GOLF_MK - 'Mike's 8v Flash Red Revival'

[jv]

[GOLF_MK]

About a month ago I brought my first Golf (1996 8v) in Flash Red (THE BEST COLOUR LOL  ) with a few problems for £750.

Here some pics the day i brought her home, solid car but in a bit of a neglected state 







Faults to rectify that i knew about when buying it;

Airbag Light on
Two Windows not working
Central Locking not working
In need of two tyres
Split Breather hoses
Knock from Exhaust
Sill trim split and rusting
Door trim hanging off in a couple of places
Missing / broken tow eye cover
Two small rust patches on the passenger door

So far it's had;
New Driver Window regulator and motor (£45)
Two new Cheapy Tyres (£66 fitted and balanced - it's nice to have a mechanic in the family!!) There is a bit of a saga around replacing these tyres - i'll update another time!!!
New Sill trims and clips for door trims (£57)
Towing eye cover £5
Repair to broken door loom wiring to fix Electric Window (Had bits in my shed to do this so in effect £0)
Breather Hose £8 (still one more to get but it's got duck tape doing the job at the moment!!)
Steering Wheel to fix Airbag fault (broken Cable) £15

So total spend at the moment £196.  Was hoping to do it for about £200 so i'm not to far out, just need to fix the Central Locking (i have a pump to try) and get the other section of breather hose and decide what to do with the rust (might just replace the door if i can find a solid flash red one) and i'll be clear on what i knew about.

Other things i have done;

Gear Knob £8 (to get it back to standard)
Two alloys from a scrappy as the front two were too far gone £60.
Centre caps for Alloys £9 off ebay. These smartened things up no end....
Got myself some component speakers and an amp to fit, also an Audioscape Bass Box / pioneer sub for the wheel arch is coming thanks to the for sale section here!

I will also be adjusting the rear wheel bearings as they have a small amout of play, giving it a good service with all filters and replacing the front discs and pads at some point as they are getting down....

Cambelt will be done at some point too.

When the weather is a bit better i will post some pics of the current condition, it's looking a lot better now 

[GOLF_MK]

Following on from the post above and the Saga when fitting the new tyres.....

The Drivers side front had a locking wheel nut, none of the other wheels had so i hadn't noticed this when buying the car.  Obviously the key wasn't to be found anywhere in the car so i took it into the Garage were my Dad works as a Mechanic.

Now he preps all of the second hand cars for sale so quite often has to remove locking nuts without a key as many are missing.  He has various tools etc for removing them and has never been beaten by one...... until now   

We tried all of his tools and not one of them would grip enough to shift the nut, we tried heat and everything but it just wasn't budging.

After over an hour of trying i said just get it off anyway you can even if it means damaging the wheel.

Well in the end we drilled the wheel all the way around the nut (the nut itself was very hard!) and smashed the wheel off from the inside   

Once the wheel was off the nut actually turned by hand, we think it must have been seized to the actual wheel 

Hence my reason for buying two wheels from a scrappy, one was rather damaged and the other was just in bad condition 

I don't know what make of locking nut it was but it was bl**dy hard, the wheels itself was also quite hard and very strong - good old German build quality i guess 

It took almost three hours to get the thing off!!!!!

[GOLF_MK]

Have spent my lunch hours this week wiring up the amplifier, components and sub.  Now all installed and sounding ace    Once the interior is back together and tidied up i'll post some pictures.

Just got to make some mounts to fit the tweeters under the dash grills and i'll be done.

Today i have given her a quick wash so here is the current state - a massive improvement i'm sure you'll agree but still much to do....  I have to spend a bit more time polishing and redoing the black trim etc....





Next to do are the Front Discs and Pads and a full service with engine and coolant flush.  Then think about checking everything over for the MOT which is due in October.

After that the plans will probably include;
Gearbox oil change
Deal with rust spots on passenger door
Respray the front grill which is chipped and faded
Paintwork Tidy
Tail Pipe
Coilovers

I forgot that i have also changed the numberplates (just to normal ones again) as they were cracked and knackered, get them free too (thanks Dad!!) 

[GOLF_MK]

Not too much done lately, mainly prep for the MOT which was to replace the front discs and pads (GSF stuff), adjust the rear wheel bearings and replace the rear tyres (one of them had a cut in the sidewall which went down to the canvas so i decided to replace both so i've now got 4 new tyres!).

MOT yesterday was passed with three advisories;

Slightly rusty rear brake pipes (both sides) and play in steering column bottom bearing so they have been added to the 'to do' list.

Only other things done since the last update is the fitting of a rear headrest conversion and replacement of the drivers seat as it had a hole in it!  These have improved the interior no end!

Now the MOT is sorted it's going to get a big service, sort the exhaust as it's knocking like mad (might fit a tailpipe or system while i'm at it).

I'll post some more pics soon!!

[GOLF_MK]

In the last two days i have;

Replaced the clutch cable - it's great to have a smooth pedal action now!!

Engine Flush with oil & filter change

Fixed the central locking and electric window faults that were caused by the dodgy alarm system

Replaced the plastic runners on both front seats, it's made such a difference to have a seat that doesn't wobble and was really easy to do - i suggest getting yourself on ebay and buying some for a few £ if you have the same problem!

Had the Powerflex Cat back DTM system i got from ebay fitted, sounds and looks ace 

Cleaned out the throttle body (only the one side though as it started pi**ing it down) but it's made a big difference.

As it was raining and getting dark i haven't been able to take any pictures but i will get some up to show the improvements asap!

[GOLF_MK]

Well here are the 'peashooters' before Powerflow;



Here is after Powerflow; (can't be arsed with hiding the plate anymore!!



And here are my Rear Headrests  (ignore the dirty screen etc.... it was before a clean!!!)

[GOLF_MK]

Well i now have a full VR Leather interior with rear headrests sitting waiting to be cleaned and installed, hope to have a start at it this weekend but i don't have a lot of time 

I'll also be fitting soundproofing to the doors and floor whilst the seats are out (trying some roof flashing which i've seen recommended on here!!)

I also have a replacement front passenger door to fit which will get rid of the rusty part on the car.

There may also be changes on the exhaust front afoot as i'm thinking i need some peace in my life again.... lol

But she's been faultless since i've had her so i'm growing very attached!!

[GOLF_MK]

Will leathers are now in.

Exhaust changed too, Powerflow cat back has gone in favour of a standard middle section and a Magnex twin 3" round stainless back box.  Looks better and is nice and quiet - just what i was looking for!

Hope to post up some pictures tomorrow if the weather is ok!

I have also changed the geabox oil today, seems to have made the wine in second quieter and also the changes smoother,  still not perfect but better!

So still to do; change passenger door, swap steering wheel (i've got a MK4 one to go in) and gear gaiter/ knob.

Also planning to purchase 60/40 lowering kit and do the cambelt in the next few weeks.

Plus more no doubt - it's never ending