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Topic: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900 (Read 2136 times) previous topic - next topic

1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

This has been copied across from the old forum so there may be some confusing bits in places!

Ebay is an awful website. Temptation in the form of a computer! Stuck a bid on this (alcohol may have been involved) and won!

Its a 1991 8v GTI with no mods. Its nearly totally original except for the tow ball on the back. Although its got 160k on it, it drives really well and looks not too bad. drove it 250miles from were i picked it up outside leeds in batley and drove it to scotland and on the boat. Let the photos do the talking.





















The g60s!



Sunroof!



All in all the cars not bad does have a few things that nee sorted. theres rust bubbling along the bottom of the drivers door so thatl need rubbed down and sorted but the rest is mechanical.

The engine temperature sensor doesnt work so iv no temperature on the clocks and its the same with the oil temperature on the mfa. it also needs a wheel bearing on the drivers side and the backbox looked at as its blowing a little. Finally, the gearbox linakge needs replaced i think as 5th gear is hard to find and theres a lot of play in the gears in general.

theyre all wee things and with a little tlc i think i can turn this car around. this is all iv planned for now other than my cd player and sub, want to keep it oem for a while and see what happens.

opinions and suggestions please!

iv had a shopping bonanza for parts the last few days. iv got a meguars clay kit to try and shine the bodywork back up and deswirl it, a new thermostat and oil temp sender, a gear linkage repair kit and today its going to try to egt a new backbox as the one on it is too loud and i think there might be a wee bit of rot starting to set into it. to be honest half the racket is likely it blowing.

also got the heater replaced the other day. the new one was from a scrappy and squealed something shocking so a good dose of gearbox oil and gt45 solved that. iv got nice warm air now. my cd player went into it too so iv got a head unit that looks modern now. going to see if i can get the wheel bearing sorted in it tonight if i can use my neighbours ramps and have a good look underneath it.

im still really pleased with the wee car. handles like its on rails and still turns a few heads (not sure if thats good or bad though). the only thing i dont like is more frequent visits to the pump. going from the TDI to the petrol is a big change after years of really good mpg (50ish to 30ish)

ill get some more photos up after its been clayed

had a few wee things done over the past few days.

got a new exhaust on it. the backbox and front box were clean rotten lol which his maybe why it sounded the way it did. also got the led side lights in tonight. theres some difference in them



hope to get some of the chrome trim onto it to see how it looks. hopefully itl have chrome wiper arms and proper chrome inserts in the door handles to try and brighten it up slightly. also looking at the getting the rust on the drivers door sorted professionally for the show season.

going to spend the weekend putting parts across from the other golf and going to try and get some of the sensors replaced to try and fix some of the gauges on the dash. really pleased with this wee car so far except for the mpg :(

any reason why its sore on fuel? the mfa reads low 20s all the time but to be honest i think its more like 25ish looking at the rate i go through it. any idea why its so low?? iv been driving it real easy and not going over 60 but it seems to make no difference!

got some of the chrome trim on today. ignore the pure dirt on it!





not too sure if i like the wiper arms or not. what do you think of them?

the wee pup seems to like the gti interior



wednesday night is hopefully the big night for getting things sorted. might do the belts if i get time as id like them done sonner rather than later

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #1 –
saw the car today down at the sprayers. two new doors are on and fitted and itl be ready for paint next week. really starting to miss it.

it the meantime though iv been gathering supplies for when i get it back. iv got the old grill off the gti that i painted ready for the new red stripe and then itl go onto the gti as its grill is looking a little tired. going to try and demist the spots too. also have the other slam painted painted (poorly) so i think some black hammerite might be order of the day so replace the gtis one. also doing the same with the fresh starter motor thats going onto it. ill get some photos up once theyre painted.

itching to get it back now! sick of the fiat!

cheers man.

got the grill finished today, so the next thing is getting the spots demisted and thatl be the front end done.

before -



after -



so this morning got a wee run into ballymena in search of paint. got some of the orange i was looking for nixed up but now iv seen it i dont think i like it. its coverage is pretty poor too so ill need at least another tin to cover it properly and its not cheap.

once it dries ill get a photo up and see what folk think but i think red might be better. iv got a big tin of it too which helps.

made my own wee paint booth -



seems to do the trick

so, this is the orange.



it looks better now its dried but im pretty sure i dont like it. looks too stock car and cheap, so i went red.



not the best photo in the world but it gives you an idea. this rustoleum paint is great. doesnt react with anything, great coverage and best of all its a primer, final coat and rust inhibitor all in one. iv loads of it left from the other golf so i thought what the hell.

im impressed with how its turned out just need the back done and looking forward to getting it on the car now!

this mornings effort. got the springs put into the proper shocks for them, theyre G60 40/60mm by supersport. they were fitted to the 1.3 before hand but theyre going into the gti now. might give them a tidy before though as they could really do with it. dont want everything to be red though as its the only colour iv got an the moment!



as for the slam panel, i got the back painted today as well so its more or less ready to into the car now, might just need one more coat. really pleased with how its turned out.

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #2 –
well its been a month and i still havent got the golf back! saw it this morning and the boot lid, drivers doors and rear bumper are all still off it, but hopefully the paint will be going on tomorrow. there was rot found on the rear arches down at the bottom so thats all getting taken care of too.

one thing i would ask is will the rear door need replaced, suffering from some rust in the usual place below the lock? it looks like surface rust but i think, knowing my luck, it could be rot. i think the gap in the seal between the rear quarter light and scraper is to blame, who ever fitted the new quarter light hasnt done a great job refitting so thatl be something ill have to fix. the new quarter doesnt have the funny shade of colour that all the rest of the windows have either so ill throw one of my spare ones into it.

anyways, today i threw the grill together. really pleased with it



and then i got the bonnet struts polished up



also ordered up some new number plates to tidy up the look of it and to drop the UK stamps on the left hand side so it blends in a bit better here. i was on ebay last night and ordered a chip that promises up to 12bhp and 10lbs on a standard engine so realistically im expecting to get 5-8bhp. well see what happens.

im trying to think what else could do with a little chrome (blame stubob) might do something with the engine bay. in the mean time iv to sit and just wait until i get the car again. dreading the cost of it but itl be worth it in the end!

wee random update. came home today to find this waiting. its a proper chip that replaces the standard ecu one, not some cheap thing for tricking the maf.



should be interesting to get in and see what happens with it. iv been reading on clubgti that they help the car rev smoother and faster but has anyone here any experience of them?

Quote from: DanDubber76
batley !! is it stolen ?? hahaha i live 10 mins from batley , not bad tho looks tidy :-)

cheers mate, dont think its stolen haha

got the car back yesterday afternoon. i missed it!! photos arent great but you get the idea

freshly painted...



got the tow bar off the back too so it looks a lot smoother. got a new surround on the lid and got the lid painted too along with the rear valance getting smoothed out.





couldnt resist getting the chrome lifters on it



still do is fit the chip to the ecu, get it lowered and get the ice sorted.

just bought a gti engineering 1900 engine, just been rebuilt :D :D :D :D and comes rebuilt!!

well folks really got stuck in today. been out in the yard the past 9 hours!

firstly, it started by changing over the slam panel for the one iv painted. heres a before



and then an after



i also got the newly painted grill on. have to say, the spots look cracker now theyve been cleaned!



and then with the lid down



i also got it lowered today, and it looks like a golf should now! its down 40mm on G60 shocks and springs, theyre the ones i had in my 1.3 before it went. iv no photos just yet but ill get some tomorrow. it looks real low with the big bumpers and the splitter is about 6inches off the ground so with the wee back roads weve got about here ill need to watch!

had a slight complication when i got the final shock in. a few bad words were said lol but it was sorted soon after once i got my hands on someone with a little more knowledge than me and a spring compressor!





next i need to get the new number plates on. i didnt get it done today as iv no wee sticky pads to stick it on and witht eh car on the jack all day i couldnt run out. next on my list is sort the engine out with a good clean. the gti engineering lump will be going in as soon as im not working for a few days so likely easter. once i get the engine up at the house ill get some photos of it on too. cant wait to get it in. iv been promised its good for about 145bhp!

just a few quick photos of the golf on the new springs -





could go lower but this wil do for now. already caught the splitter!!

this arrived today :D :D

apologies for the crap photos, my blackberry broke the other day so im down to the old phone. ill get a few good photos before it goes into the car.



its just the stamp saying "RE 1900 8V"



itching to get it fitted!! fully rebuilt with over £300 worth of receipts for parts alone. hasnt been driven since it was rebuilt so its more or less a new engine! theres a schrick (276) cam in it with the head and bottom end fully redone. the fella was saying before the rebuild it was good for upwards of 145bhp. going to be wee rocket ship when im done!

