My First Mk1 Project

So i finally got round to doing a bit on my first Mk1 … Just a few hours as i had nothing better to do with my Sunday morning… The further i got into it the more and more i just kept thinking to myself "what have i let myself in for here" lol…. Just on a mission to get it to a shell to find out what welding needs done.. already needing a 2 front wings and a either a new drivers door or a door repair panel, i'm sure the list will get longer as i go on….

Hi and welcome  

Car doesn't look too bad, for a mk1  

What's your plans?

Matt

Yes do tell us what you're planning and keep the pictures coming please!  

The old 1.3 engine and gearbox will be coming out tomorrow, the jetex stainless exhaust will also be coming off and to be honest i think they will both be going straight to the scrapyard.. the car came with a 1.6 engine from a mk2 and i think thats needing the bin as well…. The underside was undersealed at some point so i'll be getting the car in the air and chipping away at that for a few days to get a proper look at whats going on, going to order 2 new front wings tomorrow, had my mate round looking at it earlier (he owns a body shop).. He's going to give me a hand fitting them, gonna get the bay seam welded then smoothed, the bottom of the drivers door is needing a few repairs done with fresh metal, along with a piece of the bulkhead… focus on all that for the next few months then decide on an engine, still swaying towards a 1.8 20v but we'll see what happens

I've kinda gave up the past few days, every single bolt on the car is either seized solid or have rounded.. Going back offshore for a couple of weeks then I'll come back to it with a fresh head on lol

Give all your nuts and bolts a good speay with plusgas or WD and spray it once a day until you go away! May help a bit ??

stick at it man. it will be worth it in the end

whats up with the wings?

dont get rid of them.. i would sooner have two scabby wings rather than 2 new repro ones that fit terribly

Yeah I had gave them a good spray before hand and still nothing, bought the irwin nut remover set so hopefully they will help when I come back.. 

The drivers side wing is rotten right along the arch and the passengers side has took a bump and it's badly dented on the front corner 

Try tightening the bolts up first, and then loosen them. undo a few turns and tighten a bit.. like cutting a new thread!

Jonny16V said

Try tightening the bolts up first, and then loosen them. undo a few turns and tighten a bit.. like cutting a new thread!

Yeah i've tried that as well mate, still no luck, everything is solid lol 

Not got any pics of whats been happening with the Mk1 recently, still stripping it down and getting it prepped for the body work, but the donor car has been bought, picking it up tomorrow afternoon…..

Vr6 in a mk1……. Lots of work and a lot of weight over the front wheels as its a heavy engine…. Its your car and up to you but you I'll be busy.Why not just use the mk3 as it is as it looks tidy then keep the mk1 as an original car with a small engine as there is not many tidy ones out there?

Very good advice mark1gls

go original, you will be surprised how much attention the car will get

Im currently re building a vr6 mk1 which i bought as a bodged incomplete bad job and the amount of work involved to do a propper job is never ending and cant help but think that evertime i chop or weld something that im destroying what was originally a good car. In my opinion i would build your car back to standard you will get more joy knowing you've saved a mk1 than butchering one up.

Thanks for that mark1gls and ppc229w … I know all about that weight, i'm not going to be throwing it around a track or anything and its not gonna be a daily drive so i'm not too fussed about that issue, i was originally going to be going for a 1.8 20v but after being around my mates Mk2 Golf Vr6 and my other mates Mk2 Jetta Vr6 its kinda swayed me towards one for myself.

James Green said

Im currently re building a vr6 mk1 which i bought as a bodged incomplete bad job and the amount of work involved to do a propper job is never ending and cant help but think that evertime i chop or weld something that im destroying what was originally a good car. In my opinion i would build your car back to standard you will get more joy knowing you've saved a mk1 than butchering one up.

I reckon that trying to correct a bad job would be more difficult than just taking your time and doing it right first time round, i've got all the time in the world lol… I've got another one planned for when i've finished this one, and it will more than likely be a standard GTI model

Yeah it was a mess mounts had been welded in wrong places with tons of weld been a nightmare to get right again but im back on track with it now. As you say its not a job to be rushed and something that should be done right first time round. You look to have a good base and doner for it, best of luck and gimme a shout if you get stuck with anything. 

James Green said

Yeah it was a mess mounts had been welded in wrong places with tons of weld been a nightmare to get right again but im back on track with it now. As you say its not a job to be rushed and something that should be done right first time round. You look to have a good base and doner for it, best of luck and gimme a shout if you get stuck with anything. 

Cheers for that mate.. No doubt you will hear from me at some point lol

I hate not having that much time recently to get stuck into this project, its just been a tiny little bit at a time so far, i might need to send the missus on holiday and book some more time off with work to get some proper work done… Finally got the old 1.3 engine out, no idea what to do with it yet to be honest, at the moment its just taking up space, if anyone would like it in the local area (Glasgow) then feel free to give me a shout…
Also just welded up the spit so as soon as the rest of the car is stripped i'll get it mounted and get it up the air the guy i got the car off said the underside was all solid and went ahead and undersealed it, do i trust his judgement and not bother taking it off for a proper look myself or do i get it all off? decisions decisions!!…. I think it might annoy me later on knowing that i've went through every other bit of the car during the project but not that….



 

As you'll have it on a spit its worth taking off and redoing even if its solid as you dont know if there have just undersealed over mud, dirt and rust which could cause problems later on. A angle grinder with a knot wheel shifts it the easiest i find.