Thought I'd start a build thread on here of my 1991 Pearl Grey 8v GTI. I bought it in February 2017 when I was 18 as my daily driver. I daily drove it for two years before I couldn't face driving it through winter, so it became my weekend car.
Going to try and start the thread when I first got it, then bring it up to date.
(https://i.ibb.co/ZfPRYMT/069-C2534-545-D-4-AD0-806-F-F6-FA703-DC0-CE.jpg) (https://ibb.co/51yXnRc)
(https://i.ibb.co/h8Qb0TN/BFB4-ADF7-7-C9-A-4325-AA31-D98010-D7409-C.jpg) (https://ibb.co/w6GVt2q)
(https://i.ibb.co/Gphqxpb/E86-D9-F51-6784-427-D-BC0-D-BEC42889-E736.jpg) (https://ibb.co/1QSkvQw)
(https://i.ibb.co/t44pFsX/F658-A00-B-CB22-4-E1-C-921-C-C2-DAA6-BFC429.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bPP5DBJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/mtFtKt3/2-AA5-CEED-41-D7-4880-AA45-CF22-BBD2-C90-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZK1KrK0)
These pictures were taken on the day I bought the car. I'd been looking for a mk2 gti for a few months and this one popped up 10 mins from me, meant to be I think. As you can see it was fairly original and straight, so a deal was done and it came home with me. It had 135k on the clock and came with its original bill of sale which was cool. 12k new with the only optional extra being the bbs ra's at a cost of £500.
Nice car, looks to be in great condition
Welcome to the forum.
Well that’s a beauty. And what a clever move buying that for your first car . Can only imagine if you bought that right in 2017 you’ve had all that enjoyment and a sound investment as well .
Does it look much different now .
You’ve got the best colour mk2 but I am biased
Thanks. It was actually my second car, no way I could afford the insurance on a gti in my first year. Looks wise it hasn't changed too much, I've very much gone for the oem+ look. And yes pearl grey is one of my faves, although I would have had any colour as long as the car was clean.
I didn't do that much in the first couple of years, the usually maintenance with daily driving a 30 year old car. Although I did a few modifications to improve the car.
The first thing was a milltek classic system from the downpipe back as the mild steel one on the car was blowing badly. Yes these systems are expensive, but in my opinion they look the best and the quality is top notch. For some reason I never took any photos when fitting it so have a pic from the 2018 National Meet.
(https://i.ibb.co/L531PSJ/B46-B0-C04-98-D2-44-D4-83-AD-03-E647-E88973.jpg) (https://ibb.co/X8qt4X3)
Next up was suspension, the car still had its original set up and it was tired to say the least. Floaty round the corners, plus it looked like a monster truck. I opted for bilstein shocks and eibach 35mm lowering springs as my budget couldn't stretch to decent coilovers. I remember fitting these in the pouring rain! Worth it though, the driving experience was massively improved and the stance was perfect.
(https://i.ibb.co/Y7tTgs1/4-D7-A4-CB6-E916-4152-B39-D-16-E793-D7-B169.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qMRF6Qc)
(https://i.ibb.co/zN12F1N/7-C9-C1978-FBAB-4-FEA-B6-FD-995-C4-CFA0-FA0.jpg) (https://ibb.co/R716N17)
My mate made me an aluminium gear knob the same style as the original golf ball and to go with this I bought the uprated gear linkage kit from gas n gears, a really nice bit of kit. Didn't take long to fit either and I replaced the worn bushes while I was at it. The result was a very crisp gear change.
(https://i.ibb.co/PcrCpYZ/D40329-AF-3-EE6-464-D-B9-B1-0-EFA889-EF519.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zXmfc5h)
(https://i.ibb.co/3YyTMJn/F7-CBFD58-689-D-47-A4-A984-518-CB249930-F.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vvxcQtS)
Love a grey mk2. Looks like your doing all the right things with linkage, exhaust and suspension., all nice touches that enhance it
Love a grey mk2. Looks like your doing all the right things with linkage, exhaust and suspension., all nice touches that enhance it
Cheers. As it was my daily I wanted it to drive spot on and sound good of course.
Quick question guys, hows everyone uploading photos? I'm currently using the mk2oc imgbb account but just wondering if there's a simpler way?
I'm using the same thing but find it slow to upload my photos
February 2019 marked the end of daily duties for the mk2. I bought a T4 for me and my girlfriend to convert into a camper van. The aim was to have it ready for a July trip to cornwall, so the mk2 just sat on my parents driveway as I was too busy with the van to use it. It briefly came back into daily duties for a couple of months as the T4 in typical vw fashion needed some welding doing.
(https://i.ibb.co/7gCGD2j/IMG-5471.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k3BhTQ5)
By October I was fed up of seeing the mk2 sat on the drive in the elements so decided to rent a garage. I found one about a 10 minute drive from my parents that was £100 a month which I didn't think was too bad. It was a very basic ex council garage with no power but it would keep the golf out of the winter weather.
(https://i.ibb.co/0fcyMRp/IMG-7188.jpg) (https://ibb.co/LC8dtXD)
The end of the year brought a right result, the previous owner contacted me saying he'd found the service book while having a clear out. As soon as I could I went and picked it up. It was in really good condition and even had a fair few stamps in the book. I love this kind of thing, so cool.
(https://i.ibb.co/vZ6Hhm6/IMG-7400.jpg) (https://ibb.co/J5wKq2w)
(https://i.ibb.co/vz0thV8/IMG-7402.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2KGbSWB)
Finally a quick indicator change to the original amber which I think looks much cleaner.
(https://i.ibb.co/BrCVJJ8/IMG-7441.jpg) (https://ibb.co/F0Db11G)
Now that I had a garage I wanted to start tidying up the bits that let the car down. I started with a fairly straight forward job, replacing the rusty fuel tank straps. I got some new replacement stainless steel ones from ebay. I removed and replaced the straps one by one with a jack and piece of wood under the tank to stop anything getting strained too much.
