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Model specific boards => Golf mk3 => Golf mk3 gallery => Topic started by: mk3shed_8v on 08 January 2011, 14:23
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Hi all newbie here, I have recently been gifted a 5 door 8 valve mk 3 Gti off my mother. She owned the car for around 7 months after paying £700 for it only to use it as her dog car (car to take dogs out in!). Shortly before coming into my hands the car was on the receiving end of 2 accidents whilst being parked up when the snow was bad before xmas. I borrowed this car on a regular basis and developed a bit of a soft spot for it and was planning to buy it off my mother once she was finished with it. Fate interviened and although not in the state i wanted to take ownership of her the little 8 valve is now mine for free!!
The Goal
Well the plan is this, although i know they are not the quickest car i want to turn this car into the perfect track car/ daily driver if that makes sense. I am not planning any engine mods as i dont want to affect fuel economy. My plan is to concentrate on suspension and brakes so that this car will handle and stop like a trackday toy but still average 30ish mpg and have all the creature comforts and practicality i need to use as a daily driver for me and my family. Want to get it ready and take a trip to the nurburgring in around 18 months time.
Current Fault List
Headlights appear cross eyed? (Will see from pics)
When car is cold it cuts out when you put clutch in approaching junctions. Is fine once warm.
O/s front electric window switch doesnt work.
o/s rear window has come off its runner.
n/s rear window not working? motor or regulator?
Glove box mechanism broken.
Front bumper lower vent missing.
Dent o/s rear door!
Rear wiper arm missing.
2 tyres very close to legal limit.
Both front fog light lenses cracked.
n/s abs plastic outer sill trim broken.
The big one! Both near side doors need replacing thanks to pre xmas accidents.
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa353/mk3shed_8v/golffront1.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa353/mk3shed_8v/golfbaddoors2.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa353/mk3shed_8v/golfbaddoors1.jpg)
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Once the fault list has been rectified then the modifications shall begin. Planned modifications are as followed, nothing spectacular but should make this old girl into a lot more of a go kart.
Modification Wish List
Neuspeed quickshift kit
Coilovers
Poly bushes all round
Grooved and drilled disks all round
green or red stuff pads all round
braided brake lines
panel filter with modded standard air box
4 good tyres on refurbished standard wheels
Strut brace
Any suggestions along this same theme are appreciate. On the plus side the car came with a scorpion cat back system with oval tailpipe. Only backbox is fitted currently but i will put centre section on very soon. The dream begins............
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Not bad for a freebie!
You want this to be daily but take it to the ring! :shocked: i'd suggest something more local first.
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Looks a good base for a project.
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Yea
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Yeah i will do a couple of uk track days before i venture over to the ring! Hopefully get some proper tuition too to ensure that both me and the golf return in one piece. Have sourced two doors in correct colour so should have that sorted in next few weeks. Will try and crack on with jobs that dont require any funds such as crosseyed headlights and window thats off its runner over the next week or so.
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Neuspeed quickshift kit - sure, do it.
Coilovers - You'd be better off going for Bilstein B8 struts and Eibach springs or similar, unless you're going to corner-weight it.
Poly bushes all round - replace with OEM. They'll last better and things will work as they should.
Grooved and drilled disks all round - waste of time - just fit OEM (not 'value' - proper branded discs)
green or red stuff pads all round - OEM again, or anything that's not EBC
braided brake lines - only do this if you're replacing all 4/6 (can't remember which it is) or don't bother
panel filter with modded standard air box - just replace the filter every 6k miles instead
4 good tyres on refurbished standard wheels - find the lightest wheels you can - this will make a significant difference to the feel of the car.
Strut brace - pointless tat unless the footplates on the strut tops are welded down.
Fit a CG lock to both 3-point belts. This will hold you in your seat a lot better.
http://www.cg-lock.co.uk/
Remove all unnecessary interior trim and the sound deadening on the floor/roof/anywhere else you find it. This will give you a bigger performance improvement than all of the things you listed.
Replace the thermostat, stat housing (while you're down there) and the radiator. Track work makes cars sweat and you don't want to dump your coolant on a track, it will make you deeply unpopular.
When was the cambelt last done? If unknown, replace it.
Change oil, oil filter, fuel filter, leads, cap and rotor arm (go to VW for the last three items). This will pep things up significantly.
A tubular manifold will significantly improve the breathing of the engine. Fit one.
As for the 'ring: either find an insurer with no exclusion clauses, or book on a track day out there - much safer and way lower liabilities. If the car is well-prepped and you share it between 2-3 people you can knock out +20 laps in a day - this makes TF laps at 20ish Euros a pop cost the same as a £400 track day.... you just do all the laps in one day instead of spreading them over 2-3 days. You can also get video on track days, whereas videoing is banned on TF.
HTHs.