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #3 –
its bought and paid for now anyways so itl be good to have that extra reliability with a freshly rebuilt engine.

ill get some photos up when it goes in over easter.

a quick update, over the past week iv trying to get the car squared away for dubshed and its still not ready! anyway, heres a few photos of the way it currently sits (it was washed yesterday and the dirts already making a come back)



trying to get new indicator lenses at the minute, i got some crystal clears and really dont like them



a few wee bits of trim to tidy here



replaced the rear quarter light window today as it wasnt the same tint as the rest. luckily id a spare left from the other car. makes it look 100% better imo



again, the faded indicators let it down



this im especially proud of. the roof was as shiney as the road when i got it, the dirt and random stuff stuck to it was unreal and sponging it wouldnt lift it. took a clay bar to it and it lifted most of it right off. still needs another going over but at least now theres a clear reflection



over the next week i want to tidy the few wee bits of trim that need it and get the car fully clayed and waxed if i can get the time.

really id love some alloys for it as the g60s are showing their age, some bbs ras would be good or anything to suit a mk2 as long as theyre 15/16". need to keep an eye out.

todays effort. fully forgot all about the spare bumper in the shed which has standard orange indicators. swap done



thats her pretty much how i want. really want some rims to have it sitting right but iv been told im not allowed so ill have try to wangle that one. ill try and get some good photos at the weekend

DUBSHED TOMORROW!

spend the morning out washing a detailing. more or less the first time iv taken the time like this to go to a show so im sure theres loads more i can do!

heres a few photos anyways. still have some dodo juice red mist to go on when i get down there





cant stop looking at it, really pleased :D :D

quick update!

got some BBS RA's! theyre only 14" but they look mint so i couldnt say no. they should be here early next week. heres them on the fellas gt



looking forward to getting them on the car and seeing how they look!

also, the new engine should hopefully be going in next week.

started fitting the new engine today.

this is it before it went in



and the wee stamp that gives it away



the battery tray was surprisingly whole



gave the radiator cowling a lick of paint



got the old engine out



and the new is now in, just need to mate up the gearbox and engine, do up the mounts and thats her!

worked out on paper it should be pushing around 150-155bhp with the engine and the reprogrammed ecu.

let me say one thing, this thing shifts. (i apologise here for the poor choice in slam panel colour, i was young and stupid) and here it is -





apologies for no in between photos but i was too busy running about and forgot! still a few wee things to clear up like getting the timing bang on with a light and sorted out the ticking sound from the exhaust manifold/down pipe gasket, oh and my mpg ect o the mfa doesnt work anymore but other than thats her!

original stickers!! have to love originality



quick one. what are the part numbers for the wee clips that hold this rubber strip at the lip of the bonnet in place? im missing four and it looks rash!



and still no rims :( was really hoping id have had them by now

threw the old wiper arms back on after a wee clean up. which do folk prefer? im really not sold either way





got the mfa fixed today too as well as a non functioning spot light. scotch lock clips are great as a temporary fix!

rms would be the job. john (vwgolfnut) was selling a cracking set last year on gtini. they were very very tidy. went for over 1k think

wee update. the new rims came so i got them on and took a few photos









only being 14s the ride height has changed a little



ill need to watch the speed bumps. also got clocks fixed, non working spot fixed and worked out the ticking blowing sound means replaceing the exhaust manifold. all in all though, its getting there

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #4 –
well today was a decent wee day so i started fiddling about with cleaning kit iv been slowly putting together and ended up claying, polishing and waxing the 20 year old paint on the passenger side of the car. when you compared it to the rest of the bodywork it let the car down in a big way but the results couldnt be better! its taken the grey shading off it and filled in a few of wee scratches.

the front wing -



the full side -



went out again there and got the turret carpets fitted. also got the rain guard on the bonnet fitted properly too, although i think iv some rust in and around the turret were its welded to the body. seems to be surface rust at the moment but itl need taking in hand soon. its hopefully going to get set right this week as  i dont think its 100% spot on and then hopefully ill get it rolling roaded.

well its been a month since i last updated this so i though it was about time. over the past month iv had the engine drop all its water through a bad hose on the block, starter leads break meaning the car wouldnt start and the power steering messing about. on the plus side iv fixed all except for the power steering, i need to fit new hoses and havent had time yet. also with the mot coming up i think im going to need a new bushes on the front sub frame. i also want to get the car set right as i still dont think its 100%. should be hitting about 35mpg on the mfa but im lucky to get it in the high 20s. im also waiting on badges arriving from germany. waiting on new side badges, a new rear badge and iv finally got a new gti badge for the grill. still havent fallen out with it though, its good fun to drive and always makes me smile.

been playing with a few wee filters recently too, this is how it sits at the moment.
 


with the mot coming up soon i thought id best raise the car up again and given the really heavy rain and floods we've had here the past few days raising the car up seemed a good plan



golf country anyone? all told it still handles as well as it did lowered so i don't know wether or not to leave it this way. no more catching the splitter for the time being!

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #5 –
well the golf has had its first northern ireland mot and it failed!! its got a slight weep coming from the power steering rack so its not exactly easy fixed either however, after looking at both second hand and new racks iv managed to find a new power steering rack on the bay for the same cost as a non-power steering one so im pleased with that result. just a matter of it arriving now so it can be fitted. im also going to use the opportunity to replace all the power steering hoses with mk3 ones i got from a vr6 (not that it matters, theyre only for steering) so the whole system will be new minus the pump.

before the mot some rot was found in the upper part of the jack points behind the front arches so theyve been cut out and patched. also had the under side all wax-oyled to try to keep out any further rot. the gearbox bushes have all been replaced also, making for a sharper gear change. im on the look out at the moment for a weighted shift rod in my local breakers to try make it feel firmer.

im also repainting my winter wheels as i wasnt happy with the finish on them from when they had a quick going over with some alloy paint.

before -


currently -




theyre not finished yet, but its the gun metal grey finish im after. in the photos they dont look too dark but theyre a good bit darker than the silver alloy. theyre not perfect but with the wheels scored and with a few dents (they were off a vento originally, then a trailer and kept round the back of a shed) they never would be without a little welding.

and heres a photo just because :D



well got the new rack and new mk3 pipes in. cant say it feels any different, but then why would it i suppose. finally got my new gti side badges on too so thats made a brave difference to the side of it reckon, and it got a scrub for the retest tonight.

old badge, complete with big scratch -



new badge on. it looks better in person. looks pinkish here for some reason -



how could you fail it? look at its wee face -





well it passed its retest so theres a years ticket on it now. couldnt be happier. also dropped in to b&q and picked up some bolts to follow cope's guide for securing spotlights



no longer am i lighting up tree tops! i also got the last of the rims sanded and primed so once it gets a few coats on it and primed ill throw up some photos. im pleased how theyve come out so far

just a few quick photos of the newly painted rims. its amazing the difference a wee drop of paint does. thats not overspray on the tyres btw, its just the stuff the put around the tyre when theyre fitting them to the rim.





thanks man, at least now with the first sign winter i can throw them on as ill not get another chance until halloween.

looking at getting some powder coating done at the moment for ome parts around the bay. im thinking of the radiator cowling, slam panel and maybe the wiper arms too just to freshen things up. im also trying to work out were to go next with it. i do like oem+ but i dont know were im going with it. need to read some build threads for ideas i think

i think i was standing to right of you when you took that! saw someone out the corner of my eye taking a photo of it. there were some cracking cars about that day. one of my favourites was the left hand drive 2 door jetta in the corner to the far left of that picture. titanic dubs is next, trying to get the golf ready!