Gave the exhaust a quick polish while the car was in the air too.
(https://i.ibb.co/hXGTQcv/IMG-7602.jpg) (https://ibb.co/DGBjcYn)
(https://i.ibb.co/Xjp6rdt/IMG-7604.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cktRSpQ)
Made a start on cleaning up the engine bay. Bought a G60 rocker cover as I've never been a fan of the standard pressed steel one, plus they always leak if they're not perfectly square. Gave the cylinder head and block a paint while I had everything off to replace the water pump as it was squeaking. Had the fan cowling sand blasted, then I gave it a few coats of satin black. Did the same with the fan body its self and then built it back up, ready to fit.
(https://i.ibb.co/17x5s5Q/IMG-7770.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TY5SKS2)
(https://i.ibb.co/bzmHbyc/IMG-7774.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nzm3PVx)
(https://i.ibb.co/5sS8kMT/IMG-7776.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zPBRFns)
(https://i.ibb.co/Qp0Dw1m/IMG-7778.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wBtcmx6)
Managed to pick up an eibach rear antiroll bar for £40 which I thought was a bargain, didn't come with a fitting kit though. But that wasn't a worry, the rubbers were there I just had to cut and bend some sheet stainless to go over the centre bushes and used some mikalor clamps to mount it round the beam. If I'm honest I couldn't tell the difference while driving the car but I'm sure it's doing something!
(https://i.ibb.co/S0SJtHC/IMG-7751.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZK9NBvD)
Quick sticker change on the RA centre caps to bring them back to life.
(https://i.ibb.co/zntdT0T/IMG-7808.jpg) (https://ibb.co/98dPkCk)
(https://i.ibb.co/ph0bMZf/IMG-7819.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fD1qytk)
That is a lovely mk2 and liking your plans and work done to the car. Very sympathetic to it's classic status.
That is a lovely mk2 and liking your plans and work done to the car. Very sympathetic to it's classic status.
Thanks. Yeah I think the mk2 as a base car is so good, just wanted to do some choice mods that I think will improve it but not ruin its classic look.
Another very common problem on the mk2 gti, a bleeding LCD screen on the mfa. Mine always had a slight bleed in one corner, but one morning in winter when I went down to the garage it had spread across half the screen. I removed the clocks and set about stripping them down to get to the screen. I followed a how to on here or club gti (can't remember), which was very useful however the clocks were slightly different so the last bit I had to wing it and figure it out.
(https://i.ibb.co/Pg5gZ3V/IMG-7941.jpg) (https://ibb.co/L1C1zbs)
(https://i.ibb.co/TMsT3M1/IMG-7943.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Zz0JDzS)
(https://i.ibb.co/DYN6wMX/IMG-7945.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XD9dF5B)
So many screws!
(https://i.ibb.co/1LSYsG5/IMG-7948.jpg) (https://ibb.co/37J5fmq)
(https://i.ibb.co/h9rMvVq/IMG-7951.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jfq5FDp)
I put every thing back together, plugged it back in and it worked. What I didn't realise until I drove the car a few weeks later is that the mpg and average speed readout was blank and not working. I've had the clocks out again since this and still can't figure out why it's not working, not the end of the world but a bit annoying as it was fine before I took everything apart.
I take it you reconnected the vacuum hose on the back of the clocks when you refitted them? Other than that I'd check the blue circuit board it's possible there's a break or dry joint and as the blue bit is flexible could have been disturbed in the process. But that will require you taking the clocks out again and maybe it's not worth the effort as I know that's a bit of a ball ache.
I take it you reconnected the vacuum hose on the back of the clocks when you refitted them? Other than that I'd check the blue circuit board it's possible there's a break or dry joint and as the blue bit is flexible could have been disturbed in the process. But that will require you taking the clocks out again and maybe it's not worth the effort as I know that's a bit of a ball ache.
Yeah vacuum hose is on. Hopefully its not the circuit board but its not the end of the world as I'm not that fussed about knowing the mpg! I'll take another look at some point soon.
Expansion tank is quick and easy engine bay improvement. Drained some of the coolant out of the bottom hose till the old tank was empty then its just a matter of removing and refitting the hoses to the new one. Then top back up with coolant. Yes I know the cap is black and these can fail but it's been fine for the last 6 years of my ownership.
(https://i.ibb.co/9YwRGkF/IMG-7977.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bdHp7MS)
(https://i.ibb.co/Sx56FbS/IMG-7981.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FWmhR2p)
13th May 2020 was a good day. Was doing my usual browsing for mk2 parts when I came across a fairly tired set of recaros very local to me. They were dirty and looked a bit worn but had no holes and most importantly the electric bases were present. Messaged the seller, went to view them and made sure the motors worked. Then a deal was done and I took them home.
(https://i.ibb.co/qgqwBNp/IMG-8066.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VCn8VgT)
(https://i.ibb.co/YcmQpQW/IMG-8084.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0CT2h2X)
As you can see, not too bad shape just very grubby.
The drivers lower bolster was shot, so I stripped the seat down to uncover the ruined foam. The foam for the mk2 recaros is unavailable, but I bought one for a ford recaro from capital seating. It needed sanding back with a block to get the shape right and some of the foam needs cutting away. It turned out pretty well, it's not perfect but you wouldn't notice it was different unless you knew.
(https://i.ibb.co/rx9WL13/IMG-3401.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pfqms9Q)
(https://i.ibb.co/3dzM1Sd/IMG-3402.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wgswypg)
(https://i.ibb.co/KVxBkJS/IMG-3403.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QYvhR4t)
(https://i.ibb.co/SNL0nkZ/IMG-3404.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XXwpsnG)
(https://i.ibb.co/sgKKb00/IMG-3405.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Tw44YVV)
The rear bench fabric looked a little baggy so I stripped it down to investigate. Turns out the fabric that holds the metal hooks in had completely disintegrated. My girlfriend kindly offered to sew in some new material and I got I second hand bench from dubstock to steal the foam from.
