Author Topic: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!  (Read 9302 times)

Offline bmm

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bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« on: 09 October 2010, 20:49 »
So I thought it was about time I did a little semi-project thread here, considering I've been faffing around long enough with the car...

Back in April 2009 I got sick and tired of driving the Rover 214 I subjecting myself to after returning from a year in Canada, and decided to get a proper car.  After spending many hours at work researching the options (and doing the occasional bit of work, of course ;)), I narrowed it down to two Mk2s on pistonheads - one big bumper 90-spec local to me in Bristol, and an 87 small bumper all the way oop North in Preston.

After seeing what my brothers and friends thought, I made up my mind and went further North than I've ever been before (seriously, I'm a Somerset country bumpkin at heart) to get the small bumper 87 GTI.  The ad was went into a lot of detail, so when I took a look at it I was sold on the spot.  Giddy with excitement I plopped down the cash and drove away fast enough so the buyer's remorse couldn't catch me.  While stopped a mile or so down the road to check out a few bits and bobs, I got a flash and a wave from a nice red Mk2.  Purchase vindicated!

Here are a couple of pics just after I brought it to it's new home in the sunny westcountry.  Fun fact: while I was taking these, the farmer just over the way came over to make sure I wasn't about to burn it out - about 100m further down the lane there was a burnt out shell of a stolen car :(





Overall, it was in good condition.  The body had very few signs of rust, and despite some of the questionable mods stuck on by the previous owner, seemed to run well enough.  Only worrying thing was a switch in the dash that turned the radiator fan on - which got me a bit worried about coolant problems...  More to come - a lot's happened in the last year and a half! :laugh:

Offline Dec

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #1 on: 09 October 2010, 22:11 »
Looks awesome! Looking forward to reading the rest :) Really feeling mk2's again at the moment!

Offline dom

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #2 on: 09 October 2010, 22:42 »
Looks tidy, really liking the OEM+ vibe you've got going on!  :lipsrsealed: :laugh:

Offline cняis

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #3 on: 10 October 2010, 00:22 »
moar pics fellow bumpkin! :afro:


I don't think a semi will give the same results

Offline Agreeable Slick

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #4 on: 10 October 2010, 12:50 »
Looks alright that, would get rid of the single wiper though.

Offline bmm

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #5 on: 10 October 2010, 21:36 »
Haha, ok here's some more!  This is going back to about June 2009 - I've got a fair bit of time to make up...!

After getting my first couple of shows as a VW owner out of the way - RTTS and Bristol Volksfest - and without any problems from the cooling system, I thought I'd get down to things and get to grips with whatever the previous owner had done to the car.  Started by ripping out most of the interior:



Little did I realise the sheer lunacy I'd uncovered...  Wires spliced all over the place with any kind of tape the previous owner had to hand, random wires where there shouldn't be any and a persistent alarm problem with false alarms going off usually right in the middle of the night.  AAaaaaaaaah!

Here are just a few of the gems I found after dismantling as much of the dash as I could be bothered:









Not only had he made his own phono cables by splicing RCA connectors into speaker wire :sick: there was some household 3-core flex being used for the 'professionally installed' alarm, random wires heading towards a butchered head unit harness and reams upon reams of gaffer tape holding it all together in a big, sticky mess.  How the car never caught fire with all this wiring still baffles me to this day.

Speaking of the single wiper, the previous owner had used (I think) some rear wiper instead of something that'd actually do the job of wiping the window.  It wasn't long enough and didn't sit properly on the window so missed great big patches in the middle.  Took me ages to get around to changing it, but change it I did!

Offline bmm

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #6 on: 10 October 2010, 21:41 »
Couple of months later, and still plagued by false alarms I turned to t'internet for help, and it turned out the driver door trigger was lacking a diode to stop signals from the interior light going to the alarm and making it think the door was open.  Course, the LED flashing orange/green should've been a giveaway, but I thought that was showing the movement sensors picking me up :embarrassed:  Experimented with a couple of diodes in the wiring, and eventually stumbled on a working solution so soldered it in place and prayed for a good night's kip.  The neighbours were pleased, too.

Not much happened the rest of 2009, besides a few shows here and there, and then sticking it on steels in preparation for doing some DIY refurbishing of the alloys:



And before heading up to Snowdon to climb some stupid mountain, I had to prepare the car for the horrendous weather by installing a genuine* VAG air filter moisture deflection device over the cone filter the PO had installed (might switch to an original airbox and nice panel filter one day...)



Worked a treat!  Oh, and I also bunged together some DIY uprated headlight loom to replace the one already on the car, as after seeing the last lot of electrical stuff that came with the car, I didn't trust it as far as I could throw it.  And I've got arms like pipe cleaners, so that's not very far.  But, even my primary-school level grasp of electrics and soldering skills managed to survive the worst North Wales could throw at it, so I'm pretty sure that makes it a success!

* not strictly genuine...

Offline VR6_Wherry

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #7 on: 11 October 2010, 09:23 »
Just had a read of this thread, it's pretty awesome!! Keep up the good work :afro:

... More updates!!  :grin:

Offline Diamond Hell

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #8 on: 11 October 2010, 13:30 »
I have a complete airbox and AFM.

Talk to me if you're interested...
Just because you're offended doesn't make you right.

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Offline TalisaJade

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Re: bmm's 87 mk2 - don't call it OEM+!
« Reply #9 on: 11 October 2010, 15:22 »
Little did I realise the sheer lunacy I'd uncovered...  Wires spliced all over the place with any kind of tape the previous owner had to hand, random wires where there shouldn't be any and a persistent alarm problem with false alarms going off usually right in the middle of the night.  AAaaaaaaaah!

funny that, my wires are the same!! found some wires to wire the sub up, which had already been done, but when put new interior in the other day, found another bunch of wires, not sure if attatched anymore, but even so, they go to the front of the car, so gotta sort that... and my bloody alarm goes off all the time as well, but can i just get rid of the whole alarm?? i have to click alarm at the mo to start the car?? car looks good tho btw ;)
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