Chris' Purple GTI

In September I picked up my first MK1. It is a 1981 Tin-top 1.6 GTI. It was a UK import in 1998. It was originally black but it was restored when it arrived here and painted purple.   When I got it there was no service history or knowledge of any work carried out.

Ok so the bad points…

Somebody went wild in Halfords clearance bin and bought everything they could find that was yellow. All of the original GTI red trim has been replaced with big bird yellow. It looks absolutely horrendous and it is all going to go!!
The seats have been retrimmed in black Pleather with yellow piping. There are yellow mats, gaiters , window winders and dash knobs. Replacement parts are on the way!!! Luckily it is all cosmetic bits, no yellow carpet or headliner!
The electrics are in need of a bit of love. The wipers and horn don’t work, but there are 3 neon gauges that do work… priorities!!! It’s on the original ceramic fuse board, but I would like to change this out for a CE1 replacement.

But the good points…

The respray was a very good job, the engine came out and the underside was sealed. There doesn't seem to be any hidden rust under the paint either. Plus the colour has grown on me!
The body is very straight and she handles very well. There was a few bits just replaced when I bought it, including the full exhaust, shocks/springs, alternator, distributor cap. The engine runs very well, there is a high idle when cold but it settles down once the engine warms up. Possibly the cold start valve, not really too sure.

There is enough work needed that I can make it my own car, which is exactly what I wanted. There is a good base to start with underneath the yellowness!
I have no absolutely no intention of ever selling this car as it has been my dream car since a child. I have quite a few plans but I'm in absolutely no rush to get her done. Shes not my daily driver so I can afford to take my time over it.
Firstly to get her safe and running 100%, then ill concentrate on the cosmetic side.


After a stroke of luck, I managed to get in touch with the original owner that had all the work done when originally brought to Ireland. Extremely nice guy, seemed genuinely happy the car was still in good nick!

He spent the guts of €12k between replacing rusted panels, respraying, updating the interior and having the engine was sent over to TSR to be rebuilt!!
Also, he mentioned when the car was sold on there was a massive service history and photographs of its 90’s ‘build-thread’! None of which i got! Hopefully I’ll be able to track some of it down!

As far as what exactly was done by TSR, I haven't a clue. All that I was told is that there is definitely something done to it! The inner child in me wants to take off the manifold and see if there’s been any major work done, but I don’t really know what id be looking for. I have contacted TSR to try and find out some info but when they changed hands, they lost all history.
I am by no means an expert mechanic, but, it does sound very ‘cammy’ and does seem to be quicker than any standard 1600 gti I have driven.
The initial plan is to strip off all of the yellow and aftermarket bits, take out the neon gauges and replace with originals, possibly retrim the seats or at least get the yellow dyed out of them. Will try and bring the interior back to as original as I can before I change anything major.
I have bought a set of 15” ATS Cups, they are in need of a refurb but I got them for a steal!! Will get them done in the next month or two, when I can afford to put some decent rubber on them!

Will possibly get a set of coilovers depending on how she’s sitting when the new shoes are on.
Single headlight debadged grill with the red GTI trim and new headlights

Unsure of the bumper/ no bumper/chrome/big/small/metal/ plastic… too many choices.

The idea of replacing the exterior trim with chrome has crossed my mind a few times, but again I think I’ll have to see the car coming together before deciding.

Any original bits that I can put on will be going back on. I have ordered a lot of replacement parts so these will be going on soon.

The aim of the car is to look clean, subtle and be fun; I have my sensible every day car for getting me to work in one piece. This is for the weekends

Some more recent pictures….

Hi Chris81GTI - nice looking motor.  

Just deleted your second thread you had running there!

Make sure to join our Ireland region on the home page for updates on shows and meets in Ireland and beyond. Welcome aboard!  

Cars looks great by the way.  

like it  

Looking good mate

Shughy said

Hi Chris81GTI - nice looking motor.  

Just deleted your second thread you had running there!

Make sure to join our Ireland region on the home page for updates on shows and meets in Ireland and beyond. Welcome aboard!  

Cars looks great by the way.  

ThAnks for that, didn't realise!! Joined up earlier on, it's great to see there are a good few from our side of the pond!!

Thanks Melteddrummer aircooled1968  

Nice to see it de-yellowed! I like the purple  

Hairyarse said

Nice to see it de-yellowed! I like the purple  

Its a work in progress, every time I think I have got rid of it all, I find more hidden away somewhere!! Most of the  yellow engine bay parts were dipped so will be replaced over time… as funds permit  

So I was having a look at the log book today and found the original UK. Registration number  – TEA 303W

you our never know, it might be somebody here's old car!!

will run run a few checks and see of anything of interest pops up!!