fitted a weighted shift rod and it makes a world of difference. got rid of the slight second gear crunch and made every gear change nice and some. feels so much firmer. should have done it ages ago and highly recommend it! also replaced the knock sensor on the front of the head and its so much smoother now. not as juddery as it used to be and plenty of power throughout the rev band which wouldnt have been just as smooth before. the one i took off was in pieces, literally. now looks far better i think. the slam panel isnt quite right in my mind as its a pattern part even though its from vw heritage, it doesnt quite line up with some of the screw holes just 100% but it after some 'tinkering' i got it set right.

all the screw holes got rust proofed as did the welds as i want it to last a brave while. also threw a coat on the bonnet lock but i turned it purple for some reason. it dried clear everywhere else so not too sure what went on there



the grill also sits properly now. its amazing the wee clips from vw heritage made! makes it look far neater imo and they're pence each. if you want your grill to sit right i recommend you get them!

cant see them too well, but they go in behind the grill. i set mine behind the slam panel but i think theyre meant to be on the front. i just did it so that they couldnt pop out as the screw and the grill stop them falling backwards. the spots also point forward now and dot hit trees :D





finally, i got the sunroof seal replaced with the proper one. the one i got from ebay (i know, i know, but i couldnt get anything else even remotely close) was crap and had not only split, but was starting to crumble in the corners. also, it didnt sit right and sat high, very noticeably, even from about 15/20 feet away, so it failed the 6 foot glance test!

before -



after -



it looks far better. if you need a new seal go to heritage and pay the £60, its a far better job!

next on the list is sorting out the new rattle the cars developed so iv ordered new suspension mounts and ill likely be replacing the bushes on the sub frame too, depending on cost. it never seems to end.

since i last updated this the golf has its first 10k service since the engine replacement and few other wee things done. the arb bushes and drop links as well as all the subframe and wishbone bushes have all been replaced. also replaced the front shocks and rubber top mounts with all oem parts in an effort to find and stop a rattle that bugged the life out of me. didnt fix the rattle but sharpened the car up something shocking! never driven a tighter wee car to be honest. goes exactly were its pointed. the rattle in the end was found to be the inner brake pads loose in the caliper and thats now been fixed too for the price of £4. was kicking myself when i found it but hey ho, one of those things. no photos im afraid but you all know what a subframe looks like.

next on the list was a whine from a pump when the car is first started from cold. replaced the water pump with a new one, threw the old alternator on to rule that out and it made no difference and oil pressure seems fine so the next stop is the power steering pump. the one on it is an original part so after 25 odd years (it came off the gti engineering lump) its no wonder its starting to fade. new ones are near £100 so out came the spare and a lick of hammerite.



needs another coat but you get the idea. if this cures it itl do for a wee while whilst i look into a new one.

next this arrived :D



cant wait to egt it fitted but at the same time, its new! fitting it would get it dirty. might leave fitting until the new year and the snow has come and gone. would love the bumper painted again too just to sharpen up the front. iv got new repro fog lights sitting too so the front could get a compete refurb, have to see.

finally, this is how its sitting at the moment, no change from before, just clean.



the list of things iv got to do over christmas includes;

fit electric windows (maybe)
get the foam seals in the air channels behind the dash replaced
put the new alternator back on

went down to a fellas near me to ask his opinion on something and came away with a gearbox. when my box came out the cups etc were all shot to hell so that might account for one or two wee things but now iv got box from a '97 seat inca with only 98k on it. real tight now and being a straight derv the cars a little pokier now. only problem is that the dowel on the end of the speedo doesnt seem to be seated too well as my speed was reading way of (60/65 reading as 40) and now its stopped altogether. ill get a look at it over the next few days.

also used the decent weather today to get the car its mid winter wax so its all shiny now. 

then this arrived today



not too sure if i like it or not, ill have to get it on and see. theres a little movement in the rubber on it so well have to see what happens with it.

also a new sticker.



yeah man it feels good. got it fitted the other day and think ill keep it.



looks a little more modern than the original gti wheel.

today though i got something done which iv been meaning to do since i got the car. in the air distribution box the metal flap that controls the direction of the air has been flapping about when set to demist (the far right setting on the top bar of the heater controls). it was doing nothing major but the rattle used to drive me mad so there were days id put the window down rather than use the heater. striped the dash down this morning and removed all of the bits and pieces to finally get in at it. expecting to see just a few holes i was presented with this -



and this -



most of the foam had gone from heater channel that leads to the dash and what was there came off in my hand when i very lightly rubbed it. on the box itself all of the foam had gone! no wonder it rattled. anyway, set about cutting foam and trying to place it on both sides without having to remove the box completely and came up with this -



its all held together with self adhesive insulation foam and extra sticky number plate pads! works brilliantly, or seems to anyway. fingers crossed it doesnt come off again anytime soon.

not the most professional finish but its well padded and works a treat -
 


all in all its worked well so i cant complain. all i would say is that this is one of the most fiddly jobs iv done in a while and bring patience with you. getting things like the box connected to the air channels again is a torture as is trying to do behind the metal flap when all everything wants to do is stick to each other.

if anyone else is thinking of doing this id suggest maybe a thin sheet of plastic over the three large holes in the flap as air still gets through i used. not huge amounts, but enough to make air come through the holes on the dash even when its set to blow air up the windscreen. id be a way of sealing it up then layer on the foam afterwards. i havent done this as it was after id fitted everything that i thought of it. im all pleased with myself as this was the last wee rattle in the car.

todays effort. got some new pedal rubbers and makes the footwell a lot tidier.



nothing major but one more niggle sorted.

well today i finally got the new grill ready -



also, new lights making some difference between the new and old ones. the front end all jazzed up



also, got some new rear lights

truthfully, i dont know i like them or not. only replaced as my old ones were starting to chip and the tint was coming off. the other side is that it also means the rear end is back to standard.



all that needs done now is the new bumper painted (again, iv already made a balls of it) and a new splitter.

booked in for the mot tomorrow so thought id best throw the winter steels on as theyre not bald. while i was doing that i thought id throw some waxoyl in under the battery tray as i saw some rust when i was sorting the horn a few weeks ago. wasnt too bad unti l i started to rub away the rust with sand paper and found this -



doesnt look too bad but this is it from the battery tray -



all the green/white stuff is vactan rust treatment. all in all pretty gutted about it as its the rot starting to set in so that will need replaced. in the mean time i sanded down the tray and threw in some rust converter, plenty of primer and a cost of paint to spruce it up. on the under side, it got the same treatment with the rust converter and waxoyl.

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #6 –
well i took the golf to work during the week and got a little over excited coming off a roundabout and when i gave the golf the beans it made an odd, muffled bang, to which this was the cause;



luckily the replacement came today so it needs put on. please ignore the state of my rear axle! its in hand and will hopefully be refurbed over the winter. i also found or hopefully fixed, the cause of the leak in my boot. turns out my drivers side rear light seal was missing so that may account for the boot leak. it was me that changed the rears so i must have made a school boy error and forgotten to fit it!! hopefully i can finally get the front bumper changed too.

well got the new exhaust on and thought that was the end of the bad fortune but just for good measure a fresh pain the arse appeared! the golf had been loosing charge, which i put down to a duff battery as it was pretty old. so, got a new battery from tps and threw it in and thought happy days, but now the golf is back to loosing its charge so it seems its not the battery.

removed the fuse from the amplifier in the hope that it was maybe the cause but the car continued to lose its charge. going to have to get in round it with the multimeter to see what the craic is. my guess is its an earth or a problem with the loom as it was always fine before, its only recently its caused problems (the past few months) so with my luck, something will have corroded.

well after a pretty wet few weeks and contending with a water leak, i found that the rear drivers door needed some attention. a new seal from vwheritage was fitted and it seems to be working. i also think the passengers rear door is leaking too but im hoping its just down to a membrane. got one door card done with yacht varnish so ill go round and get the others done too. might also strip out the interior and get it painted again to shy off any signs of rust brought on from the damp. hopefully this will also solve my mould problem. the seat belts and some parts of the seats were green/white with the mould. it was disgusting to say the least but i really didnt want it staining the seat belts.

ive also rented a spot in a shed for the next few months whilst the golf is sorned so this should give me kick in the arse i need to get some stuff done. i also started to waxoyl the underside and i think ive found a little spot of rot so the rest of the underseal is on hold until i get it all checked for more rust. ive also stripped out the sub/amp that i had and going to throw it into the mk4 daily and im going to try and source an oem headunit for the mk2, want to try and keep it factory.

