GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Golf mk2 gallery => Topic started by: jv on 20 September 2006, 13:03
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here you go :)
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Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Jason (Jay for short) and live in Reading. For many years now, more than I can remember, I've bought Vauxhalls. Mainly cause I found them reliable. I've had many 4 pots but my last two were v6's (a Calibra V6 with 195bhp and my current family car a Vectra V6 with 194bhp). Recently I've been doing a few track days in my friend's Porsche 944 Turbo but it's getting a little expensive to keep paying towards the fuel/wear and tear etc. So I decided to look for my own track car.
Primarily my main aim was to spend as little as possible on the car and spend a bit to get it ready for the track. Track days on a shoe string was my thought as I'm not loaded and have a family to provide for. My first thought was to buy a Mk2 Astra GTE 16v. 150bhp and a capable chassis would be the ideal platform for a track car. However with second hand prices of Mk2 Astras around £800 for a half decent one with rust and £200 for one that's nearer to car heaven than those in the scrap yard I quickly abandoned the idea. I then started to think what else would suit the purpose? Around the same time my mate with the Porsche bought a G reg Mk2 8v GTi for £250, I went with him to pick it up and drove it. It was then that it occured to me that the Mk2 Golf GTi would be an able track car with a bit of work.
The next thing was to find the right car. I had a budet of £200 and I had to find something that I could work with but wouldn't need hundred to get going again. After weeks of trawling the net and local papers I found an advert in the Ad Trader for a 1988 Silver MK2 8v GTi for sale. The Ad had the price at £250 but then I saw exactly the same Ad with a price of £175. Bargain. So I arranged a look and travelled all the way to Southampton. All looked solid (apart from the tailgate) and she ran and drove. The car had 2 previous owners and the current owener had owned it for 10 years. he wouldn't budge on price so I handed over the money and we bought it back home. My mate has trade plates so he drove it back for me. On the journey home he over took me at around 80mph on full throttle and there was no sign of smoke from the engine and the car seemed stable from the rear. However he lost 5th gear 5 miles from home (easy fix).
So here she is at the moment. 1988 F Golf Mk2 GTi 8v in Silver. 178k on the clock with 15 inch Borbet C copies at each corner.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_02.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_03.jpg)
The worst area can be seen here as there is a huge hole in the boot which I already have a replacement for (cheers rubjohnny).
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_worst_01.jpg)
there are also a couple of patches on the rear valance which seen easy enough to sort out.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_worst_02.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_worst_03.jpg)
Here are the wheels
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/golf_gti_wheel.jpg)
So the plan is to get her back to being road worthy (no current Tax or MOT) with the following being needed before I can get her through the MOT.
1 - Replace Door Handles driver and passengers - DONE
2 - Replace complete exhaust.
3 - Replace Discs and pads on front (ATE groved items on order with yellow Stuff pads).
4 - Replace rear Discs and pads with orginal items.
5 - Fit Braided hoses front and rear.
6 - Rub down and prep repalcement tailgate gettin rid of wiper and washer jet then fit.
7 - Replace fuel hoses in engine bay.
8 - Replace Driver's cracked Headlight (Done)
9 - Replace both outer CV boots.
After I have the above done then there is the prep work for the track, these things are listed below.
1 - Fit lowered springs (-40mm drop max)
2 - source spare set of Steelies for road use.
3 - Remove rubber from Borbet C's and refurb spraying Black.
4 - Fit Semi-Slicks to track wheels
5 - Remove all interior trim except headlining, dash, front door cards and passenger seat.
6 - Buy and fit Bucket seat and harness to Driver's side.
7 - Buy and fit front and rear strut brace.
8 - Fit performance chip (already aquired)
9 - Fit induction kit fed by cold ais feed from front driver's inner spot light but removing the lamp and building a housing for the induction kit.
The aim is to get the car down to around 890kg (960kg standard) with around 120bhp. This should give me a power to weight ratio of 135bhp per Tonne. This doesn't seem much but if you compare it to my vectra (which weighs 1450kg and has 194bhp) which is 133bhp per Tonne it's quite good. Especially as I've had the Vectra down to 15.9 second quarters at Santa pod.
