Baby Blue

Took a chance & bought this cabby unfinished project blind a few months ago, yikes! Turned out to be okay with a great roof, just a little welding needed on rack mounts, front engine mount & top of bulkhead but otherwise very solid. Unfortunately the previous owner didn't finish painting & didn't do the driver's side door, boot & windscreen scuttle. Not sure yet whether to try to get these panels matched up by a painter which is probably no easy job, or get a full respray which I'm sure will cost loads. Already on some nice lowered springs & stock shocks, found some wheels to go on it in pic below, they are 16" so it might get a little tight under the arch & won't help the non-pas lol

 

Old carb 1.8 taken out & now rescueing another car somewhere. Got the 1.8t & 02J in on Epytec mounts after getting a new cambelt kit, water pump & spaced out 16v tensioner. Also popped in a 9" servo yesterday



Now have to fit a SMF & loads of service parts including bushes, wishbones, bearings & brakes (gone for G60 280mm at front thanks to a member here). I do have mk4 rear calipers but none of the other conversion bits needed so will see how the drums do first after renewing all the parts

Found a big piece of the jigsaw this week & got a Qpeng downpipe (note: they no longer make or sell this for the mk1 so unless you make your own downpipe or go down the K04 Trackslag route then you're stuffed at the moment). Just can't justify the extra £2k+ outlay for a remapped Bam K04 225 set-up to get just an extra 50bhp & then need lsd e.t.c! 220'ish bhp after a remap is good enough for me with a K03S, had that in a mk2 revo mapped golf last year

I'm sure some one will be able to match the paint mate.

Normally you just have to take them a bit and they scan it.

Can't beat a bit of a jigsaw! at least there's plenty of info on the 1.8t swap. Looks like it fits ok though!

Good luck with it  

Nice car, nice wheels and nice lump!! Looks like a great project  

Matt

It's coming along but so much left to do. Busting my b*lls trying to get it ready (excluding paint) for the VW festival at Harewood in August as I don't live far from there. Might be too tight though! VR6/G60 clutch/flywheel fitted, gearbox cables done, new bushes/wishbones/tie rods/steering boots done, intercooler/rad plumbed in, battery relocated, new fuel and brake lines done.

Struggling with how to wire in main fuel pump & lift-pump which is slowing me down something rotten lol.

Getting close now to turning the key & seeing what happens. Still have quite a few things to do such as a hydraulic clutch & interior e.t.c. Might put in a rear cage as well:

Well what happened?

Self destruct? Re-set the day? Money tree grew in the garden?

Or possibly, and I know it's a long shot, whe jumped into life?

I'm on the edge of my seat here!

Ian

Great looking car  

But as ian said, did she start?

Matt

Hold your horses lol. Just been adding the fluids today & luckily noticed this before adding the petrol - 'hanging by a thread' seems to be the appropriate phrase (already cleaned the tank out so last minute pain in the derriere but glad I noticed it before filling up!):



Just ordered a new filler neck & hose from Classic so will try again then

Does look a little crusty  

Matt

Meh, you're just a big tease aren't ya? ;-)

That scuppered things a bit then. Pants!

Ian

. Looks very similar to mine!! Lol


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Hopefully mine will look as good as yours one day. Gives me motivation. Looks great with the bumpers on but I'm still undecided on that

Cushti said

Hopefully mine will look as good as yours one day. Gives me motivation. Looks great with the bumpers on but I'm still undecided on that

Thanks mate!! I thought that but once there on defo looks better in my opinion..


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No sign of the new filler neck yet so doing other little jobs to keep busy. Cut the seat rails out to fit the Impreza newage seats in. Picked these seats for so many reasons:
1. The stock seating position is far too high for me, I'm 6'3, and this lowers the seating position by about two inches
2. A common problem mentioned about the 02J mounted underneath is the gearknob feels too low for stock seat height, this sorts this problem out as well
3. I've fitted them before to a mk2 1.8t (was easier going into the mk2 though as I could keep the rail)
4. The grey/black design should go with the grey/black door cards & new black carpet
5. They're light, comfy & hold you in position going round corners at speed
6. Last but not least I got them for £40 & should clean up well!



Everything in position for the hydraulic clutch conversion. Just need to find someone to weld the bracket onto the column now.

I remember reading somewhere that the cabrio has the floorpan of a rocco, not a tintop. Anyone know if I can use the rear cage of a rocco in a cabrio then and if yes is it from a mk1 or mk2 rocco? Perhaps the existing cabrio roof bar would foul this cage. This might be best as a question in the Technical forum.

Hydraulic clutch conversion done now.

After a minor no power issue, thanks Rubjonny for some forum advice, I get a little nervous going to start the 31 year old cabby up for the first time in two years, having never run it before & after doing a 1.8t conversion, yikes. Drum roll & my god she starts up first time without hesitation & sounds awesome. Well for about a second anyway before she cuts out lol. But she's alive!

It could be one of a hundred things but my main suspect is I've been sold a duff ecu which was supposed to have been remapped with the immobiliser deleted so will have to send it off somewhere to be checked. Hey ho, all part of the fun & getting so close now

Got ecu & she's running nicely now. Got to bleed brakes & then time for it's  first test run!

ECU was the problem as expected so all sorted now. Bled brakes, then one tie rod was a right pita (aarghh, why can't they just put an allen key hole in the end of the ball joint bolt like they do with shocks). Fitting dbw accelerator pedal then test drive time!

It's been a while since last update so:

Heater leaking when filled up with fresh anti-freeze lol. Fitted new one. Then switched fan on, worked for a few seconds but kept blowing fuses. Motor almost seized. Fitted new one. Pleasantly surprised that both jobs were quite easy. Aftermarket steering wheel fitted.

Forgot about rear fog light as it was missing from the car when I got it. But I'm not fitting a solo unit down low. Due to the reverse light switch issue anyway with an 02J I just decided to swap over the rear fog light switch wiring to the reverse bulb in the rear lamps & changed the bulb to red

Stock G60s now fitted instead. Put 15mm spacers on the back as I don't like them sitting so far in.

Off to paint shortly so should be ready just in time for late Spring!

Good shout on the fog light.
I did the same on mine, tidies the back up no end

Failed Mot on couple of silly bits, bit harsh of the tester in my eyes but rules are rules. E.g:

1. Previous owner had put early front wings on so it has no side repeaters (mine is '87, this is only ok on '86 & earlier). Will have to buy them, drill holes in the wings & splice into fronts

2. Fog light illumination bulb not working in the switch, the switch itself works

These later fog light switches are like rocking horse sh*t. I can't find a post'84 front/rear combo switch for sale -  only VWH can seem to order them in 8-12 weeks so no free re-test if I have to wait this long. If anyone has one please let me know!