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Update[/b
Well yesterday was payday. So i have managed to source two nearside doors in same paint code LK7Y and the same bloke had electric window switch and rear wiper. So the car is finally heading in the right direction. Have also managed to sort some lower bumper air intakes from bored_welsh_lad so am definately heading in the right direction. The golfs mot runs out on my birthday jan 31st. Still need nearside outer abs plastic sill trim for 5 door if anyone has one?
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Pollybushs ftw. Good little project you picked up for free there. Go the more door as well. Should be nice when done.
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Right well this project has started slowly due to the mot and tax running out. Well today was pay day so I have dug deep and ordered some parts for the old girl ready for her return to the road.
Well a week after she was taken off the road i received two second hand near side doors in storm grey to replace the damaged ones. Also a rear wiper and electric window switch were included in these parcels. Also i received my bumper air intakes from bored_welsh_lad.
Well i spent the morning on ebay and on the blower to GSF and local vw dealer, and have purchased some goodies for the 8v,
Power rohr induction pipe (uneccesary i know but the original pipe looks f**ked!) Ebay
Pipercross panel filter GSF
1m of 76mm diameter neoprene induction pipe (to make cold air feed with bumper intakes!) Ebay
VW Plugs, oil filter, rocker cover gasket, oil, plugs,rota arm, dizzy cap and crankshaft sensor all GSF
Rocker cover to air intake breather pipe (local dealer)
Hopefully once fitted she should run like a new motor.
Am considering some magnecor 8.5mm leads on monday depending on funds, also will order some new fog lamp blanks as mine are cracked. Am hoping to fit all these parts in one go.
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How would i go about polishing my rocker cover? Any step by step guides online anywhere?
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Noticed u got yr rocker gasket from GSF. There have been a few threads that I have read as I am doing mine soon, but if its still in the packaging, return it!. Apparently they are no good, they just leak all the time. Get one from your stealer instead. They are only a couple of quid extra, and will be perfect unless your rocker is seriously warped.
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DH - You mention about not bothering with poly bushes and sticking with the OEM ones, why is that exactly as i was just in two minds on doing the entire bush set up front and back on my mk3 16v whilst fitting the new Weitec suspension kit. Is it a comfort thing, durabilty or simply not worth the cost and effort for the amount of handling improvement?
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Yeah I was wondering why you would stick with OEM rather than uprated? Have used polybushes on an old e30 I used to have and felt they made a huge improvement.
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Nice project will be watching this like a hawk...
...i think what dh is trying to say is, vw spend millions on developing cars to work in a certain way, why would you then go and by an aftermarket alternative?? i bet if you compared a brand new set or vw bushes compared to aftermarket ones they'l be no difference.
i wouldnt bother with the aftermarket leads either, i had them on a previous car and all it did was make the spark plugs crack up! (not laughing :grin:)
how about plastic windows?? (just on the rears)
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Plastic windows? Not a bad shout, where would i source these though? Hmm
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Plastic windows? Not a bad shout, where would i source these though? Hmm
brb....let me find you the link ...
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...http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=155102.0
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Dont forget this car will also be used as a family bus how will having plastic windowns affect this I wonder? Will they still slide up and down ok?
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Also the aftermarket leads are not just for performance gain but im also trying to colour code/enhance the engine bay at the same time. Red Samco hoses are also on the cards in the future nwhen funds allow. Think I'm going to polish the rocker cover or start it on friday?
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Pass mate,
im going to do this to mine at some point but ive got a 3door so i dont have to worry about rear windows moving,
im sure the suppliers would have a better idea about it!
thought about taking out the spare wheel? or removing the carpet, taking out the sound deadening and refitting the carpet?
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Also the aftermarket leads are not just for performance gain but im also trying to colour code/enhance the engine bay at the same time. Red Samco hoses are also on the cards in the future nwhen funds allow. Think I'm going to polish the rocker cover or start it on friday?
still its alot of money for an effect, get some red tape :laugh: and wrap round the original leads, you going for a shiny rocker cover?
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All these things I have considered. But also why not just strip the car of all interior rear seats carpet etcetc when it is track day time? Then replace when home, its not exactly a hard job i dont think is it?
First priority is getting the shed MOT'd and on the road as my other motor (BMW 528i schnitzer) is raping the family funds for petrol these days.
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Takeing out the sound proofing is a good one. Loads of wieght in there. I took it out my mk3 and av taken it out my mk2. Just gotta burn the tar off the mk2
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Yeah just gonna make it shiny as i already have metal polish and am crap at painting.
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All these things I have considered. But also why not just strip the car of all interior rear seats carpet etcetc when it is track day time? Then replace when home, its not exactly a hard job i dont think is it?
First priority is getting the shed MOT'd and on the road as my other motor (BMW 528i schnitzer) is raping the family funds for petrol these days.
i was trying to keep it practical :grin:, but hell go for it, i stripped evrything i didnt 'need' out of my esc-rat and i felt so much quicker.
