I'm in there on a weekly basis due to my job and I know most of the staff well enough, so I can always ask the question "Please can I have something without a X??

:lol:

What's the bet I end up with YUX :lol: :lol: :lol:

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So am I in the minority for not caring about number plates at all? Seriously - some of you look down on having the wrong letters on your reg number?

Wanting the same number plate as it's had throughout the cars history I can understand, but having something against an import 'age related' plate on an import car I just don't get.

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What a load of Bollocks.
It's the car that matters, the mark of it's registration is irrelevent unless it is a UK OG car,and then so what.
If i could buy Heb#5 from the Grundmanns,i'd gladly drive it round with the number plate
TO55ER.
What a crock,save your money LT,send it to help starving children in Africa,cancer relief or an Aids trust.
And for the statement a number plate change made a car look better ROPMFLOL@this bullshit.

Like I've said in my posts - I'm not bothered, but I wanted to understand what the fuss was about.

At least I know now.

Still not bothered, but understand those that are.

I wouldn't swap my original paint and wings for an original number plate though, put it that way! :lol:

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I heard that you had that one on retention ready and waiting... :lol:

Glad I'm not the only one that think like this though :wink:

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Touche
:lol: :lol:
Left the door open for that one:oops: But you just would if you had to.

I'd still prefer a nice old British reg, not to make it look like anything other than an import, in this case the LHD'ness and Portuguese service tags give that away pretty well.

I just prefer a nice reg, rather than a UX or XU something, dont ask me why, because I dont know. :wink:

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With precious little else I can do until parts arrive, I turned my attention to the wiring cover which you'll see by my signature, is now (or was) an item I was looking for as mine was well and truly kippered.





My research has shown that replacements are simply not available, so I decided to see if it was at all possible to repair my existing one without having to bandage it up like a mummy...

After a visit to Dad which saw me leave with all sorts of clamps, glues and bits of hard wood etc, I came up with a cunning plan - crazy, but it just might work!

I thought I'd start with the easier stuff first such as the frayed, split and de laminated anchor points etc...





Dad lent me some super thin cyanoacrylate adhesive which is only a fraction of the viscosity of water and has incredible capillary action and can find it's way deep into joints with ease. He also gave me some kicker which when sprayed on, not only sets the glue instantly (bloody hot too!) but allows the surplus glue that is still liquid and floating on top of the joint to set like a cement filler for added strength.





I then took two square rods of ridgid hardwood, courtesy of Dad again, and wrapped them in cellotape..... why.... because the glue simply will not adhere to the tape!





Then, sandwiching the damaged and de laminated area very tightly with clamps and the strips of wood....





I then 'wicked' the adhesive thoroughly into the joint until it would accept no more, let it settle and soak for about 20 seconds, then zapped it with the kicker setting it like concrete.





Which yielded fantastic and very encouraging results!







The repair is incredibly strong and rigid, so spurred on with this result, I got a little more adventurous and had a crack it this almighty mess...







Yet again - fantastic results!







Exhilarated with bravery, I thought I'd put it all on black and see if it would work against this nasty piece of work...







This section required a two stage approach - firstly I did the usual with the two strips of wood.





Then where it had split along the radius of the moulding, I had to clamp it on one side with a marker pen which closely matched the radius - wrapped in tape again of course!





I was delighted with how this section turned out!







And then for the biggie.... Do I attempt to join both halves together using this method?

Ah, why the hell not. This involved getting Mrs LT to hold the two halves tightly aligned and pushed together whilst I carefully fed adhesive in, inch by inch whilst spraying it with the kicker. This was done both sides - but as it was a difficult job that required two pairs of hands at the same time and and with the timing being so critical, I didn't stop to take pictures, but boy oh boy am I over the moon with the results!









Considering what I started with, I'd call that a result!

Due to the curved shape, the joint is really strong and I couldn't help myself from testing it with a few trial flexes!

I'll need to go over all the joints with a blade to tidy any rough edges up and remove some of the white and shiny residue etc, but other than that, it's usable now and another big tick in the originality box of preserve not restore etc.

Whether I do some proper cosmetic work to the front face, smoothing the join and re-painting it I don't yet know.... we'll see.

Not bad for an evening I'd have otherwise spent on the sofa waiting for parts!

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I got a feeling they are issuing YUX at the moment...I'm sure someone on RW was just given those letters... :wink:

Yep :lol:



and yep :lol: :lol:

Of course not Rob, we're just making a comment the car would look better without an XXXUUUU type plate, that's all :wink:

Calm down dear, what's the matter, missed out on your mince pie tonight? :lol: :beer:

That would actually be hilarious! :lol:

Maybe I should wait another couple of years before registering it? :roll:

Anyway - what d'you reckon to the wiring cover? I'm delighted!

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Now I remember, I think the plate was YUC...which given the condition of your car when you got it would perhaps actually suit it quite well... :wink: :lol:

Anyways, back on topic, the cover came out quite well. I think you should just keep it like it is as it matches the "patina" look that you've kept so well with everything else.

Ooo, you cheeky devil you!

'PAT' or 'ACE' would be more appropriate... :lol:

What's the bet I end up with YUC, YUK or YUX - the writing's on the wall! :lol:

Like I say - just not bothered one little bit - the car is what it is. :beer:

The wiring cover is better than it looks in the pictures - the flash artificially highlights the shiny and white areas of adhesive. I;ll probably take a little wet n dry to the joints just to soften the edges. I'm delighted with it considering how mullered it was.

Just wish this trans mount would turn up so I can get cracking again.

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dont think you get to choose at dvla,well i didnt get asked anyway???

you need to fill out the necessary forms which you get from swansea dvla(sent out for free!)then take country related v5,mot and insurance with relevant forms filled out then pay the fee(55 i think)then tax disc with documents arrive a wk later then v5 a bit after

ive just been given 392 YUB which i dont think is too sad

there have been a few plates on ebay but dvla seem to be fully aware of what they are selling and seemingly sell accordingly so maybe no bargains there

found one i liked...59 LOV but it ranged from 3-6k on numerous sites so its obviously a bit of a minefield

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would this not be ok???

https://www.pre67vw.com/classifieds/detail.aspx?id=2966 

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Yeah, YUB would be ok.

To be honest, it'll probably end up with YUC though and that's almost funny, so will be fine also.

I won't be paying for a plate though, that's for sure. Better things to spend the money on.

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Yeah, that's the sort of thing I'd have bought if I'd not been able to rescue the original one.

To be fair, with the exception of the join, mine looks better than that one and is the original one to the car so I'll stick to what I have now.

Thanks for posting though!

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original is always best!

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Don't call me dear,Ducky:wink:
Mince pies are the spawn of the devil.