(https://i.ibb.co/gm8FhGk/IMG-8145.jpg) (https://ibb.co/n6y8tTx)
Can see how loose the covers were.
(https://i.ibb.co/mS6qYzP/IMG-9624.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QXrNqmx)
(https://i.ibb.co/Sx8CGDb/IMG-9643.jpg) (https://ibb.co/rtSrNKY)
(https://i.ibb.co/Tm6Bhkh/IMG-9655.jpg) (https://ibb.co/r4YGymy)
Much better.
The seats didn't come with any door cards so I sourced some separately. With these sourced the seats were ready to fit.
(https://i.ibb.co/5TDwksW/IMG-8285.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Wn9j0BW)
(https://i.ibb.co/Jt8B34Z/IMG-8297.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QQhbDR0)
(https://i.ibb.co/0J0q8qV/IMG-8434.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zf3sjsH)
(https://i.ibb.co/dBhWxx7/IMG-9656.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MnX2QQ9)
Just need to wire them in now!
With the Recaros in I turned my attention to the wiring. The seats came with a rather tatty but original wiring loom which had been cut, I extended the loom with some new cable and added in an inline fuse. With the loom extended I wrapped it in fabric loom tape and routed it under the carpet to each seat. To get power for the seats I ran the loom up under the dash, used an earth point just below the A pillar and for the live I used an empty space in the back of the fuse box which I'm pretty sure is where the Recaros would be wired in from factory. Didn't take a load of photos while doing this but have a few random ones.
(https://i.ibb.co/cgjKnS1/IMG-8614.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GxqfS40)
(https://i.ibb.co/wyLLb5Y/IMG-8616.jpg) (https://ibb.co/H722M5X)
Also found the factory spec sheet from when the car was built under the carpet.
(https://i.ibb.co/bgYVnjj/IMG-8302.jpg) (https://ibb.co/5WC3VXX)
As these seats were originally a factory option for small bumper cars, the rear bench was carpet lined on the back unlike later cars which got the cheaper looking black board. With the seat back and boot floor in black carpet I thought the foam arch covers looked a bit out of place so sourced a carpet set and fitted them. Looks a lot nicer and a bit more luxury than the cheap foam ones from factory, don't really get why they changed it for the later cars.
(https://i.ibb.co/rptHHwJ/IMG-8598.jpg) (https://ibb.co/c8vQQrd)
(https://i.ibb.co/D17Pb5G/IMG-8601.jpg) (https://ibb.co/K59cGFN)
(https://i.ibb.co/Wx0thwb/IMG-8603.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HFCdSsW)
(https://i.ibb.co/2jnRgBv/IMG-8609.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vJwfZ83)
August 2020, took the van on a 500 mile trip up north to pick up some B-Star RA's. I bought them off Curt, who has a mint bbm big bumper with a super charged vr6 in. Seeing as we were going all that way, made sense to make a weekend out of it. Stayed in a nice little car park next to a lake in the Yorkshire dales for the night before collecting the wheels.
(https://i.ibb.co/b6Ft1rD/F8-B3923-D-1-A27-41-FC-B2-D6-2876-F4-C40954.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8mbkMjt)
After a good catch up we headed home with the wheels. I love these wheels, I think they're perfect for a big bumper mk2 as the original bbs' get lost in the arches. Would love a set of 7j bbs ra's some day but they don't come up often and are silly money.
(https://i.ibb.co/gZXMwvf/IMG-8936.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k2rg03w)
(https://i.ibb.co/DDLLY8p/IMG-8937.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FbnnX0V)
Next mod was brakes. Personally I always found the original 8v brakes a bit rubbish, never gave me any confidence. So went on the hunt for some G60 brakes, funnily enough the bloke I bought the car off messaged me saying he had a set with hubs as well. He was only round the corner and the price was decent so I bought them and set about giving them a refurb. As you can see, had seen better days.
(https://i.ibb.co/s54JNYM/37-FB9103-29-F4-4-EE7-924-E-79881184-D6-A0.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mvKF2WM)
Had to drill out a couple of bolts and re tap the holes on the hubs where someone had snapped the bolts for the backing plates. Got my mate to press in new bearings as the old ones felt grim. Then gave the hubs a lick of paint.
(https://i.ibb.co/30KSvkk/0-E689-C48-223-D-460-D-B797-27-DE1-AC84-DEB.jpg) (https://ibb.co/SKSVcJJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZVMQJDm/IMG-8996.jpg) (https://ibb.co/47Vbfrd)
Gave the calipers a full rebuild with the kit from Big Red. Stripped them down removing the pistons and seals before sanding them down ready for paint. I was going to paint them red but decided I wanted something a bit more subtle so went with silver which I think looks smart. Fitted new seals, pistons, bleed nipples and sliders. Now ready to be fitted to the car.
(https://i.ibb.co/jW5YNvd/9-BFF8375-1-C2-C-46-B7-848-A-8-F0-E3910-D8-F1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fnSWgYb)
(https://i.ibb.co/Gkbmwss/AE8-BD7-A9-9-A35-4524-AD72-2-C1-F79-EB280-E.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jG1tKVV)
(https://i.ibb.co/0GVbTsK/IMG-8962.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4Vgrz12)
(https://i.ibb.co/hyg24B4/IMG-9002.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Dt1wv9v)
Then spent a day fitting the lot to the car, as well as a bigger master cylinder, mtec c-hook discs and braided brake lines from HEL. This is hands down one of the best things I've done to this car, braking feels so much crisper and responsive. Would highly recommend to anyone thinking about it. While everything was off I gave the inner arches a coat of pearl grey to clean them up to.