Not a fan of the yellow bits but each to there own….
I spotted in one of your pictures that you are missing the scuttle panel cover, the plastic cover over the wiper motor and heater blower as that keeps the rain out of the heater.
looks like this.
http://www.classic-vw.co.uk/mk1-golf-scuttle-tray-3832-p.asp

mark1gls said

Not a fan of the yellow bits but each to there own….
I spotted in one of your pictures that you are missing the scuttle panel cover, the plastic cover over the wiper motor and heater blower as that keeps the rain out of the heater.
looks like this.
http://www.classic-vw.co.uk/mk1-golf-scuttle-tray-3832-p.asp

I'll stick it on the list so! Thanks!!  

the next time she'l be on the road there won't be the slightest hint of yellow left, a few more bits came out today!! It's a slow process, there's just so much of it!!

So I spent a bit of time over the weekend getting a couple of jobs done that have been bugging me.
I noticed a leak from the sump so decided to drop it out, give it a good scrub, and replace the gasket, filter and oil.  By the looks of the old oil, it had been a while since it was last changed.
Replaced a few cracked hoses with replacement OE’s, tidys up the bay a little bit and gives me a bit more peace of mind!
Chased up my wiper issue, managed to pinpoint the problem – the motor is dead! Replacement ordered! In a country other than Ireland, you could probably get by without wipers for a few days— not here!!
Spent at least an hour looking at the dash loom, it still makes no sense to me!!  I hate electrics!!!!!! Seems someone has spliced a lot bits from the Hazard switch. The plan is the strip out any wire that’s not in use, and then I’ll decide what approach to take to the fuse box. Ideally change to a CE1, but will have to source the correct plugs for the back to splice into.

Also got a steal on german e-bay on a cool retro Mountney wheel, just need to find a boss now!  

re the engine, you normally find if TSR had done any magic  on the engine it would be reflected in the engine number on the block.
if you could clean that up it may prove useful.

also i would just replace the expantion tank as they are cheap enough, they are best not painted yellow or black, as you cannot see the water level.

volkswarren said

re the engine, you normally find if TSR had done any magic  on the engine it would be reflected in the engine number on the block.
if you could clean that up it may prove useful.

volkswarren said

also i would just replace the expantion tank as they are cheap enough, they are best not painted yellow or black, as you cannot see the water level.

I hadn't thought about the block being stamped, the only markings I have seen is the 1.6 on the bottom end. Where about should I be looking, and what for??
Definitely will be replacing all tanks, the black seemed like the quickest/ easiest way to get rid of that yellow!

Wiper motor and linkage arrived last week, so set aside a few hours on Saturday to swap it over and get a couple of small bits done.
Tested the motor, working 100%… took out the old seized unit, things were going well… until something caught my eye, the plug was on the wrong side. The replacement unit I got was a LHD, needless to say my golf is RHD!
I had a fiddle around to try and retro fit the working motor to my linkage, and seemed to be getting somewhere. Whatever hope I had of getting this to work swiftly ended when I realised my own linkage was damaged and was going to have to be replaced.

So the waiting game begins again….

Ordered an Astrali boss for the new wheel which should be here this week. Spent the guts of an hour cleaning and polishing the wheel, came up an absolute treat. Looking forward to getting it fitted now, then the dash can go back in!

A bit of a silver lining to a frustratingly shi**y day!

Not a huge amount more to do before she goes back on the road for the summer, sort the wheels/tyres, get belts changed and finally fix the wipers.
As it's going to be my first full summer with the Golf, I plan on enjoying it, next winter there is plenty of time for getting greasy!!
 

Time for a bit of an update!

So a few more jobs done, and a few more to do!!

Wipers are now sorted, I have two working speeds so rain no longer stops me bringing her out!

Interior is all back in, complete with new steering wheel. Not sold on the wheel, but have another on the way so will see which looks better before deciding. Not much dish on the wheel so very close to the stalks when turning corners!  Also need to get to the bottom of the horn problem, and get a horn button! Changed a couple of broken switches for NOS ones, new tailored mats and some small trim bits. Interior is looking a lot better now!









Fuel filter was replaced, old unit had a bit of rust in the bottom of it so will have a look at the tank to see how it looks. Filler neck looks fine so hopefully won't be too much in the tank. Will do the fishing trick through the inspection hole and see how I get on.

Had taken her up the mountains for a few hours on Saturday evening and she didn't miss a beat.  Cant pass up a quick photo opportunity!  







Found a random dealer sticker wrapped around some wires behind fuseboard… maybe where it first lived… either way I love finding stuff like this!




Decided to take the car to work on Monday morning, and as a pulled out of the house, I dumped coolant all over the road! On closer inspection, the hose that goes from the side of the block into the heater matrix has split at the joint. Replacements on the way from   funk-star



So for now she's parked up again, it does seem that a big part of classic car ownership is spent waiting for/ trying to source parts!!    

That's unlucky mate, but yes you're right - it's all part of the ownership 'experience!' lol

Hairyarse said

That's unlucky mate, but yes you're right - it's all part of the ownership 'experience!' lol

Yea your right, it is the experience alright.
Even more frustrating because I work in parts distribution. We stock 178,000 different items. And I have counted a grand total of 7 that are off a Mk1!!