I'll update with progress pics and articles as an when they happen. I am aiming to get the girl MOT'd in the new year and then will be taxing it for only 6 months of the year during the track season, there rest of the time she'll be SORN.
Sorry for the long post and I hope it keeps you interested.
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Running total of what I've bought so far.
Two front headlights for £5 from a car boot sale, good condition aswell.
£25 wasted on door handles from Euro Car parts as they both snapped 10 minutes after putting them on.
£10 on genuine door handles from the local scrappy.
£5 - Water temp sender from Euro.
£17 - Gear linkage repair kit arrived to day courtesy of e-bay. Here's what I got.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190030289183
Should go nicely with the Gear Llinkage alignment tool I bought last week (£7). Whilst the car is up on the ramps I'll suss out what needs doing in the exhaust department.
Rear hatch with Glass plus one front spot light - Free (thanks to rubjohnny)
Superchips chip £17 (my friend has the kit and a decent map so he ran a few copies off).
Total spendature including car - £261.
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Quick update.
I finally bought an exhaust, complete system (front, centre and rear box) only 4 months old plus a more than usable Janspeed Back box (no longer going on the car).
Also purchased a weighted gear shift rod for £8.
My next job is to fit the front and centre sections along with the Janspeed rear box. The car won't sound like a tractor then. Whilst it's on the ramps I'll replace the gear linkage and change all the bushes. I can then get my 5th gear back and it'll feel as new again. I'll also check the brake lines to see if they need immediate replacement and whilst I'm under there I'll check the chassis floor for any anomalies. I'm also gonna clear out the inside. For the time being front carpet is staying. rear seats, trim, carpet etc are all coming out and are gong in my loft once I make room for it all.
Once that's done I'll have to do the brakes on the front and rear next along with the front outer CV boots. The hatch is currently being rubbed down and a friend is welding a plate over the Wiper and washer jet holes. I'll then fill them and sand them down. I'm going for no wiper or washer jet as not only does it make the air flow over the rear end of the car more smoothly it also get rid of the troublesome areas that caused the massive whole in the back of my current tailgate. Once I'm, happy with the finish I'll get the hatch sprayed and back on the car.
All in all I am aiming to get the car MOT'd either by christmas or in the new year.
When I get paid next month I'll be buying Brakes, Front Upper, Front lower and Rear Upper OMP Strut braces. They seem keenly priced at £43, £24 and £21 respectively.
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Just a quick update. Had the car on the ramps today in order to sort out the exhaust. The Exhaust loks ok (although I'll be changing it Anyway). The noise seems to be coming from the Exhaust Manifold on Cylinder 4. On close inspection is seems that the lower Manifold bold was loos. I tried to tighten it but it was just turning freely. Reversed the ratchet and the stud came out along with the thread from the head. DAMN.
Now I need to strip the top end of the engine down, remove the head. Helicoil the hole and then put it back together. ON top of that I might as well replace the lifters while the head is off.
Also noticed that the lower part of the Passenger wing was rusty, where the corner of the under spoiler attaches. Enough of a hole so the spoiler won't attach there any longer.
So lots more to do and plenty of time to do it.
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Been a while with the updates as have been busy working. So I've not got any further with the fixing the exhaust manifold. Instead I've bought the following
A set of 14" bottle tops all with tyres which have decent tread but two of them have punctures. I got them for £32 off of e-bay. These will be either my track wheels or my road wheels, haven't decided which yet. Depends on the prices of the slicks 14" vs 15"
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/bottle_tops.jpg)
Also bought a K&N induction kit, cost £25. I know may people on here don't agree that they work but I've had experience in building my own induction kits and enclosures. What I plan to do is have a two stage induction system. One that's on the car for road use and one for Track use. The track kit will have the induction kit external to the engine bay, most likely via the driver's side spot light hole (spot like removed of course). The road kit will live in the engine bay enclosed in a sealed container fed by a purpose cold air feed.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/k_n.jpg)
I also bought a second hand Cobra Clubman bucket seat for £40. Not in the best condition but it will do the job until I can afford a new one. My mate is in the process of fabricating the subframe. One I get pics I'll post them up.
