couple of rattle cans. they would have been a fair bit of body work and then it would have been an actual proper matt paint layed down on top. you will just ruin what you already have if you try do that with out putting the dollars into it and it will look worse then when you started.

[DUBY]

just find yourself a good set of 13" rims with some lip and some coilovers, oh and as mentioned by cleb the front lip, keep it looking as standard as possible and your a winner with style

[JoshFair]

hmmm yeah.. well i've got coilovers.. just want to do something better with paint.. as its pretty bad in some areas and it drives me nuts.. i figured its easier to DYI when your not aiming for perfection hahaha!! and mates dad owns a bodyworks and will mix up something nice for me.. but getting him to do the job would still cost close to 2000 even on mates rates

[Jarred]

I think what you've got is good. You don't need to spend alot of cash to have a neat mk 1.

I reckon refinsh those wheels, get some skinnier tyres, lower it some more, and get rid of the arches. Thats just looks wise, there are still plenty of other things you can do in the engine bay/underneath/inside. upgrade the brakes, make it handle better etc, run better etc.

I would only ever paint a mk 1 flat black if I KNEW that I was going to repsray it completely at a later stage. Otherwise you're just ruining what is a pretty decent mk 1, imo.

thats just my 2cents anyways.

[anth]

If you really want to go the matte look, then I rekon keep it baby blue. Matte black is very easy to stuff up, only seen a few cars pull it off and its usually the ones that haven't been done back yard style. A flat baby blue would look really good IMO

[WABIT]

matt paint looks rubbish.........

[SpeciP3]

good idea dude, rat is good but honestly don't spray it matt black.
I had only a matt black bonnet on the old mk1, but it was forever dirty and just didn't look that great.
I'd honestly just slam it on some fat wheels and have a good little stereo, it's so much fun...

[dubmc]

i agree with the above comments, just sack it on some dope wheels and get a lip...it will look good and be a mad cruiser...as jarred said i'd get it running/handling good too...then you will have a nice package..

imo...i would not bother spending good $$ on a paint job unless you are going to do a ground up resto...otherwise old stuff inside and nice new paint? not a fan.

[JoshFair]

.

Alot of very good points here guys. Flat baby blue would be intense. Very uncommon... And with matte black, if its hard to keep clean then i'm not a fan haha. Well i've been looking into some 13x8 superlites.. Maybe white centres? Polished lip... Ps- what sized duckbill should i get? What would look best? Small or big 2 piece? Cheers.

[killingwithasmile]

ohh man dont spray it matte black!! your colour is such a good color.. hit it with a coat of satin clear, just to knock the gloss off.. rat=imperfections.. spend money on some wheels and tyres..

[PhilVW]

I have figured out since living in AUS that a mk1 is a sought after car, i was going to Rat mine up as thats (oh i can say it!!) how i rolled back in the UK as its cheap mods with almost disposable cars! but over here im trying to make a tidy mk1, im a car mechanic so obviously dont have any money to spend on her! Im not building a show car, im building a nice clean daily driver. The mk1 is an amazingly simple car,

alot of work on my car is taking up time more than money, i stripped the carpet out the other week, jet washed it, dyed and spraypainted it black, put her back in and looks awesome, $6 on paint!! few hours ****ing around!! I even bought a sewing machine the other week for $40, i've already made some door trims, (Check my build thread) gear gaitor, sunvisors, headlining, and all the A,B,C pillar trims, (spray glue works wonders!!) from fabric from the auto trimmers ($20per meter) im going to try re-trim the dash and seats next (will be alot of trial and error!!

Or just go the the sign writing shop and wrap the car in matt vynal? - this is the craze in the europe at the mo, Ferrari, lambo's, Astons, Porsche - seen heaps in matt vynal, vynal chrome - awesome look for minimal $$$, i want to wrap my Camry!

Keep searching the forums for some wheels! Im considering some 15in Toyota Steelies to go into the collection with some stretched tyres!

Phil

[Jarred]

i prefer the smaller duckbills on everything except actual GTI's..

[SpeciP3]

i prefer the smaller duckbills on everything except actual GTI's..

exactly what i'd have said. get yourself a one-piece gls front spoiler/bill looks tops

[hjsimpson01]

Actually PhilVW makes a very good point Josh... Vinyl wrap it.... if you decide you don't like it then a good day in the sun, bit of a hair dryer and bam, back to original...It will also help keep the elements off your original paint...

I acutally thought about vinyl wrapping that Kombi I am selling... I was going to get a Vincent Van Gogh artwork printed on vinyl...

I can put you on to some vinyl people here in town locally if you are interested, although they may not be the cheapest, but they'll be the most keen...