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Sound proofin is abit hard to replace as some of its tar stuff. But that's just my oppinion
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Yeah just gonna make it shiny as i already have metal polish and am crap at painting.
Nice :cool:
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Takeing out the sound proofing is a good one. Loads of wieght in there. I took it out my mk3 and av taken it out my mk2. Just gotta burn the tar off the mk2
:angry: got to be done tho
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Hmmm decisions. Ultimately i know the best modification nbang for buck is stripping out the weight. What I may do is do some times pre stripping i.e 0-60 runs 0-100 runs on a private road obviously. Then strip car and do again? Would make an interesting reference point imo. This is a long way off yet but definately something to consider in the future.
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Best thing av heard. Its just how far to strip it if its got to stay practical
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Best thing av heard. Its just how far to strip it if its got to stay practical
take up the carpet and sound deadening would be a start and will make a difference, it will be loud in the car tho
how about drilling large holes in panels such as door and boot, but not too much to effect safety?
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There's someone on here with a vr which they have been lightening up wanna take a look at that. Loud isn't an issue just turn music up
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You could take the carpet up, remove the heavy sound deadening, put the carpet back, so that you have something useable for daily use. Then on trackdays, just remove the spare wheel (you'll probably want to take a full spare set of wheels/tyres to a track day anyway) and take out the rear seat.
Also make sure you don't fit any ICE. If you need sounds just leave it as a headunit connected to standard sized speakers in the dash/front doors and remove the speakers from the rear doors.
You could also convert all your windows to manual winders. That way you'll save Kilos of weight on the window motors.
Plastic windows is a good shout, perhaps just the rears and rear hatch screen (if you don't mind losing the demister).
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This sounds ideal, I am just wanting to find a good comprimise between daily driver and useable trackday toy. The car is sat up at a house my dad is renovating at the moment SORN and when I went to check it the other day I noticed the inside of the car is fairly damp, so the carpets will need to come out to be cleaned and dried at somepoint anyway.
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Right the golf has been sat untouched for the last 8 weeks or so whilst i've been amassing bits for it. Have just ordered a couple more pieces today as it was payday so next week I am definately going to pull my finger out and start some work on it to start getting it ready to put back on the road!
Parts waiting to go on car!
Lower bumper vents off bored welsh lad
Air intake hose
Pipercross panel filter
oil/fuel filters and oil
plugs
crank sensor
Power rohr induction pipe thingy! (lol)
magnecor 8.5mm red leads
dizzy cap rotar arm
aero wipers
rocker case breather pipe
2 replacement doors for damaged ones
vr6 lower splitter
definately need to get cracking on the work!
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Went and visited the car today and she's looking rather sorry for herself. The inside is going mouldy especially inside the boot and one of the rear doors are definately letting in water as there was a pool inside one of the rear footwells. So what are the common golf water ingress points guys?
Also does anyone have two spare bolts too hold the rear door cards on with? I seem to have misplaced mine???
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Have a look here http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=59014.0
Mine was coming in through the drain rubbers in the door stops (little spikey rubber type thing just above the door loom). It was missing and just dripping in through the door loom. And also a small amount through the door seal where it meets at the bottom and it had perished. Hope this helps. Not got any bolts though sorry!
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Lower bumper vents off bored welsh lad
Air intake hose
Pipercross panel filter
oil/fuel filters and oil
plugs
crank sensor
Power rohr induction pipe thingy! (lol)
magnecor 8.5mm red leads
dizzy cap rotar arm
aero wipers
rocker case breather pipe
2 replacement doors for damaged ones
vr6 lower splitter
Wow - what a list of tat. You really must be desparate to ge to the 'ring if you need all that cr@p. :rolleyes:
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Lower bumper vents off bored welsh lad
Air intake hose
Pipercross panel filter
oil/fuel filters and oil
plugs
crank sensor
Power rohr induction pipe thingy! (lol)
magnecor 8.5mm red leads
dizzy cap rotar arm
aero wipers
rocker case breather pipe
2 replacement doors for damaged ones
vr6 lower splitter
Wow - what a list of tat. You really must be desparate to ge to the 'ring if you need all that cr@p. :rolleyes:
Havent you got anything better to do dh?
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Lower bumper vents off bored welsh lad
Air intake hose
Pipercross panel filter
oil/fuel filters and oil
plugs
crank sensor
Power rohr induction pipe thingy! (lol)
magnecor 8.5mm red leads
dizzy cap rotar arm
aero wipers
rocker case breather pipe
2 replacement doors for damaged ones
vr6 lower splitter
Wow - what a list of tat. You really must be desparate to ge to the 'ring if you need all that cr@p. :rolleyes:
Yeah there is a few bits of tat but also plenty of essential service items in my opinion. I also want this car to be clean looking with a tidy bay not just stripped out track day motor that I would dread using on a daily basis.