Next job is to fit the tailgate, strip the rear seats and door cards and strip the head down to get the exhaust manifold bolt holes helicoiled.
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Just another update.
Will be starting on removing the head over the next month or so. Whilst it's off I'm gonna replace the Tappet buckets and get the valves and guides re-ground. Might as well as it's all off.
I also picked up another bit for the car yesterday, a custom Stainless Exhuast system. Two parts comprising of a font/mid section (all in one) minus the front silencer and a rear back box for £50. Shoudl be ok with noise regs at the track days, if not then I'll buy some end caps for the exhaust to quieten it down. Anyway here are the pics of the Exhaust.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/backbox_01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/backbox_02.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/mid_01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/mid_02.jpg)
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And the spending continues.
Latest aquirement, purely on impulse, were a pair of carbon effect DTM doo mirrors. My reason for buying them, they reduce drag. Actual reason for buying them, I couldn't help myself. However at £20 delivered I thought it was a bit of a snip.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/dubloke1/sonydigicampiccys2011.jpg)
I've also bought a set of 16v 256mm brakes including backing plates, discs, calipers, carriers and hubs. I don't need the discs as I'll be using groved items but all that lot cost me £50 delivered. Just waiting for them to arrive.
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So now the head is nearly off. Gonna remove it completely tomorrow morning. In the meantime I 've got more bit to get the car sorted for the MOT beginning of Feb. This includes the following
ATE Power Discs for 16v (pair) - £50
Head Gasket set - £17.37
Outer CV Boots (x2) - £13.44
Hydraulic lifter set (x8)- £47.94
Cambelt - £3.65
Tensioner - £9.89
Total - £142.29
Still on order
EBC Greenstuff pads 16v
Goodridge Brake Hoses (6 line)
Spark Plugs x4
Auxiliary drive belt
Once this lots on then as soon as my mate had fabricated a mount for the Bucket seat she'll be ready for the MOT, hopefully.
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Well, today was one hell of a day. Finally got the hear removed. On inspection the exhaust manifold stud had not stripped the thread in the head, just snapped off. Also after spending a bit of time looking at the head and block the engine looks surprising good given that it's done 180k miles.
So head should be done by the weekend (decoke, snapped exhaust studs extracted, valve stem oil seals, new Hydraulic buckets, fuel injector seals, work done all courtesy of my best mate Paul). I've also removed the exhaust and roughly fitted the stainless steel one ready to be mated to the Head/exhaust mainfold/ Downpipe assembly.
Whilst other bits are on the bench I've removed the rust and paint from the cam cover, cleaned the throttle body and a few other little bits before being put back together. I'm not sure what to do with the cam cover yet, to polish it up or to paint it a different colour (either body colour or something else).
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Right seeing as I haven't posted any pics in a while thought I'd get a few up.
I managed to get another Hatch for the car so that I could get it through the MOT. I know it looks odd as it's black but I can get the spare one I have (currently Royal Blue) sprayed at leisure. You can just about make out the stainless steel exhaust poking out from the back. It's at the wrong angle as it's not fitted to the downpipe yet but does look subtle. We'll see how loud it is when I fire it up next week.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/rear_hatch.jpg)
This is the state of the rocker cover after removing the rust and paint.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/cam_cover.jpg)
And the Throttle body cleaned out.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/throttlebody_clean.jpg)
And the ATE Power Discs 2 x 256mm ones.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/ate_powerdiscs.jpg)
The state of the engine bay minus the head, inlet manifold, exhaust manifold/downpipe etc.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/enginebay_-head.jpg)
And the bits to put the head back on the car
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/head_bits.jpg)
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Here's the Bucket Seat, it's a Cobra Club seat. It's a little tatty but didn't pay much for it. It'll do until I can afford a proper seat (Cobra Monaco).
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/bucketseat.jpg)
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Crikey, 3 updates in as many days.
