VoLkSwagEn poLo 1.0 CL ONE KEITH’S FOUND £1200
Keith Adams looks back at his best – and worst – classic buys. This week, a VW Polo bought for peanuts… in Italy
wHy did you wanT onE?
I didn’t set out to buy the Volkswagen Polo, but needs must. I’d come to the end of the second Staples2Naples banger rally that I’d been competing in, and the car fell into my lap. Back then, charity banger rallies were popular, the idea being to buy a car for £100 or less, and then get it to the south of Italy through France and across the Alps, while competing a number of challenges. The car we went down in was an Austin Allegro Series 1 that I’d bought from Richard Gunn – it did its best to fail on the event, but we made it to Naples in one piece. I think, by about day two, I had decided that there was no way I would be driving it back to the UK and started asking around the rival teams to see who was selling their car in Naples and flying back.
waS iT a joy – oR a nigHTmaRE – To LivE wiTH?
I have to say that I wasn’t expecting to pick up a 33,000-mile Polo for peanuts – so when owners David Louis-Webb and Charlie Fogg agreed to sell it for £50 and a lift to Naples airport, how could I refuse? The drive back to England in a 45bhp car was surprisingly good fun – and I realised that I’d bought a gem by the time I’d made it home, despite its oversized Golf wheels. Stickers peeled off and cleaned inside and out, the little car gleamed like a new pin, and was pressed into daily service as my then-partner’s daily driver – and she ended up loving it. After a service (plugs, filters, oil), it passed its first MoT in my hands without even an advisory, which surprised me considering the wheels would rub the arches when cornering. Maybe it was just my driving…
wHaT’S youR abiding mEmoRy of iT?
The fantastic drive through the Apennine mountains in Italy and into the Swiss Alps, following my best mate Alexander driving the Allegro. This is what a great road trip is all about – great friends, brilliant roads and fantastic views. It faded into the background a bit after it came back to the UK – it’s the only car that my ex was ever caught speeding in. It really was a properly bombproof little car, which I ended up keeping for the next two years. Nothing ever went wrong with it and it never let us down; I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if I were to discover it were still going strong today.
wHaT aRE youR Top TipS foR buying onE Today?
Lots of these cars ended up being modified in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which saw off quite a number of the nice, original examples such as mine. That means that the survival rate of these cars is now low, despite being built really well and having an above-average ability to resist rust. Rust is the first thing to check for – they do have a few weak spots, such as the rear of the sills, the jacking points and floorpan, which are an easy fix for a skilled welder. Check also that the fuel tank is free from corrosion, especially around the filler neck. Other than that, just watch out for poor running – which is usually down to a poorly adjusted carburettor – and evidence of regular cambelt changes.
ENgINE 1043cc/4-cyl/OHC POWER 45bhp@5400rpm TORQUE 55lb ft@2700rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 84mph 0-60MPH 12.9 seconds FUEL CONSUMPTION 35-41mpg TRANSMISSION FWD, four-speed manual
This looks like one of those little gems that you’d have found tucked up in someone’s garage and paid a couple of hundred quid for a few years ago. Today, the barn-find culture and a wider appreciation of classic cars means that it’s a £1200 project, and it actually still looks really appealing to me. The seller says that it’s been laid up for years and is largely rust-free. It’s an early MkII, which makes it very appealing, as does the low indicated mileage of 15,000. That said, it still requires an MoT and the carburettor setting up properly in order to attain Polo perfection, though.
Private seller, Hersham, Surrey, 07821 519422
WHAT I PAID
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