in the meantime today though i got the 'new' bumper out and trial fitted the new fogs. the brackets are from heritage so i thought the fit should be great but im not so sure. that said, it could also be the fogs themselves as they're cheapy copies (bought on ebay and all i saw was the price) so im going to get my stock ones out of the bumpers and put them side by side. im also in two minds about this new bumper. it has a few scores etc on the corners but it has a new coat of paint. my old one has no marks on the corners but the paint is crap so i dont know which one i want to use! anyway, the fogs were pretty gappy.









im hoping its just down to using washers between the bolts/nuts and the metal work but thatl be tomorrows job, as is taking off the old bumper and getting the old fogs out for comparison.

its only a 6/7 minute drive away but not having it in the drive way isn't nice. feels like its been sold :(

today i got a decent bit done. got up the shed still feeling pretty hazy and got the front bumper off.



the splitter is showing off some battle scars that are pretty deep.



the irons that sit in the bumper pretty past it. they were completely rusted all over, very little of the original powder coat was still there



got it split from the plastic and it was even worse.







when it was set upright there were marks all over it, and by marks i mean big dents. the thing wasnt straight at all





and then one of the legs was trying to poke through front of it



needless to say the front end of the car has had some history to it so the spare irons will be replacing them and the originals will be scrapped.

when the spare bumper was broken down there was very little sign of corrosion in comparison. it looked worse than it is and its really only surface rust and came right off with a wire brush. then after a rub down and quick flat back for the odd lumpy bit with the grinder i got this





so now its ready for paint which will hopefully go on tomorrow. going to use either hammerite or rustoleum, might even get adventurous and try to spray it rather than brush. one thats done and the bumper is together again i have fog lights and brackets to put back on but im not too sure which ill use, the new ons or the old ones. the new brackets dont seem to a fantastic fit and they are pretty gappy but i think they can be pressed into the right shape. i also need to get the plastics painted again as the corners on the spare bumper arent amazing were as mine are pretty decent. all in all it wasnt a bad afternoons work and im pretty pleased with the turnout, plus i got to play with my grinder.

well, in quite a hectic end to the week im now back in my mk2 on a daily basis. had to quite rapidly put it together again. currently sitting with my old bumper on complete with scrap iron and no splitter or fogs. ill not go into detail about the cable ties. the new one will hopefully get painted during the week and rebuilt with the refurbed iron and new fogs.

currently sitting like this -



on another note, my rear passenger door is pissing in water along the bottom of the door membrane. looked like this when i got the door card off. bloody plastic bags i reckon



the bit i think is at fault.



spent the morning redoing the seal with some silicon sealant but its still leaking like a sieve so i think i need a new membrane or else pull off the membrane entirely and redo. pretty annoyed about it.

this is what the door card is being sealed in with, seems to do the trick.





at least now both my rear door cards have been sorted :) need to find something to fix that leak

theyre a royal pain! got my new one. crap photo but you get the idea.



it seemed to be ok but at the bottom its being odd. the seal looks like this



the bottom of the new seal looks rough. i went a bit mad with the silicone, which im crap at using. i think theres still some water getting in but ive no idea why. i really caked the door in silicone to make sure its all sealed up so unless theres a little water getting in at the bottom of the seal and its just the damp creeping up? no idea what it is but im reluctant to put the door card backon until i get it sorted.

also have an ongoing mpg/idle issue. unplugged the isv whilst the car was running and it revved nice and smoothly so whipped the isv off and its currently sitting like this



i was expecting the petrol to turn grey but it hasnt done, and inside of the isv looks ok so i dont know whats up. ive got a spare that i got from g60go on here so i might throw that on tomorrow as a test to see if any difference is made. really hope its as simple as this and theres nothing like a vacuum leak about the place. there is an electricity leak in that the car wont go after 3 or 4 days of sitting, i just hope it doesnt tie back to this!

well its been a month since i last updated this but a number of things have happened. the golf has had a coat of paint on the bumper to try to freshen it up but its come out pretty rash to be honest. rattle can and cold weather make for crap painting so with that in mind its hopefully going to see the painter during the week to get done professionally for the show season. currently though its sitting down at a garage to get set up correctly as its lucky to get 25 mpg at the moment and runs so rich the fumes alone could run my mk3!

my list of things to do consists of the following;

 - get the golf set up properly (done)
 - get the bumper painted
 - get a small patch weld done on the bottom the drivers sill
 - get the rear axle off and refurbed
 - get the bushes and potential rear shocks replaced
 - get underneath sealed up properly
 - get the BBS RA's out and scrubbed up. No money to refurb them so a good scrub is all theyl get with a new set of tyres

a busy few weeks ahead but i've got until the 5th of April and the use of my mates shed so it should be ok. the golf is also moving from my rented sheds to my mates permanently as im not happy with were it is currently. its all go!

got the golf back yesterday!! running a little better so im going to swap out the throttle body as its the final piece of the puzzle that hasnt been changed. the front bumper is also looking extremely sharp. was at it this morning so i got a couple of very quick photos before it goes into the shed to get to work on the rear end.





very pleased with the result! keen to get the electrics sorted now and the rear end sharpened up. curious to see what state my rear beam in the as last i saw it it was orange so no doubt its rotten somewhere, just hope it survives the dipping process at the powder coaters!

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #7 –
having spent pretty much the day up at the car today i finally feel like im getting somewhere!

got the rear axle off, stripped down with bushes etc all removed and now is ready to go to the powder coaters. also got the rear suspension stripped down with the springs also heading for a dose of powder coat. the tope mounts were pretty goosed and had big chunks of rubber missing and plenty of rust on the metal work so ive got new ones sitting ready to go in. turns out the rear shocks had also failed so again, ive got new ones coming and will be here on monday hopefully. the rubber bushes themselves that sit in the turrets are all ok as they were replaced last year at some stage from what i remember. regardless, theyre grand so are staying in.

the rear axle itself was pretty rusty when it was taken out, it really needed some attention. its a job i've always said i wanted to do but have been putting off because the car needed to be off the road and the knowledge it would be a complete ball ache and to be honest its delivered. this job is not one i want to do again just because its been a pain. an hour each evening isnt enough at all and due to that, its taken all week to get it were it is now. that aside, the new bushes are sitting go in one it comes back from the powder coaters and they due a replacement.

the old ones



finally out



the good news is that other than the crappy axle, the underside is in pretty reasonable condition. there are no manor signs of big work needing done. and also solved the mystery rattle that sounded like the exhaust. turned out to be the heat shield.





new tank straps are maybe needed though



i've also taken a few other bits off that needed some love like the wiper arms and wind deflector on the sunroof



finally, ive got my throttle body off as the car came back from trying to get set up correctly but im not convinced its right so im going to try another throttle body as its the only part that i havent changed or looked at. got the old one off but the gasket came to bits so im going to order a new one so an air leak cant be to blame on refitting. fitting a new throttle body will take no time at all so its no big thing really.

so thats where were at currently at, looking forward to getting up on wednesday evening to start looking at scrubbing under the golf to prep for new under coat. with a little luck ill have it ready over a few nights and by early the following week i can start putting everything back together having been totally renewed. i know that no one will ever really see the work thats gone into it over the past few weeks but at least i know that its been done and done, hopefully, well.

well today i got a few things done, nothing major. ive not got the heat shields back from the blaster yet so ive not started to rebuild the rear axle yet. the suspension though, is now together and fitted.

nice shiny new springs



nice shiny reassembled suspension



on a note about the shocks, they were bought via ebay (carparts4less i think it was) but when they came the boxes had eurocarparts logos all over them. it had me thinking that maybe its an outlet of some sort, not that it really matters.

nice shiny rear axle. looks totally new and very happy.



on a bad note, whilst i was lifting back some of the original sealant to recover underneath, i came across this at the end of the sill



thats on the drivers side and theres the same again on the passenger side. theres also a small hole under, roughly, the drivers seat so theres a drop of welding needing done. raging, but one of those things. once its done hopefully ill be back on track. ive got just under 3 weeks left to have it all squared away!!

the heckblende :D ive some red tint coming to try and restore it back to red again



gave the heckblende a rub down with some white spirit to try to degrease it. ive got red tint spray sitting to try and restore the red back into it. you can see the wee cracks at the screw holes but as my number plate screw holes have been blanked over so ill not need them anyway.