Some more pics
The ATE discs on the 16v Hubs to make sure they were the right ones. I also noticed that the back plate caught the disc a little. this eas due to one of the backplates being bent in transit. Initially I bent it back but not enough, all sorted now though.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/ate_on_hub.jpg)
Took delivery of my EBC Greenstuff only to find that they are the wrong type.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/ebc_vs_original.jpg)
Got my head back. Cleaned up, valves cleaned, valve stem oils seal done etc. Pics of the head before and after respectively
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/head_before_01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/head_after_01.jpg)
And my Goodridge brake hoses to go with the 16v brake setup.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/goodridge_hoses.jpg)
Next. Get the head on. Get the engine setup. Attached the exhaust manifold, downpipe, mid stainless section and the stainless back box. Then I just have to fit the 16v Discs, hubs, carriers with ATE discs and Greenstuff pads. Whilst I'm doing that I'll do both outer CV boots.
After that lot it's down to the MOT station to get it checked over.
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Been busy today, not necessarily building but buying.
First up was another bucket seat. This will be the drivers seat and the tatty Cobra Clubman will be the passenger seat. It's another Cobra, a Monaco S this time.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/cobra_monaco-01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/cobra_monaco-02.jpg)
Also bought a pair of OMP Strut Braces, front and rear.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/omp_strut_baces-01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/omp_strut_baces-02.jpg)
And more progress with the Head. Inlet manifold and exhaust manifold are both on. The Lifters and Camshaft is next then it's ready to go back in the car.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/head_progress_01.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/head_progress_02.jpg)
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Just thought I'd a reminder of the work that's let to do from the list on page 1
1 - Replace Door Handles driver and passengers - DONE
2 - Replace complete exhaust - Done
3 - Replace Discs and pads on front (ATE groved items on order with yellow Stuff pads) - to be fitted
4 - Replace rear Discs and pads with orginal items - leaving for the time being.
5 - Fit Braided hoses front and rear - to be fitted
6 - Rub down and prep repalcement tailgate gettin rid of wiper and washer jet then fit - replacement tailgate on.
7 - Replace fuel hoses in engine bay - to be fitted when putting Head back on.
8 - Replace Driver's cracked Headlight - Done
9 - Replace both outer CV boots - to be fitted when I do brakes
10 - remove head and fix broken exhaust studs - Done
After I have the above done then there is the prep work for the track, these things are listed below.
1 - Fit lowered springs (-40mm drop max)
2 - source spare set of Steelies for road use - Bought
3 - Remove rubber from Borbet C's and refurb spraying Black Nice to have but on hold
4 - Fit Semi-Slicks to track wheels - Gotta raise the cash
5 - Remove all interior trim except headlining, dash, front door cards and passenger seat - on the cards
6 - Buy and fit Bucket seat and harness to Driver's side - Cobra Monaco S bought and Harness being bought soon.
7 - Buy and fit front and rear strut brace - bought need fitting
8 - Fit performance chip (already aquired) needs fitting
9 - Fit induction kit fed by cold ais feed from front driver's inner spot light but removing the lamp and building a housing for the induction kit - to fit and fabricate mount.
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Update.
Fitted the head today and got the engine all timed up. Just have to fit the fuel lines up, induction system ancillaries and Exhaust. Then do new oil and water/antifreeze mix and then I'm ready to start her up. Fingers crossed that will happen this week, dependant on the weather.
I'm sort of getting excited now. Once she's running I just gotta fit the 16v brakes and it's MOT time. Once it's running then I'll get the insurance sorted and at £230 TPFT for 4000 miles a year it's a bargain. That's from HIC.
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Well, Progress, and lots of it.
Got all the engine and ancillaries back together when I figured that I should get the exhaust downpipe sorted. :tongue: Only thing is I needed to get the downpipe in before I put the head on. Dooooh.
So to get it in I removed the gear linkage, gear shaft and gear stick etc. Whilst out I renewed all the bushes etc. So finally got the downpipe in, and linkages all back together.
only two things left now. Connect the rest of the exhaust up and fit the fuel pipes ( the ones I have at the moment are 10mm and I really need 8mm). Then this weekend I'll be firing it all up. Fingers crossed it'll all go OK.
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Major update.
Head back on. All ancilaries connected including the exhaust. There is a post in the main Mk2 section on my woes in starting the car up but I'm glad to say it's all running now. Feels good and drives well. A friend has taken it to work today in order to check the fit of the exhaust and sort the emissions out and check the timing.
So as my Track day is booked for the 23rd March I've gotta get the car MOT'd, taxed and insured by then. The pressure is on.
