VW Golf Mk2 Owners Club

After buying this 6 years ago I thought it would be fun to try and document my ownership so far. I'll try and add some photos... if this fails I'll give up here!   :-[

I was just browsing eBay at work looking at mk2s when i came across this for £1,000. Got the shock of my life when my girlfriend offered to buy it for my 30th.

I took my dad with me on the 150 mile journey from Leamington Spa to Maidstone on that weekend. We were surprised at how solid it was despite a few cosmetic issues and the listed faults so gave the guy £1k and promised to collect it within 2 weeks, We've driven a fair few neglected cars home previously but decided this one was best on a trailer.

Here's the advert:
(https://i.ibb.co/84dsP5q/IMG-2644.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Lx8F8Q0/IMG-2647.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/TK4r7z4/IMG-2646.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/2sRBrgx/IMG-2649.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0nrpFnD/IMG-2648.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Chn2x8b/IMG-2645.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/j3Q3gQ4/IMG-2650.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mDBbC8D/IMG-2651.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Dw6WVGS/IMG-2652.jpg)

After a little over 2 weeks I still hadn't managed to collect. The seller had messaged me a quote to move it, i sensed his frustration and took the hint!

(https://i.ibb.co/BqYTgTN/IMG-2532.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/xGDQ1dt/IMG-2531.jpg)

Gave it a quick wash so it felt like it was mine

(https://i.ibb.co/q0Nzh4x/IMG-2533.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/d2YGfkL/IMG-2535.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/v49MH0K/IMG-2538.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JpZgDTY/IMG-2539.jpg)

Probably worth mentioning I'm not massively useful with the spanners, I have quite a busy work and family life too. So this was destined to sit on my drive until i admit defeat like its previous owner.

Technically this arrived 6 month before my 30th so I had a bit of time to get it ready. I'm not completely new to mk2s, I grew up sat on the back seat of my dads cars in the late 80s early 90s- always red 8v mk2s, hence wanting this,

I have owned a few mk2 in my late teens and early 20s (3x pb's, 1x kr & mk3 abf)  but I always sold them fast as I didn't have the desire to maintain them without any support and they were pretty expensive to insure! There was regularly an old beetle, bread van polo, mk1 or mk2 golf being fixed in my garage when growing up but sadly never got the opportunity to help other than with a sponge in hand  :(  Its safe to say I was gonna need to learn quick or find help if I wanted to hang on to this!

Welcome along, that's a great looking one you have there, really liking it on the Sebrings too.

Welcome along, that's a great looking one you have there, really liking it on the Sebrings too.

Thank you. I like the Sebrings too... literally removed them after a month for ra's though 😅
Just read your 8v thread fantastic work👍🏻

Sebrings are just timeless classics!

Quote from: Monkey on December 20, 2021, 08:49:02 AM

Welcome along, that's a great looking one you have there, really liking it on the Sebrings too.

Thank you. I like the Sebrings too... literally removed them after a month for ra's though 😅
Just read your 8v thread fantastic work👍🏻

Thanks!
Funny you should mention the RAs, I've actually got a set of Sebrings from my other Mk2 I was going to fit, but now I'm wondering if I should find some RAs too.

As far as maintenance and repairs go it’s a great car to learn on and build confidence. Not as basic as a Beetle but a great combination of modern enough so that the jobs you do still apply to more modern vehicles but simple enough you can do most things with a fairly basic tool kit. As for support, there’s a great source of help and information on hand here. Any job you have to do has been done numerous times by most of the people on here.
Start with a basic service and build your confidence.

I would however strongly recommend getting a full set of Irwin removal tools for any rusted and/or rounded nuts and bolts. They’ve got me out of a fix numerous times and have saved hours.

I would however strongly recommend getting a full set of Irwin removal tools for any rusted and/or rounded nuts and bolts. They’ve got me out of a fix numerous times and have saved hours.

Couldn't agree more, I bought the set below and it's got out so many potentially frustrating rusted bolts.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390351171705?epid=25020391586&hash=item5ae2be3079:g:scoAAOSwOrlZ3ci4

Quote from: Eddypeck on December 21, 2021, 08:37:31 AM

I would however strongly recommend getting a full set of Irwin removal tools for any rusted and/or rounded nuts and bolts. They’ve got me out of a fix numerous times and have saved hours.

Couldn't agree more, I bought the set below and it's got out so many potentially frustrating rusted bolts.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390351171705?epid=25020391586&hash=item5ae2be3079:g:scoAAOSwOrlZ3ci4

I have that set and this one, which gives me all the sizes.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231642108775?epid=4003304728&hash=item35eef21367:g:4YMAAOSwehZaAxZV

There's a seller that has them together, which saves a few quid. I'm generally one to skimp and take short cuts if possible but these are worth every penny I'd say.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132683330165?hash=item1ee48af275:g:-QEAAOSwsh5bNrKE

And when you remove the cardboard from the plastic case you'll see there's space for the extra set so it keeps them all neat and together.

I've removed locking wheel-nuts without a key, a rusted suck exhaust studs and countless old nuts and bolts.

Interesting; I've just been and checked, I have a set never used.  Only because I don't have any rounded nuts or bolts or dodgy locking wheel nuts on my cars.  This is my choice for difficult / rusted nuts and bolts:
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/sealey-ak5613m-impact-socket-set-13pc-1-2-sq-drive-metric-SEAAK5613M?type=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAk4aOBhCTARIsAFWFP9H9HPBbjvncYtgIkTurVLpVBTktqiVuFwoCgPPeAcQEcsMTBZQnfQsaArDuEALw_wcB
Unlike std sockets they are six sided.  More importantly and unlike the Irwin set I can work rusted bolts in both directions.  Makes them more likely to come out and once out the head is not damaged and I can plate and reuse them.

Hello and welcome, red is probably my favourite colour and Sebrings my favourite wheel

Thanks for the advice guys I will keep an eye out for a set in the January sales!

So ended up chatting to the guy who owned it before the guy I bought it off. He sent me these photos, looks like someone had started to break it before he saved it.
(https://i.ibb.co/qFkF1hY/IMG-3304.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/nMwg1Mt/IMG-3305.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/jMG3dns/IMG-3306.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MMX5xbb/IMG-3307.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/H46bpxs/IMG-3308.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6r6BWyB/IMG-3309.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mHbgg7p/IMG-3310.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/tMtqPx0/IMG-3311.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JBcppJr/IMG-3312.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/GH9SMrn/IMG-3313.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/744PWgG/IMG-3314.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/sVfG942/IMG-3315.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/q0530Lz/IMG-3316.jpg)

The year before (2014) it had failed its mot on brake pipes, couple of light bulbs, headlight tell-tale and emissions. Some Osram nightbreakers, headlight loom, couple of fuses and an hour with a co meter solved all but the brake pipes (which i left to someone more capable).

New vac hoses, a temp sensor, a step by step guide and the emissions were good.
(https://i.ibb.co/C5zwP1q/IMG-3522.jpg)

Headlight loom and bypassed dim dip resistor
(https://i.ibb.co/h1FPGpV/IMG-3523.jpg)

Also had to realign the gear linkage to find 1st and 2nd gear and within a month over ownership it had an mot with no advisories!  :) Really pleased to have done everything myself minus the brakes pipes.

I had always like bbs ra's on a mk2 so picked up the 1st local set i found. They were a bit scabby but luckily a mate refurbed them and I managed to get some cheap Toyo T1r tyres to go on with too.
(https://i.ibb.co/QD8Pgn0/IMG-3382.jpg)

Managed to borrow a ramp at work on a Saturday morning to fit them
(https://i.ibb.co/gSdMCfG/IMG-3402.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/28MHPLw/IMG-3403.jpg)

The sebrings were in need of a refurb also. The plan was to eventually get them powder coated with some semi slicks.

The heating never felt particularly hot so after a bit of research I bought a mk3 matrix and some coolant hoses to by pass the valves. I had heard this was a nasty job but was surprised at how straight forward it went. Feeling a little more confident to have ago  ;D
(https://i.ibb.co/7zPvFbf/IMG-3479.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/z2wx5jR/IMG-3480.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/dGLn33L/IMG-3481.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/LrwN7S2/IMG-3482.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/x2CSGqx/IMG-3495.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/3fb6Sf8/IMG-3496.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/DKxFY3n/IMG-3497.jpg)

Maybe only basic stuff but starting to enjoy working on this!
(https://i.ibb.co/chrVyj5/IMG-3706.jpg)

The bonnet was in really poor condition and was letting the car down, it had crazed badly and had obviously seen paint previously
(https://i.ibb.co/bJ3HKVc/IMG-3290.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0F5x6MY/IMG-3292.jpg)

A chap called Vosswagen supplied me a replacement which again was too much effort to swap over. Vosswagen was miles away but was a good excuse to take the golf on it 1st proper run which was a success. Also i was relieved to find out a mk2 bonnet fits in the back with the seats folded down  :D
(https://i.ibb.co/4NK68pb/IMG-3282.jpg)

Good turn around , very rewarding as well

The heater isn't basic stuff and neither is correcting the emissions.  I would say both are more complex than the brake pipes.
Nice car, cleaned up well.

If you've got the room and it's in good condition, I'd hang on to the bonnet.
You never know when you'll need another in a pinch and they're getting harder to get hold of.

The heater isn't basic stuff and neither is correcting the emissions.  I would say both are more complex than the brake pipes.
Nice car, cleaned up well.

Brake pipes on a gravel driveway didnt appeal much either, wish i had gave them ago now.

If you've got the room and it's in good condition, I'd hang on to the bonnet.
You never know when you'll need another in a pinch and they're getting harder to get hold of.

I am posting this all retrospectively from the photos on my hard drive (i'm in 2016 i think) Sadly the bonnet was in the way. I couldn't give it away for free so it ended up at the scrap yard :( In hindsight i really should of kept it as i seem to be hoarding spares these days.

The suspension was extremely harsh and was taking some of the fun away from using the car everyday. FK coilovers were removed by a lad at work for new oe shocks, springs, bump stops, top mounts etc. - massively disappointed with the way it sat and it didn't settle.
(https://i.ibb.co/ZVSxJ4D/IMG-5148.jpg)

Turns outs the front springs were wrong. I decided to have ago myself this time at work on a Saturday morning, another job that was a lot easier than i imagined. Got the correct springs fitted and it looked more sensible. Although it was great over speed bumps and pot holes i was beginning to think a decent set of lowering springs would be a decent compromise.
(https://i.ibb.co/99Kk7cb/IMG-3903.jpg)

Decided to go for Bilstein B4 shocks and Eibach springs this time. This felt like perfect setup between OE and coilovers.
(https://i.ibb.co/9vNB2x1/IMG-8930.jpg)

Also got my sebrings back from the powder coaters
(https://i.ibb.co/Gp53xJp/IMG-9302.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/28xMkrH/IMG-0021.jpg)

Temporary fitted the old tyres as they had some life left until i saved for some semi slicks. Risked using the tyre machine myself... safe to say its not for me. I'm not strong enough!  :)) At least it gave the lads in the workshop a laugh. Centre caps were painted but not a perfect match to the powder coat sadly, doubt i'll notice when they're dirty

Drivers seat had the usual bolster wear so managed to source a good condition passenger seat to transfer the covers over. Stuck it through the washing machine with the other seat covers. Worst job to date but quite rewarding afterwards results.
(https://i.ibb.co/9w5K1My/IMG-0195.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vq3F7M6/IMG-0192.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/pW2Y21w/IMG-0026.jpg)

The rear badges were looking tatty so a bit of black paint seemed sensible to tidy them
(https://i.ibb.co/2jWwF38/IMG-0244.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/tpvkLkY/IMG-0245.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ggHkfwt/IMG-0246.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0CSXnyC/IMG-0247.jpg)

In July 2018 i came across a meet that I had seen mentioned on Facebook at Curborough which is about an hour from my house. It was the mk2 National meet!

I was absolutely in my element, massively enjoyed the Saturday and chatted to a lot of owners, an even got some passenger rides round the sprint track  ;D Rufus took me round in his blue/orange mk2- fantastic driver and car. Alistair took me round in his r32 engined mk2 which was incredible, a couple of 20vs that were insane in a straight line especially but the car that really impressed me was Barry's abf,

I also bumped into Henry that day, he has become a good friend and played a huge part helping me with my golf.

I left that day knowing that i would 100% not miss the next one. There was some fantastic cars there that day. Also made me want to try and improve my own car for the next one and try and get involved on the track.

Only photo i think i took was on my way out
(https://i.ibb.co/JQ3BWSt/IMG-4166.jpg)

My rocker gasket had been leaking so a powder coated cover was fitted when i change the gasket.
(https://i.ibb.co/Htk8mVb/IMG-4940.jpg)

Also developed a water leak which was making dimisting the car a nightmare. After checking the usual places I took the screen out to find some scabby bits that had become porous. Put some rust eater on and sealed until i have funds to see a bodyshop for welding and paint. Refitting the screen defeated me  :-[  due to the new seal i had bought but friend sorted it for me the following day
(https://i.ibb.co/VQ00bnw/dav.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vxHbVw3/cof.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/B48dVQC/cof.jpg)

I bought a refurbed gearbox to remedy my crunchy 2nd gear. This turned out to be a nightmare as the "recon" box was definitely not! Again out of my capabilities it was given to a friend to sort. My original box was sent away for a complete rebuild in the end. Massive expense due to someones dishonesty  :'(

One thing that had really impressed me was g60 brakes that i had experienced at Curborough on some of the cars. This seemed like a sensible thing to spend money on as did a gas n gears linkage and relay ball.

I started to clean up the calipers myself and removed the old seized pistons. I decided to get them shot blasted and powder coated for a better finish and a big red rebuild kit was used when building them back up. Also bought some new flexi hoses and a larger 16v master cylinder to reduce pedal travel, new bearings for the 16v hubs, 280mm discs and some 16mm pads which i was led to believe would allow my to still use my ra's.

I had neglected to offer the parts up to one another before trying to fit with Henry and Jim as we discovered the carriers weren't actually g60 but 16v. This meant swapping everything back until I could get hold of some g60 carriers  ::)

All got sorted in the end but another lesson learnt. They only just clear the ra's! Also worth mentioning the linkage kit is fantastic  ;D

(https://i.ibb.co/P6MhtF3/cof.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MVQCYWh/dav.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0cZb66q/dav.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/DKZ3V7G/mde.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vLfgsN1/smacap-Bright.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/bP84dd0/dav.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/jVD7Bzd/dav.jpg)

Interesting story, enjoying the read thank you.

That's a great update, though it took ages for my computer to load up the photos.
I knew RAs would run close to G60s, but didn't know they were that close!

That rocker cover looks soo good!
I was going to paint mine, but may have to go down the powder coat route for that too!

That's a great update, though it took ages for my computer to load up the photos.
I knew RAs would run close to G60s, but didn't know they were that close!

That rocker cover looks soo good!
I was going to paint mine, but may have to go down the powder coat route for that too!

I though it was just my antique laptop at fault!

I did buy some 3mm spacers for the front but they seem to make my wheels feel unbalanced. I got terrible vibration at 60mph. I've ran them with that small gap and no spacers with no issues.

On second thoughts i actually think this was a NOS rocker cover someone kindly sold to me. A little later down the line I did however end up with a powder coated rocker cover and i wouldn't recommend it. I think you need to be careful with what they do to the internal side on the cover. I have read about powder/shot blast swarf coming lose and contaminating the oil causing big engine issues?

Hmmm, I may sand blast it myself and just be super careful with the masking.

You have to be a little careful with spacers, as the wheels are designed to fit on the spigots.
Thin spacers (usually less than 15mm) do not include the spigot, so the wheels end up only being held by the bolts.
It's not like your wheels will fall off, but it might explain your wobble.

Found the photo of my calipers ready to be fitted
(https://i.ibb.co/JrWBzWh/mde.jpg)

No more update before the 2019 national meet at Curborough. I managed to get a track pass for the Saturday, I had so much fun! Very envious of some of the cars and has made me want to improve mine.
(https://i.ibb.co/XZ1f9BF/IMG-20190803-WA0024.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/3s3Jgy5/IMG-20190803-WA0025.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/L619j4n/IMG-20190803-WA0014.jpg)

Some amazing cars on the track  ;D
(https://i.ibb.co/4Zkn09z/oznor.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Dpz97QQ/oznor.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/PTp1HGQ/oznor.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/m6J2K9d/cof.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Xb6yt9v/cof.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/y502KxB/cof.jpg)

Literally as soon as i got home I started buying parts, mostly 2nd hand. I was keen to keep the 8 valve engine as I have a soft spot for them but definitely want go faster and improve handling.
2 inch Jetex exhaust and Miltek 4-1 manifold
(https://i.ibb.co/bWdS12M/dav.jpg)
TSR 202 cam
(https://i.ibb.co/wWF0cNY/IMG-20190921-153732.jpg)
R888's
(https://i.ibb.co/1TzH3jm/IMG-20190926-144240.jpg)

The Jetex was the only part i fitted immediately. Needed quite a bit of adjusting to stop it hitting beam.
(https://i.ibb.co/SwZBBG7/IMG-20191103-102544.jpg)

More parts collected
Bilstein B8 shocks to replace the current B4's and a leather corrado wheel
(https://i.ibb.co/9VJ95k5/IMG-20191116-213011.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/H4kSK0S/IMG-20191120-195713.jpg)

Feared the worst when i saw this so order head gasket parts while I considered a head rebuild and some porting work... until i got some quotes!
(https://i.ibb.co/ySnccvH/IMG-20191122-145020.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/k1m8Zgn/IMG-20191127-113803.jpg)

This turned out to be a knee jerk reaction. after a compression test all seemed okay. The breather was quite blocked with mayo like stuff also but this was put down to all the short journeys i do  :-[

I was losing some coolant but this tuned out to be the flange on side of head
(https://i.ibb.co/r3zDqG7/IMG-20191129-205426.jpg)

Then i broke down  :'(  Stunk of fuel and turned out to only be an old fuel pipe had popped off.
(https://i.ibb.co/QfQPT0s/IMG-20200130-175742.jpg)

All these little issues only seemed minor but made me begin to wonder if an engine conversion would a better option than modifying a 30 year old 150K+ engine  :-\

Cliffhanger over the Christmas break. I want you to rescue the original engine but I suspect we are going to see a conversion?