this is a close up of the difference in colour. with some luck the spray ive got sort that tomorrow if i can get some tape.



looking forward to getting it sorted and fitted!

as for the golf, the wee bits like the heat shields etc have all been sand blasted and painted so theyre ready to go back onto the car. got my bbs ra's out too and washed so once i get the tyres sorted theyre ready for the car!! its very slowly coming together

the golfs finally done!! just needs a few wee things for the show but the hard works done.

new wiper caps and freshly painted arms



new tank straps





the old crap ones that turned out to be totally rotten



nice new pipes and shiney, freshly painted





couldnt be happier with it.

just need my heckblende done and my ra's thrown on and im set.

how the list sits now

- get the golf set up properly (done)
- get the bumper painted (done)
- get a small patch weld done on the bottom the drivers sill (done)
- get the rear axle off and refurbed (done)
- get the bushes and potential rear shocks replaced (done)
- get underneath sealed up properly (done)
- get the BBS RA's out and scrubbed up. No money to refurb them so a good scrub is all theyl get with a new set of tyres

RA's are now back on with some nice new tyre that are finally the right size. just a wash now and im ready for sunday!!



forgot all about updating this! got to the show and the car looked grand on the basis that there were no mk2s nearby to compare it to!!



a good day was had by all. after seeing some very tasty vws over the course of the day i decided to go very oem with my own. first out were the rusty hydraulic rams under the bonnet. after gathering up parts from around europe ive now got a standard set up. the rubber grommet that sits into the slam panel and holds the bonnet stay had to come from greece and the bonnet stay itself was on back order from classic parts in germany. after digging out all the old bolts and giving them a lick of paint to freshen them up. the Golf is pretty much as it left the factory less the CD player and corrado steering wheel and the engine itself. i think im starting to get quite fussy about it.

anyways a few photos that dont show an awful lot



ive also starting the rip out the alarm that was fitted back in the early 90's and doesnt work. after fitting new A pillars i got the microphones out too so inside is getting nice and tidy.



ive also got my club sticker fitted at long last!



how the Golf is sitting at the moment





next on the list is finding the air leak thats maing the car run like a bag of poop. ive fiddled and fettled and got no were with it and im not sure what else could be causing it so im going to have to leave it in somewhere. watch this space!!

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #8 –
cheers mate, appreciate it!

after a 350 mile round trip i picked these up!





new kick plate goes it tomorrow and the seat has been dismantled to repair my own worn out bolsters. things are coming together!

now worries mate, we need to get a catch up!

well the story goes like this. i started to dismantle the seat i got from the south and it was, well, difficult to do gently. i got it taken apart without any real incident but i didnt want to take my own seat apart and run the risk of damaging it. this made me think and i got on the phone to an auto trimmer and decided to take both the seats to him with the good bolsters from the other seat. at the moment they look like this -

the passenger seat has split fabric and the drivers has two collapsed bolsters.





and there is a repaired split on the drivers seat too but i didnt take a photo of that.

with the seats out i figured it would be a good opportunity to sort the floor out. its been a water trap over the winter and i wanted to try and make sure that there was no bad rot going on and to give the floor a fresh coat of paint.

with the carpet up i was presented with this



it looks ok, just a little dirty. i scrubbed the floor and gave it a hoover to let me see exactly what was going on. all in all it didnt seem to bad and after getting a good clean and scrub with the wire brush i came across this as the bottom of the B pillar over the top of the sill.



absolutely raging but in reality what can be done now that its done? so the welder will hopefully come out in the next day or so if my mate can get down to do it.

once that was given a clean up the floor got a good thick layer of vactan rust converter and then a run over hammerite once it had dried.





now it just needs to dry and then i can get my carpet back down properly. on the upside, the carpet will be immaculate once the seats go back in again! the golf is also going down to a local fella who can apparently work wonders with early injections engines, he specialises in 80s/90s porsche so with a little luck ill get it back and itl be grand!

aye i rang him but he was very busy and couldnt do it for a week or two. that fella in carrrick was very good mind, but then that other fella may be cheaper.

finally back to a sense of normality!



got a fancy new slam panel to replace my non genuine one today. my original one wasnt in great shape, it was rusty and it was annoying me so i bought a non genuine one from vwheritage but the grill clips dont line up exactly with it. the new slam is also starting to show signs of rust here and there so i took an old one from the shed and got it powder coated when my steels were getting done.

this will be a wee job for some point over the next few weeks as theres no rush on it



also, these are the newly powder coated rims. not sure if i like the colour or not, it seems very dark,







i might stick them onto my mk3 daily as it needs tyres but in the mean time i need to work out what im going to do with the centres.

this is how its sitting at the moment. ignore the water runs at the corner of the bumper, theyve now been taken care of :thumbs:



look what arrived today! got odd looks when i got excited about it!

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #9 –
well the past few weeks with the Golf have been rough, but by no fault of the car. with the wedding approaching back at the end of july i decided that i wanted the bonnet and passenger side of the car painted so i passed the car to my mate who sprays and after 6 six weeks got it back with what is the worst paint job iv ever come across. he'd just painted over the top of some surface rust, completely untreated, left runs and drops in paint, orange peel ive never seen the likes of all down the side and then the sills werent even touched, after asking him to repair two small rust bubbles.

as you can imagine i went spare and its now away to a proper painters to have the complete poop job repaired. with a little luck ill get it back next week or next weekend.

all is not lost though. the tray under the bonnet needed painted or treated in some shape and when i was up chatting the painter i grabbed it out of the car. this was mid clean -



and then after a quick going over with the heat gun. it has a crack in it and i melted a small portion of the cross hatching so im looking for a new one at the moment, if theyre not NLA that is.



it looks wet there but its bone dry. the heat gun worked wonders!

once i get the golf back again ill get some photos up, really cant wait!

Guess whose back from the painters!!! we'll after a long and drawn out ball ache which ill not go into now the crap paintwork down my passenger side has been rectified!

New paint after the first polish and wax!







Got some photos down in the docks after Saturday's Titanic Dubs in Belfast. somewhere ive been meaning to go down to for photos for a long time so after the show me and my mate nipped round the back of one of the warehouses.

First in to the mk2/mk1 section!









once i got back from the show i got a look under the bonnet and thought it about time to stick in the new powder coated slam panel. once the old one was removed i thought why stop there and decided to tart up the front chassis legs and cross member. So i went from those photos above to this in less than 24 hours.



old cross member out and off to the powder coaters



fresh paint into the legs. found a small amount of rot on the top of the drivers leg so that needs a small weld. other than that, all is well!





just waiting on the powder coaters getting back to me and the front end will see some new cross member bushes and new front engine mount. one more thing off the list!

cheers mate, might try and blag my way into the yard one of these days but not too sure how the security staff would like that.

well after the little bit of rain we've had recently ive found the painter hasnt quite sealed up the door membranes correctly, in fact, he hadnt even fitted one to the rear passengers side so after i got the silicone out, this is how it looked



not the most visually appealing job as i had to make do with what i had in the shed but it seems to be holding and will do for the time being.

im also starting to get bits and pieces back from the powder coaters so hopefully the Golf will be together again in the next few days. looking forward to seeing the new slam panel, new bonnet catch and chrome bolts finally fitted

some lovely powder coated parts! the freshly treated slam and new bonnet catch -





a wee drop of hammerite to seal up cover the horn stay



looking forward to getting my cross member back and fitted, hopefully the end of the week will see the bits back and fitted to the Golf again.

Just standard ones Paul, a mix of Febi and Meyle.

Got the radiator support back from the powdercoaters! very, very pleased and its now all together again connected to the subframe and on the car





Love the way the powdercoat makes the part numbers and the markings stand out



also chucked some hammerite onto the radiator supports and a few bolts. Im sure it will come off again soon enough but it will do until replacements are sorted





and finally, fitted back to the car. The rain has been pelting down all day so i've not got the radiator back on again yet but once its ready to go on then the front end will be right behind it.



getting there!

So the Golf made it out of storage about a 4 weeks ago and theres been a right bit sorted on it.