(https://i.ibb.co/X5QjX0k/IMG-9093.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3F3416Y)
(https://i.ibb.co/3MmKwNg/IMG-9378.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Nm2RXjc)
(https://i.ibb.co/jrbdP67/439-C5-FFF-DCA3-4200-8-CEF-65-EDD8-D457-F8.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MCZbx2q)
(https://i.ibb.co/56PfvpL/IMG-9391.jpg) (https://ibb.co/t49WcjD)
Apologies for the long post!
Excellent work, tidied things up a treat too, those pistons were well past it!
Excellent work, tidied things up a treat too, those pistons were well past it!
Yeah they were definitely well due a rebuild, very satisfying seeing them before and after.
Christmas 2020, my girlfriend surprised me with the Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB. I'd had my eye on this stereo for a while as it looks period correct but has all the modern tech. I just couldn't justify spending £400 on a stereo! It was a fairly straight forward install, I just had to switch a couple of wires around on the cars harness. I left out the DAB antenna as I thought it gave away the illusion of it being retro, plus I mainly bluetooth music from my phone.
Overall I'm pretty impressed with it, my only complaint is the feel of some of the buttons and dials. They feel a bit flimsy and cheap, which I think they shouldn't considering how much it costs.
(https://i.ibb.co/ThpxQXg/IMG-9724.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Bsd5hDC)
(https://i.ibb.co/wzXYs5D/IMG-9734.jpg) (https://ibb.co/d5q7g8n)
I do need to source some kind of trim for the surround because it looks like something is missing.
It was time to sort the engine bay properly, I've tidied up small bits over the years but I wanted to get it to a state that I was happy with. Thought I'd start with a fairly straight forward job, paint the slam panel. It was scratched and had some rust bubbles by the catch. I removed it from the car and inspected the rust which turned out to be a lot worse than I thought, it had rusted through multiple layers.
(https://i.ibb.co/GHFy5SH/C78462-F3-2-BC3-490-D-BE59-449565-A3-D1-D5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tL3gJrL)
(https://i.ibb.co/dQRg1bN/63250937080-883235-C5-34-DA-447-D-B255-0-CBAC2-B827-D6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/p3SyGWH)
So I went on the hunt to find a clean original item, most were very rusty but dubstock had a really solid one but the catch holes had been drilled oversized. I bought this one and set about welding the holes up, so I could redrill them the correct size. The welding wasn't pretty but once I'd ground it back, skimmed it with filler and repainted the whole thing it looked spot on. I got re-plated bonnet latch and catch from dubstock also.
(https://i.ibb.co/LYfhfdR/IMG-9795.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bQnRn5m)
(https://i.ibb.co/MPS2L30/IMG-9798.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xzLCQRT)
(https://i.ibb.co/ynQtJF5/IMG-9829.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VWqR8YD)
(https://i.ibb.co/jv2pvYF/IMG-9835.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WWwTWX1)
(https://i.ibb.co/rdHsfZB/IMG-9769.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GHRT3VZ)
Carrying on with the engine bay tidy up. With the slam panel removed, it gave me great access to the engine and gearbox. To give me even more access I removed the radiator, in the process I snapped one of the bolts that holds the surrounds onto it. So I got another radiator on order. Got some freshly powder coated cross members off ebay to replace my rusty ones. I then set about painting my gearbox, in an ideal situation I would have liked to remove it but I didn't fancy scrambling around on the floor in the single garage by myself so I painted it in situ.
(https://i.ibb.co/qCBpk7g/63543978978-3-BA47-A8-D-2-F9-A-4-E68-9950-2-D2-C0-C3-C7-F90.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FX6zgmY)
(https://i.ibb.co/j6yfVDK/63561376217-381-C4-DB7-DBFC-428-F-B007-11-C0233-DA999.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GxWpsRw)
With that painted amongst other things like the starter motor, engine mount bracket and distributor. I then tackled the mess that was the wiring loom, the loom tape had all turned into dust leaving wires hanging everywhere and the dust went everywhere. I removed all the old stuff, cleaned the wires with brake cleaner and re wrapped the loom. I made sure I labelled all the connections with sticky numbers so not to forget where everything went.
(https://i.ibb.co/QrkGDVP/IMG-9905.jpg) (https://ibb.co/18MxzNr)
(https://i.ibb.co/0Fy14Yh/IMG-9980.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TbMJjPm)
To finish things off I got a vibratechnics front engine mount as the after market ones never seem to last very long and I got a new gearbox mount and bracket.
(https://i.ibb.co/19DskNq/IMG-9969.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HrWNjyz)
This is the finished result, I'm very chuffed with it. No its not perfect and theres plenty of other little things to do but I wont be afraid to open my bonnet anymore. I'll add a picture of how it looked when I bought it for comparison!
(https://i.ibb.co/VW6YnMw/IMG-9998.jpg) (https://ibb.co/d0Z4Ckm)
(https://i.ibb.co/FzRvZR9/IMG-1972.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NKchDcX)
Wow, what a transformation!
Wow, I agree the engine bay looks fantastic.
Wow, I agree the engine bay looks fantastic.
Cheers guys, spent a lot of time in the freezing cold but worth it.
July 2021, me and my girlfriend bought our first house. Obviously you can see why I bought it, the garage! Now I don't have to drive 15 minutes, to work on the golf and the garage has power so that will make everything 10x easier. Needs a paint and some work benches but all in good time.
(https://i.ibb.co/TP4g0TV/IMG-0541.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3SpCFsD)
Few of small jobs done on the golf:
As I knew the original dealership that sold the car, I thought it would be a nice touch to get some dealer plates made up. I didn't have the template of the original plate so had to use my imagination a bit, but with the help of my girlfriend and 360-gt we got a design together. They came out spot on, cant recommend 360-gt enough.
(https://i.ibb.co/BLFLrz5/IMG-0214.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Px0x9mv)
Ever since having the blaupunkt radio its looked like something was missing. It needed a surround to look factory in my opinion. I found I generic one on ebay and set about cutting and filing it till it fitted. Turned out well and looks a lot cleaner now.