Picked up a new Luke Harness for £50, it's not the seatbelt buckle type but the aircraft twist one. Sweet.
So this weekend/beginning of next week I'll be replacing the front brakes (16v items going on with ATE power discs and greenstuff pads with braided hoses) along with the reqar disks and braided hoses. A set of wipers are needed and then I'll be off to the MOT centre.
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I have less than two weeks to go until my first track day and I have one final job to do on the car before the MOT. That's to replace the discs and pads all round (front and rear), replace Ball joints, Outer CV gaitors and rear brake lines.
So I spent the better part of Saturday 10th March starting the job, after 5 hours I'd barely done one side of the fronts which were a result of a catalogue of disasters.
1 - Couldn't get the Steering Balljoint nut off. However with a blowtorch in hand I perservered.
2 - After fitting the 256mm Hubs, discs and carriers I proceeded to fit the Green Stuff pads to find that the caliper would not fit over them. It was as if they were an inch too big. So after starting to file one pad down I gave up and popped to Halfrauds and bought some Ferrodo pads which went in 1st time. After checking the two types the Green Stuff pads were clearly half an inch each bigger than the ferrodo's
3 - After taking everything apart I could not get the Steering Balljoint tight again as it kept turning the thread (now resolved after a friend lent a foot and his weight to it).
4 - It took me a good 15 minutes to figure out the reason why the braided hoses did not seem to fit right on the front calipers. It seems the 16v calipers have a pointless piece of brake pipe that goes from one part of the caliper to another. No reason I can think of anyway.
So after sorting out the right side I tackled the left to find that
1 - the hub nut wouldn't come off (trip to Halfords for a breaker bar soon sorted that out)
2 - the brake pipe nut to the flexi hose was rounded off and stuck tight so I had to cut it off and make a new brake pipe. After the drama of the other side it was decidedly easier to tackle, despite having to make a new brake pipe.
So I've got to tackle the rears before the weekend of the 17th as I'd like to MOT the car at least 4/5 days prior to the track day to make sure it goes through.
Just thought I'd share my woes.
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:laugh: :smug: :smiley:
That's my expression after today.
I had a mammoth task to undertake. Complete the rear brakes and lines. Mostly all the brake lines were rotten and would not have passed an MOT for sure. So after making some new brake lines out of copper pipe I set about removing the old brakes/discs/pipes.
Rear discs came off without too much difficulty but the brake lines were rotten to hell. After a bit of help from a friend we got them off and the new lines, discs and pads were on.
After all that it was time to bleed the system. Left rear went well. Right rear was a disaster. I tried to crack off the bleed nipple but it broke off and the rest of it was left inside the caliper. Damn :embarassed:. Luckily a kind VW Golf owner had given me a set of rear calipers which he didn't think were any good so I tried one of them in place of the one with the knackered nipple. Bingo, it worked. Went to bleed the front left and nothing came through. Looks like there was a blockage in the caliper. After trying to use an air line to clear it we just re attached the brake hose and pumped away until the blockage cleared. Continued with the bleeding and all done.
So just one more set of bleeding to be done to get the pedal firm and then she's ready for the MOT. It's booked in for Wednesday, 2 days before the trackday, so fingers crossed.
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Well had major problems bleeding the brakes. After two nights of hard slog, lying under the car and getting wet I finally got a firm pedal on the car. Car was booked in for the MOT and it passed. Woopee. So car is now stripped out and ready for the track. Just a few things left now before it goes on. First of these are the tracking needs doing and I need to get the noise level of the exhaust checked with a decibel meter to make sure I will get in under the 100dB noise restriction at the track day. The car isn't excessively loud but it may be border line.
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Took part in my first track day today with Motorsport Events. It was a total success and worth all the hard work. The car didn't miss a beat. It even passed the noise regs at 95.1 dB(A). Here are some pics.
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/abingdon_001_jason_mk2.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/abingdon_002_jason_cobra_luke.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/abingdon_003_jason_mk2_ate.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/abingdon_004_team_mk2.jpg)
(http://www.family-burgess.com/images/golf-gti/abingdon_005_jason_mk2_rear.jpg)