Cliffhanger over the Christmas break. I want you to rescue the original engine but I suspect we are going to see a conversion?

The engine ran faultlessly after this, i cleaned the breather and did an oil change but the national meet really opened my eyes to what can be done to a mk2. I felt the need to make it quicker but was fighting myself on whether to keep the 8 valve and spend some money on it or look at the alternative.

I managed to get a good deal on a pair of front & rear eibach arbs on ebay. Lacking confidence and not wanting to attempt this on my own I talked a mate into helping me fit these. So grateful to have done this with someone more experienced- not a job i would like to do again. Was a bit of a fiddle and done on the concrete floor.
Only photo I took of the front arb
(https://i.ibb.co/ccNQLYV/IMG-20200201-125541.jpg)

Proof the Bilstein b8's got fitted and some hel flexis that had to be shortened
(https://i.ibb.co/L6KrC3X/IMG-20200206-110803.jpg)

This golf handled so much better on the drive home, so pleased i did both. The arbs and b8's were fitted at the same time so  I can't be sure which made the bigger difference but would recommend them to anyone  ;D

Feb 2020
Pleased with my progress and some of my ebay bargains I then came across an abf at a price couldn't ignore. I cant remember the exact price i paid but it was somewhere around £250 delivered. My 8 valve miltek 4-1 and tsr cam were quickly sold which covered basically the whole engine!
(https://i.ibb.co/VQkPD0K/IMG-20200219-140108.jpg)

Hadn't noticed that a loom and ecu weren't included in the advert. Annoyed with myself I started searching, Ecus were easy to come by the the loom was proving more difficult. Nobody was willing to sell a loom without an engine. No wonder the engine felt like a bargain. I sent loads of messages out and had basically given up when a chap in Dover said he had one. A ridiculous journey (180+ miles & 3 hours each way) where a courier would have made much more sense, i took a road trip down and collected full loom, ecu, keys and immobiliser ring etc. Paid over the odds but i didn't care until a few days later when I was tagged in a post; exactly the right parts 45 mins away for about a quarter of the price  ::)  i kept finding them after that which was really annoying
(https://i.ibb.co/0ck5Tdc/IMG-20200223-110158.jpg)

A few months passed and covid came along, no furlough for me so the abf sat pretty much untouched. The plan had been to take it to Henry's and do the conversion there, this way i could be involved and learn as i went. I could do the donkey work and Henry the clever stuff.

Covid wasn't going away and I was having 2nd thoughts about the abf over my 8 valve. Reconsidered 8 valves for a while and watched the classifieds for 2.0 bottom ends and modified heads etc A nice 8 valve package came up, a 3a bottom end, p&p head, cam etc. which i strongly contemplated but i resisted. The deciding factor was the fact that the 8 valve would probably be at it limit at 140-150bhp without spending serious money to go beyond. Where as this is the starting point for the abf, it seems to be pretty well documented you can improve on this with not too much effort also.

I came accross a 2.25 trackslag again at a good price so couldn't really say no to. Came with decat section which matches the abf manifold 3 bolt 2.5 inch flange reducing to 2.25. Even if i didn't go ahead with the conversion this can go on my 8 valve minus the decat section.
(https://i.ibb.co/LggHGkm/received-599260387341452.jpg)

Another thing i've heard good things about was a lightened and balanced flywheel. Think they start at 5kg? Gas n gears sold me this which was added the growing pile.
(https://i.ibb.co/Nsf2d3m/received-701099553998548.jpg)

Another month passed. I managed to get the exhaust swapped over and sold the jetex on. It was becoming increasingly apparent the abf was getting ignored. I managed to get the inlet manifold and rocker cover off for a clean up.
(https://i.ibb.co/LvK6RQB/IMG-20200501-202907-1.jpg)

Decided to powder coat them as i didn't fancy spending hours on this myself. Went for a red rocker and a chrome inlet with a smoked lacquer. Not sure i made the right choice, Done again i would choose something more subtle, maybe aqua blasted inlet and black rocker.
(https://i.ibb.co/1fQ2Cy0/IMG-20200613-124400.jpg)

Decided the lettering would look better coloured in. Hammerite, a syringe, cocktail sticks and a steady hand (girlfriends)
(https://i.ibb.co/N332Rhr/IMG-20200613-154517.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/bb6Jh1M/IMG-20200614-125107.jpg)

Another few months passed with no progress, i got frustrated and very nearly sold the abf on. I was still pretty apprehensive about covid at this stage and was working from home and "staying safe". I agreed to pass it all over to my friend Henry who to be honest was going to do the majority of the work anyway. Pretty dissapointed to have just handed it over but excited to get it done also! Knowing what we know now things would be different.
Engine leaving my dads garage
(https://i.ibb.co/nL78j7v/20200714-203402.jpg)

Last complete photo of the 8 valve
(https://i.ibb.co/BcbxCV1/20200728-174507.jpg)

Despite not doing the conversion Henry sent me a lot of photos so will put them on.

Abf arrives at Henry's
(https://i.ibb.co/BB5SV4x/received-207278100624772.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/nzBSrV3/received-924010724753058.jpg)

Looks quite gubby
(https://i.ibb.co/B3016W0/received-631460001106384.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/1mGdvrk/received-725347401584482.jpg)

Belts off
(https://i.ibb.co/WB3MGyK/received-684181462441727.jpg)

Little bit of paint, it was what was on the shelf red or yellow
(https://i.ibb.co/k96Kns9/received-3726858164007374.jpg)

Sump off a diesel windage tray was also fitted
(https://i.ibb.co/SvrqK8C/received-995166197572241.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/N7fJWjN/received-594873674502015.jpg)

Rocker on and new cambelt
(https://i.ibb.co/bKZNH0Q/received-297637834693694.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ftydHQg/received-567515290584694.jpg)

New water pump and original alternator refitted without ac compressor
(https://i.ibb.co/9HSFfBv/received-603595600531426.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/P51dcd6/received-321329882343401.jpg)

New crank seal
(https://i.ibb.co/VtK0Ysf/received-328853621456266.jpg)

Time to get the old 8 valve removed
(https://i.ibb.co/R9wQvR2/received-1973450759452517.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/THNKrrP/received-1504769289706691.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7GxT487/received-320416909091864.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7bJWcTs/received-276342656987950.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/w0b2rhW/received-3991029780924178.jpg)

The 8 valve 020 box had been rebuilt the year before with a new Valeo clutch so the plan was to reuse this with the gas n gears lightened flywheel
(https://i.ibb.co/PT3t1gM/received-597500654473490.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/r3YBQdX/received-1362961597233945.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/KD98T6H/received-4402762566431220.jpg)

There was an issue with clearance between the abf downpipe catching the bulkhead. This was fixed by removing the heat shield and removing the polybushed rear mount for a regular one. longer term i think you can buy mk2 abf manifolds but that will be in the future. Might have been better to use the 8 valve downpipe?
(https://i.ibb.co/VBFZx3J/20200801-152601.jpg)

Another issue was the decat section wasn't quite suitable meaning it pushed the exhaust onto the tunnel. The plan was to take this to an exhaust shop for adjustment
(https://i.ibb.co/1MGdSX8/received-619860355322090.jpg)

At this point the car was ready to collect! 1st drive had a hiccup, once up to temperature it cut out and wouldn't restart. It had been ran up to temp on the drive and seemed fine. A bit of a google suggested crank sensor but i had ruled this out as a new one had been fitted before the engine went in. Turns out it was a cheap sensor! The original had already been binned so a Febi one was ordered and it ran perfect  ;D

Got to say I feel like a massive fraud as I did zero other than fit the crank sensor but it was very unusual circumstances (covid) so will just accept it for what it is. Reality is if I had known then what I know now I would have been far more involved, even if I was stood in the way mostly! I owe a massive thank you to Henry for everything.

The drive home was a lot of fun! I'm shocked at the difference and can see why these engines are such popular swaps. It just revs and revs  ;D

After putting some miles on it all was going well! A small coolant leak from a hose on the front flange and a slight oil leak from the rocker gasket were the only known issues. Faffed with both, coolant leak fixed but the rocker took me numerous attempts but got there in the end  :-[  I'm blaming the cheap gasket!
(https://i.ibb.co/BqZdJtg/20200829-083208.jpg)

The exhaust issue was rectified by a local exhaust company although not quite to my liking, The exhaust is something i will need re-look at in the future as its quite loud!

I had bought a remapped chip for my ecu earlier in the year and was keen to give this a try. A job within my capabilities!
Remove ecu and the 4 screws at the top
(https://i.ibb.co/4tKmk8h/20201019-212032.jpg)
Persuade silver cover off
(https://i.ibb.co/wrCg3H0/20201019-213010.jpg)
Wiggle eprom to ease it out
(https://i.ibb.co/T0HGvV0/20201019-213554.jpg)
Replace with new one
(https://i.ibb.co/bJz0KBc/20201019-213805.jpg)

It does feel a little quicker afterwards certainly after 3.5k. I did think it maybe a placebo effect but i had done a few gps'd runs before and after and it seemed to take 0.2 of a second off my 0-60  :-\

Fitted this novelty badge also
(https://i.ibb.co/jrN72XV/20201127-205638.jpg)

Into 2021 I wanted to try and make some more improvements to keep things moving forwards- mostly mk3 themed. The opportunity to by a Quaife lsd came up although it was for an 02a gearbox. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to move away from my 020 box which i had been feeling sorry for and using sympathetically.

The plan was to take the car off the road for a week or two and swap everything over in one go.

Mk3 top mounts- an easy one with no photos but done on my gravel driveway.

Small collection of parts:
Mk3 fuel tank
(https://i.ibb.co/Stq6NjZ/20210201-121751.jpg)
1.3 speedo cable
(https://i.ibb.co/wwNSFx1/20210206-115837.jpg)
Darkside developments clutch arm & braided hydro clutch line
(https://i.ibb.co/bsgLCyy/20210208-111459.jpg)
Gearknob
(https://i.ibb.co/2jTcqNw/20210318-195838.jpg)

Turns out my bbs ra's had 8 year old tyres on. Some scruffy g60 steels with decent tyres replaced them for now
(https://i.ibb.co/H2ymj5B/20210324-102820.jpg)

To do the gearbox swap is definitely out of my comfort levels, Not having a garage or half the kit to do it not to mention having a young family, Almost shamelessly handed it over to Henry  :-[ The majority of the parts were bought from him as his car sadly got broken.
Mk5 clutch pedal mounted
(https://i.ibb.co/92wXVNV/received-891357335021764.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/XXz7J0f/received-2909718885962119.jpg)
02j shifter?
(https://i.ibb.co/kg9MvJW/received-1540795092791634.jpg)
The mk5 pedal didn't line up with the the mk2
(https://i.ibb.co/v4Cyx14/received-915713792582053.jpg)
Henry made a bracket so they could be mounted together. Should have bought a corrado pedal box  :))
(https://i.ibb.co/QJYP1tw/received-199738351924941.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JdBdPHZ/received-1158513351272029.jpg)
G60 lighted and balanced flywheel with a Sachs vr6 clutch in background
(https://i.ibb.co/x5mGQCN/received-886633772188669.jpg)
New clutch fork as a precaution
(https://i.ibb.co/B3RPkLC/received-735705653783475.jpg)
Rebuilt 02a AGC gearbox with a Quaife lsd. These boxes have a 3.9 final drive and fast gears 1-3 but longer 4-5 for better motorway crusing. Felt perfect in Henry's car so was really excited about this  ;D
(https://i.ibb.co/RjMpTTG/received-899661420891301.jpg)
Home made front cross member with a stronger poly front mount
(https://i.ibb.co/Vvp2C06/received-1169665630132948.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/r6MG6Tz/received-1388819761470685.jpg)
Powerflex polybushed lower arms were also available, seemed rude not to have them also
(https://i.ibb.co/mX8LC17/received-549046632727071.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/DVW6KjW/received-912828202882833.jpg)
Vibra-technics fast road rear mount and gearbox mount
(https://i.ibb.co/QbDHJDZ/received-4642893199058209.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7r3FxQL/received-2754990101429380.jpg)
Ferodo DS2500 pads
(https://i.ibb.co/mS7HBw8/received-1525626144303266.jpg)

Mk3 tank went in with some stainless straps but no photos

After a few months i developed a clunking noise when i let off the accelerator, quite hard to describe as i haven't got a lot of technical know how. Had a good nut and bolt check as a lot had been touched so recently. Nothing obvious appeared, My biggest fear was the gearbox but i had noticed a split inner cv joint that need sorting. Replaced the whole joint but the noise remained and was getting worse as time went by.

I arranged go round to Henry's to try and sort before the National meet (which was sadly later cancelled). I bought another gearbox to fit temporary whilst we looked at the existing box. If the clunk went on the temporary box at least we would know whet the problem lies.

I actually got my hands dirty for a change! We decided to leave the engine in place and just remove the box in the car
(https://i.ibb.co/HFMvvyK/20210430-180814.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/8xXJmbr/20210430-180822.jpg)
Nice clean but potentially faulty 02A agc box on the bench and a disgusting 02A cda box without lsd on the floor
(https://i.ibb.co/fxqp4v2/20210430-180808.jpg)
First time i have (help) taken a gearbox apart
(https://i.ibb.co/CK1KvyP/20210430-180836.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/8jyskCr/20210430-195231.jpg)
The important part!
(https://i.ibb.co/pzQP2fV/20210501-015052.jpg)
and the rest
(https://i.ibb.co/gw9xXFt/20210501-015054.jpg)

After refitting the temp box we took it for a drive the good news was the clunk had gone  ;D  The idea was to just get the car back on the road to get to the national meet whilst i decided what to do about a permanent box and what to do with the Quaife. Could sell it on as this was 95% just my daily driver? Also whether to have the box that was now in bits checked over rebuilt?

Having changed from an AGC box with a 3.9 final drive to a CDA box with a 3.6 FD, I really liked the cda! It made it a lot easier to drive on a day to day basis. The previous box I would screaming around everywhere plus with my noisy exhaust I felt a bit silly  :-[ I noticed i was actually driving differently to try and keep the revs down around town and where i lived which sounds ridiculous!

So I did some more research into ratios to see what was available to me for a permanent solution. 02J was now an option also but i found a lot of adverts didn't specify the exact gearbox codes and most responses were "its an 02J mate"  ::) The more i drove with the cda box the more i liked it. Its actually the correct box for an abf. I had read the ratios were too long but i didn't find this at all, maybe with the added weight of a mk3 it might have sucked the fun out slightly?

I had done a few gps runs with my previous AGC box and the original 020 box too. When I did the same test with the temp cda box the times were pretty much the same. Gps accuracy probably played a part and weather etc.
                                     0-60      0-100   1/4 mile
020 AUG box                 6.9       20.2        15.6
02A AGC with quaife     6.8       18.3        14.5
02A CDA no quaife       7.0        17.7       14.9      

With no real difference in a basic sprint I wasn't too fussed about tenths of a second. I'm sure  there are better ways to test but the main thing for me was the way the car felt. My preference was the 020 ratios as the rev drop was great but there was no way I was returning to cable clutch and rod shift gears. I did consider combining the 3.9 FD with the cda box as this would make more or less the 020 ratios but this would mean a rebuild that i didn't have funds for.

The temp box had a 1st gear grind so wouldn't be staying long term. I decided a decent 02a cda box with the quaife box was going to be the way forward. Another box was purchased from a reliable source.
Back into Henry's garage
(https://i.ibb.co/LpTVD9x/20210522-110337.jpg)
Quaife fitted to the ring gear? This was a terrible job removing the original, trying to get the diff rivets out was a job I would not wish upon anyone!
(https://i.ibb.co/C8JjTbT/20210522-134946.jpg)
All torqued to spec
(https://i.ibb.co/JjMGs34/20210522-161912.jpg)
Photos seem to have gone astray from here but it was a success  ;D  Very happy with the ratios and to have the quaife again. Driving day to day without was fine but makes such a difference when driving harder.

I used to do a fair few conversions back in the day, CDA was my go-to box, can't really beat it.
Do you get much torque steer with the diff in?