(https://i.ibb.co/gy07yLN/IMG-1261.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JnYdnwV)
(https://i.ibb.co/5jWQwkG/IMG-1264.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3FyxQv4)
Finally, to match the brightness of the blaupunkt I bought the crazy leds kit off ebay and set about replacing all the bulbs in the dash. Most of its fairly straight forward and the kit comes with a link to some web instructions. I forgot to take any pics of the process unfortunately but all went well. I didn't like cutting open the heater control but had to be done, soldered it back together after. Here is a pic of the finished result.
(https://i.ibb.co/4fxCbYF/IMG-1302.jpg) (https://ibb.co/z5wC37m)
This is a job I have put off for years. I think in the first year of my ownership I got a bit close with the jet wash and managed to flake off parts of the boot decal. I was gutted at the time so bought a replacement decal, which then ended up sitting in my room for the next 4 years! Could never pluck up the courage to remove the rear glass so just coloured in the missing bits with sharpie.
(https://i.ibb.co/GWrq6Jp/IMG-1395.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bsGk03m)
So thought it was about time I got on with it (Feb 2022). Removed the three nuts holding the boot spoiler onto the glass. I think they look so strange without a spoiler.
(https://i.ibb.co/Yy02ZnZ/IMG-1398.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pRh2yVy)
With the spoiler off I set about removing the glass, making sure I didn't crack it. I pushed from the inside with my girlfriend on the outside to make sure the glass didn't fall onto the floor. Took a fair amount of force to pop it out at the top but once I had done that it slid out with no effort. I then removed the wiper linkage and jet.
Using a hairdryer to heat up the old decal I pealed it off in one piece. Then using glue and tar remover on a rag I removed any sticky residue left on the paint.
(https://i.ibb.co/m4qnZLy/IMG-1405.jpg) (https://ibb.co/SBnkYhm)
I sprayed the boot lid with soapy water then laid the new decal over the top and moved it into position. It soon came apparent that the decal I had bought from heritage all those years ago wasn't a very good fit. I had to heat it up and stretch it to get it to go where I wanted. With all the air bubbles pushed out I left it over night to settle. The next morning I refitted the glass using a piece of string around the seal to aid me. The seal only just sits over the decal annoyingly, so no doubt over time a gap will appear revealing paint but for now it'll do. With the wiper and spoiler fitted back up thats a job done.
(https://i.ibb.co/WxcNDT1/IMG-1424.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vwJCst8)
Does anyone know the best place to buy the boot decal for when I eventually re-do this? Needs to fit like oem.
This guy does decent stickers for the boot https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185080689125?hash=item2b17ab31e5:g:xo4AAMXQxzZRb1o4
Hi mate, it was nice to meet you briefly the other week! I parked next to you at the viaduct! I got my tailgate decal on ebay seller brownstickers. I didn't fot it, I got the bodyshop to do mine but I have no complaints and it's holding up over 12 minths on. Here is the link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185080689125?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jxYanyovRPC&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=FpWnKlj5TtW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Also your car looks very good in person and is a credit to your hard work 😁
+1 for brownstickers off eBay.
The car is looking great.
Cheers for the replies guys, I shall purchase one of the decals from that ebay seller for when I redo mine in the future.
Hi mate, it was nice to meet you briefly the other week! I parked next to you at the viaduct! I got my tailgate decal on ebay seller brownstickers. I didn't fot it, I got the bodyshop to do mine but I have no complaints and it's holding up over 12 minths on. Here is the link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185080689125?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jxYanyovRPC&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=FpWnKlj5TtW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Also your car looks very good in person and is a credit to your hard work 😁
Yeah was good to meet you too. Always nice to put a face to a build. Thanks for the kind comments and your car is spot on. Love the wheel choice.
Hopefully see you at some other events!
July 2022. A cheap milltek manifold came up for sale which I bought to eventually fit to the rest of my milltek exhaust.
(https://i.ibb.co/khRVJ10/IMG-2114.png) (https://ibb.co/XzhfD8p)
I'd cleaned up my front inner arches previously so thought it was about time I sorted the rears. I removed the suspension and brake callipers as these needed a lick of paint also. Cleaned everything down, gave it a key and hit with a coat of base then lacquer. With that done and the callipers painted the beam looked a bit tatty so cleaned that down and painted it with tough black. Some before and after pics, yes I'm aware the brake lines aren't the prettiest its on the to do list.
(https://i.ibb.co/q5DqKDR/IMG-2195.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k1GbjGh) (https://i.ibb.co/GTGzJc4/IMG-2214.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9tBQvsk) (https://i.ibb.co/tPrfvmz/IMG-2211.jpg) (https://ibb.co/84Z3fKb)
I had taken one of my mates from work out in the mk2 a while ago and he had the itch to get one. He finally found one in budget and we went down to collect it. Be rude not to go in the golf.
(https://i.ibb.co/Yf2zYsq/68011607552-E790-E09-C-CC95-4817-B9-E8-22-CF8-D2-B0384-fullsizerender.jpg) (https://ibb.co/SVNhWC9)
Pic of my mates purchase, small bumper one in ten million oak green 8v.
(https://i.ibb.co/JvQc6x0/IMG-2168.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8rcmvzT)
To round July off I went to the national meet, I hadn't been since 2018 so was nice to attend again. The standard and variety of cars is great and its awesome to see people thrashing it around the track.
(https://i.ibb.co/Nsc0m8g/IMG-2234.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qdTHWtL)
(https://i.ibb.co/zRgjq3p/IMG-2239.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sw4k8Tn)
Winter 2022. I bought a second hand but never used Newman 272 Ph3 camshaft, the plan was to strip the head off over winter and send it away to get ported and polished, then build it back up with the manifold.
(https://i.ibb.co/C7GJnmm/IMG-2690.png) (https://ibb.co/0MbBfmm) (https://i.ibb.co/BrRs5sy/IMG-2688.png) (https://ibb.co/QCGm3mP)
However this plan quickly got scrapped when I got carried away on ebay and won a set of practically brand new bc coilovers for what I think was a good price.
