1988 Caddy 1.6D

Oh no, I’ve done it again !!  I’ve taken on another mk1 project….

I've been advised to lose the nasty aftermarket sunroof ….. so….. there's no going back now…

And I've found a little bit of rust in the front scuttle panel, hidden while the windscreen was in place…

So had a high biting point to the clutch pedal, I checked the adjustment on the cable and it seemed correct, so I think it needs a new clutch. So out comes the gearbox. Might as well change all the oil seals and check everything with the gearbox, and replace the shifter bushes as the gears were all over the place with a floppy gear stick.

I found some corrosion to the front crossmember around the front engine Mount

…. So I fabricated a repair section.

 I would rather have used a cut from another shell but couldn't find anything available, but I didn't  want to replace the whole front as I didn't think it warranted such invasive work at this time

I wanted to get the repair section done while the gearbox was out, which gave me more room to work.



So I got on with it and then replaced the crank rear main oil seal (while I'm here) and the clutch

My set up to get the gearbox back in.

The panel across the cab below the back window was corroded through so had to be changed

I had to repair part of the rear window aperture and then weld in the new panel, bought from "retrofication" - a very good quality panel to be fair.

More rust lower down on the cab bulkhead where it meets the floor. I had to get that cut out andrepaired…

So I was considering an alternative bed floor. Alternative to OE. I asked fellow mk1 club members on Facebook for their ideas, and got a few images of what others had done, and also a couple of comments that I should stick with what VW did, so the jury is out on that one for the time being, I'm hanging up my welding torch and getting my spanners out , and I'll come back to the load floor another day….

So I put the front suspension and steering together, everything pretty much new, new dampers on the rear, and I fitted new copper fuel lines front to rear

New brakes, new fuel lines, some new brake lines

The floor pans are all good, just one of the blanking plates needed renewing, so I made one and fitted it.

So she's up and running with all new suspension, brakes, clutch, fuel lines, etc etc the list goes on. …

I've fitted a new radiator and the plan now is to run her up to temperature and see what happens, I'll flush the cooling system and try and get the temperature gauge working , I've rewired the coolant fan and switch and would like to see the fan kick in without the engine overheating, I'm not confident, I suspect I need to change the thermostat as a matter of course, plus likely the heater matrix, and thorough inspection of the heater valve etc

Excellent work - it's a big moment getting it running  

There's no way I am stripping the under seal off like a lot of folks do, I reckon it's still doing its job, there's just isolated areas which I will clean up and treat.

So I had a little go, and found more rust through, DOH!!

So after a lot of research and questions in the help section of this forum, I've got her up and running, up to temp, fan kicking in and out.

I don't know the history of this little truck, all I  know is it's been in dry storage a long time…

I've looked at the .gov website for MOT history and there are no records of it ever having an MOT. These records go back to 2006, so it's been off the road at least 18 years.

So not much to show here at present as I'm into the electrics, getting everything working properly.

It's a dirty diesel and smokes heavily, I'm really hoping that with some fettling and fresh fuel, plus a regular run up to temp she will start to clear without needing any major engine work. To be fair the engine sounds healthy and starts easily, revving freely and smoothly.

I'll carry on getting everything sorted and working for  now and see where I get to, if the engine can be revived (in terms of the excessive blueish smoke) then great.