1983 1800cc K-Jetronic GTI "the all white" Karman Cabriolet rebuild - Comments

1983 1800cc K-Jetronic GTI "the all white" Karman Cabriolet rebuild

Hi All


I am currently rebuilding a 1983 1800cc K-Jetronic GTI "the all white" Karman Cabriolet that we have had for 20 years, I hope to post some pics and ask many an opinion.
The car is totally original, as sold in 83 as "the all white golf".
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Just had a big order on, £760 parts arriving this week!

So,,,
Upholsterers?
Suggestions!?!?!?

Thanks for all your input gents, I was delayed in answering as I was checking stock availability and reading reviews along with your advice but didn't have my password at hand to log in to reply.

The mind was made up and everything has been delivered and is in hand ready for the refit.

I've gone for:
rear ARB inner/outer = poly
rear axle mount = poly
front ARB inner/outer = poly
front f/r wishbones mounts = poly
steering rack = poly

top rear suspension = rubber
top front suspension  = rubber
front engine bung = rubber
rear engine mount = rubber
engine mount = rubber

The golf has sat between my driveway and my garage for 7/8 years as the gearbox went after <18 months of a garage fitted replacement and as we had another car to use I registered it SORN and planned to fix her up one day, time passed on……..

Then due to the recent flooding this winter she now needs and overhaul, so with a new full dizy cap, rotor arm and leads, battery, plugs, oil change, compression test, new fuel pump and filter, air filter and injector spray pattern and volume check and airflow meter clean up the engine is running nice, that will be stripped and rebuilt in due course, soon now!?!?

The roof was mostly intact but had leaked at a few seals due to a broken clamp and skin shrinkage however the flooding in Jan 2014 trashed the interior, the rear of the garage was in 18" to 2ft of water when I came home, and as the brakes had seized she was a beast to drag out of there, in the end she came out at the peak of the water height, I am sure that the car being partially afloat helped us drag the golf out of the garage to higher ground, when I opened the doors it was like a blimming clown show with water pouring out.
I cleared the drain plugs and drilled holes in the floor to drain.


I after a long drying period I decide on a rebuild with a little help from my mates.
So far this is where I/we (me and many mates thankfully) are at, elsewhere on the golf (going to bullet point here as it's easier than sentences).



Stripping:

battery out
Fuel fully drained from tank and pipework
fuel tank isolated @ fuel pump exit and flushed/vented
parcel shelf out
roof off
all door glass & window winders & locks out
door cards off
doors off
seats out
carpets out
seat belts out
lower dash out
steering wheel off
indicator arms off
dials out
main dash out
bonnet off
window wiper mechanism out
cabin heater fan out
heater matrix out
fuse board out
front cabin wiring loom out
rear wiring loom out
engine loom out
front loom out
wheel arch covers off
plastic inner wheel arch guards off
front wheel arches off
front grille off
front/ rear lights off
clutch/accelerator cables off
air flow meter & injector hoses/jets off
water containers off
brake master cylinder out
dizzy/ ht leads, electrics etc out
brake transfer bracket/rods out
pedals out
front brake pipes out
alternator off
all gear linkage out
drives hafts disconnected at diff
starter motor off
inlet manifold off
exhaust manifold off
ENGINE & GEARBOX out,,, nice day
manifold split from downpipe clamp and exhaust off
Up on high axle stands
wheels off
brakes off
front wishbones off
fuel pump etc off
front suspension off
rear axle & suspension off
petrol tank out
rear brake lines and regulator out
fuel lines out

At this point we could fully assess just how bad the rust had set in over the years of the golf just sitting there, along with the collateral damage done to get to this stage in the form of a snapped rear axle captive bolt on the left hand side, and of course it was the one furthest back (I advise to and I will regrease grease these bolt threads on rebuild and often, if these protruding bolt threads that are in direct splash from the rear wheels corrode badly they will snap the bolt on removal, we tried everything on this bolt, soaked in wd, cleaned up the thread, heated it HOT!, we tried everything ! and yet it still snapped.)
Along with a few other captive bolts that had been previously snapped and replace by a nut and bold on the steering rack and the front ARB/wishbone bracket.