(https://i.ibb.co/fDRRNPH/IMG-3072.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9ZXX4CW)
Now I would've loved to get the head done as well as buying the coilovers but I think my girlfriend would've strangled me in my sleep! I even sold my mint set of porsche door handles that I'd rebuilt to regain some funds back, gutted about it now but realistically I wasn't going to fit them as my car has armour plates (which it needs to hide the break in attempts) and I think the porsche door handles would look naff on the plates.
(https://i.ibb.co/prZyTdZ/IMG-2794.jpg) (https://ibb.co/BKjNJBj)
Once I'd collected the coilovers I got straight onto fitting them. Originally I wanted the Heritage KW v1 as I think they're the perfect oem+ coilover but second hand sets never come up. So when these bc's came up I thought it was worth a punt, they still look subtle in black with silver collars and a big plus is the damping adjustment.
Fitting them was a piece of piss as I'd only done the suspension a few years prior, I replaced the top mounts for good measure. I was also intrigued by the weight difference between a shock and lowering spring combo and a coilover, more than I expected to be fair.
(https://i.ibb.co/pJgTXG3/IMG-3134.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xJyb5PM) (https://i.ibb.co/D1YzD0n/IMG-3133.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7SQjJsF)
All fitted and adjusted to as low as I can get without rubbing.
(https://i.ibb.co/gtrDVtJ/IMG-3138.jpg) (https://ibb.co/j38LR3D)
(https://i.ibb.co/TKXwKPZ/IMG-3409-NEW.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vs5csLb)
January 2023. To start the year I thought I'd complete one of the more fun jobs (not), the sunroof seal. Mine had worn in one of the corners and had torn. I started by winding the sunroof back enough for me to pull the trim panel off, with that off I slid it back to reveal the front and rear retaining bolts. With these removed and the sprung arms at the back unclipped, I removed the sunroof. I then unscrewed the metal bracket from the back of the panel and pulled the old seal off. When fitting the new one I put a blob of windscreen sealant in each corner and by the join to avoid it getting pulled off when in use. Before I refitted the sunroof I inspected the rails to try and locate a rattle thats been present since I bought the car. On inspection I found that the passenger rail wasn't located properly, I loosened off the whole mechanism and managed to pop it back into place. The loose rail will also explain the scratch in the paint as its been rubbing on the roof. Fitting the sunroof back in is just the reverse of taking it out, although mine needed a lot of adjustment now the rail was fitted correctly. I left the sunroof shut for a week to let the seal find its new shape.
(https://i.ibb.co/bbQ5jW5/IMG-3435.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dmj4sW4)(https://i.ibb.co/XVg4SRz/IMG-3446.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YbMWpst) (https://i.ibb.co/0m8mnBC/IMG-3450.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tQkQHZq) (https://i.ibb.co/3rc9zk2/IMG-3455.jpg) (https://ibb.co/BzB5Nwb) (https://i.ibb.co/BtQ01h9/IMG-3458.jpg) (https://ibb.co/W6MmTrL) (https://i.ibb.co/CKfgBSv/IMG-3464.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yFrt0x5)
Chuffed with the outcome and no issues with its operation. The seal if anyone is interested was from Classic Vw, was so much cheaper than the genuine seal from heritage and quality was spot on.
We're the BCs on ebay on a white golf by any chance? I missed a set that someone had on an auction, I was so annoyed 😅
How hard was it to get the Sunroof back in and lined up? My new seal split after a few months so have a new genuine one to fit, but worried about damaging my paint or not getting it to line up properly
We're the BCs on ebay on a white golf by any chance? I missed a set that someone had on an auction, I was so annoyed 😅
How hard was it to get the Sunroof back in and lined up? My new seal split after a few months so have a new genuine one to fit, but worried about damaging my paint or not getting it to line up properly
Yeah they were off a white car that the bloke had sold although the listing didn’t have any pics of them on the car if I can remember. So we could of been going against each other😂. It was around October 2022 I got them.
As for fitting the sunroof back in, I just bolted it back in place then shut it to see where I needed to raise and lower it. Made adjustments till it sat flush with the roof then very nervously opened it listening for any scrapes (I was bricking it😂). Make sure to clip the trim panel back on before winding it open as I forgot and got it stuck in the roof!
February 2023. Now with only two months till the golfs MOT and the start of show season, what I should be doing is the odd job and cleaning it. However I'm impatient and always like to have something on the go, so I decided that even though I couldn't afford to get the cylinder head work done there was nothing stopping me fitting the cam and exhaust manifold. It needed a new cambelt anyway so might as well do it all at the same time right (thats how I convinced myself at least).
So I set about doing the more straight forward jobs first the camshaft and cambelt. To start with I removed the airbox to give me better access and visibility. Then I set about getting the engine timed up before carrying on with anything else. I removed the cambelt cover and rocker cover. Had a fight with the gearbox inspection plug, which was tight to say the least. Ended up smashing it undone with my large lever bar.
(https://i.ibb.co/58LDxjm/IMG-3501.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jMDKZwm) (https://i.ibb.co/7gmps0c/IMG-3500.jpg) (https://ibb.co/f8wNjTR)
With that out I rotated the the engine till the tdc arrow on the gearbox lined up with the mark on the flywheel, I also made sure the dot punch on the back of the cam sprocket was in line with the top of the head.
(https://i.ibb.co/28zkf2X/IMG-3507.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tZ0JWfy) (https://i.ibb.co/FJtdvgP/IMG-3506.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ctds5Dm)
I jacked the front of the car up and removed the osf wheel to give me access to the crank pulley. I released the tension on the power steering pump and alternator, then removed the belts. Using an impact gun I removed the 4 bolts holding the crank pulley on and with a tap from the hammer the pulley came off. With that out of the way I unbolted the bottom half of the cambelt cover. With all the covers removed it was clear that I had a leak from the camshaft seal, intermediate shaft seal and crankshaft seal. So I ordered new ones and also got a new crank bolt and set of ina hydraulic tappets because it made sense to put new ones in with a fresh cam. While waiting for those parts to arrive I removed the cambelt by releasing the tensioner and camshaft by undoing the caps a bit at a time until I could undo them by hand.
