Thanks JV
Hi all
Well i have been hanging around here for nearly 2 years i think now. Kept umming and arring but then something else always came up, holiday or house improvements and it has taken until now for me to bite the bullet and get myself a GTI. My brother buying a MK3 GTI has also massively spurred me on (older brother jealousy thing going on !!!)
So anyway, finally shifted the wifes BMW and as we have my ever changing company car and the wifes new Puegeot 407, there was some spare money knocking about and one empty space on the drive !
So the hunt began. What you will find out about me is that i am massively impatient. Especially after waiting for nearly 2 years !
So 2 or 3 days spent on ebay, pistonheads, here etc turned up nothing within price range. Then i thought i would check Autotrader, not really holding out much hope. To my amazement, there was a 89 GTI advertised, locally for £500. Spec read elec windows, elec sunroof, central locking, power steering, loads of MOT and tax, needs TLC, project car, drive away £500
Sounds perfect, so i rang the guy (APPARENTLY a classic car dealer) and had a chat. From this chat found out that the steering was heavy which he suspected was the power steering pump which had gone and the heater only blows cold. Did some research and found that these are fairly common faults so decided to go take a look.
Got up there about 7pm, guy was very accomodating and stayed on to wait for me. Started it, ran it up to temp, checked the oil filler cap, water levels, oil levels, checked for rust etc etc, normal drill.
However, upon further inspection, the car had no tax, manual windows, manual sunroof and no central locking. Guy blamed it on his son and after a brief chat, we agreed a knockdown price and i was the proud owner. So for the a little over £400 i was now the owner of this
Too "over done" for me, i dont like the back end etc. but for a little over £400 with 140k on the clock and MOT until August and only a few things to look at, i thought i had me a bargain!
Paid the man, sorted the paper work and off me and the wife went, me in front and the wife following. It had no tax but i only had 20 miles to go and i had every intention of taxing it as soon as the insurance paperwork come through.
Stopped at Summerfield to get some fuel, all good. The car was running well. The gear linkage is sloppy (bushes i hope) but apart from that and the heavy steering, all seemed good.
Fuel in and onto the motorway to start the drive home. Well, thats when it all started going wrong. 5 miles down the road and the power starting dropping but it sort of came along the same time the motorway started going uphill. So down into 4th thinking it needed a good service, a small amount of white smoke out of the exhaust and we were soon back up to 70. Anyway, this carried on for about 5 miles until the back end was spewing white smoke, i was in 2nd doing 30 and then i just pulled into onto the hard shoulder where is just died. 20 minute rest and tried to restart but it would hardly turn over. No water in the expansion tank.
Straight away, i thought head gasket gone. Well, the next 2 hours were a nightmare but in the end, i got it home on the back of a low loader and thats where it now sits.
So, i got a great looking car for £400 that needs a few hundred more spending on it. The guy i bought it from wont answer his phone, not had chance to get back up there yet but i hold out no hope of any luck from him.
Anyway, always look on the bright side and all that. I have paid more for Mini's that havent been moved in 5 years so i am actually happy with what i have got for the money i paid.
So this is where we are now. Its going to cost me £70 for the head gasket, bolts, timing belt kit and thermostat. As it didnt overheat, i am sort of hoping that i dont need to get the head skimmed but thats never my luck
So, jobs to do
Fix engine !
Get it taxed
Then
Sort power steering pump
Sort heater issue
Then its down to personal preference
I dont like the back end so will look at changing it
Certainly dont like the DTM exhaust so need to swap that
Get a Golf front end, i like the Jetta look but i want to have the ability to change it
Get rid of the smoked front indicators
Coilovers
BBS alloys
While its got the Jetta front end on, get a badgeless grill and eyebrow spoiler
Bonnet bra
And then an ICE install
I know it wont be to everyones taste but i am 34 in 2 weeks, i got 17 years of wanting a GTI to get through yet !
Sorry for going on, i hope you like the basis of my project.
Please help me with comments / idea's etc and i will update as i do bits and pieces
Many thanks
J
