My Felicia Fun ( pics 56k!!) + my plans

[R B Customs]

To all at Briskoda forums.

I've owned my Fun for just over a month now, and i have been part of this forum just a little longer than that. But i still have not posted pics of my car, or shared my plans.

so here goes

some background:
I drove past this car for about 2 months on my way to work before i noticed the 'for sale' sign.
I have always wanted a pickup, but because of insurance, parking etc etc the usual suspects ( Hilux, P100, etc) were just too expensive to buy, insure and would be complety useless to me.
Strictly speaking I don't 'need' a pickup, i just like the shape of them in general compared to normal cars.

To be honest, I didn't even know such a car as a Felicia Fun existed, and i never once stopped to look and realise that this bright yellow cool looking truck was a Skoda! I always just presumed it was some kind of ... i dont know what


So when i saw the for sal sign, I spoke to the seller straight away and he showed me the fold down seats and showed me arousd the car. From that moment i knew that this would be my new car and within a week, and ssome help from you guys it was mine!

THe whole deal nearly fell through when i did a full vehicle check and found that it was a cat D write off, but i looked further into the damage and it proved to be not much to worry about.

I sealed the deal on the car for £1100 and insurance worked out the same as what was paying for a 1 litre fiesta!


On with some pics...

THe car used to belong to a gardener and the interior shows! I have never seen such a grubby interior of a car but luckily most of it was just surface, and with an exception for the leather - it all scrubbed up well.




One of the first things i did was get some new components for the cab, I was nearly s*****g bricks cutting holes in the door cards, but it all made for quite a neat installation:







THe engine bay is an on going project. I clean and polish a little bit every week and it is slowly slowly getting better. Again, when i first got it it was really really dirty, so it has scrubbed up well






THe bodywork is not in such a good state compared to
some cars on the road but this is of no concern ( read on ...)
THe only thing that i am worried about is replacing the rear light which is pretty badly damaged, and is held togeather by gaffa tape :|























To go with the front components, I also made a custom enclosure for a subwoofer for the rear of the cab. It is designed so that 2 people can comfortable sit in the back with the seats down, and so that the seats can fold up and the rear can close. It works very well indeed and rocks the cab!

the driver is just a cheap one for now, I didnt want to spend a fortune incase it didnt work... but oh does it work








It's only an 8" driver but it is plenty to fill the small cab with sound.







Future plans:
-Custom paint: I am a proffesional airbrush artist, i do have a day job, who i do paint work for aswell, and i specialise in painted computer cases. but vehicles were where i started. I have planned a completly custom paint scheme for my truck! but i will not change much of the body work. and i'll never lose the seats!
THe aim of the paint is to keep it looking like a fun... but a fun like no one has ever seen

-More ICE At the moment ( with the exception of my front components) most of the audi in my car is quite budget stuff. Im going to slowly upgrade everything until it is of better quality.

-Stainless exhaust system: My exhaust is blowing like hell due to a hole in the back box. It is about time i replaced it so i am going for a custom made stainless system. Don't worry... Its not going to be a loud '****' style exhaust. just something nice, subtle, quiet and long lasting

- pick up bed cover: I'm trying to find a local place that can make a cover for the pickup bed but I'm not having a lot of luck! I need one for the summer for when i go camping so this is quite important

- Wheels any tyres: I like the yellow wheels that are on the car, but they just will not sit right with the new paint job, So some bigger rims will be chosen to suit the car better.

- super detailing!: as i mentioned before I like to wash my cars, and i am slowly detailing everything week by week. I plan to have every nook and cranny spotless and polished!

-Leather restoration: The leather in the cab is shot. I have been talking to a local re-trimmer and leather specialist. He knows it will cost too much to retrim, so is advising me on how to restore the leather by taking it back to basics and re colouring it.

- Fix that blummin headlight adjuster!!! I'll do this, if its the last thing i ever do ha ha



thanks for reading!
I'll keep every one posted.


Thanks to all of the people who have answered my questions, and those who have answered them indirectly by posting about problems here!

Rick

[fordfan]

Nice subtle job with the door cards. We had a customer who had a twin tail pipe made for his Fun, it looked OK and was fairly loud. You could save time under the bonnet by buying a new bonnet catch plate, they are not a lot of money. I have seen a load area cover for the Fun. With the headlamp adjusters, they lose their fluid and the replacement is a pair of adjusters attached to the control already filled with fluid - they just don't last.

[bobob]

Looks good
though i've never liked the yellow leather

[anewman]

Some twazzock who balanced your wheels put silver weights on the outside of your alloys still I suppose they all do that these days. Just spoils the look unfortunately.

Loving the components install on the door cards

[rigsby]

When you speak with your trimmer ask him if it is possible to get the steering wheel yellow again. Mine is nearly black , where the colour has come out of it
i would get it recovered , but aparently the last yellow cow was skinned in 2001

[R B Customs]

Originally Posted by rigsby

When you speak with your trimmer ask him if it is possible to get the steering wheel yellow again. Mine is nearly black , where the colour has come out of it
i would get it recovered , but aparently the last yellow cow was skinned in 2001

yes it is possible... at the cost of £380 !!!!! ( for a re-trim)

He is giving me a kit to re dye the leather... it is costing me £60+VAT for the kit, which is an exact colour match. It involves scrubbing the leather back to basics ( i think) and airbrushing the dye back in, then sealing it.



the wheels have weights on the inside too :S by the way

[woodenspatulas]

never really seen any of these, how do the rear seats work?

[JamesRothwell]

Originally Posted by woodenspatulas

never really seen any of these, how do the rear seats work?

They rock. The rear seats can be folded away to seal the cab or can be folded out like in the pictures for rear passengers to enjoy the outside air.