In both my 3.2 and my 20v before, under full load, the car will pull on bumpy roads, though I may be trying to send too much torque through the front wheels!

I used to do a fair few conversions back in the day, CDA was my go-to box, can't really beat it.
Do you get much torque steer with the diff in?

In both my 3.2 and my 20v before, under full load, the car will pull on bumpy roads, though I may be trying to send too much torque through the front wheels!

It doesnt torque steer on a straight road no, but it really makes a difference in corners and I do like some back road and roundabout fun when the moment is right!

I would think an lsd is a must have on 3.2's and 20v's? They're so much fun, so easy to light the tyres up. Do you have one in your 3.2?

A small cosmetic update and probably a slightly controversial one. The dash surround was cracked around the head unit and down the side of the headlight switch. Also the external door trims had become scratched where i had them painted black previously
(https://i.ibb.co/ysSxRgb/received-206335320905371.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MP7NnxQ/received-453609652573246.webp)

I sent them of to a guy called JH Hydros to hydrodip
(https://i.ibb.co/zGkcX69/received-489605585403850.webp)
(https://i.ibb.co/p4k4QVw/received-380235926356830.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vj6bchP/received-903950167069858.jpg)
He did a good job and its better than looking at cracks, maybe i should have just bought a replacement surround. Also the cassette player was only briefly fitted, the quality was awful.
(https://i.ibb.co/6Zmc6x1/20210516-194519.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0ZPpPJC/20210516-142211.jpg)

Steels where powder coated in silver with some added sparkle. I prefer my ra's but these are so easy to clean
(https://i.ibb.co/By81ZVb/20210620-192319.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/bzx3hZ9/20210715-210048.jpg)

Also tried to refit my strut brace but its a little bit close. The custom front cross member was causing a lot of vibration so was swapped for the original cross member and must have changed the angle the engine sits slightly
(https://i.ibb.co/HKt3tHd/20210527-203135.jpg)

Managed to get a friend to make some spacers to fit over the turrets to bring the strut brace away from the engine a little.
(https://i.ibb.co/gj23QbQ/20210721-195243.jpg)

September 21- I arranged to do a track evening at Donington with Henry in his e36. This was the first time i had driven on track other than Curborough in 2019 and a copuple of driving experiences. The golf gave me no problems and was so much fun. The grip the r888's gave was amazing. Poly rear beam bushes were identified as the most obvious part to improve next.
(https://i.ibb.co/rv3LhwV/received-165210365754658.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/8DLggMq/received-199651668819625.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/DKkdwXW/20210901-193539-0.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0M3TBnT/received-1032915810795767.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/bHrsSCN/received-884473339151433.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6X7kBwJ/received-373326454343557.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/gZpRkqd/IMG-20210905-WA0001.jpg)

Quote from: Monkey on January 04, 2022, 08:18:42 AM

I used to do a fair few conversions back in the day, CDA was my go-to box, can't really beat it.
Do you get much torque steer with the diff in?

In both my 3.2 and my 20v before, under full load, the car will pull on bumpy roads, though I may be trying to send too much torque through the front wheels!

It doesnt torque steer on a straight road no, but it really makes a difference in corners and I do like some back road and roundabout fun when the moment is right!

I would think an lsd is a must have on 3.2's and 20v's? They're so much fun, so easy to light the tyres up. Do you have one in your 3.2?

Yeah, I fitted it a year or so after the initial conversion.
I find where before, I'd get a single wheel spin and I'd just lose acceleration.
Now, if I hit a slight bump/drain under heavy load, the diff will shive the power over to the other wheel and it'll push the car about.
On the track or in corners, it's amazing though, so much grip. Can't wait for the National Meet up at Curborough again!

Yours looks awesome on the track. Loving the rear wheel lift too!

Some help from friends and rear beam bushes went in quickly. I went for Powerflex to match the front and they seem to have a good reputation. I was surprised how well this went, the old bushes were only a few years old but they came out very easily. The worst part was getting the old flexis off to remove the beam, these were swapped for braided.

The only photo I took but proves them made it on the car!
(https://i.ibb.co/Pgkm9J9/20210919-131027.jpg)

They made a definite difference when pushing it. The rear end feels less floaty so very pleased.

I had been keeping an eye out for a Miltek/TSR abf manifold and luckily one appeared locally on ebay. I've heard its hard work removing the old studs and nuts so not too sure when this will be fitted.
(https://i.ibb.co/s2Gh0S5/20210920-210150.jpg)

I'm also on the look out for a power steering setup if anyone is selling? I've been told mk3 racks work too so hopefully I can make that the next job. Also I really need to address my exhaust, its so loud! Beyond that I am going to be looking for rust and some paint repairs  ;D

I'd be a little careful with the manifold.

Because the ABF is a tall block, it can foul the bulkhead.
I've fitted a couple now and found spacing the front engine mount up a little (roughly 10mm) and then taking a hammer (carefully) to the bottom edge of the bulkhead leaves plenty of room.

I'd be a little careful with the manifold.

Because the ABF is a tall block, it can foul the bulkhead.
I've fitted a couple now and found spacing the front engine mount up a little (roughly 10mm) and then taking a hammer (carefully) to the bottom edge of the bulkhead leaves plenty of room.

Thanks for the heads up. What brand manifold did you use? This one should be specific for mk2 abf conversions MSVW3008. https://tsr-performance.com/tsr-milltek-vw-mk2-golf-2-0-16v-abf-conversion-manifold/

I had issues with the standard abf downpipe fouling the bulkhead so hammering has already happened! I also had to play around with different front and rear mounts to tilt the engine back as far as possible. I've ended up with a vibra technic rear mount and oe front
(https://i.ibb.co/L0XCb2D/received-645097372771732.jpg)

I was just using standard KR 4 branch manifolds as there were everywhere at the time.
I'd say you're already well prepared for the manifold with what you have done.

Word of warning, it's a right pain in the ass to fit a four branch when you have the engine still in the bay!

I tried removing the heat shield off the manifold the other night and the allen bolts were rounding off, not looking forward to seeing what the studs an nuts will be like!

Thanks for the advice, maybe that the engine will come out then. I could do the power steering swap and exhaust manifold altogether.

I have read that some people reckon the 4-1's aren't worth the hassle. Did you see any gains?

Yeah, I saw a little, seemed to be a little more torque in places, but I think I had a 4-2-1 manifold.
I would 100% take the engine out, especially if you're doing the steering rack.
It takes all the pain out of getting on those manifold bolts.
That being said, did you take it off when you done the conversion?

Thats good to hear. I think 421 make more low down and 4-1 is top end? Either way I'm sure it will sounds nice if nothing else  :))

No it wasn't touched during conversion, It's got an abf manifold and downpipe. 1997 engine so good chance its all 25 years old.

The Miltek/TSR 4x1 manifold should be OK with your ABF. I recently emailed TSR to confrim as have an ABF block under KR fuelling in mine and the generic 4x1 hits the bulkhead. I'm ripping mine out and replacing with a stock downpipe and front section as find the 4x1 too raspy.

Question - I was looking at your tensioner on your cambelt pics when it was in the engine stand a few pages back and noticed it's 45degrees off anticlockwise to mine. I have the same tensioner and the arrow points upwards and lines with a mark on the white plastic part but I am now doubting myself seeing yours (this is the first time I've ever done a cambelt...)

(https://i.ibb.co/Cts5chR/20211017-150541.jpg) (https://ibb.co/j5ZvNgn)

The Miltek/TSR 4x1 manifold should be OK with your ABF. I recently emailed TSR to confrim as have an ABF block under KR fuelling in mine and the generic 4x1 hits the bulkhead. I'm ripping mine out and replacing with a stock downpipe and front section as find the 4x1 too raspy.

Question - I was looking at your tensioner on your cambelt pics when it was in the engine stand a few pages back and noticed it's 45degrees off anticlockwise to mine. I have the same tensioner and the arrow points upwards and lines with a mark on the white plastic part but I am now doubting myself seeing yours (this is the first time I've ever done a cambelt...)

(https://i.ibb.co/Cts5chR/20211017-150541.jpg) (https://ibb.co/j5ZvNgn)

Thats interesting to hear. Got any videos? I thought I would like the rasp. Mine is already noisy so your making me doubt fitting mine 😅

My timing belt was fitted 18 months ago and it's still going! Doesn't mean mine is correct though. I've just done some research and yours looks correct to me. I will have to find out if mine is going to be an issue 😕

I think if you've been running like that for 18mths you'll be fine. I don't know enough about it - perhaps you're able to get the tension by hand on the belt and not necessarily need to get the tensioner in the right position.

I've only got a couple of videos at idle and it sounds pretty good but it's more raspy under load

https://youtu.be/vQq2FGLSdU0

https://youtu.be/YX4g0ySGx0o

I think if you've been running like that for 18mths you'll be fine. I don't know enough about it - perhaps you're able to get the tension by hand on the belt and not necessarily need to get the tensioner in the right position.

I've only got a couple of videos at idle and it sounds pretty good but it's more raspy under load

https://youtu.be/vQq2FGLSdU0

https://youtu.be/YX4g0ySGx0o

Thanks for the video. It is hard to tell but i think I will still fit the manifold at some point, I quite like the rasp.

I've had some bad luck with cars this week but all 3 have failed in some way but fortunately the golf was the quickest and cheapest to repair. Ironically I was jumping in it to pickup Laura from the garage as her Passat needed a rear abs sensor. It felt like the golf had a flat battery. It would crank very slowly and wouldn't jump start. I live on a hill so decided to push it onto the road and see if i could bump it down the road. It fired up and completed the journey but when i turned it off it was the same again.

I put a battery tester on the battery and it was fine and when i put a jump lead from negative to the block it fired straight up! Clearly an earth issue but all appeared visibly ok. Spoke to a mate who is close by to see if i could pinch his earth strap from his project, cleaned the earths on it a it was working perfect again.

I order myself a mk3 earth strap which appears to have a larger diameter cable, again checked and cleaned up all earths and back to normal. It seems to crank better since, whether that's because the old cable was weak or because of the larger cable?

Here is a photo of both side by side
(https://i.ibb.co/7pdNHKB/20220120-124811.jpg)

I put mk4 leads on mine too.
Makes a huge difference to cranking.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49828821023_94cff1b62b_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2iVcJtR)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2iVcJtR) by Dave Ackerman (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152481044@N07/), on Flickr

+1 for Mk3/4 leads.

(https://eddypeck.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/2019-12-14-12.34.35-1.jpg)

Eddypeck, Monkey, ianmac86, where did you get the mk3/4 earth lead from?

I had a look as well there are some on the dreaded e-bay.

Eddypeck, Monkey, ianmac86, where did you get the mk3/4 earth lead from?

I got mine of Leo Burly on Facebook he breaks mk3's. Just find someone breaking either a mk3 or 4 local shouldn't be much more than £10 👍🏻

Eddypeck, Monkey, ianmac86, where did you get the mk3/4 earth lead from?

I went to the local scrap yard and removed them from a scrap car myself. I can’t remember if mine came off a mk3 or mk4, I think maybe mk4. I got them years back for my previous Golf but never got round to fitting them. When I got my current Golf I needed to change the starter so it made perfect sense to grab them out of storage and finally make use of them. I did both positive and negative leads.

I got a MK3 earth wire with the MK3 "aircon" engine loom perhaps I ought to fit it and reap the unknown benefit.

The paintwork has bothered me for a while, its definitely getting worse. The scuttle has some bubbling and there is some lacquer peel along the nearside from previous work. Its generally looking 30+ years old. I decided to have it looked at before it got too bad. I was a bit worried what we would find but it could have been worse. Hopefully I can get it all sorted to keep it on the road for along time
(https://i.ibb.co/qYcYnqL/20220131-152120.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/qRW5f3M/20220131-152242.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/wzKgHNq/IMG-20220131-WA0049.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZMNCdMk/IMG-20220131-WA0045.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ctY23qT/20220131-152129.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/GxYpbdD/20220131-152108.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/30nxMJJ/20220131-152248.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/jv4285h/20220131-152319.jpg)

Good catch, that could have gotten much worse!

I have a new scuttle panel fitted
(https://i.ibb.co/Gtj3b5n/20220202-124436.jpg)
A bit more rust found on the sills
(https://i.ibb.co/p0XS9qL/IMG-20220204-WA0009.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/8Ktb3QV/IMG-20220204-WA0010.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/CtvzLQg/IMG-20220204-WA0011.jpg)
A bit more on the bootlid
(https://i.ibb.co/gyd3dRL/20220204-131738.jpg)

This should all be rectified early next week. The bodyshop recommended getting a new sunroof seal and window scrapers which was shockingly expensive! £120 for a genuine seal, the scrapers were around £80 for 4. The boot lock to body seal had fell apart, bargain for £2.56

I've been wondering what to do about the rear vinyl on the bootlid. I've ordered one off ebay after hearing good things this was a 3rd of the price of genuine one. I need to start keeping an eye on costs. I did consider leaving it off altogether or maybe having it painted matt black 🤔

On a side note I've also had to spend a few quid on my t5 which has come at a bad time and left me car-less and walking to work 😅 fortunately only a 2 mile walk
(https://i.ibb.co/cTC6yrR/20220202-091405.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MRb4KS9/20220202-124707.jpg)

Have you checked Classic VW?
The prices for the window seal is about right but you should be able to get a genuine sunroof seal well under £100.

Classic VW (https://www.classic-vw.co.uk/index.asp?function=SEARCH)

The search function isn't great but they stock what you want.
Buy everything together since postage can be expensive.

Thanks but they didn't have a sunroof seal in stock I called them to check also. I'm also trying to find new rear screen seal if anyone can find one of them?

I am collecting my mk2 tomorrow after its been polished. The bodyshop are a few doors from my work so have been in there daily driving them mad 🤣 hopefully get some more detailed photos day by day at some point but these are to go on with
(https://i.ibb.co/pZvdPRc/20220210-122213.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6nv4mMN/20220210-122235.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/pLmqfHW/20220210-122252.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/74JCJ2Q/20220211-110713.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/smm6bbd/20220211-110725.jpg)

Went to collect it this morning as planned. I'm so pleased especially seeing it outside in daylight.

I haven't really given any thought before, but I should probably look at getting some better cleaning products instead of the old sponge and carplan shampoo I've been using.

Here are some more photos. Can't believe it's mine 😀
(https://i.ibb.co/12tnsVX/20220212-110817.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/3z4NhVB/20220212-110947.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/zRD81q9/20220212-124330-0.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vVLbbxv/20220212-124339.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/myWMn6T/20220212-131610.jpg)

Very shiny!

Yes you need two wash buckets, each with a grit guard in the bottom.  One with washing water in it (I simply use Turtle wax shampoo) and one with plain warm rinsing water in it. You also need a wash mitt, like a fluffy wipe thing that you put your hand in.  Rub mitt on grit guard in rinse bucket, I squeeze out excess.  Rub mitt on grit guard in wash bucket, I squeeze out excess then wash a small portion of car with horizontal strokes.  Then back to the rinse bucket and repeat.

I almost forgot, jet wash / hose car before hand washing.  This way your paint should remain swirl and scratch free.

Edit. you will be amazed at how much filth collects in the rinse water under the guard.  Also the washing water stays clean.  Do this once and you will never wash a car with a bucket and sponge again.  I bought this just to get started, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232415292665 .  I will look at pro washing chemicals and a better mitt the next time I visit my detailing supplier,

Thanks for the info I'll definitely order myself one of those. It would be a real shame not keep on top of it from now on

you took out the windscreen.
how to and how big of a deal is it ?

i had some rust creeping under the rubber,
which i could have treated better without.

Wow! That looks fantastic, bet you're made up!
@mk24ever, it's not too bad to remove, you just need to put plenty of lube on it (I use WD40) and be very careful.
Push it too hard and it'll crack.

I've just noticed my scuttle doesn't have any drain holes like the previous one causing water to build up and drip onto the ecu. I have on of those snetro covers which uses the drainage holes for fixings so haven't got that fitted currently. I've fitted a water proof cover over my ecu (carrier bag) until I can find a solution. I'm a bit reluctant to drill holes into it but not sure what else to do? I assume everyone else has drainage holes along that channel?
(https://i.ibb.co/k84kvTb/20220216-195615.jpg)

An old image, taken for a different reason and not that clear for what you need, but the channel nearest the screen has 2 x holes visible if you look closely...

(https://lirp.cdn-website.com/521a0932/dms3rep/multi/opt/front-1920w.jpg)

Thanks for the photo. I think I'm gonna take it back to bodyshop, I don't want to make a mess of it.
That is a very clean engine bay 😮

The problem appears to have been introduced here:

(https://i.imgur.com/jaWXwb3.jpg)

I can't see a drip lip nor drainage holes on that new scuttle panel.  Could be the picture angle but I also can't see the lip again on the finished item.

This is a picture I took yesterday for different reasons but if you zoom in you can see the lip with clips securing the scuttle trays which direct water away from the ECU and its connector:

(https://i.imgur.com/wpZc8Gz.jpg)

Edit.  I've just now opened your image in another tab and enlarged it.  It does look like the lip is there.  The body shop need to drill the holes.  Then you need the trays.

