Skoda Favorit saved from the scrapheap is a brilliant first car
What were you doing at the age of 13? Terrorising the locals on your BMX? Swapping Panini football stickers with your mates? The chances are you hadn’t secured your first car four years ahead of time.
That’s precisely what George Fooks was doing in 2014, when his father bought a Skoda Favorit LXI with a failed head gasket for just £80. Had Mr Fooks Sr not purchased it, the Favorit would have been scrapped.
For four years, the Favorit was kept in dry storage, with George taking an increasing interest in the last car Skoda built before Volkswagen took control. “I kept nagging dad to let me have it,” said George, “and he gave in… eventually!”
In truth, the Favorit was in a bit of a state. The MOT history reveals nothing out of the ordinary, but George told PetrolBlog that it required some welding before it was ready to be passed from father to son. The paintwork was also in desperate need of some elbow grease and looked nothing like the gleaming example of today.
New rear lights and alloy wheels were purchased, while a second Favorit was secured for the purpose of plundering parts. In April 2018, nearly five years since its last inspection, the Skoda Favorit sailed through its MOT without a mention of an advisory. Not bad for a car that was destined for a scrapyard in 2014.
PetrolBlog stumbled across George’s fantastic Favorit at a recent Haynes Breakfast Club meeting, before declaring it the car of the day on PB’s Facebook page. An unlikely choice given the array of exotica on display, but if that comes as a surprise to you, you must be new to PetrolBlog.
It just looks so right. The modifications are nicely executed and the white paintwork provides a perfect contrast to the black bumpers, door handles and the black trim running up the A-pillar and along the roof.
George has other plans, and intends to lower the Favorit, fit banded steelies and, in his words, some “general tidying up”. We think you’re being far too modest, George – your Skoda is… superb.
6 Comments
Good work George!! love stories like this-cars destined for scrap getting a new lease of life!
So well written and always engaging. Thanks for bring back so many memories. Especially about French cars. Renault then had a flair that has since gone south. And this Favorit is pretty captivating. In Malaysia where I’m at, aside from VW pretty nothing else really matters. Italian and French cars have a miniscule following so the lovely old Fiat’s, Alfas, Citroens and Renaults are barely even mentioned.
Ah, but you have a plentiful supply of Protons. And that’s a good thing.
A very similar case with our 1987 Ginetta G26. Me and my father bought it as a project to teach me mechanics. it is now recommissioned for the road and I have learnt a bit of driving in it, the plan now is to move it on to raise funds for a 1987 Volvo 480, with the aim of that being my first car.
I am very pleased with the fact PB is back and I look forward to putting a PB window sticker on the rear window when I finally get hold of an elusive 480!
Superb – a 480 is a fine choice of first car!
I look forward to sending you a PB sticker when the time is right.
Where can I buy such nice wheels
as mine are leaking through the rim.