As expected, the wheel arch trims trapped water and rotted the corners of most the wings, the front valance had a small dent and loads of rust, the rear valance ras rusted and split at one corner.
The interior stood up well due to the good inner sealants apart from the spare wheel well which is common.
The engine bay and under side had a extra protection in the form of a 1 pint a month oil leak from the engine gasket, this smothered everywhere in a thick coat of oil and dirt, its a fantastic corrosion preventative you know lol…

On the bad side the roof cable retaining lip around the back of the car had about 50% corroded on the part of the lip above the wings, the back part of the lip was sound.
there is also a 2x3" hole on the bottom of the rear suspension
and weakening of the clutch/bulkhead cable hole

So,, in for a penny, in for a pound, the structure of the car is solid and rust and rot free.
With no intention of filler to repair rust I decided on the following new body panels.

front valance
rear lower valance
both sides front outer wings
both sides rear inner wing repair panels
both outer wing repair panels
a sheet 4x2' sheet of 20 gauge steel


With the help of Chris who has been in the mechanic/bodywork game for 40 years and rebuilt many a golf in his years who had time between projects (lovely Anglia happening) we have completed all the metal work and applied the relevant sealers to the weld work:

rebuilt the roof lip
repaired the spare wheel well
repaired the suspension hole
replaced front valance along with remounting bonnet and lined up with the new front outer wings and the rehung doors all square.
replaced the inner rear arches and outer arches
repair kit on clutch/bulkhead hole
captive bolts replaced (the rear axle captive bolt was accessed via a hole cut beneath rear seat edge, a hard bolt head indeed!)

Any internal minor surface rust has been treated and primed or sealed as necessary.
So, ready for paint work prep, the engine bay and underside are under way, underside cleaned of under seal and engine bay scotched ready for clean and spray, stone chip and under sealing this week along with engine bay primer and top coats. hope to have the re-spray next week followed by inner waxing or crack on  the rebuild, yet to decide,,,, advice?


Then we can run new brake lines and reinstall the fuel pipes.


Meanwhile in prep the following has been either renovated or replaced. list below of new parts for refit so far


New Parts:
front disks/pads
rear drums/shoes/springs/slave cylinder
brake hoses
copper brake pipes
hand brake cables
front bleed nipples
front disk brake calliper rebuild kit
brake dust/stone covers
THIS THREADS TOPIC….. all new poly/rubber bushes as described in this topics thread.
rear axle bolts
front wishbones
ball joints
front and rear bearings (front yet to be pressed! anyone local?)
all 3x steering rubber necks
inner cv joints (long topic, ask me about the failed gearbox another time!)
outer cv boots
fuel pump (mentioned on engine test pre strip down)
yet to look at the condition of or decide on the rear fuel  back pressure valve thingy, seen an alternative, help here gents please advise!


The following has been refurbed ready to be put back on.
rear axle
front/rear suspension springs
fuel tank
fuel tank stone guard,
gear linkage with new bushes
steering rack with new bushes
rear hub plates & stub axle
rear brake regulator
front brake callipers with new seals
steering rack & column, pedal mechanisms
fuel filler neck (new <1yr before car was taken off the road)
all round suspension struts (new <1yr before car was taken off the road)

errrrrrrmm…… quite a few other bits new or refurbed in the running gear area ready for the rebuild.

that's where we generally are at.. any words of wisdom?, jump in..

Almost ready for a ground up rebuild.

The rest of the body prep and re-spray is starting now and partially or fully (debatable!?!?!) complete within the next 1 or 2 weeks by Chris

so now we cast our many eyes upon the engine/gearbox assessment/rebuild and the internet for interior I have some ideas but help is required here!)
A new roof is all in hand.

gents, maybe I've gone off topic here or even started a whole new topic?, but thanks for the advice so far, please add your further advice on the steps we're approaching or ask questions about anything so far we tackled or something we have overlooked.



I would quickly like to thank Chris & Rob M and Paul for their help so far, specially as I been off my feet recently almost bringing things to a crashing halt but Chris M has sorted out all the metal works and the car is off my hands till its sprayed.