banterchicken - '85 8v "euroish"

[jv]

[banterchicken]

Many thanks JV.

First of all a little about myself a little bit about my situation / project

My name is Dave, I work & live in neath although generally spend all my time in Swansea (South Wales) I have been looking for a cheapish project for along time and then this golf cropped up on eBay it met my criteria that it didn't need ridiculous amounts of work done & would be something I could drive and enjoy. I already have a daily drive a little saxo vtr that has been tastefully modified so I thought a mk2 golf gti would be perfect.

The only negatives to this are ..

• I have no garage or driveway
• I earn practically nothing
• This is my first project, I may bottle it & sell up
• I have very little mechanical knowledge

Now with that said I originally had no idea what project I wanted to start, I ideally wanted a mk1 golf but having seen the prices I soon bottled it. While browsing eBay I found a local mk2 gti in my favourite colour (black). I managed to bid snipe it for £565 it came with 12m MOT & 6m Tax to be perfectly honest I was sceptical... especially about the MOT & I am still wondering if it has been to a dodgy garage. On pick-up I was expecting it to be a complete shed however the only initial problems seem to be a very horrible gearbox and a bit of a missfire. It seems to be a pretty solid shell which is good considering I have never attempted welding before and don't really want to get a welder and blind my neighbours!

This is the link to the original advert on eBay when I purchased it...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320537543471&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I can't find my camera at the moment for pictures but my plans are to keep it cheap, fun & low!

Stay tuned 

Well I just found my camera, it was in my toolbox what a Muppet! Here are a few pictures of when I first got it.

[banterchicken]

The rear plate decided to fall off which was random. I was going to lay flat the wiper but decided it just looked sh!t so thought fudge it & took it off. While doing that I also thought I might as well remove the washer jet, I kind of just vandalised it off if I'm honest as it was being a pig. I rammed in some grommets I found for a temp solution... I am planning on getting new vinyl for the back as it is all old & scabby when I do this I will not get the holes punched out so it will be all tidy. You can see the vomit silver back box that was the last owners fantastic idea.



While I was doing that and getting into the ripping bits & pieces off vibe I decided the broken aerial on the front had to go & another grommet was on the agenda to temp plug the hole! Will add a picture later.

Oh also look what the postman delivered today....

Cheap and nasty JOM coil-overs. If I can obtain a 7mm Allen key I'm going to have a crack at fitting them tomorrow weather providing!

Well I managed to get a 7mm Allen key as I was blindly following this guide
 http://forum.performancevwmag.com/viewtopic.php?t=40697
 After removing the wheel & the two bolts on the bottom of the strut I attempted to remove the top mount it then dawned on me that for some reason a 7mm Allen key did not fit in the bolt which was odd and nor did a spark plug socket like the guide says. I managed to find some tools & used mole grips but the bolt won't budge the grips just slip no matter how inhumanly tight they are clamped... failed day as I could have done other things. My local mechanic said he would fit them for £20 per corner so I may give him a call when I get paid & just get on with something else!



 

[banterchicken]

pointless update ahoy but just to let you know I havn't bottled it yet! Anyway I have been festivaling all over, just returned from global gathering and I realised I have lost my camera which had loads of pics of the golf I was going to post! arghhh

Anyway I have colour coded the mirrors (nearly finished just need lacquering) & I also have some new wheels that I picked up off ebay & am refurbing because they are pretty battered!

Thought I would do a little rough list regarding bits and pieces I have purchased so far including tools/paints etc & the purchase of the car.


The car (1985 8v Golf GTI)        £565
aerial blank                              £2.89
JOM Coilovers                          £166.50
haynes manual                        £6.99
aero flat wipers                       £7.50
engine degreaser                     £6.00
Grommets                   £6.00
vw black touch up pen             £6
VW Black x2 cans                    £12
VW Tornado red x1 can            £12
4 cans of cheap primer             £4.00
Autosol chrome polish              £6
U-pol easy sand filler                £8
Nitromors                               £5.50
ATS Cups                               £265


Total = £1079

[banterchicken]

hello!

Well I have pretty much finished refurbing the wheels I don't have any pictures of them compete yet but I will take some tomorrow as it's my day off, these are a few snaps of the wheels before & during, no after shots yet! as you can see they are ATS Cups, I bought them for £265 posted, low tread on each tyre & not in the best condition but still happy as I have plans.


nitromors coming into affect striping them all down!


fillering up the kerb marks! would of been better using liquid metal but I nevermind, live & learn etc.





Unfortunately I don't have any more pics as I took these on my phone

[banterchicken]

Not really an update as such but I found the lead for my phone which had some pics on from when I gave it a little clean, plates on although I think I will be taking them off for the legality reasons.

Also popped on the smoked indicators, single light grille, P slot caps, colour coded the wing mirrors & put the cheapo backbox on although it doesn't sit properly I think maybe it was off a 16v model or something... it has a different hanger & seems slightly too long despite being off a mk2.

[banterchicken]

 I think I am going to move this section to the dub rides section shortly as comments are always welcomed.

Update on how she looks coilies fitted & I spent a bit of time adjusting the height but it's nowhere near perfect, hard to adjust when you can't check out the potential rub issues I may or may not have. I quite like the little red lip it goes well with the trim...

The car is filthy, where it is it collects all the mud, the wheels were spotless before fitting they now look a mess!






budgeeeet



oh also, if anyone with the authoritaahhh reads this thread, can you change the title from '85 8v "euroish" - "85 8v gti project"    the euro theme has gone out the window!