Firstly the tops of the front chassis legs needed done. There was rot under the airbox and then a small hole at the back of the battery tray so they were cut out and replaced, not by me all the same. Unfortunately ive no photos of that but all was sorted.

Once that was done the engine bay was cleaned which was long overdue.



Really pleased with how it turned out, there now is no excuse for getting the rest of the bay all sorted!

bad news came on friday night though when i gave up on me and couldnt keep the car running. In the end it turned out to be a TCI module on the top of the ecu so an easy fix. All in all pretty happy with it at the moment. this is how its currently sitting.



please ignore the dirt on the back of it! got my NOS rear badge fitted and really happy with it!



also, got my GTI Engineering badge on it so im very pleased with it at present. All ready for the start of the show season here next weekend!



thatd be good. theres a few that are headed down from our part of the world, a few t25s, mk2 polo maybe as well as the jetta and my mk2. well see what the craic is. tempted to do the drag day but at £65 its not cheap. would need to camp up there somewhere.

got a few small mods for the Golf the other day. Thanks to MalC i now have these -



the plan was to keep the car oem or oem+ so hopefully this will be in keeping with this. the stereo is staying where it is as its a period Blaupunkt plus the car isnt a track car, its fast road, so with that in mind my centre console went from this -



to this-



I now am waiting on a metal surround coming that fits nicely into the old ash tray location so hopefully in a week or so it will be here. Im also waiting on a newer 12 volt plug coming so i can relocate the cigarette lighter, just not sure where to put it yet.

anyway, it looks like it might be a tight fit but cant wait to get them in and working now!



Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #10 –
Quote from: MalC
gonna look good :) cheaper than a votex console !!!

Your not kidding!!

got this the other day. better than my old raggy cover that its had for a long time and it was only £5. happy at that, just needs a clean.



After a week my gauge arrived! very pleased, mine is the ashtray blank from here - http://www.gakmotorsports.com/gaugepanels.htm

The dials are all in and just needing fitting



once they were in and the loom finished hen next thing was sorting the lighting. Separate loom made for them and then wired into the illumination on the heater panel. Let there be light!



Next up was just running wires through the bulk head and into the right sensors and putting the lower dash back together. all in all pretty straightforward. this is the finished article!





very pleased with myself if i do say so myself. putting the dash back together again kind of led to me removing the old alarm system that was fitted to the car back in the early 90s at some point. its never worked whilst ive had it and ive not had fobs for it so its been asking to be removed since i got the car. pretty simple to take out as all the wiring had been spliced into the existing loom rather than cutting and removing sections of wire so it wasnt the pain the hole id long imagined it to be. anyway, the offender;



The only bad point of late is that my hall sender on the distributor appears to have packed in. now im without a distributor as im waiting for the new dizzy to arrive so despite the car begging to be taken for a run in the good weather it has had to stay in the drive. with a little luck the new dizzy will come either tomorrow or saturday as theres a local show on this sunday, fingers crossed!

New dizzy collected today and it went from here



to here



(the keen eyed will spot i stuck my other dizzy cap on as its done no miles and new bosch one will be kept as a spare with the new rotor arm) once the timing was set (very ish as ive no light) so the car sounded like it was running ok it went for a spin and ran the very best! pleased finally that all is well and with some luck itl do the 120 round mile trip in the morning to a wee local show.

also, when hoking through the tool box of spares i have i found a rear boot lid i forgot i had! well pleased as its now filled the hole i had in my parcel shelf.



all in all another job done!

The jobs just seem to go and go. The dash had a wee crack in it around the clocks, not that noticeable, but something i wanted to change so got another dash from my friend. all well and good and got new speakers to throw in at the same time as the screws were seized and wouldnt come out so it was far easier with the dash out. All go and the dash came out without issue after an hour which was good. All going to plan until i spotted what i long suspected, rust and rot along the base of the windscreen. not the worst ive ever seen but either way it needed sorting as the rain was starting to come in down the back of the dash. that spotted, a repair panel is on its way and the Golf was driven to the body shop this morning in the state below. some craic.



well, ive not updated this for a long time and theres been quite a bit going on. firstly, this is the extent of the rot in the bulkhead, its just been treated here whilst it was waiting to get done





its not the worst but it was enough to let the water down the back of the dash in the wet so that patched, treated and painted was £100. very happy at that. it did cost me two windscreens though. the original broke on the way out, not surprisingly, and then the second hand one i picked up (all i could get on short notice) broke on the way in. still went drag racing with tomo all the same but thats another story! got a new one off the insurance in the end for £50 fitted so things werent all bad. new dash went in and i went back to the original steering wheel too so the cars the most original its been in years and years.

next up was the MOT and that was craic. turns out the front brakes had been cooked at the drag racing so they needed changing but that was the least of my worries. there was rot in the floor that needed sorting as well as a few patches in the back end at the bottom of the plinth and round the towing eye. in the end it took two goes to get it through, dont think its past an mot first time round since 2011!

now with a full years ticket on it it just needed a tidy here and there so the other night i spent an hour or so resealing the rear passenger door where water was getting in a little, enough to dampen the carpet anyway. one less job to do and with the good weather were finally getting ive been using it as a daily for the past week to dry out the last of the carpet. In the past few days theres also been new drop links put on as the rubber had perished on mine and ive finally got a new cam belt cover. meant to get photos of the work as i went but never thought at the time. its getting dark at half 7 now so work in the evenings its a bit rushed!

New on the list are a belt change but this can wait until spring, and the headlining is starting to drop so that needs fixed too. dont know what to do about that one if im honest. would love to keep the car oem and stick a new lining in but with them not being manufactured my only option is to replace it with a looky likey or just acoustic carpet it. dont want to replace with a second hand one as the same thing could happen just as quickly as this one has appeared. want to try to keep the car as original as possible but in this case it doesnt seem likely. will just have to wait and see what i can dig up, or maybe by then heritage will be making replacement linings.

Its getting to that time of year the Golf is going away for winter. Our drive isnt a great place to keep the car as its open and damp seems to gather in it over the winter with sun  "uncommon" ly getting at it. With that in mind ive given it a good clean with a decent layer of wax so its going to go away shiney!







Once new year comes about ive found a possible solution for the headliner, but more importantly, ive had a cunning plan. Thinking of moving the wing aerial to the roof in form of a bee sting on the basis that im already on my third aerial in 3 1/2 years worth of ownership and its pissing me off so i think that moving the aerial when the roof liner is out might be a good idea. seems pretty straightforward to do provided i measure where the hole needs to go correctly.

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #11 –
meant to put these up before the car went off to storage. got a new horn, the proper one this time, it even clips in properly and everything



also, after many months of running without a belt cover, i now have one again. tidys things up nicely but it makes the rest of the bay look dirty again ffs



got the golf out of storage a few days ago and finally got out to do some work since its been dry. It started by turning this -



to this



For my next trick i got the roof liner out. this was reasonably easy and even managed to get it out without damaging any of the clips. unfortunately the roof liner wasnt so lucky but in my defence im reasonably confident that it was damaged prior to me fiddling with it. either way, its not in several bits





hopefully it can be fixed with some fibre glass but the whole thing is so fragile i doubt this will be possible. going to keep an eye for a replacement and maybe recover the replacement with the new fabric.

for those wanting a part number for a gti roof liner -



next i took the scariest tool to the golf ive done in a right while



and made this



despite this i finished with this im rather impressed with myself!



next the roof liner needs recovered, belts need done along with the track rod ends and one or two other house keeping things! roll on the show season!

today was busy enough if only for an hour or so. hopefully have the headlining fixed in that its all in one bit now! sorry for the poor photos







Now i know the photos aren't great but i forgot to get a photo once the fibreglass dried. next im going to give it a very quick sand just to take the rough edge off and then i can get the original 'fabric' out and surface sanded down ready for the glue for the new liner.

all in all im pretty pleased with myself even though it looks pretty rash considering the headliner was in bits and ive not used fibre glass before. when i lifted it up off the ground it didnt make any nasty cracking sounds and i was able to hold and move it about with one hand instead of trying to juggle multiple bits. well see what happens tomorrow. if all goes well it *may* be back in the car again.

