mattneck - mk2 ryder

[jv]

here you go

[mattneck(Beavis)]

my pc has recently died, all my photos and writing are gone for the time being 

[mattneck(Beavis)]

My names Matt, but everyone calls me Beavis, and this is my first car! Bought at the start of august, received the new V5 to the tune of 8 previous owners! But apparently the last one has been holding the car for a young couple who went travelling, and they need the cash so have asked for it to be sold. It's also passed through traders and that, and ended up in Brecon as well as Hereford, and now Bristol!

I'm still on a provisional at the time of writing after getting 19 minors, for menial things, was just a bit unlucky I guess, in my first test. Looked in the trade it, have always been after a 1.3 due to insurance costs, and suddenly, after 3 months of searching, I find the perfect car. A Mk2 Golf, White, 5 doors... Listed at 300 but bought for 2!

So my best mate, who's a mechanic, drives me over for a look, no tax, but an MOT to November (which we now believe to be bent) and instantly I love the thing, turns out to be a Ryder, everything is original, it's not been touched at all. The only change? The front number plate no longer is the original South Hereford Garages plate, while the rear remains... maybe one to replace?

Inside and out cosmetically beautiful but under the hood, the engine is covered with oil down the back, head gasket blown instantly though, but oh well, he knows a guy at work who can do it.. And the coolant is bone dry. I decide to buy it and the guy drives it over cheekily, as he couldn't care less just "wants to get rid of it". So it gets to my grandparents house, and thereÂ’s steam coming out, it's over heating, and the coolant reservoir has literally boiled over, release the cap, and poof a big cloud of steam and water spraying everywhere, not the friendliest greeting.

Inside its covered in crap, crumbs, ash, little bits of glass, it's not been cleaned in a long time, marks on the interior, passenger speaker pod smashed to pieces, radio doesnÂ’t work properly, wing mirror remote knob missing on passenger door, handle on near side rear missing the outside catch, sunroof arm above drivers seat, rotted away and fallen apart, but alas. Menial things that could be fixed, oh and a snapped off aerial!

Well, with seeing it like this, and how original and untouched it was, I decided that I would bring it back to life, making it look as if it had just rolled out the showroom 15 years ago.

Pictures to follow and a breakdown of what has been done so far

[mattneck(Beavis)]

so there she is, first things notice, side repeater to change, jsut a broken clip, the door handle off side rear was destroyed, as was the aerial, both now replaced so all in working order, speaker pod in passenger door looks like its been icked to bits, so have to buy a new one of them to install, and neds a dman good vacuum, these pictures are jsut from my cheap digi.. for now

Engine bay currently:



The dirt clogging the entire car:



View of dash:



Side view from rear



Through passenger door:



 

[mattneck(Beavis)]

So, discs and pads are first on the agenda, my best friend is teaching me all this as we go along so hopefully i'll be able to do it next time 

Without wheels from front, better cam this time so i tohught i should post it:



I'll add a shot of the old discs and apds here, the state they were in, metal to metal and hardly a trace if any of a pad being there, the piston was so far out we had to grip it back in to push it into place as it had locked, and the brake fluid was pitch black, ho hum!

[mattneck(Beavis)]

current cosmetic stae, dirty and faded, c*ckpit shine galore to come! remvoed the vents and cleaned them out, they look a lot better now, note the gear knobs current blacked out faded look.. took to it witha  fine brush and my old airfix paints sunday night to come out with one very nice result, im quite proud of it i must say! remvoed the centre console for a clean and buff, and then temporarily replaced it to see what the gear stick looked liked aafter a bit of brasso..

artsy gearknob photo



inserted console and knob



wahey!

[mattneck(Beavis)]

replaced the door speaker pod with a genuine one, coems without the single vw loo now, but the word aktiv alongside, have since found an original pod compelte with an original speaker! used for drivers door where the speaker had blown, leaving me with 2 fresh and clean original grilles, and a genuine spare left over 

oh and that windscreen knob is genuine, had to replace it doh! who pulls them off and doesnt put them back? christ.

radio out for repair, im havign a few probs, but after realising the speaker was blown and switch lubing the blance and volume it seems ok 

[mattneck(Beavis)]

grille and air filter gone:



battery next, look at the grime!



crossmember out



bumper off and more disgusting grease and dirt appears



manifold removed, attempting to remove exhaust but its stuck, fast.



subframe and moutn gone, engine on jacks..



after this we attempted to remove it but the sheer weight was unbearable, return on monday with an engine hoist is on the cards!

i wrote this prior to this post so it seems a little out!

this was written when the old engine was still there and we had bought the new and began the replacement

originally we changed the head gasket, the ehad was skimmed down at this point to its limit, so it may still have been warped unfortunately, i can see oil currently seeping form the head gasket, after hardly running, but it was burning fuel extremely bad, mile per gallon maybe haha. well, conlcuion, carb gone, valve stems, oil seal, head dead.. i wasnt letting it go, so a new engine it was. weve been working on this this week, managed to get a hoist in the end for it as well.

This engine came from a Polo Mk2, its a 1.3 again, so the exact same block, just going to transplant it all together now, the new cambelt, fan belt, and sparks were added to the current block, so theyll be reused, and also going to move across the starter, exhaust manifold and the new gaskets and the alternator as its all in better shape. Should then be running by the weekend!

[mattneck(Beavis)]

a few menial things, resprayed air filter lid:



wind deflector destroyed, to be replaced, should help with the overheating problem!



handle damage



speaker pod damage



fe other destroyed bits to come, and sshots of the replacement work, why im unsure, just proof it standard i guess 

[mattneck(Beavis)]

ok so the engine is finally up and on its way out on the hoist.. 



and then it was gone, and the cleaning began inside the left wing and rear of the bay..



this soon followed all the way around



and got a good polish up 



the enw block sat there while being worked on.. we now have a new clutch in palce on it, the old one was bare, needs to be hoisted up tomorrow, gearbox slipped in and then remounted, couldnt be doen today due to needing to tap and die the mounts on the rear of engine on the driver side, so it should be in tomorrow, also as visible in the picture, restrapped and laid all the cables, will get a proper tidy and tieing up when the block is back in and the bodywork together. going to get some wirewool to sprakle up that head and block and gearbox once its back in to, should look nice and new!

hopefully thursday will get the bodywork back in at the front, bumper black on the cover and remount and we're getting soemwhere, the ballojoint for one side currently has a bolt stuck in due to my amt ebeing sued to working from underside, and turning the ratchet the wrong way, doh! so the the drive shafts will return and the wheels..

new cambelt, fan belt and spraks are currently on the old block, and a new water pump so will mvoe them over, for sake of doing so so everything is in a new state that can be. new oil and fuel filter to fit and oil upmp to clean as well, were sure its gonan be sludged right up and needing a good clean off. should be back in its original look soon! as soon as the front goes on the bodyworks gonig to get seen to, redefining that right hand curve aroudn the grille is a must. then glass, interior and vacuum, and blacken the trim to go..

armour door plates to, i hope! its getting there quick, will get some shots of the old gaskets, theyre in such bad condition they are worthy of a laugh, or cry for that matter