I don’t have a scooby....do

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Hi all

I’m looking for some enlightenment from you knowledgeable scooby owners.  
 

I’m potentially about to purchase my first scooby.   A 98 UK turbo classic.   And I am self confessed as not having a clue/scooby do about them.  What I find a little baffling as a new comer to the scooby “scene” is all the different variety of scoobies, uk cars, parallel imports, other imports and with widely differing values.  Obviously limited editions etc will attract a premium.   I’ve never been massively in to my scoobies before but there is something about this car that triggered my “ooooh” button.   Now before I continue I have other “modern classic” cars so know what it takes to look after one....and rust god I know about rust.   What I don’t want to do is throw good money at a car that just simply isn’t worth it and by that I mean I’ve seen Nissan bluebirds that folk want £10k+ for just because they are old.   But they were rubbish cars back then and not desirable.  So won’t ever be worth that type of money (IMHO of course one mans rubbish is another mans treasure and all that).  

The car in question is original UK awd turbo.  Very low miles and 100% original no mods whatsoever.   So far so good   I know it has some corrosion issues from past MOTs so I had it shipped to a scooby specialist to check up the turrets etc and they have uncovered a decent list of issues for a 22 year old car that has been used and maintained in the UK since new but not wrapped in cotton wool (needs engine and gearbox work along with some general wear items and sorting out some areas of rust...but the car is described as pretty solid).   

It’s going to cost be about £4-5k to have them sort it all out and get the whole car rust proofed which will give me a car that is top notch (would probably need a full respray to be a show pony but I’m not looking for that, just something honest and not chasing rust and problems around it).  With purchase price this will stand me about £10k or so all in for a low mile, original classic.   I’m not worried about having a car worth less than I have invested but it is an investment of sorts so I’m keen to know if these standard UK classic scoobys are seen as desirable.  Or are they avoided like the plague by those in the know.  Like a Golf GTI is desirable but not a mk3 golf gti 8v these should all be scrapped at the first opportunity.

It would give me great pleasure to get this car sorted out and kept if it is worth doing but do I take the plunge?

I hope this all makes sense 

Cheers

[flat6]

UK turbo 2000s are not as desirable/valuable as JDM STIs, and probably never will be, due to being a watered down version. Still a great car though. Whether it's a good investment at £10k depends on how long you keep it. They're getting rare, rot has killed most of them.

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Thanks a lot for your insight.   I intend to keep it indefinitely, at least for the foreseeable future 

[Jay762]

Wotcha and welcome - feel free to start a build thread and share your progress

[savage bulldogs]

A lot of uk turbos have been scrapped due to rot and Jdm's do come better equipped (so do tend to command more money ) 

 for a long while even uk "limited" versions were considered to be worth less , as they're generally uk turbo spec with different trim but now clean rb5's ,terzos, mcrae and catalunyas are commanding strong money .

I think it will be a while before uk turbos are worth over £5k but the rarer they get the more the price will rise .

Its always nice to hear a classic is being restored and as jay said feel free to start a build thread .To log your progress and help other owners be more familiar with their classics .

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Thanks again for the welcome and thoughts.

This is the car I’ve put a deposit down on and having checked over.  Still waiting for the full list of what needs doing but no one has told me it’s a terrible idea so if nothing horrible comes up I’m going to do it.

I can’t link to the ad for some reason so forgive the screen grabs.

Owned by an elderly chap who now unfortunately has gone into care.  60k miles on the clock, 100% original I believe.

My restore thread will be pictures of me paying money over to those with more time and skill than me but I’ll be glad to share what I learn along the way

 

 

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Oh and I’m having Hurst of Bedford do the work.   They seem pretty decent and knowledgeable 

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Well I’ve bit the bullet and going for it.   Going to cost a fair bit more than originally thought to sort out properly but if you’re going to do it, do it right and do it once.  Spent too many years chasing rust around my VWs to want to do a half hearted job on this.

Restoration should begin first week of Jan and be done by end of Feb or so.   Will get a build thread started once we get underway with a list of all the work that’s being carried out on it

[savage bulldogs]

It looks like a clean example to start with , mind you you don't know what is lurking under that underseal .

For reference it's a version 4 uk turbo , as Subaru years and versions can be a little confusing at the best of times .

If you do need any repair panels or sections have a look at "automotive repair panels " on f.b . Ray sells good quality and fitment panels ,at a fraction of main dealer costs .

All the best and keep us posted on the progress 👍

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Thanks for the advice on panels.   Is version 4 the number of incarnations/updates this model had by 1998? Assuming it’s a MY98?

It is pretty clean and straight from what I’ve been told.  This is a rough idea of what will be getting done, idea being this will sort it out for the next decade (hopefully, it won’t have a hard life): 

Remove parking dents

Engine out, clean engine bay 

Replace rear main seal, cam seals, gearbox seals, front oil pump seal and side shaft seals

Remove rust on underside

Power coat and sand blast front and rear subframes

Clean and re-furbish differential

Waxoyl under body

Replace timing belt kit

Fix engine misfire..Plugs or leads hopefully 

Replace all oils and fluids

Zinc coat under body bolts

New under body bushes 

 

I’m actually getting quite excited about this.    Less so about having to tell management aka the missus!!

[flat6]

That's a good list. But I'd add a couple of things:

Oil separator plate, next to the rear main seal. They can leak copiously. There's updated ones available, it's a known issue of EJ20s of that era.

It's probably been looked at already, but strip out the boot, and thoroughly inspect the inner rear wings, particularly where they meet the rear wing outers. This is where the wheel arch rot starts, tired rear light seals can let water in and it stews in the voids. And the rear strut towers of course. Your garage of choice knows their way around these cars better than most, so you should be ok.

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Thanks for that.  I’ll mention the oil separator plate.  Max did say there was some water in the wheel well if memory serves me well so I’ll re-mention that to him to replace the seals 

[ScoobyBlueClassic]

Added oil separator plate to the list 

Balance of car paid today so no turning back now.