Really cool pick up with the nice 1600cc engine, nearly had one in p/x a few ago but he sold it on eBay.

[Tom_vRS]

And if it rains, the back passengers either have to get out and walk, or get wet!!! First class!!!

[Skury]

Nice car in very good condition... Congratulation.

[woodenspatulas]

Originally Posted by Tom_vRS

And if it rains, the back passengers either have to get out and walk, or get wet!!! First class!!!

just seen one on trader with some wort of hardtop roof? so maybe its not all that silly

[R B Customs]

Originally Posted by woodenspatulas

never really seen any of these, how do the rear seats work?

I'm not sure of the exact number of these cars in the UK I have heard numbers from 300 to 613 'made for the UK market - right hand drive??) but if someone could confirm this once and for all... Just so i have my facts straight.
I have only seen one other Fun, on my way back from down south, on the M1 i think... i managed to take a picture as i was going past... chances are the owner is on here!

Originally Posted by Tom_vRS

And if it rains, the back passengers either have to get out and walk, or get wet!!! First class!!!

Funny you should say that...

I took a couple friends out in it last week, round o the carvery for a late lunch, to the cash point first and it started raining! My mates girlfriend had a brolly with her, so they were both sat in the back with a brolly up! It was freezing too!

great fun... then we drove to the pub and it started snowing! everyone else was drinking, except me... they were going to walk around... so i suppose it was better than walking.

When you're sitting in the back of a yellow skoda pick up, in the snow, with a brolly up, freezing your socks off... with music blasting out the cap, in april... i suppose it is better to laugh than cry great fun though.

[R B Customs]

TYPICAL!

5.30 on a friday night, just leaving work, looking forward to the weekend to get quotes for about 5 different jobs that need doing to thew skud and....

FAIL

looks like the flywheel / startermotor is kerput! turn the key, engin makes half a turn and the starter motor dis engages immediatly and spins freely had to have the RAC bump start me down a hill and drove it directly to the garage where it is parked until the morning.

there goes another weekend ( last weekend was completly screwed because i ended up having to take my girlfriends dad to casualty!

[anewman]

Originally Posted by R B Customs

I'm not sure of the exact number of these cars in the UK I have heard numbers from 300 to 613 'made for the UK market - right hand drive??) but if someone could confirm this once and for all... Just so i have my facts straight.

I believe Rigsby knows exact figures

[rigsby]

There were 612 right hand drive brought into the country and 1 left hand drive, (original press demo car) this is currently in Kelvdon

[Captain Sisko]

How did you clean the engine bay?

[R B Customs]

Originally Posted by rigsby

There were 612 right hand drive brought into the country and 1 left hand drive, (original press demo car) this is currently in Kelvdon

Thanks for clearing this up! I have heard so many different number!
I wonder how many are still on the road

by the way Rigsby... does your reg plate end in 'JLP' I'm sure it was around Doncaster way that i saw another fun ( its a long shot! )

Originally Posted by Captain Sisko

How did you clean the engine bay?

I started with a roll of kitchen roll, and a tin of WD40 to remove most of the oil build up on the rocker cover and other parts.

then i used a combination of steel wool and Meguires 'metyl' polish to clean and polish the cover... I do a little every week as it takes a long time.

then using Meg's quick detailer i misted it over most of the grubby parts and cleaned it with a micro fibre cloth.
I have found that just using quick detailer and a cloth proves an effective combination to clean most things in the engine bay.

Meg's trim detailer and other silicone products ( like back to black) were used on the dark / plastic bits.

As i said... I do a little every weekend, and it is a lot cleaner now than it is in those pictures.
the yellow body work is the most important thing to clean, as once this is clean it all starts to look pretty neat. In the photo, it has not been done yet. I will post more pics later on though!

THe bloody thing is at the garage tomorrow, so if it is done by sunday i will be cleaning up things like the bonnet post etc.

the whole detailing thing can be seen as being a little sad, but some people just like to clean every part possible, making an effort and all that It's kind of adictive too :|


someone metioned being able to get release plates fairly easily? I'm yet to find a place to order such parts... where do all you guys buy from ?

[richardsfavorit]

Looks like a great Felicia Fun - and sounds like its got the right owner now! I am sure you will get it cleaned up nicely, hope you get it back soon.

[rigsby]

Originally Posted by R B Customs

Thanks for clearing this up! I have heard so many different number!
I wonder how many are still on the road

by the way Rigsby... does your reg plate end in 'JLP' I'm sure it was around Doncaster way that i saw another fun ( its a long shot! )



I started with a roll of kitchen roll, and a tin of WD40 to remove most of the oil build up on the rocker cover and other parts.

then i used a combination of steel wool and Meguires 'metyl' polish to clean and polish the cover... I do a little every week as it takes a long time.

then using Meg's quick detailer i misted it over most of the grubby parts and cleaned it with a micro fibre cloth.
I have found that just using quick detailer and a cloth proves an effective combination to clean most things in the engine bay.

Meg's trim detailer and other silicone products ( like back to black) were used on the dark / plastic bits.

As i said... I do a little every weekend, and it is a lot cleaner now than it is in those pictures.
the yellow body work is the most important thing to clean, as once this is clean it all starts to look pretty neat. In the photo, it has not been done yet. I will post more pics later on though!

THe bloody thing is at the garage tomorrow, so if it is done by sunday i will be cleaning up things like the bonnet post etc.

the whole detailing thing can be seen as being a little sad, but some people just like to clean every part possible, making an effort and all that It's kind of adictive too :|


someone metioned being able to get release plates fairly easily? I'm yet to find a place to order such parts... where do all you guys buy from ?

no mate mine ends in spb, ive not seen one ending jlp , and its not on my list of over 150 of them

[rigsby]

Yours is on my list, it originaly came from cornwall