today has been a busy day, took the fabric off the liner got it sanded down and the new fabric on and back in the car. taking the fabric off gave me this -



it was amazing how easy it was to take it off, just peeled back with little to no resistance, it really had had it. upon getting a wire bit for the drill and spending ages getting it just right it was sanded back to this



this did show some battle cars from the past where the various things had bounced off the roof as well as some damage from the drill bit. i also had the other side of the breaks to deal with



so duct tape to the rescue! just used it as a way to hold the parts together.



after applying it liberally i had a moment and thought it could peel from the liner as it was like eggshell or else the glue wouldnt stick properly so went round it with a small wire brush and gave it a good scrub. this did two things. it roughed up the shiny side so hopefully the glue would adhere more easily and it also forced the tape down into all the little contours and it stuck far better afterwards. cant see too clearly here but it made a huge difference



now there are some scenes missing here but after applying liberal spray glue to both the new fabric and the liner it took myself and a willing volunteer to fit it. once it was on and cut to fit then forced the contours of the liner it began to take shape. once the fabric was fitted and the sunroof etc was all cut out i had this!



very impressed with it so far. next came the refitting once it had some time to sit and dry. apologies for the poor photos but its not quite done yet so didnt get any really good ones just yet.











looks far more impressive in real life and pretty oem which was the theme all along. once i get the surround for the sunroof winder done and the last of the grab handles in ill get some better photos. very happy so far though.

not updated this for a wee while and to be honest not much has happened, just done one or two small things. firstly, got a replacement pressure gauge so no more foggy gauges! only problem is that it doesnt fit in with the others but it certainly do in the mean time!



also gave the engine bay a clean. need to do something with the wiring but not sure quite how to go about it, need to get some wrap



also got some photos done by tomo pattison (shelby 427 1965). he did a cracking job!







Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #12 –
Quote from: Monkey
Good work, especially with the headlining, that's a job I'm not looking forward to!

i was dreading it but its not actually that bad, just fiddly. make sure you have a second pair of hands to help though. also get good glue, or youl be doing it again in a few weeks.


dont know if anyone has spotted but my drivers rear sill cover has a big crack in it so ive got a replacement from a breakers. the problem is its grey, going on white! spent a wee bit of time to bring it back up to where it should be.

first up was the heat gun. the bits either side have been treated with it and the bit in the middle hasnt yet.



and the finished article after being treated with some Poor Boys Trim Restorer! love that stuff. dries very quickly sometimes but if its applied when the trim is still warm it seems to work better.





now i know how easy the arches and sills are to apply but the problem i have is at each end they are starting to splay out from the body. i think theres maybe some rust or rot going on but im not sure, so rather than take off the sills and then have a small fit im taking it down to my local place to get them to do it, that way its in the right place to put right anything thats found. fingers crossed, it goes in on friday so well see whats said/found.

well folks this has been an expensive few months for the Golf, or rather, the Golf has cost me a fecking fortune! Got the Golf dropped down to have the sills repaired. I knew with the trim not sitting just as it should be that something likely wasnt going to be as it should so i primitively took it the body shop to have them check it over. when they sent me the pictures and then called down to see the state of them i wasnt best pleased. The drivers side was rotten most of the way along on both the inner and outer sill. The bodywork was full of gaping holes that you could fit your hand into. The rot was also eating into the body strengtheners that side within the sill and starting to work its way into the floor. I nearly fell over when i saw the work needing done. The passenger side wasnt just as bad but it needed extensive patching along its length. In terms of parts a new sill was needed and some sheet metal but the real kick was the time spent on fabrication to replace rot cut out. I have loads of photos to put up when i get them from the body shop, serious work went into it. whilst the golf was down with them they said i had an oil leak. now this ive known about and its more a slight weep rather than a full blown leak but leaking oil the engine isnt good. this was next on the list.

Just after getting the golf back it was MOT time. the underside was caked in underseal and rust preventative to cover the recent work and the engine bay cleaned and pressure washed to hide any evidence of the oil leak and for the first time the Golf passed a Northern Irish MOT test first time in! cant believe it. going back through the MOT records for England too it turns out thats the first time its sailed an MOT in about 6/7 years. Very happy!

Once the car was back home again i got a look around it and it turned out the oil was leaking from the back passengers side of the head. there was also a leak out of the top of the gearbox where the selector rod actually goes into the gearbox. both of these meant the head had to come off and have the gaskets etc all changed. luckily Euro car parts had an offer on and i was able to buy a few bits and pieces from them at 50% off which helped, the rest coming from online suppliers, only replacing with OEM spec parts or genuine of course. Can't skimp on a head. Anyway, after the work was carried out i now have a golf that runs as it did before, but now i have the piece of mind that the arse isnt going to fall out if it or the engine overheat and go bang. I took it for a 300 mile round trip a few days later and it ran faultlessly, really did me proud and according the MFA managed 50mpg. i think this close to 45mpg after doing some sums but even still, for a 25 year old car im a happy owner despite being about £850 out of pocket ...

it didnt feel like a very good price when i lifted it out of the bank, savings account looks somewhat bare now but your right, at least i know its been done. the sills are hopefully the last big bit of body work needing looking at and so to be honest another year or so of leaving them could have spelled the end of the car for a while as it was starting to get into everywhere. as for the head work, the engine was only rebuilt a few years ago so id have thought it would last a little longer. turns out the leak was down to the oil and water return at the back of the head that sit next to each other. no mixing or over heating at all, just a wee blip in the gasket it seems.

ok so finally got the photos of the sill rebuild. these may or not be in the right order but ill do my best!

















this was the start of the patching then

















the building of the lip at the bottom of the sill

































Im very happy to have all the work done. dont think those are all in the right order but they were all taken by about three different folk which doesnt help! you can also see a few old repairs in the past that needed rectifying too. really thought id seen the last of this type of work but now the beetle is getting the same treatment!

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Monkey
Good work, not an easy job :thumbs:

im afraid i cant take any credit, the body shop did all the work to it.

this is the stuff i coated the inside of the sills in, cavity wax. not used it before but im assured that its the dogs nuts



went up the other week and took the alternator out to get the bearings done. it looks a bit sad sitting amongst the caravans.



got my alternator back! very happy. £55 for new bearings, new voltage regulator, new bolts/contacts and a spruce up! just needs fitted now.



well with the show season now upon us ive had the Golf out of storage and got a few small house keeping problems sorted. Got the new alternator in so were now charging correctly and without the bearing hanging out of the thing! also got my 'new' old first aid kit fitted.



also got the last of old wiring loom for the tow bar out of the car too. been putting it off ages and to be honest id forgotten about it, wlays meaning to get rid of it all the same. was a pretty brutal job, wasnt soldered on or anything, just held in with scotch locks but on the upside it meant it was easily removed.



also got the polisher round the car for the first time, great job. really thrilled with the results.







not bad for a 26 year old car!

todays effort saw me finally getting round to removing some overspray from the real botched paint job that a mate did as a favour about 18 months ago. granted, the side of the car got sorted very soon afterwards at a proper paint shop but the overspray in the in the door shuts was never sorted.

forgot to get before photos but it started out completely matt right from where the door meets the pillar right over the top and down to the bottom of the door. started with a rub down with the clay bar to try and remove the worst of the overspray, but it was really rough and the paint hard so it didnt do too much. this is how it looked after that.



next i got some 1000 grit and then 2000 grit sand paper to take the rest of the rough off.



he next step was to get the cutting compound on. the only thing i had was meguiars 205 cutting compound. due to the location of the overspray i couldnt get the orbital polisher onto it so it all was done by hand, rubbing and rubbing and rubbing.

after two hours this was the result.







now its not perfect, there are loads of wee bits in the folds and recesses that i havent got to yet but its miles better than it was, luckily. should have done this ages ago and its finally the last of the legacy left by the woeful 'paint job' that was done all those months ago.

the bad news is that this is just the first of two doors that needs done, and i need another hour or two at the first to have it how i want it. be worth it in the end all the same!

went outside last night and spent a while on the second door. it didnt seem to be as bad but was harder to shift which was odd but any how,





came across some more bad news and found my roof gutter has split. right from the c to b pillar, so itl need repaired. will have to find something thatl bond the rubber and not need redoing.



good news is that i got this git off this morning!



which my wheel has gone from this -



to this -



absolutely thrilled!! ive had this wheel for ages but couldnt fit it but finally, its in!! this is the wheel they all should have had throughout their life i reckon. best looking wheel vw ever did for the mk2. i might biased though, back in 1999 this was the wheel that was in my dads old GL and always swore that if i ever got a mk2 it had to have that wheel. now mine does!

