tech1889 - "operation restoration"

[jv]

[tech1889]

Well on the 24th November 2010 I picked up a car that i'd loved since ive loved cars.. My mk2 GTI.. My budget was very strict and i didn't want a minter i paid £900 of the gueens notes with a full tank of petrol which i thought was a steal for a car like this..

The car is a 3dr Royal metallic blue GTI 8v just tipped over 150k which is low mileage.. Also its on a J reg so an AUG 91' car.. I viewed and purchased the car in the dark so the next day after getting it home i didn't know what to expect.. The car surprised me it seems to be a very straight car very visible rust spots but time will tell once i take trim panels off etc.. The paint work has also suffered really bad from lacquer peel around most windows and the drivers door which makes me think this has had a spray job before and not a good one..

The interior well the seats seem to be in mint condition.. Everything else inside the car seems to have took a battering during its life and multiple pieces of interior trim are broken or missing..

To this day i know absolutely nothing about mk2's so this is a project for the car and for my own learning.. the car pulls very well and no signs of smoke or losing of oil/coolant etc which is a good thing and i was told the engine only good for 150k but it seems to be great at the moment..

This will be an ongoing project lasting at least a year as i will doing all the work (well as much as possible) myself including a respray at some point next year.. So dont expect updates every day or so as progress will be slow.. If you have any questions about what im doing or parts you may have feel free to pm me..

Well without further a do this is the ad for the car with some pictures for you guys..

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=172556.0

[tech1889]

this is killing me not being able to do nothing because of money/weather 

[tech1889]

Well some good news.. the mk2 has moved into its new home next to my garage and its fenced in so its secure  there was more room than expected and i can get in and out of the car....

Finally have the MK3 here im taking the engine out over the weekend so will have loads of pics for you guys to look at..  once this is done 'operation restoration' can begin 

Drove it for 5 mins last week and realised i miss this already 

Update soooooooooonnnnn........

[tech1889]

Well some pics these are not recent but looks the same..












Looks better in pics than it does in real life.. you cant see the mass of lacquer peel in these pics.. or the 10,000 stone chips lol

[tech1889]

Well 'Operation Restoration' has begun.. ive booked the next 2 days off work to do some more.. ive stripped the front end off.. removed some wiring from engine and of course the lights.. rust doesnt seem to bad from what i can see at the mo just a lot of bits need refurbing as i will in due course..

The project is hopefully going to start going at a better pace as i need this finished as im gona get rid of the leon and use this as my daily driver..

Once the loom is removed it will be sent off with the mk3 ABF loom to RubJonny to work his magic and splice them together for easier installation plus i dont have the time..

The ABF needs to be lifting onto my engine stand and is going to be given..

New cambelt, waterpump and tesnioner
New auxiliary belt
new rocker cover gasket
remove sump clean and clean pick up
New oil pump
And going to generally check over the engine to see if anything because of wear and tear needs replacing..

updates to follow soon.. and pics hopefully

[tech1889]

Right a little update from todays efforts..

Read up a little on removing the dash and i thought i might as well so i can get to the wiring much easier and why its out i could change to a mk3 golf heater matrix so i dont set on fire while driving along one day 

Heres pics of how she stands today.. im hoping to find a welders who will sort out all my rust problems.. and then in a couple of months should be going body shop for a full respray.. door shuts.. windows removed the whole thing.. I also removed a very bad immobilier/alarm today was fitted very cowboy so will be tidying up the wiring that it left over the coming weeks.. and a thatcham cat 1 fitted once the car is finished..

Going to remove the carpet soon and look for rust as i dont wana drive the car and spend loads of money on it to then in a years time find loads of rust..

anyways heres the pics..

[tech1889]

Right well its been a good day so far.. my new socket and adaptor turned up this morning.. and as i thought my longer breaker bar freed the nut up no problem.. so really happy i didnt have to split the nut or such.. 

Then i went about taking the driveshafts out which was actually easier than i thought... I just undone all the spline bolts and undone the ball joint from the wishbone and move the strut out the way and slid the shafts out they will be cleaned up painted and new gaitors fitted... Only problem is the last 3 MOT's its had its had new gaitors fitted so they seem to be wearing out fast would this be due to it being lowered on bilstein shocks and springs ?? if so can i raist the engine up a tad or will the inlet foul the bonnet ??

i then lowered the subframe and removed the engine which was a real pain in the arse as i couldnt get enough room really to undo exhaust manifold bolts but it was much easier once subframe lowered.. i just moved the engine forward and that gave me enough room to undo the bolts...

Next up i need to try and remove the servo and once thats removed i can remove all my wiring loom ready to send off to RubJonny for splicing..


So to sum today up im really happy so far and will upload some pics later on today hopefully 

[tech1889]

Well made even more progress from earlier  I managed to remove the fiddly brake servo so that will be painted in the coming weeks.. also removed all the loom from the engine bay just got to wort the interior bit and that can be sent off to RubJonny..

Well anyway here are some pics for anyone if they interested..



The fiddly clip holding brake pedal to servo for other peoples referance





The space it left behind



My collection of breaker bars inc the daddy snap-on ratchet bar that shifted the hub nut !!











All the loom from the bay !



Always been told to organise all nuts and bolts for future referance so i did 



How it looked at end of the day





Thanks for looking more updates to come sooon

[tech1889]

Sent looms off to be spliced should be back in 2-3 weeks 

Bought a brand newly rebuilt ABF and ABF box with a longer 4th and 5th for cruising  both fully rebuilt with all new gaskets and seals.. etc etc..

Will upload with pics when i pick up engine..

Need to get cracking on with engine bay as all the running gear will be here soon !!