So spoke with bodyshop and got them to put some drainage holes in, which they did for me this Monday. I thought it would be safer to let them do it as I was pretty nervous about drilling into a freshly painted scuttle.
(https://i.ibb.co/27HNxGG/20220221-173343.jpg)
Snetro scuttle panel refitted, should of cleaned it really
(https://i.ibb.co/gr0zpKr/20220222-192405.jpg)

It could do with its first wash too but need to buy some more decent cleaning products (Grit guard ordered thanks pwardy).

I'm on the hunt for some new tyres for my ra's unless I swap the ones off the g60s. Also tempted to let the g60s go as I currently have 3 sets of wheels which seems a bit unnecessary.

Still need to make plans for mitlek manifold and power steering

That isn't a MK2 ECU you have there?  If not I think you have solved your problem.

If it is a MK2 then the genuine 2 part scuttle trays are designed to provide extra protection for the ECU connector and harness.  That protection will be missing with your Snetro.

Before using the grit guards jet wash or hose off as much muck as possible.

No it's a mk3 16v ecu to suit the engine. The cover that came on the car was quite broken so wasn't doing an awful lot anyway 😕 the snetro cover has done an OK job so far, I've had it for a good 12 months with no issues. However I think the swg covers look superior to both.

Yeah that makes sense, might watch a few videos on car washing to try and avoid making too many swirls.

Sadly I've had my garage broken into
(https://i.ibb.co/9wSXwVr/20220226-111348.jpg)
It's away from my home so don't vist too often but it's where I keep all my spares and tools. The feeble lock looks like a pair of grips got the better of it 😟 strangley more has been left than expected but clearly someone has helped themselves- guessing for scrap metal. I'm upset but feel sorry for anyone that is so desperate that they need to steal. No real harm done but will need to increase security and replace some missing tools and parts to keep things moving forward.
New low entry rocket lift trolley jack to save using the cheap Halfords one. Also noticed the sturdy door lock that my dad doesn't use, hence the break in 🙄
(https://i.ibb.co/dB3Dpms/20220301-165324.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/SXs95n7/20220303-172401.jpg)
I seem to be forever replacing parts that adjust tracking so have had this looked at today.
(https://i.ibb.co/n3rP2qz/20220305-094834.jpg)
No doubt look into fitting the pas rack in the next month or two 😅
I havent covered too many miles in the last year but an oil and filter change is within my capabilities. The photos is to remind myself to do it more than anything plus gives me the chance to try my new jack
(https://i.ibb.co/LZR73wn/20220305-125828.jpg)
My snretro scuttle panel has been floating since paint due to no fixing/ drainage holes in scuttle. I gave sticky velcro ago but thats not the answer. New holes were drilled by bodyshop but not quite where I had asked
(https://i.ibb.co/3B0sL1K/20220305-130002.jpg)
I bought a few types of fixings
(https://i.ibb.co/FHtrRVK/20220305-130151.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/bBzwdqW/20220305-143934.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7Gv3jgB/20220305-144455.jpg)
And a few cheapish cleaning products instead of using the fairy washing liquid and sponge 😬
(https://i.ibb.co/6yxn838/20220305-130446.jpg)
Very minor things but still feels like progress. Also repaired a spade connector on ns door speaker and the final snag since paintwork.
I had primarily sold my g60 style steels but the garage break in has stumped this. My bbs ra's used to clear g60 calipers but thicker ds2500 pads means I now need a small spacer. Does anyone know of the best place to look for a smallish hub centric spacers? I have a set of eibach 3 or 5mm eibach spacers but these seem to cause wheel wobble at 60mph. I assume because they are just flat? 

Managed the oil and filter without any dramas. Noticed a small leak from the coolant hose nearest the thermostat,  the jubilee clip isn't tightening so that will need fixing at some point.
(https://i.ibb.co/K6btTMM/20220312-134712.jpg)
Doubt it will ever be this clean again!
(https://i.ibb.co/qx8fbzY/20220312-140837.jpg)
Met a new friend at Caffeine and Machine in his splitscreen. There was a stunning track inspired mk1 16v turbo there owned by a local guy, sadly I blurred he photo of the outside.
(https://i.ibb.co/x601W7F/20220316-223005.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/phvFQhv/20220316-204026.jpg)
I've noticed 1st gear is getting slightly harder to find. I believe I need this bush which is proving hard to get hold of. There is a company is the states that sell them but won't ship to the UK so I've ordered a cheap ebay one and I'll see how that goes. If not the local engineering shop will make me one which seems the best option.
(https://i.ibb.co/dL7CLNw/20220307-080448.jpg)
In the interest of trying to improve gear change I bought these bushes which attach to the cable change bracket.
(https://i.ibb.co/yyTSPdm/20220319-125710.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/qMrYz7x/20220319-131105.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Fm7Xq6W/20220319-130355.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/f4mm2wn/20220319-130413.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wMDDRmw)
I've had a noise, like something has been rolling around under my seat ever since I've owned the car. Nearly 7 years of searching I've finally found the noise!
(https://i.ibb.co/KL9wC8C/20220319-140725.jpg)
A bonus Ngk pen was the culprit
(https://i.ibb.co/JmWKz0f/20220319-140756.jpg)
Before I had my scuttle replaced I think this was causing a leak into the car causing it to steam up regularly. So I decided to take everything out and dry it out.
(https://i.ibb.co/68Wsd2K/20220319-140808.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0tNkPgP/20220319-141503.jpg)
The sound deadening was soaked
(https://i.ibb.co/c1dY1H4/20220319-142040.jpg)
Now on the washing line. Hopefully is will dry over the next few days.
(https://i.ibb.co/KN35nCH/20220319-170228.jpg)
Went for a quick drive without the interior. Felt like a race car 😁
(https://i.ibb.co/BzMt6Dv/20220319-155235.jpg)
Seems like a good time to redo door membranes. I've bought some sound deadening so a little bit went into the doors. I used buytln tape and did 2 layers. The 1st layer sits inside the door to aim the water into the drainage holes. I'm hoping this will help keep things dry.
(https://i.ibb.co/GC0pVMM/20220320-170255.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/pwt4VmR/20220320-170745.jpg)
Managed to do the rear door before daylight started to disappear
(https://i.ibb.co/WDvG1qZ/20220320-181801.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/TgkRVPM/20220320-183446.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wzRC9ph)
(https://i.ibb.co/GMgTp1L/20220320-184410.jpg)
Hoping the underlay will dry before long. But need to lay the rest of the new sound deadening on the floor. Really hope this helps reduces the noise within the car so I can take the family out in it more often.

A few small upgrades. I sent my ecu off the Adlai for deimobilising and a better map
(https://i.ibb.co/4sbzRgh/received-3135515893360846.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/J3Br145/received-655978172146592.jpg)
Not tested but looking forward going for a drive.

Some dealer style plates from Prash at 360gt yet to be fitted
(https://i.ibb.co/mbRbG6B/FB-IMG-1647610622223.jpg)

Also finished putting my interior back together but stopped taking photos as it got dark
Yacht varnished door cards
(https://i.ibb.co/Z2XJKZ8/20220326-104256.jpg)

Sounded deadening
(https://i.ibb.co/WV1TFKM/20220326-152520.jpg)
Little helper had lots of questions but is surprisingly good putting door trim back together ❤
(https://i.ibb.co/Brv4mzF/20220326-160353.jpg)
Not as neat as I would have liked but I'm not going  to see it and time is precious
(https://i.ibb.co/hmv9FSW/20220326-164117.jpg)
A bit of underlay
(https://i.ibb.co/YWQWdLS/20220326-183905.jpg)
The original underlay and carpet all went back in. The front was a bit of a wrestle with the heater box and peddles obstructing and the foot rest was a faff!
I ache all over and my hands are absolutely battered but car is a wash away from being ready for gti Spring Festival 10th April and Ace Cafe to Brighton cruise 24th April 😁

Parenting goals right there! My son is only 20 months old, but hoping he'll like messing around with old VWs when he's older.

Good work with the sound deadening too, hopefully you'll hear the difference.

Start him young I say! Poppy is 5, bless her she's good with  a ratchet and screwdriver, knows how to loosen and tighten things up.

It's something I really wish my dad had given me time for when I was young. It's just a really nice feeling if they want to be involved.

Haven't seen too many updates on yours lately. How's it going? Are you going to any shows this year?

Yeah, Tony seems to like taking stuff apart, that's just how I started, so there's hope for him yet!!
Mine has had a temporary stop, had a stag weekend (I'm far too old for that now!) one weekend and then had to work the one just gone. I hope to get back on it soon.
As for shows, ideally I want to have both the red and blue mk2s up at the national meet.
Just as well my wife loves mk2s too!!

I Took a trip to Santa Pod last Sunday and got to go on the mk2 owners stand. It was nice to put some faces to the cars and chat with some of the owners. I Took Laura and left the kids with grandparents for a day out on our own!
On route selfie
(https://i.ibb.co/rQFTD9W/IMG-20220413-WA0017.jpg)
Some lovely cars, that made mine feel quite ordinary, but still had a great time.
(https://i.ibb.co/YdvKHfm/IMG-20220413-WA0021.jpg)
I had a few goes up the quarter mile for some fun.
(https://i.ibb.co/ggv5qVm/received-405648674733009.jpg)
Beetle RSI. I remember this exact car with this plate when I was young, registered at Listers VW in Coventry. It was £50k new in about 2002! My dad bought it home a several times, it really used to turn some heads
(https://i.ibb.co/LZkJLKQ/20220410-144508.jpg)
Favourite car of the day
(https://i.ibb.co/7NrjbP2/20220410-143843.jpg)
One of mine
(https://i.ibb.co/pn42vrH/20220410-150549.jpg)
Can't resist taking this photo every time i go
(https://i.ibb.co/54P1yPw/20220410-151850.jpg)

It was good to meet you at Santa Pod last Sunday.
Your car looked great,sounded fantastic and was a credit to all the work you've done to it.

It was good to meet you at Santa Pod last Sunday.
Your car looked great,sounded fantastic and was a credit to all the work you've done to it.

Thanks Nige! Likewise, good to meet you and your car is immaculate. Hopefully see you at a few more shows this year?

Looks like you had a great time!
How'd you get on up the strip?

Looks like you had a great time!
How'd you get on up the strip?

Not too well 😄 I only did 3 runs! I couldn't talk Laura into sitting in the passenger or drivers seat so we decided to make the most of the rest of the show. I got a 15.7 but I think the car is capable of lower 15s with a better driver 😳
I was launching quite sympatheticly at like 1.5-1.8k rpm with no dramas. With the grip on offer I think 3-3.5k would have been optimum. It's a shame I didn't experiment more but there's always next time.
(https://i.ibb.co/3NzkdXF/20220410-164336.jpg)

That's not bad at all!
Remember, it's a starting place, next year you'll be quicker  ;)

@ianmac86 - your photos will load quicker if you reduce their size.  Something like 480 x 640 is fine for computer display.

That's not bad at all!
Remember, it's a starting place, next year you'll be quicker  ;)

Yeah its a good reason to try and make some improvements and go back next year.

@ianmac86 - your photos will load quicker if you reduce their size.  Something like 480 x 640 is fine for computer display.

Thanks I'm not sure how to do that but will have a go!

So we've decided that three cars in our house is an unnecessary expense. We've got the mk2 which is the least practical, 2013 Passat for the kids and dogs and a 2008 T5 camper which sits around a lot of the time and costs the most money! For me i'd like to continue dailying the mk2 and get Laura into the van, which needs parking sensors and or a reverse camera to help her park and let the Passat go. The van has had a lot spent on it so in theory should be trouble free for a while and it does everything the Passat does.

Laura will drive the mk2 because it doesn't have power steering. I've got all the conversion parts so makes sense to try and get these fitted so we can have two cars we are both happy to drive. Whilst the subframe is dropped it seems like the right time to fit the Miltek manifold also. I've dug the parts out so hoping I can get this all fitted next week.
The ac pump isn't going back on sadly
(https://i.ibb.co/kqwFWTS/20220418-202529.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/VWyCcSj/20220418-202614.jpg)
I've heard Miltek flanges don't seal very well so hopefully a flexi and either a vband or a decent 3 bolt flange will sort?
(https://i.ibb.co/jwqNHgS/20220418-202640.jpg)
What a mess!
(https://i.ibb.co/1T52Xv1/20220418-203556.jpg)
Also managed to pickup a speeding ticket whilst travelling to Santa Pod 35 in a 30
(https://i.ibb.co/ZBpqyJC/20220420-143339.jpg)
Seems a harsh one as i was building speed into a 60 mph road not travelling into the village but i suppose the law is the law
(https://i.ibb.co/kQGGrFL/20220420-144545.jpg)

Ah you used the r a r E word....
Do I detect a nervous smile on the photo? ☺

Ah you used the r a r E word....
Do I detect a nervous smile on the photo? ☺

Did I??

I was oblivious to the camera. The only reason I went down that road was because I missed the turning for santa pod which makes the whole the thing 10 times worse 🤣 I'm gonna let Laura drive in future, I can't afford any more points!

Completely ignoring Martins advice about resizing the photos but here a few photos of the London to Brighton cruise from yesterday.
280+ miles covered and we made it back in one peice. The car had one hiccup just after a stop off near Brighton it stuttered/missed twice under acceleration but drove absolutely fine after and the whole 140 miles home.
There's probably something on its way out and I've had a warning so will look into this soonish. Also really suffered with drone from the exhaust. I passed the opportunity of the new trackslag system with 3 silencers a few weeks back due to it being in the bodyshop and not having had my final bill I didn't want to over commit my finances.
I am considering putting a standard 16v system on it as the journey was slightly ruined on the way home with a headache. Having said that I am about to fit a miltek manifold this week so will see what impact this has on the exhaust note. Alternatively I might look into buying a stainless mid box and having it welded into my current 2 box system.
(https://i.ibb.co/g6534Y3/20220424-092552.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MfyYwpb/20220424-092530.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/WgN1mTB/20220424-092641.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Hp2fr1r/20220424-092810.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/CmKjDZw/20220424-092903.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/rtTJTmk/20220424-092943.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/dG8hRrZ/20220424-141123.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/hXbzjW4/20220424-141153.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/nQkgY0C/20220424-141135.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/rwkNk1H/IMG-20220424-WA0002.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Fhw9Lsw/20220424-145637.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ThMHk1v/20220424-145737.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/khmcXJ5/20220424-145913.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZWmYhsw/20220424-152037.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MS78t94/20220424-152700.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vJXfG71/20220424-152707.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/w4LwfCj/IMG-20220424-WA0009.jpg)

Some great photos there, looks like a good day out!

Yeah we loved it!

So the power steering has now been started, shamelessly dropped off as I'm just not up to doing this certainly not even tempted on my gravel driveaway. I've used a mk3 rack, uj and lines. I had given my abf pas pump to a friend who hadn't used it so that got donated back to me. I bought new rack ends, rack boots etc and got a mk2 bottle and bracket from mk2 spares.

Needs finishing tomorrow hopefully it will work OK 🤞🏻 hoping to get the manifold on whilst the subframe has been dropped.

I'm missing the tensioner bolt for the pump so will need to order one of those unless I can find one off a friend.

I can't decide whether to heat wrap the manifold. I've heard good and bad things either way so it seems to be down to preference?

(https://i.ibb.co/Cm4cY0S/20220426-153558.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/gFM62TP/20220426-154525.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/fr5s3kh/20220426-154625.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/2SLKPzg/20220426-154816.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6mmgxk8/20220426-154950.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Dgxr1qF/20220426-154953.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6DfD4W3/Screenshot-20220426-160233-e-Bay.jpg)

Great write ups, and car's looking exceptional... health to continue enjoying it.

Thanks too for taking the time to post up the images, I know how time consuming it can be having to edit / upload your own, its appreciated.

You should consider applying for the club banner to display at shows / events.

Great photos from the London to Brighton run Ian. Looked like a brilliant road trip.
Good luck with the PAS conversion.

Great write ups, and car's looking exceptional... health to continue enjoying it.

Thanks too for taking the time to post up the images, I know how time consuming it can be having to edit / upload your own, its appreciated.

You should consider applying for the club banner to display at shows / events.

Thank you 🙂

Great photos from the London to Brighton run Ian. Looked like a brilliant road trip.
Good luck with the PAS conversion.

You should do it next time Nige it was a great day.

I was walking to work this morning and got a message off a mate to say he had the tension bolt I needed. He even dropped it off and offered me a lift to work. What a legend!
(https://i.ibb.co/rkZ4t0Z/20220427-082847.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6HGXjcJ/20220427-082854.jpg)
One small issue with the pas today. It appears the uj boot it too large at the rack end.
(https://i.ibb.co/8KTjC3J/IMG-20220427-WA0012.jpg)
Having asked around it seems I'm missing the doughnut that sits beneath it. I've managed to get one of these ordered and a 90 spec jacking point cover also
(https://i.ibb.co/mrn8DRF/20220427-144258.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/T10MVpy/20220427-144314.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/tzp9zWp/received-1337597233406456.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/CzxJYSG/received-3027175984216587.jpg)
Also not sure if the bottle bracket is right as it seems to stick out along way? My mate Dan said he will cut and Shorten it for me at some point
(https://i.ibb.co/9s9WkG4/20220427-174642.jpg)
Despite the missing doughnut I drove it home (1.5 miles) I've got to say I'm so pleased with the steering. It's going to need alignment again but even so its made it so nice to drive, I really wish I had done this years ago 😁
When the doughnut arrives the subframe will be back down and hopefully get the manifold on at the same time.

