GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Golf mk2 gallery => Topic started by: bmm 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 :(
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_5241.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_5243.jpg)
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:
-
Looks awesome! Looking forward to reading the rest :) Really feeling mk2's again at the moment!
-
Looks tidy, really liking the OEM+ vibe you've got going on! :lipsrsealed: :laugh:
-
moar pics fellow bumpkin! :afro:
-
Looks alright that, would get rid of the single wiper though.
-
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:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_8752.jpg)
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:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/wiring_1.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/wiring_2.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/wiring_3.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/wiring_4.jpg)
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!
-
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:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC02975.jpg)
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...)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/airfilter.jpg)
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...
-
Just had a read of this thread, it's pretty awesome!! Keep up the good work :afro:
... More updates!! :grin:
-
I have a complete airbox and AFM.
Talk to me if you're interested...
-
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 ;)
-
Thanks for the comments everyone! Got plenty to come yet, just got to write it up :nerd:
I have a complete airbox and AFM.
Talk to me if you're interested...
Might well take you up on that... I'll PM you.
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 ;)
It must be something about certain VW owners, they just chuck wires all over the place! Think I got lucky with my alarm and managed to sort it, might be worth getting rid and getting something better installed (Toad?) because there's nothing worse than not being able to trust your alarm!
-
Worth having a working alarm, as when my windows got smashed on my Mk3 I failed to notice til the morning because my alarm siren was busted and so it didnt go off :sick:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/Dec_012/Car/DSCN1789.jpg :sick: :sick: :sick:
-
Exactly! I don't even set mine anymore,its as unpredictable as a woman at the time of the month!!! Even though the car is a boy :D,the alarm must definately be a woman!! Although the alarm still flashes so it looks as if its on haha,which is no good whatsoever really... Not my top priority as the only places I leave it are at home and work! :)
-
The Endless Wheel Refurb Project
I figured there wasn't much to lose by attempting a DIY refurb of the alloys that came on the car - they were in pretty afwul condition, with hideous snaking corrosion under the lacquer of all the lips and the black centres seemed to get lost in the blackness. So with plentiful supplies from Halfords and a corner of my flat converted into a makeshift spray booth I set out on what can only be described as a series of experiments that somehow ended up with a decent result.
Did the first bit at my parents over Christmas, more of an experiment to see how easy they'd be to clean up:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC02978.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC02984.jpg)
Before and during the first few goes over with 600 grit paper. Encouraging!
Then back in Bristol things went a bit slower, and over the next 3 1/2 months I got round to sanding, spraying, sanding and spraying some more:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC02999.jpg)
Sanded and prepped (badly) - would take longer if I did it again...
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03000.jpg)
Fronts primered
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03002.jpg)
Backs primered
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03006.jpg)
Colour coats sprayed on front and back
-
The biggest mistake I made was deciding to do the final lacquer coat in my parent's extremely dusty garage, and ending up with a properly terrible finish. Add to that the fact that I lathered on the lacquer way too thick and ended up with runs all over the place, and it left me pretty depressed about the whole thing :( But a little while later, I'd come up with a foolproof (and dustproof?) little solution:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03010.jpg)
OK, so it wasn't quite dustproof, but it did well enough for the final clearcoat. Even had a fan as a dust extractor. Got to apologise to my flatmates for making the flat stink, and probably killed a few billion brain cells in the process! But I finally got everything done and put together, polished and sealed and ready for the show season:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4145.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4140.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4153.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4154.jpg)
Not bad for an idiot, huh?! By the way, if anyone has a clue what these wheels are, let me know!
-
Oh my god! I hope I can do half as good a job on my wheels as those! Awesome stuff :cool:
Are they the same as Dmonday's wheels? He will know what they are :)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/dannymonday/3-1.jpg)
-
Awesome job.. bit worried for your lungs though! indoor spraying under a plastic tent :shocked: scary!
tis the season for home wheel refurbs.... this site is going to become famous for it.. you win hands down on spray locations though! gonna do my ra's over the winter...
-
Awesome job.. bit worried for your lungs though! indoor spraying under a plastic tent :shocked: scary!
Yeah, in hindsight it wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had! :drool:
-
Awesome job.. bit worried for your lungs though! indoor spraying under a plastic tent :shocked: scary!
Yeah, in hindsight it wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had! :drool:
ah well, i'm sure you did your best not to breath it in, should have got a mask from a diy shop... cheap enough considering it saves your lungs! Ive started doing car stuff in my shed, spent a night sanding panels to then find loads of nasy sh*t in my nose when i blew it!.. wonder how much id breathed in!.. bought a respirator mask for like £5!