(https://i.ibb.co/xg7L88L/IMG-3504.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VCq9pp9) (https://i.ibb.co/0cd27Zx/IMG-3508.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TkF2fRs) (https://i.ibb.co/JzSG60z/IMG-3515.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wK2PG3K) (https://i.ibb.co/bbCQ3XT/IMG-3516.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VwzJNTR)
To get the cam sprocket off I had to put the old cam in a vice with soft jaws and crack the bolt off using a breaker bar. Removing the crankshaft sprocket was also problematic as it was ft, I put the car in gear with the hand brake on and girlfriend in the car on the foot brake. I couldn't for the life of me get it to undo, so I gave myself a breather and came back to it and instead of putting constant force on it, I shocked it with a few quick pulls. The sound of a bolt cracking off is so satisfying! For the intermediate shaft sprocket I wedged it locked with a small extension and unbolted it. Can see from the pics the oil leak around the crankshaft seal.
(https://i.ibb.co/DppCydN/IMG-3514.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sHHwG7h) (https://i.ibb.co/BzXyY1G/IMG-3565.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cgG6smw)
I drained the oil and removed the sump as it was weeping slightly and I needed to remove a few of the bolts anyway to remove the crank seal cover. Checked the pick up pipe was clear form any blockages, was lovely and clean. Then fitted all the new seals and gave everything a clean and paint. Refitted the sump with a new rubber gasket and torqued all the bolts up. Fitted a new crank sprocket bolt and torqued it up to an extremely high torque (can't remember the exact torque).
(https://i.ibb.co/XYyW7gS/IMG-3572.jpg) (https://ibb.co/CPJwbZh) (https://i.ibb.co/Dg0TMSp/IMG-3569.jpg) (https://ibb.co/841txSc) (https://i.ibb.co/4MD2wc9/IMG-3526.jpg) (https://ibb.co/82RbnJT) (https://i.ibb.co/pzK2kYZ/IMG-3575.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FwY6dRJ)
While everything was off I noticed that the water pump was leaking from the cap at the bottom, so I got a new one and painted it and the pulley to match everything else. Also painted the crank pulley and cleaned up all the covers.
With everything cleaned and painted I fitted the new tappets and the camshaft. Making sure I torqued the caps up in sequence. Then refitted everthing else like lower cambelt cover, crank pulley etc. I then fitted a new cambelt and tensioner, checked the timing marks all lined up. Then turned it over by hand and checked the timing marks still lined up.
(https://i.ibb.co/PzvT4XW/IMG-3602.jpg) (https://ibb.co/prBWZVK) (https://i.ibb.co/tDSFH53/IMG-3600.jpg) (https://ibb.co/njTtwSR) (https://i.ibb.co/fv6mwF2/IMG-3605.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jR07XfT) (https://i.ibb.co/NFVRzJG/IMG-3613.jpg) (https://ibb.co/x2CZQBr)
(https://i.ibb.co/bmCsXCc/IMG-3527.jpg) (https://ibb.co/W5MkfMm) (https://i.ibb.co/zbhNp3S/IMG-3528.jpg) (https://ibb.co/y5nVtz8) (https://i.ibb.co/Zzc1BPN/IMG-3606.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GQC3WLF)
And with that the Newman 272 camshaft is fitted, with new seals, plenty of freshened up parts and a new cambelt. I finished up by putting a new oil filter on and filling the engine up with fresh oil. Unfortunately I can't start the car yet as I'm going to be getting straight on with fitting the 4 branch manifold. That will be my next post.
(https://i.ibb.co/HC8hgqR/88-B5-C4-E0-6-F04-42-C7-B616-90-A598943316.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nBJPkj4)
With the camshaft in, it was now time to turn my attention to fitting the milltek 4 branch manifold. As my car is fitted with the rest of the milltek system I just had to buy the connecting piece to join the two.
I started by spraying every nut and bolt that I was going to be undoing with plus gas to give me the best chance of not snapping anything. I decided I would remove the old manifold and fit the new one from the top instead of dropping the subframe, I wanted to refresh the inlet manifold anyway. The first thing I did was disconnect the fuel pipes from the fuel rail. Then I removed the airbox warm air pipe bracket thats mounted to the exhaust manifold, surprisingly all the nuts came undone and the bracket was pretty much in one piece (these have usually rusted away).
(https://i.ibb.co/KV0KW5s/IMG-3640.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YfR0hNd)
I removed all the inlet manifold bolts but to actually get the inlet manifold out I had to jack the engine up, remove the front mount then lower it back down till I could squeeze the manifold out. With that out of the way I removed the fuel rail, injectors and injector loom.
(https://i.ibb.co/xjmY7yZ/IMG-3641.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k83JSpZ) (https://i.ibb.co/LJgWnCb/IMG-3642.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9V4Lsqz)
It was now time to turn my attention to the exhaust downpipe and manifold nuts, I gave them another hit with the plus gas and then tried undoing them. I struggled to get a good purchase on the downpipe nuts and I couldn't get them to crack loose. So I moved onto the manifold nuts, they all came undone surprisingly easily and a lot of them came out with the studs which wasn't an issue as I purchased new studs. I couldn't remove the manifold with the downpipe attached but had no patience to try get the nuts undone, so I cut through the downpipe with an angle grinder. I bit brutal but its never going back on so not the end of the world. With that cut the exhaust manifold came out the top.