Yeah, as mentioned, you definitely need that doughnut.

As for the PAS bottle, that is where it's supposed to be.
If you want to be really fancy, you can stick a Corrado bottle on, it gets it up on the chassis leg out the way.
It's also the reason you have the weird notch out the water bottle, this is the one on my blue golf
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50032835877_d8b0c6e983_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2jeemZk)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2jeemZk) by Dave Ackerman (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152481044@N07/), on Flickr
The PAS bottles are still available new for not much money, then you only need to do a little pipework and find a bracket for it.

Thanks for the advice yesterday Monkey! This would be a nice upgrade, my friends g60 has the same bottle as yours. I think I would definitely need longer pipes to reach thought 🤔

I've got another problem which I've nearly resolved. When I press clutch pedal in and spin steering wheel, the clutch pedal would make contact with the top bolt thread on the mk3 uj. There was excess thread on the bolt so got in there with the only thing I could find- an old junior hacksaw blade 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/VLL5ybg/20220428-204345.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7JXp1vP/20220428-210307.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/VgYkSz7/20220428-213109.jpg)

Whether this was a good idea I don't know but it's done now! I've also took a file to the back of clutch pedal where it now meets the nut, it needs a tiny bit more but my arms ache from squeezing in the footwell.

Just waiting for the dougnut to turn up from mk2 spares and then I can get this finished off.

Thanks for the advice yesterday Monkey! This would be a nice upgrade, my friends g60 has the same bottle as yours. I think I would definitely need longer pipes to reach thought 🤔

No worries.

Yeah, you'd have to put a tee piece and a bit more pipe in, but it's all on the low pressure side, so it's easily sourced

A tiny update. I've took the angle grinder to my clutch pedal to stop it fouling the uj, it only needed a tiny bit off. Pretty sure I used the wrong disc but it worked 😅
(https://i.ibb.co/5vt0WDq/20220502-213800.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/J3QcYhp/20220502-213811.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/VCyC86h/20220502-213846.jpg)
Also heat wrapped my Miltek manifold. Hoping this can go on tomorrow along with the missing doughnut off my steering boot. I made the mistake of itching my nose during wrapping and it's driving me absolutely mental now!

This was the 1st time I've ever wrapped a manifold so I'm sure it could have gone better but we'll see how it lasts. I wrapped 3 of the pipes individually and then wrapped the 4 that are too close together along with the final pipe. I did watch a YouTube video before doing this and I soaked the wrap in water as this is suppose to make it expand and then shrink on tighter as it dries 🤷‍♂️ also suppose to make the fibres less itchy.
(https://i.ibb.co/3f5d7Nz/20220503-202037.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JzHkNC9/20220503-203658.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/kDCm1QV/20220503-204340.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/TrfHb4S/20220503-205624.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7Yx3yBT/20220503-205751.jpg)

Luckily we've got a decent welder nextdoor on standby to make any adjustments to make this meet the trackslag exhaust.

You used the wrong disc.  That is a stone or ceramic cutting disk.

You used the wrong disc.  That is a stone or ceramic cutting disk.

I thought so but it did the job and saved me buying some discs 😅

The manifold got test fitted today. I think the answer is to chop the flanges off both ends and replace with a flexi and v band. I've ordered these parts and a lambda boss but will have to wait on some help with welding and fitting. I do have the original joining pipe but I have read that these 2 bolt flanges don't seal very well?

The manifold appears quite close to the uj boot so might need to find a way to give it some extra protection from the heat.
(https://i.ibb.co/yYG1Kph/20220504-173755.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/xC3Kh49/20220504-175925.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/YLdQKDB/20220504-180011.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/SJD5Cd5/20220504-180717.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/CVBr0D0/20220504-184824.jpg)

I did that exact mod to a four branch about 15 years ago, worked pretty well.

As for the UJ boot, I do know there is a bloke making bespoke heat wrap shields for them, no idea how much they cost mind.
Depending on your engine mount, you will have to take into account the movement of the engine too, you don't want to go to all this trouble to find it vibrates on something when you put your foot down!

Thats good to hear. Hopefully I can get it sorted and so i can get the alignment done next week.

Do you know where to find him? I've seen them on obsolete.co.uk but they're out of stock.
As for engine mount currently I have a vibratecnics rear mount but was hoping to refit the oe part to reduce the amount of vibration this seems to cause in the car. Maybe I'll hold off until the manifold is sorted.

Another small update. When the car was painted they texure painted the front and rear bumpers, they came out really well but showed up the rest of the plastic trim. So I took it back to have the arches, sills, door trims and front splitter. Sadly no during photos but here it is sat on my driveway.
(https://i.ibb.co/MMjg3xV/20220509-183817.jpg)

This is the uj boot cover I would like to get. Hopefully another batch will be made soon so I can feel more comfortable the stainless manifold won't melt the boot!
(https://i.ibb.co/tKXDR6t/Screenshot-20220507-100434-Chrome.jpg)

My v band and lambda boss showed the other day. Henry has agreed to weld these on for me when he gets time. So hopefully we can get this fitted before long.

Something I have wanted to do for a while was replace my mfa screen as mine has completely bled. I've seen others have managed it so I thought I would have a go. I took lots of photos to help me put it back together. Sadly ran out of time yesterday but it's nearly back together. It will be a miracle if the clocks all work after 😅
Started by removing radio, heater panel and switches
(https://i.ibb.co/ZgQD76Y/20220514-153428.jpg)
Unscrewed the instrument panel
(https://i.ibb.co/DDvFbnL/20220514-153459.jpg)
Unscrew cluster
(https://i.ibb.co/Pg8zQVp/20220514-154108.jpg)
You can see from here the plug you have to disconnect
The plug from the bottom, the speedo cable and the vacuum hose
(https://i.ibb.co/4RQBfN5/20220514-155021.jpg)
Then basically start unscrewing things and remove the dash bulbs
(https://i.ibb.co/chxZK23/20220514-155641.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/rk9yzsd/20220514-155647.jpg)
Then prise the white and black casing apart
(https://i.ibb.co/NTHF9cx/20220514-161117.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/x29Rw8T/20220514-161351.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0fxhH0y/20220514-161421.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/fF0L2dY/20220514-163535.jpg)
Fiddliest bit was removing the green board from the white casing. You have to Unscrew the tiny black screws from rev counter. I used a Stanley blade and an Xmas cracker screwdriver set 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/b5VZwJF/20220514-163538.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Cs5MWm6/20220514-163556.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/WzJRZQw/20220514-163808.jpg)
New screen fitted
(https://i.ibb.co/NFNL0yP/20220514-165616.jpg)
Wonder what's not going to work when this all goes back together 🤔

Finished this off today. Made one or two mistakes but I got there in the end. Accidentally fitted the fuel guage upside down to start with. I ordered a new speedo cable and cluster bulbs as I don't really wanna be doing any of this again

Decided to chav it up and paint the needles red. I couldn't get them off so went for tornado red touch up pen 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/Vjv1XQC/20220515-165625.jpg)
Green led cluster bulbs
(https://i.ibb.co/s9vC7XC/20220515-175250.jpg)
You have to trim the the tabs off to get them in
(https://i.ibb.co/WPBRm35/20220515-175750.jpg)
The clock worked so that was a good start
(https://i.ibb.co/d08gYPh/20220515-193315.jpg)
Nothing tells me a job well done like left over parts 🤦‍♂️
(https://i.ibb.co/6n8fg9F/20220515-193445.jpg)
All guages and lights work. Had to have a 2nd go at the speedo cable but seems like a success
(https://i.ibb.co/t3Lk830/20220515-195232.jpg)

Nice little touch, bet it brings out the red of the dash stripe.

Nice little touch, bet it brings out the red of the dash stripe.

Yeah I'm surprised how well they came out but even more so that everything works 🤣

Must be due an update on red rescue?

Unfortunately, it's probably overdue, but nothing has happened the past two weeks.
I've been at a wedding for one and tidying the workshop for the other!
This weekend should give me a bit of time though...fingers crossed!

After my old uj boot fell to peices and with a pending stainless manifold to go on, I decided it would be good to try and protect the new one from the heat. Also I haven't yet refitted the manifold heat shield, so I ordered and fitted this.
(https://i.ibb.co/FBgXLPC/20220521-165605.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/3F4yHtx/20220521-165623.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Brc9MV1/20220521-213341.jpg)
The manifold should be going on in a few weeks but if it doesn't happen i really should have my alignment corrected so I can use it regularly.
My new "genuine" sunroof seal from heritage (£120) has a split in it which is fustrating after 2 months. I've sent them an email to see if there's anything they can do.
(https://i.ibb.co/XF8RyHW/20220522-135116.jpg)
A few photos from dubclub
(https://i.ibb.co/58nnwTL/FB-IMG-1653685293422.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/D4bTx3S/FB-IMG-1653604864920.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/hBzfxsH/FB-IMG-1653604936805.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/x8zb7jS/20220525-204517.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/1nyzXz6/20220525-204430.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/nm2h8F2/20220525-204345.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ChDVSnL/20220525-204214.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Lh7fr0T/20220525-204006.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/6vPfKTg/20220525-195931.jpg)

I've been desperate to get this Miltek manifold fitted.  Today we took a step closer by getting the flange chopped off and welding a flexi, vband and lambda boss. Massive thanks to Henry who accepts Burger King and a blast in mk2 as payment 😁
(https://i.ibb.co/FngNbvB/20220611-185326.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/P5mRZ7D/20220611-191006.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/9q4BfVD/20220611-191921.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JdWQnD0/20220611-221543.jpg)

After ages talking about it, today I managed to fit my miltek manifold!
We found the easiest way was to lower the subframe. I bought some new gaskets, studs and copper nuts althought we decided not to try and remove studs as they all stayed in place.
(https://i.ibb.co/Rck8v82/20220629-113821.jpg)
Manifold squeezed out the gearbox end.
(https://i.ibb.co/84WPHTZ/20220629-113828.jpg)
Downpipe came out from below and I marked the exhaust where it was to be cut down.
(https://i.ibb.co/nQkX96d/20220629-121742.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7kNs6J5/20220629-125441.jpg)
Cut exhaust and tacked the vband on, took abit of trial and error
(https://i.ibb.co/GWTwrfR/20220629-152059.jpg)
Welded on
(https://i.ibb.co/GPvL32Y/20220629-154906.jpg)
Needs a bit of tweaking as the backbox is sitting close to the heatshield above it. At least I hope thats all it is 😳
Warmed it up and did a quick video. Not as loud as I expected which was a nice suprise
https://youtu.be/m8-DNw8LZWo

Alignment is booked for 18th July and exhaust tweeks 19th so hopefully they all go to plan. I've bought some camber bolts and exhaust rubbers from Powerflex
(https://i.ibb.co/k9hT5Kq/20220708-185454.jpg)
I've had an electric aerial sat in my garage for ages, although I really want a Bee sting, I'm not up for wrecking my headlining or drilling fresh paint. So i decided to give it a go

How many tools do you need to fit an electric aerial 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/bK3r2gj/20220709-194234.jpg)
Whipped old aerial out into the scuttle, hasn't been up to much for years if I'm honest, always had poor signal
(https://i.ibb.co/PCBSThn/20220709-194239.jpg)
Pulled head unit out
(https://i.ibb.co/9hGYnC1/20220709-195419.jpg)
Tried tying onto old aerial cable which didn't  work at all!
(https://i.ibb.co/YpQPsCs/20220709-195423.jpg)
Ended up pulling cables through an unused grommet lower down the bulkhead plus the red permanent live. Blue is the switch wire. I connected the earth in the scuttle
(https://i.ibb.co/GCCF7MQ/20220709-201844.jpg)
I decided to leave the old aerial under scuttle for now as a contingency incase this new one doesn't last more than 5 minutes!
(https://i.ibb.co/1dz7f2s/20220709-201857.jpg)
I notice these 2 yellow wire broken? No idea what they're for but they head towards the horn and outside air temperature sensor. Maybe this is why it reads mine 22 degrees 🤔
(https://i.ibb.co/kDwNMRv/20220709-205536.jpg)
Drilled a 20mm hole into an electric window blank
(https://i.ibb.co/2jkcFBM/20220710-183904.jpg)
The aerial has 4 wires: the coax looking cable, a red permanent live, black earth and blue switch wire. I thought if i have a radio switch live to this rocker switch that feeds the electric aerial I can independently control it?
(https://i.ibb.co/MkWFvH2/20220710-190035.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/WPYvxDs/20220710-195307.jpg)
It works 😁 probably should have taken an hour or two but took far longer than I hoped 😅
https://youtube.com/shorts/eGpZ7kGiy-w?feature=share

Took a trip up the road to Caffeine and machine for the mk2 meet the other week. It was nice to see so many familiar cars and see some new and old friends
(https://i.ibb.co/vzCq1vd/20220705-190323.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7nRqgk7/20220705-205133.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/C94VWn0/20220705-205152.jpg)

I've had alignment done at Spires this afternoon. This has needed correcting since I fitted power steering the other month 😳 tbf I've been on their waiting list since the pas conversion was done. Spires seem to have an excellent reputation for geometry and although there isn't much to setup on a mk2 I thought I'd give them ago.
They fitted the camber bolts and added a little camber on the front over standard specification to try and help for track and fast road use. It drives so much nicer now so that was money well spent.
(https://i.ibb.co/1QwMrQK/20220718-181602.jpg)

I sold the g60 steels recently so ordered some new tyres for my bbs ra's. I was looking at Michelin ps3 but just couldn't justify £350 with the limited mileage I cover. I had been surprised how good the toyo tr1 were on my steels and for less than £40 each I couldn't complain
(https://i.ibb.co/25VdJ5d/20220718-192250.jpg)
I forgot how tedious these are to clean 😩
(https://i.ibb.co/8ms78Mp/20220718-203027.jpg)
I'm booked in at an exhaust fabricator tomorrow to redo my joint between my new manifold and the exhaust. Then I just need to wash it and I'm ready for national meet!

I've missed the last couple of updates, looking great!
Tyres look good as well, may have to invest in a set too, have you tried them yet?

I've missed the last couple of updates, looking great!
Tyres look good as well, may have to invest in a set too, have you tried them yet?

Thank you!

I've had the tr1's on my g60 steels and thought they were fantastic for the money, they look a bit like rainsports. I was looking at premium tyres but then I thought, actually the toyos had been absolutely fine so why waste the money.

Just read the reviews on Black Circles and they seem to be popular.

Talking of Black Circles I've used them a few times. Interesting that you can get them fitted at your local tyre fitter but sometimes cheaper. Being able to read the reviews is good too.
I've got Goodyear Efficientgrip on my Golf but they are cracking round the tread. Apparently it is a common problem. Don't remember having an issue with other tyres before.

These were from black circles too. I have Goodyear Eagle f1s on my family car and they are beginning to crack at maybe 4 years old at the most. I'm disappointed as they have loads of tread remaining and were over £100 per corner. I've read about Avons cracking prematurely too. This made cheaper Toyos an easier decision.

Im swaying my mentality away from your get what you pay for! I've heard good things about accelera as another affordable option...

I used to run Pilot Sport 4s on my daily, they never cracked.
They only used to last 6 months!!

How many miles were you covering in 6 months!?

About 8000.
They were bloody soft, but absolutely amazing grip!

Got the call to say the exhaust joint was complete and the car was ready to collect this morning! I was getting nervous I would be let down and ruin my plans this weekend.
I was due in a meeting at work but made an excuse and grabbed a lift over to collect mk2 🤣 delighted the exhaust doesn't knock at all and is sitting back in it natural position again. The old joint was kicking the exhaust out of alignment due to the miltek manifold ending in lower position than the oe abf manifold.
(https://i.ibb.co/6FvN4Zt/20220720-213121.jpg)
Just need to give it a bloody good clean and load the car up with food and spares for national meet 😁

A tiny update. I had a walk round the car yesterday afternoon and noticed the wiper arms were looking 32 years old! They have lots of, I guess stone chips? So i spoke nicely to the guys that did the paint earlier in the year and they agreed to paint them for me. Really pleased, I do like the little touches 😀
(https://i.ibb.co/JHXy15x/20220721-083804.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/wSTPqQx/20220721-083808.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/9H5Ky44/20220721-084153.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/tPqBvj7/20220721-135909.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/BVc2wg0/20220721-140431.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/GvZQ4wj/20220721-140433.jpg)

Before the exhaust was tweaked I bought some Powerflex exhaust rubbers, the old ones were perishing badly. Having spoke to a few people afterwards it seems that the ones from C&R with bike chain inside would've been a better option, but oh well. I couldn't get one of them on the mid box hanger, they're seem a bit too chunky so went for a new oe style rubber there. I've also heard the Powerlex are meant to melt quickly so I'm not holding my breath! I put jubilee clips over them whether this will help I'm not too sure. Time will tell I guess
(https://i.ibb.co/FXDqSfR/20220722-110000.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/vkpFWpw/20220722-110024.jpg)
I went to the national meet at Curbourgh the other week, such a great weekend. Camped over with the family, went on track Saturday and show n shine Sunday. I met loads of good people and can't wait for next year already! The photos are all over Facebook but here are a few of mine
A quite beer Friday
(https://i.ibb.co/RTKxF1B/20220722-173530.jpg)
Ready for track Saturday
(https://i.ibb.co/2M6ZXdD/20220723-124345.jpg)
Family arrived Saturday morning
(https://i.ibb.co/w0Hw204/20220723-160453.jpg)
Track photos courtesy of Ben Winch
(https://i.ibb.co/WWN5GWX/received-408979654670207.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/5nfcYBD/received-602622091461386.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/rv0rbqs/received-580060680508970.jpg)
A lap with the gopro- best lap was 31.05
https://youtu.be/AUFg0mHRz_w
Show n shine photos from Sunday
(https://i.ibb.co/t3tnhVG/20220724-095857.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/NLQYZZv/FB-IMG-1658678347128.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/31WMdgM/FB-IMG-1658678349589.jpg)
I think the best place I can spend money would be one quality set of adjustable coilovers. I really like my bilstein eibach setup but they are slightly too soft for track maybe.