next on the list is tidy up my wiring loom in the engine bay and sort out the roof gutter.

also took a run down at the weekend to Tomo and got some photos

this is the vw dealers my beetle came out of back in 1975







started to clean up the engine bay a little. started with the loom and getting it tidied. had to take off the old tape that was there. half was glued to everything it touched and the rest flaked off like eggshell.

didnt get a before but this is miles and miles better that it had been. no more bare wire







the most awkward bit was getting it all then tied together and mounted back onto the mounts that sit in the bulkhead. all is tidied away now and theres no more sagging wiring loom. makes a right difference to the appearance of the engine bay.

after that this came out -



this is part of the dip dim wiring and keeps popping out of its retaining bracket. dont have that problem anymore. next is tidying the plumbing that keeps the ISV going and going to throw fresh paint over the rocker cover.

took the rocker cover off earlier and got a coat of satin black VHT paint over it. in reality it seems to have come out matt but hey ho, still looks better than before and itl do until i get it powdercoated.

what the wife doesnt know wont hurt! i was warned off the oven earlier so had to wait until she went out!







its since had all the bits and pieces fitted back to it again less the ISV. im waiting on a new breather pipe and rubber support coming from vwheritage. once that arrives ill need to get them back on to make the car mobile again! makes a right difference to the engine.

Re: 1991 8v GTI - GTI Engineering RE1900

Reply #14 –
got home last night stuck the new pipework and isv holder on. think its made a right difference to the engine bay. still needs a few other wee things tidied but itl get there. still waiting on my new rear badge to arrive but hopefully itl be tomorrow.



new rear badge! cant see too well here but the new one looks 100% better than the old.



trial fitted it earlier but its not sitting just as cleanly as id like. need to get where the badge sat cleaned up properly and some new grommets. the badge is from heritage and meant to be genuine vw but it definitely doesnt fit just as well i think and the wee lugs on the back arent just 100% in the same place but they do line up with the holes in the body. still tidies up the rear all the same.



happiness is restored at long last! finally found a new gauge in the same style a the others and this one isnt fogged up permanently!



a quick job turned into a massive fooking faff. i got rather cross buts its nearly done. swapped out the crap looking copper pipe cut in for proper cooling pipes. also swapped out the metal coolant pipe for a new Febi one as well. makes a right difference to the look of the bay but a big ball ache because the il filer, radiator cowling and countless plugs all needed to come off.

before -



after -



replaced the sprung clips with jubilee clips were i had sizes to do so to make life easier in the future. unfortunately i had to cut one of the small hoses that runs off the bottom end of the metal pipe to the pump and didnt have the odds to make up a new one that would fit as it should so now im waiting on a new one coming. it just didnt want to come off and when i saw inside the pipe i saw why - pure rust, so maybe swapping it out wasnt a bad thing. also pulled a wire off the connection for the oil pressure switch on the side of the heat so need to fix that now too. another job for another day.

an impromptu meet



got the oil pressure switch wired up again, fiddled with the wire off the oil temperature on the sump so it doesnt pop off at random intervals and tighened up the power steering pump so all in all were doing rightly. had the wee ones, the wife and all the associated bits and pieces babies come with stuffed into the car for a run to dublin zoo on saturday. after a 250 odd mile round trip we got there and back without issue and achieved about 47/48 mpg. really happy at that as the passat doesnt do a huge leap better and its a 1.9 tdi! didnt skip a beat!

when i got back i figured it was as good a time as any to change the door seal on the rear passenger door. had it sitting in the boot for ages and forgot about it. also threw some vactan rust treatment into the cracks and crevices that the seal covers. its great this stuff, kills and ruts it touches





also, on an odd side note i broke the poor pin. leaned out of the window to see where the wheels were positioned when i was putting the car onto a ramp and caught it on my shoulder. new ones ordered!



came across these when i was sorting out images. did some drag racing last summer. brilliant days craic but it meant the head gasket needed doing and a wee weep emerged in the days afterwards. if id have known the state of the sills when i was throwing it down the track i maybe would have thought twice!!

















Check your fuel lines!! I knew that my lines into the bay needed looking at but didnt realise how badly!

the fuel feed is down to the strengthener and has small cracks appearing along its length





the return isnt much better!





theyre very firm and feel a bit fragile to be honest. new lines have now been ordered and the car wont be driven until they are replaced. need to check the remainder under the car now to make sure theyre safe as well.

noting exciting tonight, just whilst im waiting on the new fuel lines arriving i threw the new kick plate in.

before and after





new fuel lines in!



shocking to see the old ones. they really were at their end!





thats the same pipe at opposite ends. the cracking was through the inner and then into the outer. shocking!

this really isnt very exciting but it is a continuation of a theme!! replaced the fuel filter and did the fuel lines under the car at the same time. they really were in a bad way and must be the original ones as they were sporting their west germany stamps. one was so bad the metal crimp clip thingy that held them had rusted into nothing and was able to be picked off bit by bit by my finger nail. not good!! ive had to order more hose to do the ends of the lines between the tank and the pump but once it arrives then all the rubber hoses that can be got at will have been changed. the tank needs dropped to get at the ones on top so that might wait until the car is off the road in the winter.

this looks far more impressive in the flesh.



the bad thing about being under the car is that you find things. i was poking about at some under seal that was starting to peel as i thought it made sense being under the car with the axle stands out already and all. i was rubbing back at anything that looked past its best, coating it in vactan and then covering that with a very liberal application of hammerite stone chip when i saw a very small bit poking down just in from the sill. on pulling the under seal back i found this.



how wonderful. back to the welders.

the changing of hoses continues and the only hose that had to be bought specifically arrived and went on. for reference for anyone else doing the same job, this is the only one that needs bought and can be from VW Heritage, 7mm at one end and 11mm at the other. the remainder of the hoses can all be bought as generic hoses, no pint spending big money when it isnt needed. just ensure that your buying ethanol proof (or as much as they can be) hoses.



Quote from: bacardincoke
Just read through the entire post from beginning to end Chris... Epic, car's just getting better and better. Keep the updates coming, they're mainly responsible for me getting my finger out after 7 years!

thanks, it taken a long time to get it to here and theres always something needing done!

Quote from: cupracraig
i'll be taking notes for the fuel pipe replacements for mine! nice work!

thanks, well worth doing i think. truthfully im annoyed at myself for letting it get so bad and not doing it sooner!

also got my rust issue sorted. right through the floor with some rust staining



patch in then coated with the usual rust stuff and a good coat of paint over the top.



hard to beat. theres two more suspect looking rust scabs under the back seat about the size of a 50p that need addressed but as they sit over the fuel tank it will need dropped out so that will be an october job when the car comes off the road for the winter. that will also let me do the fuel lines at the top of the tank which i cant currently get at so it will do jobs in one.

taking in a wee show at the DeLorean factory, even got a few wee laps of the old test track.





the journey back saw a problem start to reoccur. so, to cut a long story short ive been having some trouble with the running of the car for the past month or so. at speed (70-80) in fth and especially 5th, the car was missing, felt very like a fuelling issue but having just done the lines and filter i knew that they likely wernt the cause. i also changed the pump for a new one in the hope that was the cause. although it turned out not to be, im glad i did because the plastic bracket that screws the pump on was cracked and was only a matter of time before it began to leak and the screws themselves were in a really bad way. also, the strainer on the pump was missing which added to my alarm. that said, all of that has now been fixed so theres some solace in that.

the coil, plugs, dizzy arm and cap etc were all swapped out to no avail but again, they needed doing anyway other than the cil but i suppose i have a spare now. in the end, it turned out to be a faulty MAF. surprised at this to be honest but on taking it apart i can see why.



the carbon tracks were well worn and past their best. unfortunately only a second hand part could be found so ill be looking for a nos one from now on. not entirely trustworthy of second hand parts, especially 25 year old electrics.

as its now MOT time as well i threw on some new shoes as my current ones need tyres but would rather get my 15s refurbed and fitted. spent a wee while polishing them up again as theyve been lying a while.



looking better





went from this



to this







not keen on them. the RAs will be going back on once they get refurbed.