Nearly there!

The Old Grey Socke has at last been re-aquainted with the ground and its rolling stock has pretty much been decided upon (At least for now!). What you are about to see here is a culmination of efforts from Edday the Fresh Prince and Ade's determination to find a set of wheels that look right on the wagon!

Dropped 40mm using H&R springs and Bilstein dampers (nowt but the best for Ye Socke!) the Passat looks reet cool and with the VR6 rims it changes it completely. Apparantly the ride is transformed (for better or worse) as you would expect. Its a mean cruiser fo' sho' and we look forward to seeing it out and about soon. The plan was to take it to Mania with the others but things have conspired against Adey to not let this happen. We await!

Sockke with new shoes?

Rastaman Aday Cartay has been busy with the Sockke over the last few weeks, in betwen trips to foreign climes with his 'proper' job. Here we have some pics of his efforts. Black BBS rims give the Passat a whole new attitude. The ride height has still to fall – but thats all in the future. Check...

Ye Socke of dooooom!

Work is progressing to bring the Socke up to speed with the fashion and styles of the modern era. The TT rims were abandoned due to clearance problems and a set of BBS rims have been sourced instead. This should still look cool and update its image nicely.

Ade has been busy with his 'other life' – living large, rubbing shoulders with celebs and wining and dining in some of the world's finest establishments... nice!

Pasta side-dish 2: Mk 1 Passat Wagon

Again, an Ade car that was passed-on because of the extent of welding required. Very rare LHD '76 Passat LS Automatic, complete with chrome bumpers and handles. I wonder what happened to it? Would love to see the old gal back on the road.

Bought from its original owners in 2004, this car had been bought in the UK as a LHD French-spec car, shipped to France, then Switzerland, and back to the UK for its retirement. Original Mars Red with a beige cloth interior. BooYakka!

Pasta side-dish: The Golden Lady

Ade has a knack of digging up old crates in the most unlikely of places, and this previous project ride is just such a case. The 1987 Passat GL5, dubbed 'The Golden Lady' – for obvious reasons – the grande-luxe dub was used as a daily driver and show-hack for a year or two, making a star appearance at VW Action a couple of years ago as part of the second Undesirables display.

Used as a test-bed for the new Restoshop custom-drilled hubs, in this case, Audi pattern, the car is currently sitting dormant – and lonely. So... the 'Lady could soon be up for sale due to a lack of space and use. Having been pampered for most of its life, the paintwork is mostly good, and the interior is even better. (It’s a smell thing).

She will require some paintwork around the front and rear arches, and a replacement driver's door. The engine is the excellent VW/Audi 2-Litre, 5-cyl unit as used in 1980s Audi 100s and still runs beautifully. The ‘Lady will be supplied with a spare gearbox. If you are interested, call 07968 803676.

Restoshop project ride: 1985 Passat Wagon

The 'Grey Sock' is an ’85 Mk 2 Passat station wagon, which is currently being given the Restoshop treatment – lowering, a set of 17-inch Audi TT rims and Recaro front seats which have been re-trimmed in the original factory cloth. The 'Grey Sock' was bought locally by Ade, and is the seventh Passat he’s owned. The wagon is in good condition compared to most Mk 2 Passats you’ll see, the doors and wheelarches being the usual areas to rot like a Mofo.

This one has a bit of rust but Ade says “It’s the best one I‘ve seen in ages”. Team Restoshop hope to travel to Belgium and Germany later this year in the Grey Sock, and you will see it cruising to many UK events too. Future plans include updating the running gear and tidying up the bodywork.

Here is The Sock in all her pre-'shop glory.