My eldest daughter wanted to help swap the wheels over back to road tyres. It was nice to have some help and I hope it builds her interest for the future 😊
(https://i.ibb.co/qFCpzb1/20220730-113438.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZJKBXNR/20220730-115844.jpg)
Back on the ra's
(https://i.ibb.co/Nrw0VwD/20220730-161406.jpg)

Was good to meet you. Looking back at your pics and seeing your car I now recognise it from Caffeine and Machine night, I didn't put 2 and 2 together at the time. But I remember admiring the Sebrings, one of my favourite stock wheels.
 
31'05 seems like a good time, for comparison my best in a stock 8v was 32'49. I wonder how that compares with Baz, he's running an ABF.

Good meet you and chat.  I've PMd you about your paint person, hoping they might be able to help with my dodgy doors and sunroof panel.

Enjoyed your track video too!

Was good to meet you. Looking back at your pics and seeing your car I now recognise it from Caffeine and Machine night, I didn't put 2 and 2 together at the time. But I remember admiring the Sebrings, one of my favourite stock wheels.
 
31'05 seems like a good time, for comparison my best in a stock 8v was 32'49. I wonder how that compares with Baz, he's running an ABF.

Good to meet you too! Thanks I do like the sebrings. I regret not putting more practical road tyres on them so I could use them more regularly.

Baz did a 30.79 this year so he was quicker than me by 0.26 of a second! I'm happy with that as he's a great driver.
Mine was a standard 8 valve in 2019 and my best was 32.63, so I'm 0.14 slower than your winning time this year. So you have both beat me in a way!

Good meet you and chat.  I've PMd you about your paint person, hoping they might be able to help with my dodgy doors and sunroof panel.

Enjoyed your track video too!

Great to meet you too Martin! I'll send you a message back now with my painters info 👍🏻

Great to meet you the other weekend, still catchup up after the trip.

Loving the huge rear wheel pickup you had!

Yeah really good to meet you too Monkey. Really pleased with with photos from Ben especially that one.

I'm trying to make the mk2 as user friendly to Laura as possible so she can use it when needed, hence the power steering the other month. Remote locking seems like a sensible upgrade especially with young kids.

I went for a cheap Rclick kit for about £20. I wanted to keep the existing vacuum system as I have a 5 door, it would of needed 6 actuators to completely change the lot as the fuel flap also lockable. That would have been alot of faffing!
This is what comes in the box
(https://i.ibb.co/2gNMwxm/20220808-185751.jpg)
Guard dog watching me
(https://i.ibb.co/bWB1n72/20220808-195943.jpg)
Drilled the template in the only place I could seem to find that didn't foul the window when wound down
(https://i.ibb.co/GpsPtrq/20220813-190923.jpg)
Connected the rods, I replaced the plastic part that had gone brittle and snapped
(https://i.ibb.co/jWGV6kx/20220813-192611.jpg)
Fitted into place. I had to bend the rod around the one for the internal latch
(https://i.ibb.co/Jm9TJBY/20220813-192813.jpg)
Chopped the old harness leaving some slack on the old plug incase this goes wrong or I ever need to reconnect it
(https://i.ibb.co/vXVSxb9/20220813-192920.jpg)
For now I have used crimped bullet connectors for ease of swapping wires round incase I get this wrong. I will more than likley solder and heatshrink when I'm happy that it functions properly
(https://i.ibb.co/g6pxxFW/20220813-200100.jpg)
Bit of insulation tape to stop them hanging too close to the window mechanism
(https://i.ibb.co/Br2KnCk/20220813-200703.jpg)
Found a spare live in the back of fusebox and connected the earth onto the claw
(https://i.ibb.co/fNGy7fQ/received-5343715702349042.jpg)
And it was that easy! I faffed over a few evenings but I think I could do it again in few hours. So far it works really well. It would be nice to see if I can connect it to the hazards to flash when it's locking/unlocking. I guess I'd need a relay for this? 🤔

Completely stolen off Copes thread but it looked like such a clever but simple idea for a phone mount
(https://i.ibb.co/MVqrY7y/20220814-104806.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MC36xkJ/20220814-104803.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Vqb5pHj/20220814-104758.jpg)
The mount kind of slides and clamps the phone into place reasonably central so perfect for sat navigation duties
(https://i.ibb.co/VgZs6Qs/20220814-104829.jpg)

I’ve looked at the rclick kit before and considered
Doing it. If I didn’t have factory c/l I would for sure. But having factory air c/l I wasn’t sure how best to integrate it.

Good to see you solving this, perhaps I’ll take another look.

Did you get a flip out key?

I’ve looked at the rclick kit before and considered
Doing it. If I didn’t have factory c/l I would for sure. But having factory air c/l I wasn’t sure how best to integrate it.

Good to see you solving this, perhaps I’ll take another look.

Did you get a flip out key?

I didn't go for the flip key, to be honest I didn't notice that it was an option. It would confuse me with the van keys so probably just as well 😅

I looked into teeing off a vacuum pipe etc into drivers side door and fitting just a remote switch into boot by the pump but that seemed way more complicated for my simple mind to overcome.

So far the only teething problem I've had was the window catching and snapping the wires when I wound it down so I've tucked them right out of the way

To be honest, you're better off without the flip key.
I had one about 5 golfs ago, the key starts to wear the flip mechanism quickly, it was very wobbly by the time I came to sell it.

After seeing Tim's subframe bolts I decided it wouldn't hurt to have a quick spanner check over mine this weekend. Fortunately everything seems to be good in terms of subframe, ball jointed, arbs, engine mounts etc.

However my power steering belt has come lose, think this is the 3rd time since pas conversion was fitted a few months ago. Jacked car up this afternoon to have a look and see if I can work put what's happening. I am wandering if I have over tensioned belt and stretched it if this is possible?
Found a selection of belts in the garage although they were all too big 🤦‍♂️
(https://i.ibb.co/L5WGXY4/20220910-170842.jpg)
As you can see it has pretty much been on it's maximum adjustment. I gave up on those tension bolts a while ago, the teeth on my bracket are almost none existent at the part I need them for anyway.
(https://i.ibb.co/xS3P9FL/20220910-170858.jpg)
This was after I'd loosed everything off faffing with the belts
(https://i.ibb.co/CbTjzBG/20220910-170907.jpg)
This was refitted and tightened back up, very little adjustment left. Maybe I have the wrong belt?
(https://i.ibb.co/8sGS4YY/20220910-172253.jpg)
The microswitch on my throttle body was making me suspicious as it had a cable tie on it! My car would sometimes stutter when you start it up but wasn't consistent. I bought a pack of spare microswitch some time ago as I know these are prown to falling but I noticed I have 2 complete tb's in my abf spares box so cleaned one up for a test. I know you can check them with an ohm meter but the chances of me finding tester and the batteries not being flat were minimal and certainly by outweighed by the 10-15mins of fitting a spare throttle body.
(https://i.ibb.co/3FLf0gt/20220910-173344.jpg)
Dirty old throttle body. I forgot to photo the clean tb but I can assure you it was. I think you can take some metal out of these and match to the gasket and inlet but that's maybe something to think about another day
(https://i.ibb.co/jwr2KFt/20220910-174741.jpg)
Also I sent my demobilised ecu back for some tweaks incase thus was linked to my stutter, so this was refitted too. Carrier bag for added waterproofing 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/0fSs1T9/20220910-175159.jpg)

Probably should have tested microswitch and ecu separately to determine which made an improvement but went for a nice little blast and it feels back upto 100% I'll keep an eye on the pas belt situation but may pickup a new belt to measure against mine if it does come lose again.

I'm off to Retrorides at Mallory Park next weekend with the mk2 owners club. So brimmed it with fuel and check my levels, its a wash away from being ready now.

I've also found my PAS belt is near the end of adjustment too.
If I remember correctly I had to loosen the PAS pump so the pulley flange was in the V of the water pump just so I could get the belt on it was such a tight fit. Only to find that when the belt was tensioned there is little adjustment left.
Have you tried adjusting the bracket 2x 13mm bolts to the left of the crank pulley to ensure the cog and rack mesh properly..although it looks like one of your teeth has a chip out of it 😕

Yes I had to push the pump all the way in to get the belt off so maybe that just how they are.

I didn't adjust the bracket no. I didn't realise there was any adjustment in the bracket itself. Yes some of the teeth have chipped off mine but I'm finding it easier to tighten using a regular bolt and tensioning the pump and belt by levering it with a large screwdriver. Hopefully it will hold up this time 🤞🏻

I remember going through several belts before I finally found the right one for me.
I remember having to really stretch the belt to get it on with everything loosened right off.

The golf hasn't had much attention recently other than taking a beating on the winter roads. I've neglected it abit due to house renovations which has consumed all of my time and money! It was filthy so definitely needed a decent clean, otherwise it's going well except for the powersteering belt issue which is still bothering me.
I've found so many screws on my driveway from the building work, typically got one in the side of my new tyres
(https://i.ibb.co/ZJJXq2H/20230101-162603.jpg)
 I left it jacked up for 3 or 4 days whilst I left my wheel and new tyre with a mate. Strangley when I put it back on the ground the rear calipers had seized on. Not sure if this was because I'd left handbrake on? I managed to release then and found my brakes were juddering, this gradually got better over a few miles and brakes seem absolutely fine now. No idea what happened there?

Something else I had stumbled across on YouTube was throttle body porting. I did some reading up and you get mixed feedback on whether its a waste of time or worthwhile. I decided for the cost of some carbide bits and some flap wheels what have I got to lose.

You can see how much material there is inside of the gasket, where as it seems pretty well matched on the intake manifold mating face when you offer the gasket upto it.
(https://i.ibb.co/vsJmhW1/20221226-161409.jpg)
Marked it up
(https://i.ibb.co/j5nc51G/20221226-161750.jpg)
I think this was a during photo before I got the flap wheel on it. I seem to be missing a finished photo of this side. It didn't end up perfect significantly better than where it started.
(https://i.ibb.co/0B05LGh/20221227-163033.jpg)
For the otherside, I had read some more info by this point which suggests that there isn't much point taking any material off other than the ramp at the top (bottom in my photo) initially I was going to try and knife edge but I'm glad I didn't as I didn't enjoy any part of this little project 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/x5d9MNf/20221227-165302.jpg)
I was quite worried about making sure I got all metal grindings out of throttle body before refitting. I used a whole can of carb cleaner on it 😅
Fitted back on car
(https://i.ibb.co/x2h9z4q/20230108-211110.jpg)
I was quite eager to take it for a drive to see if there was any noticeable difference. I tend to agree with some of the feedback I had read online- part throttle feels more responsive than before. it seems keener from low revs but once the revs start building I can't really feel any difference.

I think I've found some good advice on my powersteering issue. The issue is definitely more obvious when the weather is or has been wet. I think this is causing the belt to slip and then in turn maybe heat and stretch 🤷‍♂️
 
The solution is try and protect the belts from the weather and see what happens. I didn't realise that there should be a lower v belt cover until the other day. I sourced one of these 2nd hand which arrived today.
Soggy conditions to be rolling around but ideal to see if it make any difference. Part number for big bumper mk2s is 191825250A or 191825250 for small bumper.
It fixes to the front cross member and under the wheel arch lining.
(https://i.ibb.co/dMmNVxW/20230114-154601.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/PTwtm56/20230114-160252.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/kGLz1vc/20230114-160259.jpg)
I went for a test drive but I think this is one for those things where time will tell. I got alot of response on Facebook about this and it seems that is solved the same issue for others. Fingers crossed its going to solve mine 🙏

I've had some polo gti stub axels and calipers for some time now. These allow you to do away with the taper bearings. They been in a box in the garage waiting to be fitted. I've just noticed that someone has grinded some of one of the calipers away! I'm guessing for wheel clearance?
I'm planning on fitting all of this when the new bearings and discs arrive but not sure what I think about the calipers now? Maybe I'll source some mk3s that don't require a conversion hose.
(https://i.ibb.co/ZLjtLYs/20230114-141343.jpg)
I've heard the bleed nipples seize on these so I thought I would try amd get these free whilst I make a decision on what to do with them
(https://i.ibb.co/TmXg3T5/20230114-163821.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/VYHf4QY/20230114-163827.jpg)(https://i.ibb.co/qxsxTD2/20230114-163830.jpg)
Also ordered some Sayner Works 10mm stub axel spacers and longer high tensile bolts. I think sometimes standard wheels can become a little lost on the rear of mk2s when you start to lower them. From what I understand these put less stress the wheel bearing compared to a normal spacer?
(https://i.ibb.co/MsdBvHz/20230104-183054.jpg)
Also ordered some of these coilover socks to protect my other new purchase- some BC Racing coilovers. Really excited to get these fitted. I was so impressed with some of the mk2s at Curbourgh on track, everyone was either using BCs or KWs. They've been on my wishlist for sometime amd I've watched the prices creeping upwards. It was a hard decision on what to go for but the BCs offered more adjustment for the comparable priced KW V1. Obviously V3s would have been nice bit I just couldn't bring myself to spend twice the money of the BCs and 2nd hand sets just didn't seem to come up.
(https://i.ibb.co/FWgvPS0/Screenshot-20230104-224923-e-Bay.jpg)
Sadly no photo of the coilovers yet but I shall be booking a day off soon to get them fitted and setup and maybe get the stub axels on too.

Great idea with the Coilover socks, I have seen them before and thought they looked useful. I should have got them for mine when I got the car. It's only cheapo JOM ones I think, but they had only been fitted a couple of month prior to me buying the car. So would have kept them serviceable. Needless to say, 3 and a bit years later, they're not awful but I doubt very much I'd be able to adjust them if I wanted to.

Shame about the shaved caliper, could you not do tidy it up a little and fresh paint, I'd doubt you'd notice. But if you do stick with these, you can use Passat hoses, they have the flat end for the caliper end but mate up with the mk2 pipe the other end and can be bought in OE rubber if you don't want the expense of the Goodridge conversion set. But my preference would be Mk3 ones anyway and I expect you could pick up a pair for not much more than the Goodridge hoses.

The reason for the bleed nipples seizing if the ally body of the caliper and the steel bleed screw. It's the corrosion of the ally, although it's not rust, it creates a chemical reaction and bonds the 2 metals. It can be like a chemical weld. It's common on sports motorbikes with aluminium frame. I've had my fair share of nightmares in the past, drilling and tapping frame lugs. But have an old steel frame bike now so it's just plain old boring rust I'm up against now.

I asked the question on the mk2 owners Facebook page and the consensus was coilover socks are definitely worthwhile. And like you said hopefully will protect them for future.

I wasn't too concerned about the actual appearance of the caliper but more from a safety point of view. I guess if I'm doubting it I already know I shouldn't bother and either find an alternative or just stick with the existing mk2 calipers for now.

How's progress with yours?

How's progress with yours?

100% stalled, haven't touched it in ages now. As it's still dark in the evenings I'm restricted to weekends and the weather has been awful and I only have an outside space. Although it was mostly dry this weekend, but my wife has insisted on some decorating so I spent the weekend peeling off paint in the lounge, whilst longingly looking out the window at the dry/bright weather thinking I could have got the beam re-fitted!

I just looked again at the caliper, at first I thought it was just the cooling fin that had been shaved off, but now I see that lip has been carved out of it and it's quite a bit of material removed from the top. You can get a brand new (recon) pair rear mk3 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174642943172?fits=Plat_Gen%3AMK+III&hash=item28a987d4c4:g:qNAAAOSwfEdjLe6W&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA8PBJZ9oKkZSDzYg0eARCqlJ2DP8m%2BPkZZW8CFuDY%2FylzNGZ6qjSd%2Bi2wvYL%2BuTN6ws59o5Ci1BhPwlCmmjJLoj9PtTL6EQGSYEgmMLemiZKsCKYODxH3OZ%2B0YAmuRi7dBdP2CEmYcttK6gWuGQRxhffwyXDvSC2e3bnGWCV65Ho1ZcHT%2B7x4VEXBPkur52I%2FiiCTyGN2Sja9iV3qJGsLIM21391i41QvJmdAoFj0u0Et409etZdPegO2nNkKPgNfaDg3y1svJspmzEnExzIeVAxY%2FG%2BJoI4h%2Bf5f6bpKbHHTqvTwukWDF2Mdtp2djnw9ew%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_C9kq23YQ) for less than £70

P.S. I did get the r-click remote locking kit for Christmas. A low-priority part, but looking forward to getting that in once the car is back on the road.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393889333417?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=phGO5gCfSti&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=FpWnKlj5TtW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
It's worth ordering one of these when you do fit the remote locking. They old ones are very brital!