(https://i.ibb.co/2qkV97w/IMG-3643.jpg) (https://ibb.co/R2DrFp1) (https://i.ibb.co/tqr2bq5/70008991131-CA17-B9-F8-FDC5-4786-8-E2-A-3678-B9-C9-A509.jpg) (https://ibb.co/D92M79n) (https://i.ibb.co/TBHBpwT/4-CCE7-E63-81-BD-411-F-885-B-2-DA1-B70-B50-D4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XZzZNW4)
With everything removed I began to clean and give everything a refresh. I also bought a vibratechnics rear engine mount to go with my front one as I don't want the engine to move too much and crack the manifold.
Here's some pics of the bits I restored:
(https://i.ibb.co/TM0t4NY/IMG-3688-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/v4dk3MV) (https://i.ibb.co/gWfg2XD/IMG-3689.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dpVKT3Q) (https://i.ibb.co/jVXBYsq/IMG-3690.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gvKH8hQ) (https://i.ibb.co/vskRR8L/IMG-3694.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jVDssF3)(https://i.ibb.co/SwbXqhK/IMG-3697.jpg) (https://ibb.co/1G1fHD9) (https://i.ibb.co/0KdF1d9/4608-A1-ED-E337-4-AD0-A250-C2-B7-B7694-EA7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2SfsRfM)
I wrapped my new manifold in dei titanium exhaust wrap. Theres lots of mixed opinions on wrapping manifolds but I decided it was a good idea as it keeps the temp down in the engine bay and will save my steering uj boot. The titanium wrap is more expensive than the normal stuff but you don't have to wet it before you fit it. On a side note make sure you wear gloves as the wrap is itchy as. I wrapped 3 of the pipes individually then wrapped the collector and final pipe in one.
(https://i.ibb.co/Cb1dzxs/IMG-3663.jpg) (https://ibb.co/v3w5H2v) (https://i.ibb.co/r0pfmNn/IMG-3664.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pwKrx5C) (https://i.ibb.co/YhBT4jr/IMG-3672.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7KtNxy9)
Once the exhaust was wrapped I dropped it into place and bolted it up with new studs and copper nuts along with the new engine mount.
(https://i.ibb.co/tz3j4tx/IMG-3741.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ScJYP8d) (https://i.ibb.co/vjGnnVM/IMG-3699.jpg) (https://ibb.co/RDmwwYJ)
I refitted the fuel rail, injectors and inlet manifold. I bought an engine bay stainless bolt kit to freshen up the bay as well.
(https://i.ibb.co/9yhQhtd/IMG-3749.jpg) (https://ibb.co/c2w4wLs)
One of the more nervy jobs I did was strip the throttle body so I could paint all the bits individually. Once I had it in pieces on the table I did question whether it would ever go back together and work! Thankfully it went smoothly and turned out really well.
(https://i.ibb.co/W640G9S/IMG-3710.jpg) (https://ibb.co/80LbN3F) (https://i.ibb.co/qMP8JYM/IMG-3735.jpg) (https://ibb.co/5Wf3KhW) (https://i.ibb.co/hsshgLf/IMG-3767.jpg) (https://ibb.co/CBBNwm2) (https://i.ibb.co/jGkCVGs/IMG-3765.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sQ9T5Qz)
Next on the list was the warm air pipe bracket. Most people will probably think this mod is pointless! But when you fit a 4 branch, you can't fit the bracket back on, yes I could've just chucked it but I wanted to keep the warm air pipe and didn't want it flapping around in the engine bay. So I offered it up, made marks with a sharpie as to where to cut and trimmed it using an angle grinder till it fitted into place. Plus gave it a coat of matt black vht paint.
(https://i.ibb.co/c2jLY7F/IMG-3745.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qmv5JPs) (https://i.ibb.co/VJYyXMg/IMG-3747.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fqdRmrk) (https://i.ibb.co/2s3vG88/IMG-3757.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MGkcF88) (https://i.ibb.co/Xyw7Tp4/IMG-3759.jpg) (https://ibb.co/f8ck7tS)
Finally I refitted all the fuel lines (a new very expensive genuine return hose) and the airbox. It was now time to start the car for the first time since I've done the cambelt, cam and exhaust. I was rather nervous to say the least, so got my girlfriend to start the car while I was under the bonnet making sure everything was ok. It fired straight up which was great, unfortunatey the exhaust was blowing slightly from the manifold flange (very common on the milltek manifolds). But apart from that no issues, I let it run for a while to bleed the coolant as I'd replaced the water pump. Once up to temp I set the timing with a timing gun, 6 degrees before tdc with the blue temp sensor disconnected.
And with that the car was done, just in time for its MOT (which it passed) and the South East Mk2 Cruise. Now I thought the cam and exhaust would make a difference but I was surprised how much quicker it felt. It now comes alive at about 4/4.5k where as it would've been dropping off before. My mate even told me it popped a flame when he was following me which I'm gassed about! Plus I love the lumpy idle, it sounds amazing.
(https://i.ibb.co/CsZQRPv/IMG-3780.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cXHQ4Yt)
The exhaust leak is something I need to look into, the angle of the manifold doesn't line up with the connecting pipe very well which is causing the blow. Think I'm going to machine down the vibratechnics rear mount to drop the rear of the engine down which should mean they line up better. But thats a job for winter as I have just bought a powder coated subframe to replace my tatty one. So makes sense to do that when I've dropped the subframe. If that doesn't work I'll look at getting a company to weld a flexi onto my manifold to do away with the joint.
(https://i.ibb.co/3hpL8TP/IMG-3761.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JkvMbcS)
Thanks for reading apologies for the length!
Awesome work.
I had the same crisis when I pulled my throttle body apart for cleaning!
Awesome work.
I had the same crisis when I pulled my throttle body apart for cleaning!
Cheers. Yeah I just took photos of absolutely everything. One of them things that doesn’t look too complicated until you start dismantling it.
I made a mistake there.
I had another throttle body and thought 'I can just copy that when it goes back together'.
Turns out they were different!!