Gernster - mk2 GTI TD

[jv]

[Gernster]

Well, this is my new purchase, a 1990 MK2 GTi, but with a bit of a difference, its been fitted with a MK2 GTD Turbo Diesel Engine! I have a 60 miles a day commute so its perfect. I fancied a Mk2 GTD, but they only did them in 5 door over here and I've always been a 3dr car man!

Picked up off ebay for £400 with a full MOT. Drove 150 miles back from Cambridge without a hitch. Got power steering,  its  solid, never been welded, drove really well, if a bit loose in places, (needs new shocks & the gear linkage doing, think an engine/ gearbox mounts gone soft too). Full history file and a service book for the car and the engine. cars done 116k, engine 145k.

It used to belong to Deutchwagen in Cambridge & was thier company run about for 3 years (they did the engine conversion), but they had serviced the car since 1997. Sold it a couple of years ago to a one man band who had left the stickers on as he was also into repairing german stuff.

These are the pics from ebay:







True to the advert the black wheels were taken off along with the clear rears & posh steering wheel. This is what it looked like when I got it home. Worst bits are all on the offside rear qtr, under the window, a scratch and the petrol filler, apart from the odd scab the rest seems fine:








Had to leave it for a few weeks whilst I did some post grad exams for work, then had a start on cleaning it this weekend. The thing was filthy, but set to with a hairdryer on the stickers & two hours later:















Once the stickers were off gave the body a rub down with petrol (great for taking adhesive residue & stubbon marks off!) then a quick wash:









Next weekend is valet time so will give it the whole nine yards!

Mods planned include a late model 90 spec interior (at present shoved in the back!), clear fronts, clear sides, 16v rears, BBS Ra's, 40 mm lowering, electric windows & central locking. Then ill concentrate on tweaking the diesel engine. As it's the old 'IDI' 1.6 then its easy to DIY tune as its got a manual pump, so just turn up the boost & fueling!

Will keep you updated!

[Gernster]

who says you cant polish a turd?

might need a bit of paint sooner than I thought as I got a bit carried away on the rear Qtr. not paid much attention to the wheels as they will get swapped out soon, and a prize of 10p to the first person to spot my first mod 

[T_J_G]

You've changed the front indicators from smoked to clear(er)

Although i think i prefer the former TBH

[Gernster]

congrats! The original omes were orange, but both cracked/ broken!

I think ecerything is subjective, im going for a simple subtle mod look, nothing off the wall and done a million times before!

[T_J_G]

congrats! The original omes were orange, but both cracked/ broken!

I think ecerything is subjective, im going for a simple subtle mod look, nothing off the wall and done a million times before!

Yeah that's fair.

It does look subtle for sure 

[Gernster]

More progress today, picked a good day to do it



Old Interior:





Hmmm, bit of a leak somewhere, this is after it being parked up for a few weeks in the rain 



so, new door membranes:



And the new door skins:





Aqua Vac'ed the carpets:





And the interior, seats before & after:



Then fitted:







Last Thing was the rear lights:

which ones best? Iknow 



& All finished off:




Then I got in the shower, 4 hrs outside I was bloody freezing!

Off to Brickwerks tomorrow to get the engine given the once over, then next week its new suspension.

keep on plodding.............

[Gernster]

Had an interesting week. Got the car tuned at a VW specialist in Huddersfield ( www.brickwerks.co.uk ) and whilst it was on the ramp they commented that the car had a) a knackered back box and b) that it wasnt the proper gtd exhaust system and probably the original 8v 1.8gti setup.

Sods law that the same night the back box dropped off!

bought a GTD back box but its the wrong diameter. Looks like the gtd used a 54mm system and the 8v gti about 42mm, so ive had to buy a full manifold back system!

Should run a bit better as im going from a 42mm 3 box system to a 54mm 2 box set up. If I had pots of cash id go for a custom 2.5" stainless setup, but ive been quoted £350, which is only £50 less than the whole car cost!

(mild steel 2" system has cost me just under £100 with a full fitting kit)

btw, the car goes like a rocket now, as the brickwerks boys sealed off the blow off valve and turned the fuelling up. Next steps are to add EGT and boost guages to get it properly humming!

[Gernster]

Done a bit more over the christmas break, got the exhaust sorted & fitted, then set about lowering & putting the alloys on at my mates garage.

A girl at work has a nice 5dr 16v oak green, and this was the difference in height before lowering:



couple of pics of work in the garage. The old shocks & springs looked original and were rusty as funk, with one of the rears looking like it had been leaking for some time. The bolts holding the strut to the hub were a  right tw@t to undo!





I bought some new top mounts to fit to the new shocks, but they looked a lot taller then the old ones, so I left the old ones on. However, front was way too low for me on the std (squashd?) top mounts:



so fitted the new ones.

Also sorted out the power steering reservour as it was dangling about without a mount and noticed I need a couple of new cv boots soon as one has started leaking.

Anyway this is the end result including the RA's. Also fitted the clear side indicators I got for chrimbo.














Next jobs are get some music in it, go collect my new tailgate, sort the badges out on the rear (took the old one off as my missus bought me a new black one) CV boots, take a look at the brakes as the effort is a bit poor ( master cylinder?) and when it gets a bit warmer get the bits of paint done.

Looking a bit better now though don't you think? (almost) respectable!

[Gernster]

just bump this one up:

Done a fair in the last few months, lots of the usual running repairs for a 17 year old smoker!

1. Got the temp gauge working finally
2. Electric Windows
3. took the 40mm springs off and replaced with 16v springs ( just too bouncy for my daily commute)
4. weighted shift rod
5. relay 99 wiper mod
6. Replaved the power steering pump and new drive belts
7. Oil & Filter

And have spent today prepping my new tailgate for fitting and took my drivers seat out and pulled it to bits so I can pit a replacement foam base and improve on the repair I made to the bolsetr cloth.

Oh yeah my mates made me a nice 18mm mdf parcel shelf to mount my 6x9's on and I fitted a cheap 10" sub, and of course a nice alarm to protect it all !

PS if anyone sees a mk1 seat toledo TDI for sale give me a shout, its donor time  B)

oh yeah nearly forgot, did a bit of tidying to the bodywork a few weeks ago, flatted back some of the rust spots, applied jenolite, zinc182 primer and them a bit of gloss over the top till I get it painted properly!

Missus has started calling it the tippex mobile!