New GTi 8v, few problems, can anyone help?

[mutant]

Hi

I've recently bought an '87 GTi and I have a few problems.  The car was dirt cheap as cosmetically it's a bit tatty (already halfway through sorting it though, so nevermind).  However, there are a few problems with the car I was hoping someone could help me with (when it comes to mechanics I'm basically retarded...)

When I bought it the guy said he spilt some petrol in the boot and it absolutely stinks.  He did have the boot carpet drying out of the car when I picked it up and it was still wet when he put it back in, but that could just be a cover up for a fuel leak.  Just wondering where I should be looking for fuel leaks (smells inside, doesnt smell too badly on the outside while it's idling).

Also, when driving slowly (under 30mph) there is a rattling noise coming from the front of the car.  I've looked underneath and nothing seems to be hanging off, and the engine also seems ok, nothing hanging off (not being mechanically minded i'm not sure if it's something internal, but externally the engine seems fine, nothing untightened or hanging off that i can see).  Once over 30mph the noise disappears, was just looking for clues as to what it could be if anyone has experienced anything like this before?

I have a month or so to sort the car out, as it's just sat in the garage at the minute, but if anyone has any ideas or could tell me what to look for, that would be brilliant.

Thanks

Lee

[rubjonny]

take the carpet out of the boot and leave all the doors & boot open for a day, if the smell goes then its probably the spill, if its still there then check under the metal circle in the boot floor.
As for the rattle, it might be an exhaust heat shield, the one round the downpipe is prone to coming loose, a big jubilee clip round it normally fixes it.

Does the rattle increase with the revs or speed, both or neither 

[mutant]

The rattle decreases with higher rev's, as i say, it disappears when travelling over 30mph, sounds like it's coming from the bottom of the engine bay. 

The car also clunks over bumps/potholes (it's not lowered at all) - suspension problem?  This isn't really an issue as I'm fitting some coilovers soon, but I can't stand annoying noises :p

Thanks

Lee

[rubjonny]

hmm, sounds like something to do with the zaust heatshields then I'd say
As for the clunk, check inside the spring cups, I had a similar noise and it turned out to be a chunk of spring that had snapped off!

[tomocr]

Id go for the heatshield defo!  As for the clunk, check you have both rubber mounts fitted to the rear/centre exhaust box.  The back box sits very close to the chassis and when the forward one of the two does one, it knocks off it and amplifies throught the whole car.

[mutant]

I'll definately check the exhaust mounts, but the clunk sounds like its coming from the front of the car also, and is audible outside the car (I guess it is as its louder if I have my window open).  Could the exhaust mounts still be the cause?

Lee