A good tip Ian. Bearing in mind You, Monkey and I all needed one last year!
It's annoying/awkward when they fail.

I need to get some just for stock!

I still haven't managed to fit my coilovers, hopefully I'll get them fitted towards end of Feb or early March.

I've noticed a slight knocking noise coming from my exhaust recently. So found a bit of time to roll around on the driveway to inspect.
(https://i.ibb.co/DQK5fzR/20230210-160907.jpg)
It seems the bracket has come loose as everything else seems fine.
(https://i.ibb.co/3kdzYCk/20230210-160917.jpg)
Gave it a little spray and snap 🤦‍♂️
(https://i.ibb.co/xgjzP5Y/20230210-161028.jpg)
I drilled it through so I can nut and bolt the bracket back on. Looking at the rust I decided to stop and try and tidy this area up before I refit the exhaust. Also might see if I can open the hole out a bit larger so I can replace the m6 for m8.
(https://i.ibb.co/x6GcMnQ/20230210-170735.jpg)
Does anyone want to swap a 2.25 comfort trackslag for a performance one?
(https://i.ibb.co/V2yf33S/20230211-194533.jpg)
Something I've wanted to do for a long time is replace the bush on the side of my 02j shifter. Mine has some play which is making 1st gear a little harder than I should be. This cost a ridiculous amount (for what it is) from the USA so have asked a mate whos an engineer to make me a few for spares or to help friends
(https://i.ibb.co/x8hCJpg/20230126-130002.jpg)

Golf progress has been slow. Work, family and finishing house after extension have all taken priority over the mk2. I have bought a few more parts. No idea when I'm going to get any of them fitted, BCs are still in the box 😕
I've bought mk4 rear calipers and conversion hoses, polo gti discs and wheel bearings for the stub axel swap, some r32 rear lower arm bushes (not happy with poweflex ones fitted) amd some new ball joints as one of mine has a split
(https://i.ibb.co/ZLXQDGs/20230217-204741.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/7zFZ3WW/20230217-205409.jpg)

I have wanted a nicer set of wheels for a long time. I've been watching a few sets of rm's bit in reality I would ruin them as I use my car all year round and the cost are getting too much for me to justify. So I've been looking for a set of bbs rc321 (like mk4 anniversary but 16 inch) or bbs rx214, 16x7 4x100 et 35 57.1 cb. Which has been hard work! Finally found a set but they were in Morecambe and in poor condition. 167 miles each way and I had a set of rx 214, these were my 2nd choice behind the rcs but were cheap enough that I could hardly refuse.I trail fitted them just to check clearance before sending them off for a refurb
(https://i.ibb.co/wydXcwt/Screenshot-20230224-190902-Maps.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/5xBRfWC/20230226-091551.jpg)
Back to the exhaust. I removed all the lose corrosion with a knot wheel and put some rust eater on the area. How good this stuff is and how long it will last I don't know but its got to be better than nothing?
(https://i.ibb.co/b2qT42T/20230226-093709.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/hgJ9rvn/20230226-094148.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/hYdQ184/20230226-094152.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/YDSDfD5/20230226-094154.jpg)
They came with genuine centre caps but the stickers are way past their best so will need to do something to make these look more presentable
(https://i.ibb.co/6vpbgSD/20230226-095222.jpg)
New tyres 195 45 16. Not much choice of in this size, I went for accelera phi r, arguably the cheapest option but they look like continentals! 😅 I've kind of lost my way with premium tyres, I've got through so many expensive tyres on our other cars that have had loads of tread left but cracked terribly within 2-3 years. Or I've picked up an irreparable puncture etc.
(https://i.ibb.co/GWm7L7N/IMG-20230301-WA0000.jpg)
All dropped off for refurb. I liked the black but have opted for silver to try and keep the car as subtle as possible.
(https://i.ibb.co/9HHv1VD/20230303-162139.jpg)
A bit of primer went on and some waxoyl
(https://i.ibb.co/8Xpt0Yt/20230303-194205.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/qD4GnjY/20230303-194224.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/zX3pBNq/20230303-194707.jpg)
Exhaust back on with a new gasket. It's been sat for a while so I shouldn't have been surprised that the battery was flat. That's now on charge and looking  forward to driving it again after what seems like forever
(https://i.ibb.co/tZ0ghWM/20230303-203315.jpg)

I've had a nasty bout of manflu so I've had no energy for anything. Frustrating as I keep planning time for fit my coilovers. It will happen eventually!

A few things have happened none the less. I collected my wheels from powder coaters. Went for plain and boring silver which is a bit of a shame as I keep looking back at the photos of them black and thinking how nice they looked (from 10 yards).

You might notice the lack of tyres that I dropped off and the fact the photos look like advert photos. Which is exactly what they were 😅 someone got in touch and offered me some BBS RCs that I have always loved, these were always a second best as I had resigned myself to never owning a set of 16 inch rcs as they don't come up for sale too often and are normally massively over priced
(https://i.ibb.co/CHNvyvZ/20230316-164218.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/MSFVCNZ/20230316-164302.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/nrjjt7w/20230316-164212.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/pL4V9wb/20230316-164507.jpg)

Went for a a quick test drive and noticed I have a blow which is coming from the joint between 2 flanges on back box. So I need to have a look this.

After buying these at Christmas, it's finally happened! My BC racing coilovers have been fitted! I took round to a friends as I have never fitted coilovers before 😳
I'm glad I did, 2 pairs of hands made life easier. To be honest not many photos were taken. I need to tweak the height up maybe 15-20mm otherwise I will be losing my splitter or sump 😆 also need to play with the dampening adjustment as ran out of time. An obviously alignment too. I went for a quick drive and found them to be equally as comfortable as the Bilstein/Eibach setup but when pushed it definitely feels more stable. Very happy, I can see why they seem to be so popular.

I had bought some coilover socks to try and protect but turns out they are a bit too small 🤦‍♂️ these are only 30cm but to cover everything need to be more like 40cm.
(https://i.ibb.co/GWHhW8B/20230325-150822.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/5vHscbP/20230325-150826.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Kq0ZSR0/20230325-171043.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/GWfQTtD/20230325-171254.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/CbLtf3g/20230325-171307.jpg)

Here is a photo of th BBS RC321 wheels I collected, I was so happy to get a set as they are so difficult to find. I trail fitted them and somehow wasn't quite how I remembered them. I saw them on a car in PVW magazine around 2000-2001 and swore I'd own a set one day. I was a bit disappointed, I think maybe they look a bit too modern?
(https://i.ibb.co/fDQjpc6/20230316-124330.jpg) 2 of them had a bit of kerbing so it seemed sensible to send these off for a refurb. If i keep them they'll need it but if I move them on, I'm sure they will be easier to sell in perfect condition

Came across these in a bag with the coilovers, after some research it appears they sit before the spring cap on the fronts- if using mk3 topmounts. Without them the spring caps has play between the strut which can't be good 😳
(https://i.ibb.co/4fJZXgY/20230329-075151.jpg)
 You can see better in this photo that my explaining. Without:
(https://i.ibb.co/VLMqjGX/20230402-165801.jpg)
After fitting
(https://i.ibb.co/BZV5ttY/20230402-184126.jpg)
I feel quite stupid as it seem so obvious but I don't recall seeing them in the fitting instructions.
Finally got my tyres on my other wheels
(https://i.ibb.co/gy7t0rp/20230404-170457.jpg)
I gave them a clean down and ceramic coat. My mate Joe is a detailer and kindly gave me this stuff to apply
(https://i.ibb.co/SJhtQTL/20230404-171323.jpg)
I had to wait for my tapered wheel bolts/lockers to arrive before I could fit them but I'm really pleased 😁
(https://i.ibb.co/FVW0Tpv/20230404-192801.jpg)
I've got some 10mm stub axel spacers for the rear but I will save this until my rear brakes are finished and do the polo gti conversion and mk4 calipers etc at the same time.
I've booked alignment for the end of the week and then off for a cruise down south with some friends at the weekend

I've covered a fair few miles this past month in the golf about 1000 miles of which nearly 500 were in 2 journeys. Really pleased with my suspension especially, and the car hasn't given me any issues. I've tired to do a few more little things that either needed looking or have been bothering me.

My Miltek manifold has been occasionally hitting the steering rack which really isn't that bad but I've focused quite alot of time into working out why. I've spoken to so many people checking and double checking. I've definitely used the correct engine mounts and brackets so seems strange that the manifold- which is made specifically for abf mk2 would catch. And then after chatting to @Barn.mk2 at London Cartel meet he mentioned something that I had missed. I bought my Vibratechnics rear mount off a mate ages ago 2nd hand. What I didn't  know was this has had the top face machined down 10-15mm. This wasn't an issue when I had the oe downpipe fitted but now I've swapped to a Miltek I really need that little bit of material back 😅

Here is how my manifold sits
(https://i.ibb.co/94jyLfb/Screenshot-20230414-071137-Gallery.jpg)
Here's is my rear mount
(https://i.ibb.co/4ms2kn0/Screenshot-20230430-014112-Chrome.jpg)
Here is how they look new
(https://i.ibb.co/DV6pnLg/Screenshot-20230430-014153-e-Bay.jpg)
So the plan is to play around with some washers to get the desired height back and Barney has offered to me a plate to suit which is absolutely fantastic 😁
Before I knew this I've been clicking buy now on various oe bits to to try and help.
This is a g60 front mount bracket which is supposed to tilt the engine forward slightly. I thought this may help
(https://i.ibb.co/vd7J2Sv/20230428-162000.jpg)
...but it didn't and has actually made it far worse 🤦‍♂️
(https://i.ibb.co/d0p777L/20230428-163732.jpg)
I've also bought a Corrado vr6 crossmember and an abf front bracket which is meant to help too but if nothing else  is a definite upgrade on the mk2 front mounts
Photos borrowed of a mate. Corrado crossmember is the cleaner one
(https://i.ibb.co/hsnDBP2/IMG-20230419-WA0000.jpg)
The plan is to cut the rubber off the mount and use ice hockey pucks I there place. I'm reliably informed this is a decent way of improving it further and allow me to trim the pucks to suit and help tilt the engine
(https://i.ibb.co/s66s1n4/IMG-20230419-WA0006.jpg)
This is going to be a job for next Friday hopefully along with polo stubs and mk4 rear calipers.
 I've also replaced my backbox from a comfort 2.25 trackslag to a performance one as I prefer the noise they make..I noticed the diameter of the tailpipes has visibly reduced so looks a bit more subtle maybe
(https://i.ibb.co/pbpvB6n/20230421-163913.jpg)
Whilst the front bracket was out I thought it was a good time to change the oil and filter. First time I've seen a cardboard box of oil 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/db2p4Tp/20230428-161232.jpg)
 Also managed a clean recently, it's been over a year since paint and it's hurts to see the odd stone chip 😫 bit still.clean up nicely.
(https://i.ibb.co/w0pYTgM/20230407-182934.jpg)
I also sold my bbs rcs, which I feel quite sad about but this has freed some funds up for other stuff.
I went to the Cartel cruise the other evening, ther was so really nice cars there and good people. I'd recommend that if anyone hasn't done it before.
(https://i.ibb.co/XCFGYwm/20230429-220341.jpg)

I use those cubes of oil too!
So much cheaper than the other stuff and just as good.

The wheels you have now look so much better than the RCs anyway, good choice.

Was a funny feeling tipping a cardboard box of oil into the engine! But yeah makes sense to use as its cheaper.

Thanks, i would like some Compomotive's like yours but these will do for now. Haven't seen any updates on yours, how are you getting on?

Not bad thanks, I did actually fit a headliner to it the other week.
But generally speaking, all I'm doing is giving it a bloody good hammering!

I booked today off work to do a few jobs to the golf, the first one being a polo gti stub axel conversion. This turned out to be the only job and took the whole day! I has planned on fitting my corrado crossmember, resealing my rocker cover too but these will have to wait.

I didn't take many photos as I was in my mates workshop and time was precious. It was quite stressful as everything was seized on. Where the carrier bolts to the stub axel were Allen heads which 2 out 4 rounded off on the car. Interestingly the same 2 rounded on the polo stubs too 🤔 only 1 of 8 bolts snapped that hold the stub axels on and luckily there was enough left on it once everything was off to extract.
I bought some Sayner Works 10mm stub axel spacers with longer high tensile bolts to help pull the wheels out in the arches better.
(https://i.ibb.co/sPjq7VP/20230512-133232.jpg)
 Cheeky Mexican burger for lunch
(https://i.ibb.co/Lg6HGkT/20230512-135256.jpg)
Fitted some new mk4 calipers with Hel conversion hoses and new copper lines. I tried to buy reasonable brands where I can Ferrodo pads etc
(https://i.ibb.co/cLKzQcP/20230512-165621.jpg)
Might have let the brake fluid run abit low when doing the rears pipes/hoses. Ran out of time amd brake fluid so need to go round and re-bleed everything.
(https://i.ibb.co/5h4TRrk/20230512-162319.jpg)
My mate said after what have you actually gained? And I guess the answer is nothing, maybe future proofed 🤷‍♂️

Nice pic of the burger but what do the rear wheels look like in the arches  :D

Nice pic of the burger but what do the rear wheels look like in the arches  :D

The Burger was amazing!

This is before the spacers
(https://i.ibb.co/nzZysD6/20230429-195215.jpg)
This is an after photo with the spacers. It's a minor difference but they were a tiny bit too far tucked in for my liking
(https://i.ibb.co/7z66gny/20230514-074013.jpg)
Also i have swapped the gearstick badge as the old one span and the plastic cracked which was drive mental
(https://i.ibb.co/PWRDz2x/20230506-183953.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/pLttrN7/20230506-184308.jpg)

Looking great mate!
Where did you get the new badge from?
Looks like a mk3 anni one?

Thanks Monkey!

Badge is from oem car stickers in France. It was the closest they did to original,  that i could find.

I'm tempted by a coolerworx bottom mount shifters longer term.

Thanks! I'm tempted to get one for stock.

I've been doing a few bits to the car before I take it to France with some mates at the end of the week. Probably not time to be tampering!
I've had ago at making a cold air feed to my airbox. Probably not worth the effort but ah well.
(https://i.ibb.co/S0y3TCd/20230515-201932.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/xDrv4KW/20230515-201924.jpg)
If anyone can give me a reason that this is a bad idea I'll happily rip it out ?🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/LZ0c6Vj/20230515-205125.jpg)

I'm not massively into loud music but on the odd occasion I've turned it up the components begin to distort so I've decided to amplify them and see what happens from there. I really don't know alot about car audio so if it looks wrong... it probably is 😅
I cut a piece of ply and self tapped behind where the first aid kit would have been. It's half black just to disguise where the house in the carpet are
(https://i.ibb.co/9W4RvcN/20230520-202142.jpg)
Alpine 4 channel amp, wiring and rcas ready to go in
(https://i.ibb.co/VmrcVhX/20230516-174705.jpg)
Amp mounted. I couldn't think of a better place for it, I initially planned to go beneath the passenger seat bit there isn't much room under there and thibk my kids would kick it if it was there.
(https://i.ibb.co/my92P3Z/20230520-202700.jpg)
I was planning to run the front 3.5 inch and tweeters in parallel amd the rear 6x4's on the other side. I wouldnhave liked some 6x9s but can't bring myself to cut my parcel shelf or try and make a shelf.
Not sure if these are acceptable for the speaker cable?
(https://i.ibb.co/my92P3Z/20230520-202700.jpg)
I've got JBL speakers all round at the moment, I'll see how these sound after but I may well upgrade to some else if I'm not satisfied
(https://i.ibb.co/PtwZPMz/20230520-203038.jpg)
I really can't face getting the seats and carpets up to get all the wiring in so this will happen when I can build some motivation!
Not sure if mentioned but I've bought a Corrado vr6 front crossmember. The front mounts are supposed to be alot stronger than the mk2 ones as the sit within the crossmember.
I was going to fit it as it is but decided I really should tidy it up a bit
(https://i.ibb.co/TkR6fQD/20230521-190243.jpg)
I got a wire wheel on it and some rust converter
(https://i.ibb.co/RYfwZyf/20230521-191948.jpg)
Applied to some black paint to try and smarten it up. Don't zoom in it's really not the best! Also did the anf bracket.
(https://i.ibb.co/KLV9gXP/20230523-201247.jpg)
I had been considering using hockey pucks on the front mount to help stiffen things up but I was concerned with the vibration at idle so might get another mount so I can reverse it if I don't like it. Sounds like a bodge but the feedback I've had is very positive.
(https://i.ibb.co/c33Y7k7/20230521-115612.jpg)
Also fitted this diagnostic port that has been in my car since it was converted a few years back. I went to my mates for some help as I felt uncertain but in hindsight it was an easy job. A live, earth and k line soldered and heatshrinked, that was it. We scanned it on Dan's laptop of thankfully no fault codes were showing. I was keen to get this fitted before France as I've booked in for a run on my local rolling road- Stealth Racing the week after.
Literally no photos other than this
(https://i.ibb.co/wQH49s5/20230523-122707.jpg)
I've got it fed through my centre console behind my Fischer cassette so well hidden but easily accessible when I need it.
Back to the crossmember, honestly thought I'd have this fitted in an hour but it was alot harder than I though to balance it and fix it in place on my own 😳
Old one out
(https://i.ibb.co/hWmTHfd/20230524-195710.jpg)
Comparison, corrado vr6 at the top and mk2 golf at the bottom
(https://i.ibb.co/khXDzk4/20230524-195945.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VvTCbrg)
I really made hard work of this but got there in the end. I slackened the rear engine bracket off the mount to help me line the front bracket. When I tightened the rear up I managed to strip the the threads on the Vibratechnics ally 😔 I really didn't want to go back to my oe mount as I was worried the extra engine movement would shorten the life of my Miltek manifold
Luckily more help from mates saved the day? I took the car over to Henry and he helicoiled the fixing holes for me. I had ago at one and absolutely fluffed it but fortunately he managed to rescue me again 🤦‍♂️ whilst we were there we made some 4mm plates to help space the mount up for extra manifold clearance against my steering rack. Sadly no photos as there wasn't much spare time. But I now have everything back in one piece ready for VW Days in France 😁

