Although they tend to miss out on the limelight, daily drivers are the unsung heroes of the modified scene. These are the machines tasked with the hardest grafts of daily life – the commutes, load-hauling and four-season usage that would take its toll on cherished project cars and rare parts. They also have the expectation of stepping into service at a moment’s notice – and occasionally, that shove can turn them into a project in their own right.
A decade ago, if you’d told Dawid Szejn that he’d have bagged a PVW feature, he would probably have had a different car in mind. Back in 2013 he was three years into building what he still calls the “car of his life” – a Vento-fronted, US-bumpered Dragon Green Mk3, caged and static-dropped over a set of staggered Schmidt Modernlines. With a decent haul of trophies under its belt, and a clean-where-you-can’t-even-see-it approach to detailing and maintenance, those predictions probably would have come true by now if it hadn’t been for one sizeable bump in the road.
“The Golf was at a really high standard, then five years ago I was at an event and somebody drove into it and damaged it,” he sighs. “I have got a really strong bond with that car, so I couldn’t strip it or sell it. Instead, I put it in storage with
