Newbie has a few questions :)

Hi All,
I have just bought myself an '83 'A' reg Mars Red 1.1c . The car has done 155k miles, has had a new clutch, front brakes, carb (non standard sadly) in the last 2 years. Apparently it runs well, but stalls quite a bit in the cold (wrong carb?). Anyway, the paint is faded as hell, so i thought i'd have a good t-cut and machine polishing session one weekend. There's very little rust, a little on the leading edge of the bonnet, and a little on the offside arches, none on the sills. Standard steel rims. Drivers seat cover is ripped up.

Can i ask you guys a few questions ?

1. Roughly how much will a respray cost? & if i prepped the car myself?
Anyone have any good advice regarding bringing the current paint back to life?

2. Suspension winds me up if its too soft. Would lowering springs make any difference to handling or do i have to bite the bullit and buy some koni dampers or similar? I havent driven it yet (pick it up ion jan 5th), but i'd guess the dampers are pretty soft. Are polyurethane bushes a good option too?

3. Will i suffer if i get 60mm lowering springs rather than 40mm, or is 60 the way to go. ( i still want to be able to go over speedbumps)

4. How would you go about removing rust from the arches and leading edge of the bonnet ? Would you guys recommend i just get a fresh bonnet from gsf or a scrappy? What can i do about the arches? (rust has settled into arch scrapes, about 6inches long 1 wide.) Could i bodge the rust away then cover them with the black plastic gti arches?

5. Do mk2 seats fit in a mk1? what other vw's seats go in fairly easily?

Many thanks for any response,
Greg

If the current paint is just faded in places, T-Cut or professional cutting compound may bring it back to life (try T-Cut first). A professional respray can cost anything from ?750-?2000 depending who you know, who you speak to and the quality of the job. Preping it yourself will always save you money.

No reason why you can't either fit lowering springs to your suspension or fit Gti suspension (not sure what the differnce in the struts is?). Your car won't have an anti-roll bar as fitted to the GTI so this will also make a difference. The 60mm drop you quote wll make your car 40mm lower than a standard GTI - this should be OK. Just using stiffer lower springs will tighten the car up no end. Even standard 1.1 handles quite impressively for a car of is era and spec. My standard Golf C handles better than the horrible Fiat Punto I learn't to drive in.

If the rust has actually eaten holes in the arches or bonnet your best bet is to replace them - particlurly if you're goin to have it resprayed. Front wings are bolt-on and are replaced as a complete wing. The rear ones will have to be welded in - various pattern panels are available. If the rust is just surface and the metal seems sound underneath you can sand back and coat with rust treatment then prime and paint.

Hope that helps

Check the heat deflector is still intact on the exhaust manifold and the hot air duct is fitted securely to the air cleaner from it. It may be the cause of cold stalling.

1. I reckon around ?3k inc prep, bonnet and arches. Maybe half that if you do the prep.

2. Some lowering springs with matched dampers with sharpen the handling but at the expense of a decent ride if you lower it too much. Poly bushes will not make too much difference unless your current bushes are knackered. The main advantage is longevity.

3. 60 mm drop will be OK unless you change to some very wide rims.

4. If the rust is fairly light a good sanding back to bare metal, a coating with jenolite, fill, prime and paint will be OK. Otherwise a decent 2nd hand bonnet or new one will be necessary. Get new arches if you are spending a lot on a respray. If not, the GTi arches are a good idea as long as the rust is completely treated. Use plenty of Waxoyl under them.

5. Mk2 seats drop straight in. I think Scirocco ones do too.

Good luck and enjoy your Xmas present!
Rajan

dubboy said

I think Scirocco ones do too.

They sure do, though they sit really low - I'm 6'4" and they were too low for my liking!

Markone, Rajan, Al, Thanks very much for the answers!

I've got a couple more questions, i'll post them in the technical area -
i'll let you all know how i get on with the t-cutting, polishing and rust removal. Oh and cheers for the heat deflector tip Rajan!