I made it back from France! The car didn't have any issues and covered nearly 700 miles. VW Days is a fantastic show and well worth a long weekend away if you get the chance.
The guys I went over with all had stunning cars so felt like the odd one out. Here are a few photos
Waiting for our train
(https://i.ibb.co/SxjY8FS/IMG-20230602-WA0036.jpg)
Loaded on
(https://i.ibb.co/GHV09Pj/20230602-072612.jpg)
Crusing down the toll road
(https://i.ibb.co/2v3QZ9t/IMG-20230602-WA0062.jpg)
Gutted I missed photos at this old race track, I was too tired from driving... next year hopefully
(https://i.ibb.co/yQWnqy8/IMG-20230602-WA0050.jpg)
Stuck in a nearly 2 hour queue to get in the show 😫
(https://i.ibb.co/cJN829v/20230603-102229.jpg)
My favourite photo someone took of my car.
(https://i.ibb.co/c3PFvfB/FB-IMG-1685983319546.jpg)
Found a layby as the sun was coming down
(https://i.ibb.co/hgyWmFs/20230603-214554.jpg)
Before I knew it the weekend was over and we were crusijg back home.
(https://i.ibb.co/34L2Z8L/IMG-20230602-WA0058.jpg)
Really happy that the car behaved and I've got no real complaints with it. Hopefully I can now just enjoy it for the summer and make some decisions on what the next steps will be for over the winter

I made a phone call to Stealth Racing a few weeks ago to enquire about putting my car on their dyno. I am merely curious to know that the car is healthy and get some figures to measure future progress against. Time has passed quickly and I was there today. It was quite exciting, I've not put any of my previous cars on the dyno. I told myself as long as it makes standard abf numbers I would have no complaints but the results were very surprising to say the least.
This was the best run. 192bhp & 168 lbft
(https://i.ibb.co/yB0H6Fk/20230610-115552.jpg)
I actually took 2 ecus one was a generic ebay "blitz" chip and the other mapped by Adlai Philip aka Toyotec. The latter making better numbers.
(https://i.ibb.co/ZTNBYH2/20230610-102607.jpg)
They were good enough to let me stand in the workshop to take a few photos and videos.
(https://i.ibb.co/QHXB5wY/20230610-090745.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/HhbKYZR/20230610-092327.jpg)
https://youtu.be/U4-vGoX1yww
https://youtu.be/y7Gq-EnQze4
 It was alot of fun to be there and watch. I asked for some feedback on anything I could look to improve it and the concensus was leave it alone and enjoy it. Obviously there are alot of things that can be done but not without great expense given my capabilities and I really would like to keep the car within a sensible budget.

I made an unexpected buy today- an SWG scuttle. I've been using a SNRetro one for a few years which has been fine but I always wished I had bought an SWG. A pretty basic upgrade/swap but very happy with it so thought I would share.
A couple of before and afters
(https://i.ibb.co/82tLfgP/20230611-154147.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/yWvJ6Tj/20230611-160456.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/YZQBd9L/20230611-154936.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/VJRvPNJ/20230611-154203.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/0MJvhjN/20230611-162854.jpg)

Looks like you guys had a great weekend!

Out of interest, how much did it cost for the rolling road session?
I've been thinking about doing a comparison between the loud and comfort trackslag systems for a while.

I think they usually charge £65+vat for the hour, thats what others i know have paid there. For whatever reason I paid for 2 hours, possibly because it was a Saturday 🤷‍♂️

A rolling road comparison between the 2 backboxes? I am so much happier with the performance one on mine.

Yeah, I'm positive that the quiet one drops horsepower, I'd just like to know by how much.
Not sure I want to pay £100 to find out though!  :))

I made an unexpected buy today- an SWG scuttle. I've been using a SNRetro one for a few years which has been fine but I always wished I had bought an SWG. A pretty basic upgrade/swap but very happy with it so thought I would share.

Assuming you've had the heavens open in the past couple of days, how has it faired keeping the water away from the ecu etc?

Good point Andy, I haven't checked if I'm honest. It appears to be a better fit than my old one so I hope its doing its job Are you going to be at the National meet this year?

I'll be at the National seeing if I can improve on the slowest lap 😃. Think I need to swap my thermostat after the exploding rad incident.

It's probably time to start thinking about the national meet later this month as I'm sure it will come round quickly. I've got a track ticket for Saturday so really should make sure everything is looking OK before.

But not before a trip to C&M for the mk2 evening. I only took 2 photos all evening which was a shame but it was really good to catchup with loads of people and meet some that I haven't met before.

1 of the 2 photos 😅
(https://i.ibb.co/YNb2KVB/FB-IMG-1687503566636.jpg)
This was stolen from Tim! I'm not normally one for cleaning my car at meets or shows but caught red handed on this occasion 😅
(https://i.ibb.co/ctYy6LY/FB-IMG-1687514040430.jpg)
My steering wheel has become quite worm, actually worse since I cleaned all the dirt, grease and sweat off it! Upon doing some research - asking Facebook for product advice. I was offered an identical wheel that had been retrimmed.
Old wheel
(https://i.ibb.co/Q6K0CT2/20230623-153610.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mHcpX2L)
New wheel
(https://i.ibb.co/dLr9HN2/20230627-195902.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2sy2pzt)
 The old wheel has been cleaned up for sale and has almost annoyingly come up pretty well. To the extent I would have continued to use it.

Having recently fitted a Corrado vr6 crossmember I got talking to a friend, he was telling me about hockey pucking the front engine mount. Initially I turned my nose up at it but the more I thought about and trusted his judgement and experience way more than my own,  I decided to give it ago as it would be easy to change back if I didn't like it.

Everything split down and cleaned. Excuse the bbq workbench 😅
(https://i.ibb.co/M7pXJW0/20230623-202033.jpg)
I drilled holes through the middle of 3 pucks using a spade wood bit, I think it was a 20mm hole. I actually found this more accurate to use than a holesaw
(https://i.ibb.co/N9MQPyg/20230623-202947.jpg)
Side by side they appear lower than the original but they are alot firmer and do not compress anywhere near as much and hopefully will tilt the engine forwards slightly to help with the clearance of my 4-1 against the steering  rack.
(https://i.ibb.co/2kg6DHB/20230623-204141.jpg)
All fitted back together. I decided to keep the original bottom rubber part to maybe ease any harshness I was about to add.
(https://i.ibb.co/QMVnkZF/20230623-204500.jpg)
While I was at it I ordered a helicoil kit after having a go round a mates amd successfully sorting the Vibra rear mount. I stripped the threads of this gearbox side mount ages ago.
(https://i.ibb.co/Sn0Xxf3/20230623-205602.jpg)
Drilled out and then re-tapped.
 (https://i.ibb.co/XtsxgxS/20230623-212442.jpg)
And then just wound the helicoil in
(https://i.ibb.co/5r1Cq1v/20230623-212848.jpg)
Ready to fit
(https://i.ibb.co/mztjbrt/20230623-213949.jpg)
Like most jobs I do alone, they took my far longer to fit than they should have but I got there eventually.

I took it for a drive with both mounts fitted and I was really surprised how much nicer it was. Its hard to describe the difference but its definitely positive, it almost feels more connected if that makes sense. I didn't notice any additional vibration or harshness at all, It feels like an upgrade that hasn't left a comprise, well yet anyway. As for longevity I've been told of a turbo'd mk3 using this setup for a significant amount of miles with no issues so I'm sure it will be fine on my little n/a 16v.

I've dug my track tyres out of the garage to see of they're still usable for the national meet. They seem OK but are quite old now. I've priced up some new semi slicks AR1s but my gripe being the cost against how little I'll use them is stopping me for now. To go on with I've bought some tyre softener which I've heard good things about. It needs 6-8 coats applied a minimum of 30 mins apart if I remember right and left for 1 week before use.
I'm gonna do 1 coat an evening so should just be ready in time for the 22nd withbleaving the week before use
(https://i.ibb.co/1XQXKKK/20230703-193810.jpg)
Sacrilege I know, but I've cut holes in my spare parcel shelf. I was looking for one that was cut already but couldn't find anything and I can't spare the time to make one from mdf. Back on the bbq workbench bench 🤣
(https://i.ibb.co/DtwKYgP/20230703-203830.jpg)
Bit 90s but I don't care 😅
(https://i.ibb.co/TY315tT/20230703-204419.jpg)
They need wiring to the amp but that's not a priority just yet.
(https://i.ibb.co/PG5Fh8L/20230703-214643.jpg)

You heathen!!

I'll be very interested in seeing how the tyre softener goes at the meet.

You heathen!!

I'll be very interested in seeing how the tyre softener goes at the meet.

I know I feel quite bad for doing it 😕

Hopefully the tyre softener will help keep me facing the right way 😅

Won't the Lurpak make the tyres bit slippery - I note it's "lighter" too so should save a bit of weight 😉
Looks like I'll be Capt Slow again !

Haha yeah lurpak isn't gonna help me is it 🤣
Good to hear your out on track again. You will have to take me for a lap, hopefully an air conditioned lap!

Mini update prep for national meet. I had a slight weep from my rocker cover which seems to be something I've always struggled with to be honest. Also had a misfire thats happened very occasionally but has always cleared amd my coolant light has also started to flash intermittently.
A new expansion tank has fixed the warning light so a nice easy one.
The old one wasn't even that old bit looks 30 years! I regret throwing my genuine one away
(https://i.ibb.co/ryBZYnN/20230709-194624.jpg)
New one, went for febi again even though the last one failed quickly. Typically I've always found Feb to be a trusted brand.
(https://i.ibb.co/Ypc1fm8/20230715-200758.jpg)
The cheapest easiest parts to swap on the misfire were an ecu relay and ignition amplifier. I did a vcds scan and that was suggesting a short to ground on the coil so checked the wiring to that which seems fine with a continuity tester although I really need a new multimeter so I can check resistance properly (in Amazon basket) failing that the coil maybe at fault so I'll get one of these to for peice of mind.
Then I discovered this, not sure if the fault code was a red herring 🤷‍♂️
(https://i.ibb.co/BsbYYgL/20230714-195147.jpg)
I've had numerous goes at the rocker cover with varied success. I've tried different brand gaskets, different rtv, a different rocker cover and then let a mate try 😅
One last go.i believe vw method is fit gasket dry with rtv on half moons and humps.
(https://i.ibb.co/gtXtW4Y/20230715-150552.jpg)
Elring gasket this time
(https://i.ibb.co/0KyGrNq/20230715-150554.jpg)
Took road wheels off
(https://i.ibb.co/qBtPfBX/20230716-101115.jpg)
Sebrings and r888s on, went for a quick blast and I forgot how grippy these are 😁
(https://i.ibb.co/68zjjjp/20230716-104251.jpg)
Hopefully that's all the essential stuff done for next weekend, I'll have to monitor the rocker for leaks 🤞🏻
Just need to charge Gopro and torch and I'm ready
(https://i.ibb.co/Z1kQZ0q/20230716-115107.jpg)

Just need to charge Gopro ...

I'm so glad I just read that  :))

You realise you've now you've put the slicks on, you've cursed us to rain!

Quote from: ianmac86 on July 16, 2023, 09:10:26 PM

Just need to charge Gopro ...

I'm guaranteed to forget something critical, I went camping last month and left most of the stuff in the garage! It was safe to say I wasnt very popular

I'm so glad I just read that  :))

You realise you've now you've put the slicks on, you've cursed us to rain!

Haha yep we're all gonna get soggy now! It could add to the fun although i wouldn't fancy trying to put your 3.2 power down in the wet!

Yep! I'm going to spend EVEN MORE time spinning the wheels and making noise!

A couple of months have passed since I last wrote anything on here. The car has been behaving so no real updates to share. I'm trying to leave it alone a bit until some thing either wears out or breaks!
Mk2 owners National meet was very wet but still amazing. On Saturday the track was so slippy! I'm not a particularly confident driver in the wet so it came a massive surprise to pick up the fastest modified trophy 😁  I know others with bigger power were finding grip hard to find so this certainly played into my hands. Such a good weekend, loved chatting to everyone and the highlight for me is going out for passenger laps in everyone car's. I took a fair few out in mine too, it's great to see peoples reactions and to get a few compliments
(https://i.ibb.co/Jy495Jg/FB-IMG-1690135111351.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mNfYSd9/FB-IMG-1690135059920.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/kQnFDxL/FB-IMG-1690482935960.jpg)
Managed to get a dry lap in the passenger seat of the Pinderwagen, such a special car 😁
(https://i.ibb.co/6FXdcXY/20230723-135108.jpg)
 Already can't wait for next year!

I made it to Retrorides and German Car show at Silvertone
(https://i.ibb.co/72yNgPx/20230813-092134.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/5MQtynv/20230910-115951.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/1s1JhSv/20230910-114709.jpg)
I think thats probably going to be me finished for shows this year but I do want to make plans for more tracktime when I build up the courage. The lack of roll cage and harnesses always niggles.

I made an last minute visit to R-Tech who are a well known tuner localish to me. They were running a charity dyno day. After some pretty surprising results from Stealth dyno, this was a good opportunity to get a 2nd opinion. Looking at similar cars everything suggests 165bhp would be more likely for an abf like mine. As much as I want it to be the quoted 192bhp it's pretty obvious you need head work, cams and standalone to achieve this.
(https://i.ibb.co/m01RXzz/20230917-111224.jpg)
That more like it! 169bhp @6100rpm and 150 lb ft @5600rpm
(https://i.ibb.co/QDPRwRx/20230917-113021.jpg)
https://youtu.be/SODqn9JjO9I?si=Qna6bmV78bVXMMcb
There were alot of big power more modern vag cars there so these figures were probably underwealming to everyone that was watching but it definitely made a decent noise by comparison!
I've been giving another engine swap some thought lately either 20vt or 2.8/3.2 v6. Having driven a mates bam the other evening I really enjoyed it, the way they deliver the power is crazy. I need to drive a v6 as I think that would be my preference, gonna have to have a word with Monkey! 😬

Interesting Ian. As we know it isn't always max power that gets you from A to B fastest and you have a trophy to prove it!
But that BBM R32 of @Monkey does sound nice.

As I'm literally about to embark on another 3.2 conversion, I may sound a little hypocritical, but I have done a lot of engine conversions into a mk2 and I'd keep the ABF:
It's useable, great fun, and looking at your graphs, you've got a spot on engine there.
170bhp with a nice flat torque curve, bet that car is excellent to drive!
It also looks far more at home in the engine bay of a mk2 and is a lighter engine, so you would loose some of the nimble feeling going 3.2.

As mentioned before, you're more than welcome to take mine out for a spin, though it wouldn't do my above argument any favours!
At the end of the day though, it's down to what you want.
ABF = Light, nimble, revvy
3.2 = Brute force, awesome noise

As I'm literally about to embark on another 3.2 conversion, I may sound a little hypocritical, but I have done a lot of engine conversions into a mk2 and I'd keep the ABF:
It's useable, great fun, and looking at your graphs, you've got a spot on engine there.
170bhp with a nice flat torque curve, bet that car is excellent to drive!
It also looks far more at home in the engine bay of a mk2 and is a lighter engine, so you would loose some of the nimble feeling going 3.2.

As mentioned before, you're more than welcome to take mine out for a spin, though it wouldn't do my above argument any favours!
At the end of the day though, it's down to what you want.
ABF = Light, nimble, revvy
3.2 = Brute force, awesome noise

Thanks for the chat earlier. One minute I'm convinced another swap is the way to go and I'm writing a parts list. Next thing I'm considering if it's just way beyond my capabilities. Typically I always have assistance with big stuff or pass on if I'm not comfortable with it so this will more thank likley override what I want to do anyway 😅

The wheels you have now look so much better than the RCs anyway, good choice.