Mk2 Golf 3.2 VR6 Kamei Edition + GTI 8v Mini Resto

[vw_golf_nutter]

So im thinking to myself, havnt seen an update on Facebook recently about how the Golf is coming along, I will just check your profile for pics and I find out ive been blocked...

Suspicion rising i have a look through your thread here and now i know why you blocked me....

I have no idea how to feel about this, Im absolutely DEVASTATED to say the very least.
All that hard work, all that money, the dispair, the tears, the favours i had to pull in to get that car to where it was, and its all gone.
I didnt give up on it when it was a flaking pile of orange rot but you have given up on it with a bit of floor rust because my guys welding isnt to a seemingly expensive body works high standard... im totally speechless i really am because i know how proud everyone involved was to of got that car MOT'd and back on the road and I cant forget the feeling i had driving it down those country lanes just listening to that raw engine when i got it back.

That car was never going to be perfect, I did the very best i could with the money i had because i LOVED that car, i so wanted to see it back on the road and enjoyed. I probably loved it far more than anyone should ever love a car but thats why I was so pleased to of found someone like you, you convinced me you were the guy to finish this off but to see it given up on because its never going to be mint is a very hard pill to swallow.

I wish you all the luck with your new one, no hard feelings, but moral of the story clearly is 'never ever sell a car you have put your heart and soul in to', even in the most capable hands there will always be a chance it will be binned for a better one 

[borax]

it is a shame that it never got finished, but dont take it personally. For your own reasons, you also gave up on it

[th3_f15t]

With regards to Facebook, I never blocked you but I actually deleted the whole profile so it's nothing personal. As for what the body shop said to me, it was regarding not just the floor rot but also the rear strut towers (which is unusual for a Golf), the chassis legs where gone as well as other areas of structual integraty. Yeah, it passed an MOT and the work done was good but for where I wanted to go, the shell just wasn't safe enough so it had to be moved on.

I am gutted it ended that way for the car, but sadly it just didn't work out in the end. I left the body shell with the body shop so whether they save it or not is up to them...

[th3_f15t]

Well, it's been a while but work has carried on slowly over the past few months. I've got the bottom end completely stripped down (bar the pistons and connecting rods) all ready to go off for deep cleaning and the block will be painted when it gets back. Then I'll fit new bearings and hardware before starting to work on the head. The engineering shop I took the bits to weren't that great to be honest and were a pain so I pulled from then and will look at getting someone else to do it who can actually think and do as they're asked...

In other news:


I never intended to keep the rainbow interior, which will go up for sale shortly to recover some funds to help cover the costs of these:


Set of mk3 Golf colour concept Recaro (fronts are heated) leather seats. Also got a set of genuine Golf Rallye leather door cards to fit as well which is another sweet, hard-to-find item to add to the list of parts. But I need to get the lower seat brackets for the arches and weld in the centre mounting point so the rear seats fit properly. Will also get the wiring loom, switches and relays for the heated seats and get them working as well, then fabricate a custom panel for the centre console to mount the electric windows and heated seat controls in.

Plan now is to get the car built and driving by March in time for a trip to Ultimate Dubs purely so I have a deadline to work towards for motivation.

[lemski]

Deadlines are useless.
Seats look nice though mate. Like where this is going.

Can you not fit the heated seats into the blank spaces that the back window switches would be in

[th3_f15t]

Deadlines are useless.
Seats look nice though mate. Like where this is going.

Can you not fit the heated seats into the blank spaces that the back window switches would be in

I know deadlines are useless, but you know, news years resolutions and all that jazz.

I'll be adding in my Votex centre console so will need to make a custom mount as I think the heated switched for the mk3 Golf are horizontal and I'd like to keep that and fill out the space. I need to make a sketch to really show what I'm aiming at, including the dials I'll use as well so you can get a good idea of my thoughts.

And... I'm thinking about VR6 conversions very seriously now, after digging about and looking at how to fit various engines, it's one of, if not the simplest swap in a mk2 Golf and having had an mk4 Golf R32 for a short while I really do love the VR6 soundtrack.

[th3_f15t]

In case anyone hasn't spotted this yet:

http://www.autofinesse.co.uk/project-unknown-mk2-golf-20vt/

That's a lot more extreme than my plans, but the same bodykit. First time I've seen a UK car in recent years wearing one of the Kamei X1 kits, there's only a few other images of cars with UK plates on Google images so it's nice to finally find someone who's also using the kit.

Bring back the 90's I say...

[lemski]

To be fair that golf would be at home on my drive. I like when people go against the grain of usual mk2 modifying.

Puts into perspective what yours will look like fitted mate

[th3_f15t]

Yeah, mine is a bit more "scene approved" but I'm not building the car for anyone else other than myself. The only thing I really don't like on the AF Golf is the red on the seats, a grey/black would of been my own personal choice but then it wouldn't be so in your face which is probably why this car will get lots of social media and keyboard warrior attention over the next year.

[th3_f15t]

So about a year ago I exchanged my mk5 Golf GTI for a mk4 Golf R32 and fell in love with the sound of the VR6 engine. Since then I've never been able to shake the need for one in one of my Golfs, and considering the inspiration behind my car also has a VR6 engine I decided that I wanted to go down that route.

So in response to this, I've sourced an Audi BUJ 3.2 litre 24v VR6 engine to fit into this project! For the cost it was just as much to get this engine as it would of been for a 2.8/2.9 12v VR6. I managed to get it delivered and includes the ECU and wiring loom plus all ancillaries which is a massive bonus. Also got the VR6 12v engine mount brackets to fit it into my mk2 using a mk3 Golf VR6 subframe and a VR6 Corrado cross member up front so I can use stock Corrado VR6 engine mounts.

As for the transmission, I've gone and bought an 02M 6 speed gearbox from a mk4 Golf 2.8 4motion. Didn't quite realise it's a bit of a mission to fit and requires some customisation to fit but I'll work my way through it all over the next year. Reading a lot of information on fitting them, but my main issues are that I'm also doing a wide track so info regarding fitting it into mk2 Golfs is out (so looking at mk3 Golf VR6 upgrade guides), also trying to suss out what drive shafts I'll need (either raid the VAG parts bin or get some custom ones) and all the wiring. There comes another issue in that most of the wiring guides talk about linking it to mk2 Golf clocks but I'm planning to use my Digifiz display which I need to find out if that also uses the mechanical speed sensor from the stock mk2 Golf gearbox, or whether I can adapt a mk3 Golf electronic setup.

So yeah, a lot of research and work to carry out now, but not before I finish the 1.8 litre carburetor engine upgrade so I can at least get out and drive the car for the summer. Anyone who knows of good topics to read (regardless of mk2 or mk3 Golf platforms) just chuck the links below so they're all collected in one place.