Just bought my first ever GTI!

[Mew]

Is there a fuse for dash illumination?

[simonfa]

Is there a fuse for dash illumination?

LMFAO, i never even thought of that. I will have a look. 

[Mk2George]

Hmm nice car ... much like mine lol  welcome to the site and to the wonderful world of Mk2`s, trust me you will end up loving that car and it will put a smile on your face every time you drive it 

As far as dash illumnation is concerned I would do as someone previously mentioned and check the slider above the headlight switch and make sure the lighting is actually turned `up` first otherwise you might just be in the unfortunate position that all 3 bulbs are out (your LCD MFA at the bottom in the middle should light up green too) Thankfully its not a massive job to change all these bulbs and only the MFA one is a beast to get too though it can all be done without having to take the clocks out

[Neo Badness]

Welcome to the gang. I got my clutch changed by my pet grease monkey as it was January, Baltic and I'm lazy in general.
Cost me 120.00 with me supplying clutch, plus that included getting the idle set and vacum hoses replaced. 
Nice car, 5dr version of mine

[edpryce]

daventry, might see you about.

I'm between there and rugby

[Goops]

Nice motor
GSF Luk clutch has not got rave reviews from my basic research..
Was pointed towards a sachs one: http://www.vwspares.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=728
Wheel refurb: http://www.pureklas.co.uk/

[simonfa]

Thanks ever so much for all your replies and welcomes to the site guys.

edpryce, what you driving? i will keep an eye out.

Thanks to Goops for the recommendation on the clutch from Sachs and for the refurb link, im just waiting for my quote now.

MK2George, ive looked at the slider (as with the fuses and they are fine) and it all seems to be ok, my MFA lights up fine and the dimmer switch actually dims the LCD MFA. The fog light and heated screen bulbs are working but they are really reaaly dim, so much so you can hardly see them when lit up even in pitch black surroundings, but the dimmer does have an effect and when on low it basically turns them off!. The clocks and the heater controls are the ones that i have no light from at all so im hoping to find its just the bulbs.

Hmm nice car ... much like mine lol  welcome to the site and to the wonderful world of Mk2`s, trust me you will end up loving that car and it will put a smile on your face every time you drive it 

Already makes me smile so much when i get in it. Problem is i dont have anywhere near enough money to do the things i want to do to her right now and being as impatient as me its down right frustrating. The list is growing evertime i come onto the forum and read others posts and see their examples of MK2s, the other thing is being a novice with owning and working on GTIs is im not sure what the best things are to do and in what order they should be done in. Guess im just going to have to cut down on beer and save save save. 

[Neo Badness]

Guess im just going to have to cut down on beer and save save save

Yeah man, I know what you mean. I'd recommend the basic panel filter (green cotton or K&N), Exhaust, I like my magnex system, but it comes down to personal taste and budget. Another mod I'd recommend would be some grooved/drilled discs matched pads. 5.0 brake fluid and braided hoses are worth while additions. Then lower it approx 40mm/ front upper/lower strut brace and some decent tyres on and enjoy you're handiwork, that is..... until you get the urge for more power....

[Mk2George]

As much as we all love the athetics on our cars and want them to look exactly as we want them Id recommend getting all the mechanical (if any) work done first. This is the hardest and normally most expensive stuff to do and once thats out of the way you can concentrate on getting it looking exactly as you want. Ive just changed the gearbox oil, release bearing and all of the shift rods on my motor and now thats done I wont need to go back to anything regarding the gearbox till its clutch time (eventually) I tend to section various parts of the car off to get done so I can tick the box and move on to the next bit! Nice thing about the Mk2 is that its a big meccano set and theres really nothing that you cant diagnose and get fixed either by yourself or relatively cheaply!

All the best with it 

[Ben Lessani]

Dunno, I disagree with the above ... I'd rather make sure the body was sound and not all rotten before wasting any money on running gear.

Only real way to check all the bodywork is sound is to strip it back a la respray.