-
We could set up our own DIY Refurb! Theres been a load of people doing it recently :cool:
Another great turn out i see :cool:
-
We could set up our own DIY Refurb! Theres been a load of people doing it recently :cool:
Another great turn out i see :cool:
I know... threre's more of us now just doing it ourselves...
what a bunch of w**kers :laugh:
-
Whats the betting im the only one on the forum to f**k up? :tongue: :rolleyes:
-
cool car.
yuo must have very understanding flat mates.
your spray booth rocks!
-
cool car.
yuo must have very understanding flat mates.
your spray booth rocks!
you should see the one for a car! :grin:
-
Excellent work if a little risky.
-
Great work on the wheels - look ace!
'Spray booth' made me laugh :grin:
-
OK, got a few months worth of stuff to catch up on! Thanks for the comments so far!
The car had its first MOT since I got it (£600 worth of work :shocked: ) and a new exhaust + downpipe after I reversed into a kerb at Reading services and buckled the downpipe. Was a useful excuse to get rid of the peashooter exhaust it had that gave me headaches on the motorway and just looked lost in the rear valance cutout... Ordered a fancy Supersprint jobby that took six weeks to turn up, but worth it in the end.
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/exhaust.jpg)
While I was waiting for the exhaust to turn up, I also sent the car to have some bodywork taken care of. The rears rubbed on the arches pretty badly, and there were spots of rust bubbling under the surface, like just under the rear left light cluster. Found a bodyshop with a good rep (G+D in Bristol) and went down to get the arch trim removed, arches rolled and the rust spots dealt with. A few hundred quid later (and a few nightmares for the poor guy working on it when he discovered the extent of the rot under the arches) here it is down at RTTS:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4340.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4331.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4533.jpg)
Sitting way too high on the front springs I had to get to get it through the MOT, but that gets sorted soon enough with this package I got delivered one happy day:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/coilovers.jpg)
:cool:
-
Wow, where did I leave this one off? Time to bring you all up-to-date with the sorry tale so far... :undecided:
Over last summer it got a new interior (http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_4829.jpg), some sound deadening junk in it's trunk (http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_5752.jpg) in preparation for the stereo and a red stripe (http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/28112010026.jpg) on its grille (ignore the white badge, it was an experiment!)
Then I decided to tackle the rattly tappets in a makeshift weather-proof workshop (http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03033-2.jpg) out the front of my parents place. Little did I know this (http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03030-2.jpg) would be the last time these eight valves ever worked again, as one of the valve springs decided to commit suicide shortly afterwards:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/spring.jpg)
I still don't think I Was entirely to blame for this one, despite my brother's claims otherwise... ;) So being the idiot I am, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to look into engine transplants. A few weeks (and a Christmas) later, I'd found an unwilling mk3 donor (http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/mk3donor.jpg) for an ABF transplant, and someone willing to do it for me (http://studioincar.com/).
Before it went away for its new heart, I took the chance to tidy the engine bay up:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_5864.jpg)
Some pretty strange fruit started growing on the trees out back, smelling of hammerite:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_5861.jpg)
And I got some nice new brake bits to go with the engine:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/brakebits.jpg)
Eventually the two cars were taken away to Southampton to be messed with, and I was left driving this beast:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/WP_000032.jpg)
The Golf couldn't come back soon enough! More to come later... :nerd:
-
:grin:
I've had a garage like this
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC03033-2.jpg)
recently went as posh as a gazebo!
What were you doing to the tappets then and what do you think fooked it?... I ask because I'm doing mine this winter.
-
A gazebo - well posh! To be honest I'm not sure what I did wrong with the tappets - I think the spring might've been on its way out before I opened it up, as it was making some dodgy noises similar to how it sounded when it was knackered, but only sometimes. Doing the timing when massively hungover almost certainly didn't help either ;) If you follow the RJ timing guide then not much can go wrong!
So the engine was soon plopped in, but shortly after fitting it all in, the gearbox that'd served the 8v so well was found to be pretty much shafted, so had to do an emergency trip to the breakers to pick up a replacement - from what I gather I ended up with an ATH box, not that I know what that means...
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/enginein.jpg)
Brakes were all fitted up, albeit with some minor issues like buying the wrong master cylinder and the wrong hoses (I found getting the brake parts right a stupidly stressful experience!)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/brakeson.jpg)
Soon enough it was back and I could finally get out of that damn Skoda and put on the new shiny things I'd been cosetting for so many months:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_5709.jpg)
And that kind of brings the whole saga up to date, and now that summer is kind of here I'm enjoying driving around in it! Still not used to the power and am almost certain the gearbox will chew itself to pieces, but it puts such a big grin on my face it's worth it! Some pics from recent days:
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_6185.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_6299.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_6316.jpg)
(http://stuff.benlacey.com/imgs/car/DSC_6329.jpg)
-
Now that is looking fapping awesome. :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:
Have fun while the gearbox lasts then! :grin: