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Hey everyone new member from Wakefield I bought my first Lupo and its a 1.4 s in Jazz Blue! I was just wondering what to do with it, as in mods. I want to lower it and get some Weller Wheels for it! however im no good with the mechanical side of things and have no clue where to start! Do i lower the car first or put the new wheels on? I've been looking at some 7x13 Weller Wheels, would i need the arches rolling? LUPO.jpg here she is if the picture works, ive not come to grips on how to use this yet Help would be appreciated! Frudd!

Its been almost a year since I bought our 1.4s Blue Lupo. I feel its about time it had its own thread in regards to the work we've done. Last year, sitting in a pub in Conwy I thought it would be nice to suprise my wife with her first car. She had past her test 5 years previous, but due to pregnancy and birth of our first (and then second) child, she never got round to driving. I sat in the Liverpool arms in Conwy with my brother in law looking at a little picture of a Blue 1.4s Lupo for sale. Maybe it was the beer, as it was a random purchase. I had the cost and how much I was prepared to invest in some 'fixes'. The advert said the car was in good condition, was tidy, had covered 68,646 miles and had 12 months MOT. At £900 it felt worth a punt. So I bought it. Here are some pictures of the car from the advert: It looked fairly tidy and standard. The day came to collect. When I got there the car looked ok, though I noticed the drivers and passenger side door drop, with the drivers side being quite severe. Fair game I thought for the age. Body work was great, small indent on left rear panel, but other wise, great. I handed over the cash and took the keys and documents and made my way. Thats when the issues started. First off the steering wheel was off centre, and there was a lot of play in the steering wheel. Then there was the gearbox noise. This was horrendous in gears 3 and 4 - later I read up and found this is a common issue with Lupo gearboxes and bearings. Then the engine warning light came on - due to low oil levels. A couple of stops on the motorway and fill up of oil helped this. The drinks holder was snapped and there was no stereo. I started to feel gutted, this was nothing like advertised. I contemplated taking the previous owner through ebay and raising an issue through them to get my money back. Part of me felt like I could get it all fixed and it would be a good little car. The previous owner (lets call her Katie) was a ****, she did not want to know, she tried to make out there was nothing wrong with the gearbox, that the steering was fine etc. I couldn't be bothered, plus it was my own fault for being a plonker and buying a car in this way (on the spur). I decided to get the car sorted and give it a good home. So I had the following carried out soon after purchase: * New door straps and hinges * Dodgy temp sender replaced * Gearbox rebuilt by Top Gear Transmissions in Liverpool - absolutely brilliant! * New clutch - fitted by Top Gear Transmissions at time of gearbox work * Bought a new steering column from ebay (as the existing was was totally knackered) * New Cambelt kit * New Catalytic converter * Full service The car was starting to come together. The gearbox is now sweet and I caught it in time, so its the original box with new bearings and it feels good to drive. I also removed the tint window film and also replaced the 'blacked out' rear lights for standard ones. Bought off a nice chap on this forum. When the steering column was fitted, there was no airbag giro, so the airbag light was on - this was taped up for the short term. Here are some pics: This was how the car was until this month. I have now carried out the following: * New airbag giro * VCDS cable purchased * New drinks holder * Sony stereo fitted * New parcel shelf (previous owner had made their own). * Interim service * Passed MOT During the year, I bought some 15" CMS Alloys 7J ET38 off my brother inlaw who has Yellow Lupo Sport (Curly Custard) and they sat in my garage for months. Not sure whether to keep them or sell them - I'd had enough of paying out and didn't want to put the new wheels on the car at the height it was. So in January I bought some Koni 40mm lowering springs and some new bump stops and tops mounts from Dale. And today I had them fitted, with huge thanks to JoeA - he really is a top lad, helped me out a few times, and his mate Brian. Here is a pic of my car loaded up ready to go and get 'sorted': Here is Joe and Brian working hard: Here are some pictures of my lovely Lupo now - the wheels have 195 / 50 and I think they fit the arch nicely at this height: So there you have it. This is a smashing little car now, a lot of money spent - but I've given it a good home and brought it back up to standard. A big thanks to JoeA who's been brilliant with the VCDS and helping get that sorted and also today - this car looks great thanks to you. The next thing is to replace the thermostat as its stuck open, which I will do tomorrow. Other than that, I'm going to enjoy it, and my wifes driving it now too. cheers for reading/ looking. Matt